Only a select few priests in the Catholic Church are trained in exorcisms, and they’re prepared for a rare and terrifying event – demonic possession. Over thousands of years, the Church has collected a bestiary of the most terrifying demons they’ve ever encountered.
So which of these demons are the worst of the worst – and which are more like the annoying neighbor who won’t leave? From least to most terrifying, it’s time to open the Church’s book of demons. #11. Ben Tamalion
An obscure demon who appears in Jewish mythology before the rise of the Catholic church, he only appeared once. A powerful emperor ruled his kingdom with an iron fist, and passed harsh laws against the Jewish people. Then, one day, his daughter began behaving oddly – and it was soon clear that she was
Possessed by some sort of supernatural being. Among the other rantings that came out of the possessed girl, she began chanting the name of a famous Rabbi in the kingdom, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The emperor was desperate, and he decided to call upon this rabbi.
The Rabbi entered the princess’ chamber, and was prepared for a battle with the demon – but it wasn’t to be. As soon as he yelled “Ben Tamalion, Go! Ben Tamalion, Go!”, the demon absconded. The Princess was safe, the emperor was grateful, and he repealed the anti-Jewish laws.
So not only did Ben Tamalion not hurt anyone, but he left when asked politely by a man of God – and left the kingdom a better place thanks to his influence. Ben Tamalion is one step above a wacky guest-star on a sitcom who teaches everyone a lesson about tolerance.
This next demon could be dangerous – if he could be bothered. #10. Belphegor Belphegor is a powerful demon, one of the seven princes of hell and a representation of one of the seven deadly sins. His specific sin? Sloth, which means his skills at possession might not be quite as ruthless as his brothers.
He specializes in temptation, which means that once he gets into someone’s body, he’s more likely to make them lazy and cause them to slack off at their work. Sure, there’s a risk that this guy will get you fired, but otherwise he’s more likely to cause a few bad days until he gets bored.
Where his danger lies is in how persuasive he is. He’s one of the easier demons to summon – since his sacrificial offering is excrement, and there’s never any shortage of that lying around. He likes to suggest get-rich-quick schemes to people to lure them in, and he’s appeared
In multiple plays and novels as a trickster-style demon. Some of his most famous exploits involve testing people’s marriages and searching for a mate of his own. As a high demon, he might be harder for an exorcist to shake off – but many of his victims might not even know they’re possessed.
This next demon is much more aggressive. #9. Andras Among exorcists, Andras is known to strike fear. This winged demon has the head of an owl, the body of a human, and rides around on a fearsome wolf. When he possesses a human, he’s notoriously hard to shake.
In hell, he commands thirty infernal demons and was notorious for striking out and killing the conjurer who summoned him if they weren’t suitably protected. A Great Marquis of Hell, he was known as a fearsome opponent, and driving him out of a human was a dangerous task.
But was he dangerous to just leave there? While Andras is a dangerous demon, his primary tactic once he was possessing someone was simply to sow discord. He would talk to his host, trying to convince them to strike out at their enemies, and even give them advice on how to kill them.
This makes Andras not much more than that annoying voice in your head that gives you bad advice. Sure, it might be hard to have him along for the ride long term, but eventually you just get used to it and say “Shut up, Andras” every time he tries to get you to murder the
Office lunch thief. This next demon is dangerous – but maybe only one day of the week. #8. Aquiel A minor demon, Aquiel is assigned by the big guy in Hell to preside over Sundays – the holiest day in the Christian calendar.
And as a demon, he has exactly one purpose – to desecrate the Christian sabbath by any means necessary. That means if he possesses you, he could easily get you to do all sorts of horrible things on Sunday. Vandalizing a church! Making all your employees work so they can’t spend time with their family!
Stealing all the newspapers’ color comic sections, maybe? But there’s one reason he’s not the worst demon to be possessed by. For six days out of seven, your life is likely to be pretty normal. What does Aquiel have to do with the other six days of the week? Nothing!
Someone possessed by Aquiel can foil the demon pretty easily – go about their life for six days of the week, and arrange for a friend to lock you up in a cage or tie you up on Sunday, similar to the way werewolves are contained on the night of the full moon in
Horror movies. Sure, you’ll lose one day of the week, but Aquiel won’t be able to get you involved in anything illegal and he basically naps the other six days. Another demon has a lot of hype – but might not live up to it. #7. Azazel
If you ask people what they know about Azazel, they’ll probably think he’s one of the most terrifying demons out there. After all, the media has portrayed him as a yellow-eyed agent of destruction. But in reality, Azazel’s actual role is far more mundane.
He’s a fallen angel like Lucifer, and one with a pretty ugly duty. Traditionally, communities would atone for their sins by transferring them into a goat that would then be sent off to be sacrificed. And the executioner would be none other than Azazel. So what would this horned demon actually do with a possession?
Well, the odds are if you were possessed by Azazel, it would be because it’s his time to do his duty and collect the literal scapegoat. He’s also known for introducing humans to forbidden knowledge in Christian mythology, which means he might spend some time tempting people in your body.
But he’s not known for violence or for harming the people he possesses. As a powerful and ancient demon, he would likely be one of the hardest to shake – which is why it might be best to just let him do his job and move on.
This next demon might be a little too much of a good thing. #6. Asmodeus Another prince of demons, Asmodeus represents lust among the seven deadly sins – and he’s notorious for coming to earth to indulge his carnal desires. The odds are if he possesses someone, they’re about to undergo the supernatural version
Of the Hangover series – waking up after their possession with some scars they don’t remember getting, three different wedding rings on their finger, a warrant out for their arrest, and a feeling that they just relived their wildest college fraternity days. But Asmodeus’ lust sprees have a dark side.
The demon is driven by pure, unrestrained lust – and that can manifest itself in jealousy. Asmodeus is notorious for killing the spouses of women he desires, and so someone possessed by him could easily wind up charged with murder.
Asmodeus might as well be the patron demon of Las Vegas – when you get possessed by him, you’re rolling the dice between one hell of a weekend and a very rude wake-up call. Fortunately, he’s also fairly easy to banish – he hates water, birds, and fish guts.
Might want to hold the exorcism at the seashore. Some demons are less infamous for what they do than for what they don’t. #5. Surgat Not much is known about Surgat, a minor demon mentioned in a book of magic and lore supposedly written by Pope Honorius.
He was a notorious Pope who liked to test fate by summoning demons himself – all so he could learn the tricks of banishing them back down to hell. He believed he would eventually be called upon to fight Satan himself, and he was practicing by taking on his minions.
But there was one minion he couldn’t shake. Surgat is the only demon in the book whose banishing ritual is not discussed. That’s because he was the only demon to stump Pope Honorius. He couldn’t be shaken, and that led the Pope to give him an eerie nickname – “He who opens all locks”.
When one of the most powerful exorcists to ever live can’t solve this minor demon, it stands to reason he’s one you don’t want to find hitching a ride in your body. Should you be worried about this next demon? That depends on who you are. #4. Ronove
A high-ranking Marquis of Hell, Ronove was powerful and commanded twenty legions of demons. But his actual interests were more benevolent – he fancied himself a teacher, and everyone who finds themselves possessed by him learns languages, rhetoric, and the skill of persuasion.
This small, staff-holding demon seems to want to create more evangelists for hell, and views humans more as convenient tools than something to torture. But if you’re of a certain age, you might not survive a meeting with this demon. For most young people, a meeting with Ronove could be enriching.
For the elderly or sick, it could be fatal. Ronove has a second, deadly duty – the taking of old souls, making him a demonic version of the grim reaper. While he never kills anyone directly, should he possess an elderly person or animal, they’re likely to die very soon after.
But even more dangerously, those who are around the possessed person are also likely to die if they’re vulnerable. So maybe don’t visit grandma when Ronove comes knocking. This next demon has been the cause of many awkward situations. #3. Agares
A surprising number of demons take on the role of teacher, but few of them are as persuasive as Agares. Appearing as either an old man riding a crocodile – or an incredibly beautiful woman – this Duke of Hell is good at getting people to let him in.
And once he’s in, he has a specific interest he can’t wait to teach – language. Agares is a demon with knowledge of every language under the sun, but he has a specific interest in the most profane and obscene words around.
Learning curse words might sound like every little boy’s dream, but some of Agares’ favorite words shouldn’t be heard by anyone. And it just gets worse from there. Agares has multiple powers, including reportedly the ability to cause earthquakes. He commands thirty-one legions of demons, but his most dangerous ability is a subtle one.
He has the power to force runaways – or anyone who has left home – to return to their origin. This doesn’t seem that bad – until you remember that he has you return to your parents’ home, spewing horrible curse words from lost languages, and he then might just cause a
Fault line to appear right under your old home. But few demons create the fear this next one does. #2. Beelzebub Beelzebub, the lord of the flies, is a high-ranking prince of hell – but what sin does he represent? Some say he represents pride, some say he represents gluttony, and others claim he’s
The prince of false gods. Christian lore says he fell alongside Lucifer, making him one of the first demons. While some traditions place him as the lord of hell himself, most believe he’s just below him in the hierarchy – which makes him one of the most dangerous demons to be possessed by.
And history shows he’s one to be feared. Past incidents of possession, such as the mass possession of a nunnery in the 1600s, show that not only is Beelzebub hard to drive out, but his possession can spread. His victims show great hostility and can become violent, making him one of the hardest demons
To banish. And as the lord of the flies, it’s not surprising that his possessions are associated with mysterious manifestations of insects. So not only would being possessed by Beelzebub be a long-term thing and hard to end, but you might wind up with flies in your teeth. And there’s one demon still above him.
#1. Lucifer The lord of Hell. The original fallen angel. Satan himself. He’s the most feared figure in Christian mythology – so why are there so few reports of him possessing people? The late Father Gabriele Amorth, the founder of the International Association of Exorcists,
Claimed to confront Lucifer himself in a 1997 exorcism, but there’s no way to prove if it was the genuine article. While the other demons serve him, the man himself rarely makes an appearance. After all, why would a boss do the minions’ job?
And that ambiguity might be the scariest thing about a possession by Lucifer. Exorcists have very little information about how to banish him because of how few times he’s appeared, and the few successful exorcisms have been long and difficult.
If Lucifer comes out of hiding, the odds are he has a reason – and Christian mythology hints that direct involvement of the Lord of Hell in human affairs might be a sign of the end times. That means if Lucifer possesses you, he might just be planning to use you to kick off the
End of days. For more on the ultimate evil, check out “50 Things You Didn’t Know About Satan”, or “How the Devil Was Born” for his secret origin.
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