I have totally been sucked in by this show on the Sci-Fi channel–“The Real Exorcist,” which appears to be a giant infomercial for this charlatan. The most disturbing thing about this, as far as I can tell, is that he answers to no one, there’s no one he’s checking in with to make sure he’s not completely off course.
And I wonder what a practicing Christian makes of his ideas about generational curses. I have to admit, I find it… well, I have mixed feelings about it. After all, I do believe that a family shares luck and could, therefore, share bad luck.
But I’m not Christian. And I wouldn’t explain it as some kind of handed-down demon.
And I can’t help but wonder about the theology behind this idea that you could be lost to your god based not on your own actions, but on the actions of some far distant relative. Doesn’t that absolve you of some level of personal responsibility?
I don’t know. It’s curious.
He gives me an icky vibe, though, and I can’t quite put my finger on why.
I mean, other than the fact that he hits people with Bibles.
Edited to add: It reminds me of a little better done “Paranormal State.”
Tiny Cat Pants 
I’ve only heard of “generational curses” from people associated with Assembly of God churches. Here’s some pretty heavy reading from someone who left that denomination on a bad note.
We flipped through that show last night. It was disturbing to me. I’m surprised they put this on TV, quite frankly. If he was a voodoo priest getting rid of demons, would they have broadcast that?
I watched some of it too. Part of me was cringing, the other part of me was “where’s the therapist for these folks.”
The other part of me was riveted atlhough the Marathon got a bit much for me after awhile.
Mrs. B., speaking of, did you see the part where he was in Savannah, Georgia in some house that had a “voodoo room” in the basement? It looked to me to clearly be some kind of ritual space (though whether it was real or just set up to look half-way real for the camera, I can’t say. They didn’t focus on anything in the room long enough for you to get a good look at it, though the veve for Erzulie Freda looked recognizable. On the other hand, there was a permanent veve on the floor and, while I don’t know that much about voodoo, I thought veves on the floor were done in some kind of non-permanent medium so that the ritual space could be effectively opened and closed. So, it may have been a real sacred space or a tourist stop set up to look like a sacred space. I don’t know).
And, of course, he immediately identified it as being Satanic and then he had the “possessed” woman put holy oil on the things on the altar!!!!!” And that’s when I was like “I am watching a show devoted to a giant fucker with no consideration for others preying on the desperate.”
I mean, never mind that every exorcism he does seems to be wildly successful and only take a few hours. I just can’t help but think that, if you were faced with, oh. Lucifer himself, that it wouldn’t be so easy to dislodge him from someone as to just wack them repeatedly with your Bible.
If that’s all it takes, why be afraid of the devil?
> I mean, other than the fact that he hits people with Bibles.
Being hit with a Bible isn’t so bad. Being taught that it is literal truth, and the only book you need, *that* is a road to misery, oppression, and genocide.
Yes, but I don’t think he even fully believes that the Bible is the literal truth, since God’s generational curse is removed later in the Old Testament and should be completely broken by Jesus, if one is indeed a believing Christian.
I don’t know. The whole thing is weird and I get a bad vibe from him.
I’m just saying, if I were a demon, that’s how I’d do it–pose as an exorcist outside of the purview of any church hierarchy in order to locate desperate and vulnerable people who would open themselves up to me like that. It feels to me, watching it, like a con, but one where the stakes are particularly high.
Maybe someone was an Amalekite? They’re the only ones with a functioning generational curse in our scripture.
Well I watched a few episodes during the marathon and I’m not quite sure what to think. I believe that demon possessions can take place but when you take into consideration that the devil temps us everyday, is it really a “demonic possession” or is it simply us allowing the devil to work in our lives. And as for the person that doesn’t think that the devil would be easy to get rid of…the bible states that the devil is already under our “feet”. He is already defeated and doesn’t even know it. Satan is no one for us to fear, not when you have Jesus on your side. We should always remember that :)
I am Lori from the Savannah, Ga exorcism at the Sorrel-Weed house. First I wanted to say that the Voodoo room shown in the episode is NOT a room that has had actual voodoo ceremonies performed in it. It is a prop of the house for the Ghost and History tours. Honostly I felt NOTHING in that room. In fact I had been in there previously on a Ghost tour and LOVED it. During the exorcism when Bob Larson was there I started speaking about the bad vibe of the room and becoming hysterical when asked to bless the objects and put oil on them. Which I felt bad about..dont think we ruined anything though. Bob kept telling me this was all part of my delieverance..overcoming fear in standing up to the devil. I was well aware of Bob Larsons ministry. I was already obsessed with exorcism and I had a concious and subconcious knowledge of what was expected of someone with demons. I had a long time fantasy of being possessed and acted accordingly. I now realize that this was psychological and I am in counseling and hopefully getting on meds soon. I am by no means an actress and everything I was feeling was real, but I do agree with the statement that Bob Larson does prey on weak minded, susceptible and mentally ill people who are desperate to find relief.
Hi, Lori. I’m glad you stopped by to explain a little about what was going on and I’m glad to hear confirmation from someone who was there that Larson is hinky. And I’m really glad that the room he took you in is just a tourist stop. But damn, I’m sorry you had to go through that. My dad’s a minister, so I get deeply, deeply grossed out and angry when I see ministers misusing their position to prey on people who need help. Hearing confirmation that that’s what he’s up to just makes my blood boil all over again.
Anyway, I hope things work out for you in counseling and that you do find the relief you seek. And, who knows, maybe we’ll all get to watch an episode where they reveal him for the fraud he is. That would be good fun.
Thank you so much Aunt B. I am really glad I did go through with the exorcism despite the psychological damage it did. I am healing from that. I really learned so much about Bob Larson and his ministry and about exorcism in general. I really want to blog about my experience, but i am having such a hard time. There was so much that went on the few days he was with me and also all the background stuff in my life that led up to that point, and then everything that followed. I really just want to caution everyone against stuff like this. It can be helpful to some, but is usually more harmful. I had an unhealthy obsession with exorcism and the demonic at the time I contacted him and instead of steering me away from that, he entertained it and it made me begin to believe i was possessed. When I first met him i couldnt look at him, but the end of it, I was able to look him right in the eye. I know he would say thats because the demons were gone then, but I know its because I was more confident in the fact that i was possessed and not just ‘making it up’. I knew deep down it was psychological. he should have recognized that. My intent was NEVER to fake him out or make him seem phoney. I did want to get over my depression, but I also had a desire to be possessed and recieve an exorcism. The show was just coincidental to me meeting with Bob Larson. I would have much more willingly done it without the show. I am NO ACTRESS..I was just very very very sick. I am thankful to be making huge strides with my counselor and am returning to a normal frame of mind. I appreciate all the support I have recieved. Its very difficult to come to the reality that I was not possessed and was taken advantage on to an extent and to admit publicly what was really going in my mind during the exorcism.
Hello, Lori! It is wonderful to hear that you are healing. It is very good to know that you will work through all of this. Thank you for your effort in letting people know about those who would take advantage of people who are vulnerable.
Lori, listen, we live in a society where having any kind of mental illness is frowned on, like it’s just a sign of weakness or folks not trying hard enough. And yet, mental illness is just that, an illness. The thing is–even in the midst of you being sick, you knew something was wrong with you and you wanted it fixed. Is there a person in the world who can’t understand why you wanted it to be a demon and wanted there to be someone who could remove it from you quickly? If someone came to me tomorrow and said “I can fix all your endocrine problems and you won’t have to be on pills for the rest of your life, you just have to do this one thing,” I’d be tempted.
That’s not how it works, but I think it’s completely understandable why you wished it were so. Best of luck in your recovery.
Lori, considering this is an online discussion board, I find it hard to believe you are who you say you are…
That’s all right, Josh. I find it hard to believe you are who you say you are. And so what? Even if she’s lying about who she is, it doesn’t disprove that what he’s doing is dangerous and preying on people who need real, long-term care.
Aunt B. you are amazing really. You are exactly right. It is an illness. I learned though that seeking an instant fix only does succeed in making it much worse. My desire to be possessed and recieve an exorcism was definatly a huge part of my illness. Anyon who thinks they need delieverance should FIRST consult a MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL and be open to trying things out. Seeking help from someone who is not a licensed MEDICAL professional is dangerous. I am a relegious person and I do believe in the demonic, but I know that MOST people who are coming for deliverance just need help to deal with past hurts. An exorcism doesnt make things go away. It makes you worry about everything you do and everythingyour ANCESTORS did.
I wish I could prove to you Josh that I am who I say I am, but I guess you just have to take my word on that. All I can do is share my experience and my thoughts on it. Ah well if you dont believe me.
[I deleted this comment because I decided I’m not going to give space to advertising for a con man. Suffice to say that Secret Agent disagrees about demonic possession and believes said con artist to be legitimate. Obviously, I disagree.–B.]
Don’t know what to say except that I read the blogs and comments with interest. I’m a phd scientist and former atheist who accepted Jesus after a supernatural experience. I struggled greatly to keep my ways and skepticism, but God did not let me go, and through continual supernatural (albeit highly personal) experiences he finally convinced me.
My first experience (out of left field, I must say) was with the demonic. I dabbled in the new age movement to improve self-confidence. They have these things the themselves call ‘rituals” which they explain are techniques to get the mind into changing your ‘core’ beliefs. Upon retrospection, some of this so-called (by them) ‘technology’ looked weirdly similar to witchcraft, although that didn’t bother me much, aside from just being kinda odd.
Ended up attracting a demon to my house. With all the manifestations you see in that show ‘Ghosthunters’ – extremely cold spots, heavy environment, something touching you out of nowhere, things moving, but also you felt a presence full of hatred next to you, and you get headaches, horrible vivid dreams, and while you are awake your visual perception can change to show you demonic-looking things out of ordinary objects and faces (kinda like in that movie ‘Exorcism of Emily Rose’). Finally, a string of coincidences, where things go horribly wrong (two people calling me the same day to tell me a relative died). It also produced strife with my relatives.
I visited the catholic church only to be told by the priest he didn’t believe in demons and he tried to send me to a psychiatrist. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital with a heart attack, while being ‘visited’ by the demon in the recovery room. The worst experience of my life…
Basically everything went wrong and all the doors to self-help shut down so I could only cry out to God, which I did. I saw manifestations of angels. I know this sounds like I’m on drugs, but trust me, its real. God directed me to a website (called ‘demonbuster.com’) which frankly looks amateurish, and had I not had the experience I would have just laughed at its contents. It taught me how to do deliverance on myself. I did, and I saw the demon leave.
I did go to a Bob Larson seminar after that. I know this is real, but I’m not too hot on Bob Larson. His style seems over-the-top and he gave me the impression of loving the spotlight just a little too much. He did brag a couple times about his “spiritual bravery” and I felt a little pushed into donating to his ministry…. However, as an atheist that was demonized, I must say he was being used by God because I felt it (although I did not undergo deliverance myself – after my experience I was left with a spiritual gift of discernment). God is aware of all of Bob Larson’s shortcomings, but is choosing to use him nonetheless. I don’t know why, and that’s all I can honestly say. I some people are getting delivered, then that’s a blessing to them.
I hope I contributed to the conversation. God bless you all
Are you sure it’s gone? What did you do to make it leave?
Did the demon make you have a heart attack? I was being exorcised
By bob Larson and almost had a heart attack during it. I felt it was the
Demons. Was your heart attack related to the demons? I still hear stuff
In the middle of the night like furniture moving although nothing is moved
The next day. Bob Larson was not succesful in exorcising me.
I’ve been a critic and watcher of Bob Larson since 1985 when he had his radio talk show.
To Lori: I wish you well and if you need to talk about what Larson did to you, look up Rev Darrel Gene Motal AKA the Paranormal Preacher. He has a few vids on Youtube criticizing Larson.
To Liga: I highly doubt God is using Larson. If any being is its the devil, not God. If you actually do some research on Bob Larson, you may find he is a rather scuzzy person. While he had ” Bob Larson Ministries” and was married to his first wife he committed adultery with at least one female staff member and after he divorced her he fornicated with other female staff members before marrying Laura his current wife– and her because she was fecund and he wanted a son.
There’s a heckuva lot of dirt on Larson online. BTW now Larson REQUIRES $500 per hour for ” exorcism” Look up the word Simony. Larson, simply put, is doing the ” deliverance” route for fame and money. You did know he has two mansions, don’t you? One in Vail, CO and the other in Scotsdale, Arizona. Both in gated communities. You won’t see Mr. Larson ( his ” reverend” degree is from a mail order diploma mill) spending day after day in soup kitchens in poverty stricken areas. He likes everything to be first class– for him, that is.
I followed his ” real exorcist” series crap from when he advertised online for people on his ” reality show” to when it started airing in the UK on Virgin 1 to when the UK viewers complained so loudly Virgin 1 dropped his series. What you all saw was reairing of SOME of the episodes. He left out a few episodes, including one involving a cemetery– because the woman whom he victimized spoke out about it and told Motal in a three part interview ( Interview with the Victim of a Vampire) about what really happened. So Lori you are not alone.