Haunting accounts of real-life exorcisms through the centuries and around the world, from ancient Egypt and the biblical Middle East to colonial America and twentieth-century South Africa

A Penguin Classic

The belief in invisible, malevolent demons that haunt and possess human beings dates back thousands of years-as far as religion itself. And for just as long, exorcists have performed elaborate rituals to cast out the devil and other evil spirits. Today, exorcism is as popular as ever, with a majority of Americans believing in demonic possession and exorcists fielding more and more requests.

The Penguin Book of Exorcisms brings together accounts of demonic banishments through the ages and throughout the world, including newly translated primary sources and testimonies that have until now been hidden away in library vaults. From the exorcism of an Egyptian princess to a previously unpublished account that calls into question the famous Anna Ecklund case to a nineteenth-century account of a Russian man possessed by a werewolf demon, these terrifying, astonishing, and informative texts reveal the messy and ambiguous nature of exorcisms and demonstrate how our beliefs have evolved over time. Whether you’re a demonology expert or your knowledge comes only from blockbuster horror movies like The Exorcist or Hereditary, this is one book you’ll want to have in your possession.