In The Rite, journalist Matt Baglio shares the story of an American priest’s training as an exorcist. The book reveals that possession, demons, and exorcisms are not relics of the past but remain relevant today.

Father Gary Thomas, a California parish priest, was asked to train in exorcism by his bishop. Initially surprised and hesitant, he accepted the call and traveled to Rome for specialized training. At a Vatican-affiliated university, he learned to distinguish genuine possession from mental illness.

As an apprentice to an experienced Italian exorcist, Father Gary participated in over 80 exorcisms. These experiences deeply changed his understanding of the spiritual world. Moving from skepticism to practice, he gained a new perspective on the battle between good and evil.

Baglio had full access to Father Gary’s training and shared many unexplainable experiences. The book includes vivid accounts of exorcists confronting demons and Father Gary’s personal battles with evil.

The Rite traces the history of exorcism, revealing rites, rituals, and Catholic teachings on possession. It explores related topics like satanic cults, curses, and the hierarchy of angels and demons.

With an investigative approach, The Rite captivates both skeptics and believers. It shows that the truth about possession is stranger—and more chilling—than fiction.

“The Exorcist,” a 1973 movie about a twelve-year-old girl possessed by the Devil, frightened people more than any horror film ever did. Many moviegoers sought therapy to rid themselves of fears they could not explain. Psychiatrists coined the term “cinematic neurosis” for patients who left the movie feeling a terrifying presence of demons. At the Washington premiere, a young woman stood outside the theater, trembling. “I come out here in the sunlight,” she said, “and I see people’s eyes, and they frighten me.”

Among the few moviegoers unmoved by the horror were two priests, Father William S. Bowdern and Father Walter Halloran, members of the Jesuit community at St. Louis University. “Billy came out shaking his head about the little girl bouncing on the bed and urinating on the crucifix,” Halloran remembers. “He was kind of angry. ‘There is a good message that can be given by this thing,’ he said. The message was the fact that evil spirits operate in our world.”

Bowdern and Halloran knew that the movie was a fictional veneer masking a terrible reality. Night after night in March and April 1949, Bowdern had been an exorcist, with Halloran assisting. Bowdern fervently believed that he had driven a demon from a tormented soul. The victim had been a thirteen-year-old boy strangely lured to St. Louis from a Maryland suburb of Washington. Bowdern’s exorcism had been the inspiration for the movie.

The true story of this possession, detailed in Possessed, is based on a diary kept by a Jesuit priest.

The priest assisted Father Bowdern during the exorcism and recorded the events in meticulous detail.

This diary is the most complete account of an exorcism documented since the Middle Ages.

In this revised edition of Possessed, the diary is published for the very first time.

This is a gripping non-fiction book that delves into the world of exorcism and demonic possession. Through five real-life cases, the author explores the harrowing struggles of individuals who have become possessed by malevolent forces. Martin takes readers on a journey into the battle between good and evil, shedding light on the psychological and supernatural aspects of these terrifying encounters. The book provides a thought-provoking and unsettling examination of the spiritual and psychological dimensions of possession, as well as the methods used by exorcists to confront this dark phenomenon.

Each case profiled in the book explores the unique circumstances surrounding individuals who have seemingly fallen victim to demonic possession. Martin investigates the various factors leading to possession, including trauma, involvement in occult practices, or an invitation to evil. He also delves into the methods and rituals used by exorcists to confront and combat the malevolent forces that have taken hold of their victims.

Something Evil is Inside Cassie Stevens

In a quiet coastal New England town, a girl awakes suddenly in the dead of night — there’s something in the room with her. She doesn’t see it or hear it, but she feels it in the pit of her soul. The presence of cold unseen eyes watching her from the darkness.

Ever since surviving a near-death experience in a crash, Cassie Stevens has been haunted by this malevolent presence. She’s shunned by friends and classmates who fear her, and with good reason — terrifying phenomena is happening around her, and something evil is taking over.

An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present–and intent on keeping its dark secrets.

Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. Instead, Jack finds a town mired in secrecy and a strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.”

The more Jack and her daughter Flo get acquainted with the town and its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into their rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo is troubled by strange sightings in the old chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

But uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village where everyone has something to protect, everyone has links with the village’s bloody past, and no one trusts an outsider.