Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans

Books

Hostage to the Devil is a controversial nonfiction bestseller, a chilling and true account of possession and exorcism in modern America, hailed by NBC Radio as "one of the most stirring books on the contemporary scene."--Back cover. In 1976 Satanism was presented, and was probably regarded by most Americans, as a box office and a bookstore draw. In fact, Hostage to the Devil was intended as a clear warning that Possession is not- nor was it ever- some tale of dark fancy featuring ogres and happy endings. Possession is real; and real prices are paid. Among the general population of Catholics and Christians of other denominations, large numbers of people no longer learn even so basic a prayer as the Our Father. In churches and parochial schools alike, the subject of Hell is avoided, as one midwestern priest put it, in order not to put people "on a guilt trip." The idea of sin is likewise avoided, according to the same source, in order not to do "irreparable damage to what has been taught for the past ...