Healing or hurting?: Interpretations of possession as a disease in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century press

Abstract

This study focuses on articles published in the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century inwhich possessionwas portrayed as a disease, be it mental or physical.At the beginning, we will briefly show how possession cases were interpreted by the medical profession in the 19th century. We will also describe changes in conceptions of possession and exorcism in Christian religion over this period. The core part of our study entails an analysis of articles, focusing on descriptions of the disease and how possession was perceived by those involved. The paper also considersindividual cases and the outcomes and potential consequences of the exorcisms performed on the possessed, including court cases or being committed to an asylum for the mentally ill.