Hostage To The Devil: The Possession And Exorcism Of Five Contemporary Americans (1999) - Plot & Excerpts
On the other side of the coin— Lucifer’s side— the belief that he does not exist at all is an enormous advantage that he has never enjoyed to such a great degree. It is the ultimate camouflage. Not to believe in evil is not to be armed against it. To disbelieve is to be disarmed. If your will does not accept the existence of evil, you are rendered incapable of resisting evil. Those with no capacity of resistance become prime targets for Possession.- from Malachi Martin's "Hostage to the Devil"I've had my eye on this little piece of non-fiction history/horror for a few years. But between us...I was too scared to read it. Religiously-based horror is the sub-genre that freaks me out the most (and when you throw children in the mix!? Forget about it). But for this Halloween season I took a deep breath and jumped in. I'm not religious, and would consider myself a fairly skeptical individual. I do love fiction and I have a broad capacity to suspend my disbelief. Malachi Martin's novel is a piece of non-fiction - true stories of possession and exorcism.Martin describes these exclusively contemporary accounts as "dramatic illustrations of the way in which personal and intelligent evil moves cunningly along the lines of contemporary fads and interests, and within the usual bounds of experience of ordinary men and women.” That’s cool. I’ll suspend my disbelief for that!The five stories of possession (and a sixth smaller story) are bracketed by Martin's analyses of possession, exorcism and their place within contemporary popular history and church culture. His writing is clear and vocabulary large. His writing is infused with a palpable passion and erudite depth. Malachi describes: "The stories that are told on these occasions are dramatic and painful: strange physical ailments in the possessed; marked mental derangement; obvious repugnance to all signs, symbols, mention, and sight of religious objects, places, people, ceremonies."Each story runs about 80 pages, though a reader's expectations should be clear: the exorcism itself runs 10-20 pages at the most. The rest of the stories detail the backstory of each victim and each priest. The stories are not connected by character nor time. I chose to read this book with an 'accepting' mindset. I'm the first to admit, while I'm an iPhone-totin' skeptic and rationalist, I passionately embrace the idea that something supernatural or alien can exist. Martin treats his subject very seriously and addresses the doubters: "Church authorities always insist on thorough examinations of the person brought to them for Exorcism, an examination conducted by qualified medical doctors and psychiatrists.""Certainly, many who claim to be possessed or whom others so describe are merely the victims of some mental or physical disease. In reading records from times when medical and psychological science did not exist or were quite undeveloped, it is clear that grave mistakes were made. A victim of disseminated sclerosis, for example, was taken to be possessed because of his spastic jerkings and slidings and the shocking agony in spinal column and joints. Until quite recently, the victim of Tourette’s syndrome was the perfect target for the accusation of “Possessed!”: torrents of profanities and obscenities, grunts, barks, curses, yelps, snorts, sniffs, tics, foot stomping, facial contortions all appear suddenly and just as suddenly cease in the subject. Nowadays, Tourette’s syndrome responds to drug treatment, and it seems to be a neurological disease involving a chemical abnormality in the brain. Many people suffering from illnesses and diseases well known to us today such as paranoia, Huntington’s chorea, dyslexia, Parkinson’s disease, or even mere skin diseases (psoriasis, herpes I, for instance), were treated as people “possessed” or at least as “touched” by the Devil."The book is vivid, without being lewd nor lurid. Martin is graphic, and while the book isn’t dramatically frightening, it’s inherent topic is downright scary. "Violent physical transformations seem sometimes to make the lives of the possessed a kind of hell on earth. Their normal processes of secretion and elimination are saturated with inexplicable wrackings and exaggeration...Reflexes sometimes become sporadic or abnormal, sometimes disappear for a time. Breathing can cease for extended periods. Heartbeats are hard to detect. The face is strangely distorted, sometimes also abnormally tight and smooth without the slightest line or furrow." “Hostage to the Devil” is extremely well written, thought out and considered, and freely dips into theological considerations across a range of secular and non secular ideas. This book is quite heavy, with numerous pages covering the psychophysical characteristics of each characters relation to the specific event. It's an enjoyable, but not easy, read. Highly recommended.
Okay, my reasons for the low rating here may not be all that important to some. I may also be in the minority today in that I believe in evil (and yes an actual Satan). C.S.Lewis once observed (as have others) that the fact that no one believes in him is Satan's greatest advantage. Martin agrees with this and also says it.I find I disagree with certain things said in the book about the nature of possession, the relief of it (exorcism if you will)and certain other details. I have no problem with his views on the dangers extant in our society and society's general rejection of the existence of "evil", spiritual or otherwise.I don't see any problem with recommending this book in general. Many will approach it as complete skeptics others as thrill seekers (I'd hope the book might serve as a warning to that group), and some with an open mind. If you're a Roman Catholic this may serve as a call to look again at the situation in your church. Non-Roman Catholics may have their own beliefs (pro or con) about the subject. I'm a Christian, I'd suggest any and all beliefs be based in Biblical scripture.If you are not a Christian or find belief in actual spiritual evil to be naive or otherwise contemptible then we of course disagree and I doubt you'd see this book as much more than a diversion. *********************** Spoilers Below ******************** (view spoiler)[My problems with the book have to do with his view of possession and the exorcism. I'm not Roman Catholic, but have experience with reported cases of demonic problems. I personally (based on the Biblical accounts) believe that evil (Satan, demons...) have no power over God and any counter to it/them comes from God. I began to have serious concerns when it became plain he saw the "struggle" to evict an "evil spirit" as centering on the exorcist and described the exorcist as being put up as a "hostage". He mentions that the exorcist must "pay a price" and that "a bit of him dies" with an exorcism. I can't accept this either from a scriptural point of view nor from what limited personal knowledge I have with those who seem to have or have claimed to have demonic problems.Biblically (and I accept Biblical statements when they say evil spirits were "cast out". If you choose not to, as is I believe the more common view today, then I suppose we must simply agree to disagree), when confronted with a situation stated to be demonic the "evil" the "demon" or "demons" were commanded out either by Jesus or in Jesus name. To center some struggle on a human reflects some problematic beliefs as far as I can see. The actual act is of and by God and of and by faith in and OF God. (Note the account in Acts 19 beginning in verse 13). Note Romans 3 (you'll want to check the KJ or authorized version for this as it's one place where that translation was correct but most others changed "faith OF Christ" to "faith IN Christ") [the point here} it notes we require the faith "OF" Jesus. His faith, in us. So, while I have some deep concerns about the things he says about confronting demonic powers his accounts are readable, have been around for a long time now and may be something you want to read. I would suggest getting actual "knowledge" on the subject from the Bible. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Hostage To The Devil: The Possession And Exorcism Of Five Contemporary Americans (1999)?
Malachi martin, before going into further detail on the cases, gives very useful information that enlightens the reader. The information he gave educated you to understand possession and exorcism. For example, he specifically details the understanding of demonic possession in the beginning of the book in a section called “A Brief Handbook of Exorcism.” He states, “The truth is that all three- the possessed, the possessing spirit, and the exorcist- bear a close relation to the reality of life and to its meaning as all of us experience it each and every day.” With that phrase, he is preparing the reader for the comparison of demonic possession to reality. I personally do believe in the forces of evil and spirits. Martin was on point describing to us how possession works, and the dangers of it. The cases were so entertaining to read about. I know that demonic possession is not exactly like what they portray in the movies, nor is it something that should be taken lightly, but reading about it gave me a thrill. One line in the case of “Zio’s Friend and the Smiler” sent shivers down my spine. He described the Presence as “everywhere and nowhere,” and states that “the Presence was all over him, inside him, outside him. A total trap of cloying ropes he couldn’t see. He heard no word, saw no vision, smelled no odor.” His description makes the reader comprehend the realities and dangers of demonic possession. It was an amazing, dark, and fascinating book. It really depends on the type of literature you enjoy reading, but I do believe this book will enthrall any type of reader. I recommend this to absolutely anyone. Regardless of what religion you are, you should get educated on this matter. Even if you are sketchy on the topic or you completely believe in it, it’s great to get familiar with this information. I believed in these matters prior to me reading this novel, however I learned a lot and if I did not believe in it, Malachi Martin would have influenced my belief in it.
—Kimberly
Never thought I'd ever say I found a book on demons and exorcism boring, but I have. You have to work hard at making stories of supposed real-life possessions and church-sanctioned exorcism mind-numbingly tedious, but Malachi Martin's "Hostage to the Devil" succeeded. This is allegedly a nonfiction book, so recount the facts and quit the purple prose and repetitive elaboration about things that drag the stories down. I understood what you meant the first time; no need to repeat it ten different ways. Explain your point in several sentences, not ten pages that ramble in indulgent prose and flowery words plucked from a thesaurus. I want seminal info and case studies that don't read like literary fiction. Gimme the facts! Many people found this book scary, disturbing, and unsettling. I found it frustrating and anything but.
—Bev Walton-Porter
I really liked this book. I wouldn't recommend it to people that get scared easily. I also wouldn't recommend it to people that don't like suspense. This book keeps me really entertained. I honestly wasn't bored at all, I always wanted to know more. I didn't know how exorcisms worked and it really surprised me to find out how they feel. Malachi Martin, in the book, talks about a brief handbook of exorcism. In it he describes what happens and how it feels. I was really surprised but yet entertained. All the exorcisms that he talked about were in specific detail. In the case of "Father Bones and Mister Natch" he describes the behavior of the possessed in that story. "Mister Natch's clomping rhythm now became the grotesque accompaniment of an evil and sickening burlesque of distortion." That was one of the quotes that showed how detailed the story of the exorcism. I really recommend this book to people who like suspense and want to be entertained. This book is different, I really like it. It's kind of long but it's really worth it. I don't recommend it to little kids though. This book reminds me a lot of Halloween and all that secret stuff people are scared of and don't talk about. If you're the type of person that likes to figure out how things work and the details of certain events.
—Giovanna Barreto
