New Zealand Ghosts & Other Haunts

I'm interested in the recent upsurge of supposed demonic manifestations (the black shadows, robed shadows, hat men and so on)....where did they come from and why are they starting to become more common now?

I often wonder too about the old Christian belief that someone who did something evil or wrong was "possessed by demons". It has always seemed to me to be a convenient explaination for acts of evil instigated by human beings for their own reasons. It seems easier to blame some external agency or force than to admit that the human race is seriously flawed deep down and capable of the absolutely unspeakable.

But is this always the case? Recently on TV there was the case of a group of guys who killed a family for "a dare" or for fun and I suddenly wonder if, perhaps, sometimes possesion actually DOES happen? Humans are capable of evil, there's no question of that, murder, rape, child abuse...the list goes on and on but, now and then something so horrific, so unspeakable takes place, is brought about by human beings that I wonder, is there more to this than meets the eye? I suppose I'm someone who tries to see the essencial good in everyone and the human race; that part of me thinks that there are some lines even the most disturbed or damaged of people will not cross without some sort of push.

In my experience, what may have been a demon or powerful ghost tried to do what seemed like push me out of my body with the possible intention of taking over.....might it somehow be that others have been less fortunate than I and these cases we hear about of "Mr Ordinary" who would "never harm a fly" goes out and commits unspeakable crimes for no reason anyone can possibly fathom. Does anyone think it's a possibility?

I'm not saying it is but I'm very curious to see what people might think....

Personally I have no experience of possession or the possessed (that I'm aware of) and I am inclined to doubt that external forces can take permanent residence inside a vessel already occupied by an intelligence with self determining facilities.
I don't know any different so thats my position.

On the issue of whether or not humans are capable of the most gratuitous and gruesome cruelty, of course we are! Does that fact alone negate the importance of faith to those who have it? I do not believe so. Some catholic friends of mine once informed me that the evil in this world convinced them of another agency at work and hence, in God and Heaven. They sure do love a mystery!

I dont know why the upsurge BUT a related point i wondered was like the russell crow film about the demented heavily hallucinating mathematician was what is the criteria in such a case between hallucination and demons

Oh I agree and would wonder that myself if I had not submitted myself to tests out of fear for my sanity, only to get a clean bill of health, I had CAT scans, MRI etc ect and no problems or causes of worry....In my case my belief is i was "possessed" as it were following a near-death during my birth which is, I suppose, the only time it can happen....other times it is possible for something to "seize the controls" for a time in adults before the resident personality takes control back again; no matter how weak of will the possessed may be....

I have to say I tend to agree with Franklee about possession in this instance.

I feel the 'demonic possession' defence has become way too common in todays society. Humanity is a species that thrives on killing and is capable of the most heinous cruelty without blaming outside influences. But we seem to want to continue inventing reasons to not take responsibility for the choices we make and the things we do.



I also believe theres an upturn in the numbers and types of mentally ill people out there, having depression myself I have a slight insight into what a faulty wired brain is capable of doing and how it can make one behave. Just because we dont have all the medical answers for how we behave and what we do at the moment, doesnt mean its demonic possession either.

I think its a matter of all three, humans being evil, humans being mentally unwell, and humans being possessed.

I'm not a fan of people blaming their unpleasant actions on a demon, and from what I've seen of possession, the individual doesn't know they are possessed and after the fact, their actions are usually not recalled.

Also, I haven't seen demons take a person and then do really evil things like massacring a whole family, the demon possession I've seen tended to express itself with the person swearing and acting out violently, like seizures for example, and particularly blasphemous statements or speaking in a different language.