Psychiatrist who works with exorcists reveals the tell-tale signs of satanic possession
Richard Gallagher was asked to help a priest in the 1980s and has served on the board of the International Association of Exorcists
A PSYCHIATRIST has revealed how he has spent over 25 years helping priests tell the difference between demonic possession and mental illness.
Richard Gallagher was introduced to satanic possession in the 1980s and said that many other psychiatrists believe in the phenomenon.
Writing in the Washington Post, he detailed a list of tell-tale signs to decide if someone is possessed.
He said: “A possessed individual may suddenly, in a type of trance, voice statements of astonishing venom and contempt for religion, while understanding and speaking various foreign languages previously unknown to them.”
Gallagher also claimed that possessed people are physically different.
He added: “The subject might also exhibit enormous strength or even the extraordinarily rare phenomenon of levitation.
“He or she might demonstrate “hidden knowledge” of all sorts of things — like how a stranger’s loved ones died, what secret sins she has committed, even where people are at a given moment.
“These are skills that cannot be explained except by special psychic or preternatural ability.”
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He started working in exorcisms and possession when he was approached by a priest looking for guidance.
Gallagher was introduced to a woman who called herself a Satanic high-priestess and worshipped the devil as his “queen”.
Six witnesses said that they saw the woman talking in multiple languages, including Latin, which she reportedly didn’t know.
He said: “It was what I can only describe as paranormal activity.”
Gallagher also claimed that the woman knew that his mother had died from cervical cancer, despite having never met her.
He said: “For the past two-and-a-half decades and over several hundred consultations, I’ve helped clergy from multiple denominations and faiths to filter episodes of mental illness — which represent the overwhelming majority of cases — from, literally, the devil’s work."
The psychiatrist used to be on the governing board of the International Association of Exorcists, which was formally recognised by the Pope in 2014.
According to exorcist Reverend Vincent Lampert, there were 50 “stable” exorcisms in the US this year.
The psychiatrist says that this is up from 12 a decade ago.
Gallagher is currently writing a book on exorcisms
Exorcisms appeared in the Catholic Church in the 15th century.
Since then, it was believed that every Christian had the power to drive a demonic spirit from a possessed body.
Exorcisms were revived in the Catholic Church in the late 20th century because the subject was used in a large number of films and books.
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