Day 10: Exorcisms

As mentioned earlier in this blog, demons are a common enemy for the Winchester brothers. In the first two seasons the brothers would fight but rarely exorcised demons. The only time they could kill a demon was with the Colt, a gun that has the power to kill any creature. In season three, the character Ruby (a “good” demon) has a knife that kills demons as well.

Since demons possess human bodies, any damage done to that body injures or kills the human host. The brothers learn how to perform exorcisms which can get rid of the demons without injuring the human bodies. The clip above shows the brothers exorcising an entire building filled with demons by using a speaker system.

Exorcisms, though not common, still take place in the Catholic Church. Since demons are believed to be real, so is demonic possession. Only priests can perform exorcisms, and then only with permission from their bishop. Exorcisms are performed through prayers and are viewed as confrontations between priests and demons. Exorcisms used to be performed exclusively in Latin, as is done in Supernatural.

Although the characters never directly reference Catholicism in terms of exorcisms, the idea and practice comes directly from the Catholic Church. The brothers recite Latin words that translate roughly to “We exorcise you, every impure spirit, every satanic power, every incursion of the infernal adversary, every legion, every congregation and diabolical sect.” Sometimes Psalms are included, giving the exorcisms a Biblical foundation.

In the New Testament, Jesus drives out spirits with prayer. Priests of the Catholic Church do so as well, asking for the help of God and of Jesus Christ. In Supernatural exorcisms are not prayers, they are just a magical weapon to get rid of demons. The first time the brothers exorcise a demon they are not even convinced of God’s existence, they are certainly not praying to Him to help exorcise these demons. In Catholicism and exorcism is usually a long, hard process, but in Supernatural the process is simplified to an incantation. The exorcisms seen on the show are based on the Catholic practice, but simplified to keep the show exciting and easy to understand.