Demonic Possession: Difference between revisions

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== Anime and Manga ==

* This is what is implied to be the relationship between [[Creepy Child|Ai Enma]] and Yuzuki Mikage, a new character in ''[[Hell Girl|Hell Girl: The Cauldron of Three]]'', where Ai uses Yuzuki whenever she goes on her [[Grim Reaper|job]].

* This is how [[Devilman]] works. In the manga, it's very pronounced, since anyone can be possessed the instant they succumb to acting on instinct. Naturally, bars and nightclubs prove great places for demons to go to possess people since there are so few inhibitions in them.

* In Jim Butcher's ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', the whole Order of the Blackened Denarius are examples of this; the denarii are the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying Christ. Each silver coin is an [[Artifact of Doom]] that acts as a [[Soul Jar]] for a [[Fallen Angel]]. ''White Night'' in particular examines the Demonic Possession issue, as the host is unusually resistant, which has given the host and the Fallen more time to become acquainted than is usual.

** There seem to be three kinds of relationship between a full Denarian and his/her Fallen. The first kind is demonstrated by particularly brutish Fallen such as Ursiel or Magog, who simply [[Mind Rape]] their host into submission at first opportunity and outright take over. The second shows up with more cunning Fallen, who let the hosts stay in the driver's seat but use cunning and manipulation to make them do what they want (this is what Lasciel was trying to do to Harry, and allows more options, since with the mortal still technically in control, the Denarian isn't subject to as many restrictions as a Fallen by itself would be). Finally, the Fallen and Denarian can work as equal partners- the only known case of this is the relationship between [[Complete Monster|Nicodemus]] [[The Chessmaster|Archleone]] and his Fallen [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|Anduriel]].

* In ''The [[Book of Amber]]'', ty'igas are bodiless demons who can possess people.

* Tak in [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Regulators]]'' and ''[[Desperation]]'' (not the same character, the novels are a short of [[Alternate Continuity]] versions of each other).

* From the [[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]], the Ravers are a trio of powerful demons who collectively act as [[The Dragon]] to [[Big Bad]] [[God of Evil|Lord Foul]]. They don't have true bodies of their own, but possess a variety of mortals across the series (they can possess humans without help, but require a power boost before they can possess [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Haruchai]] or [[Our Giants Are Taller|Giants]]). Some main characters get possessed at different points and are able to describe the experience.

* Played with in ''[[Good Omens]]'', which features a case of ''angelic'' posession after {{spoiler|Aziraphale's body gets destroyed.}}

** Serial, actually; he jumps around the world, including into an on-air televangelist, before settling on a crazy medium.

* In ''[[The Drowning City]]'' by [[Amanda Downum]], there's an interesting twist: a demon (jinn, to be precise) is bound inside a human shell by trickery and restrained and controlled by powerful magical bindings.

* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Rivers of London]]'' is the Spirit of Riot and Rebellion {{spoiler|[[Punch and Judy|Mister Punch]]}} who is possessing innocent souls forcing them to commit random acts of murder and violence. At one point manages to possess and entire theatre crowd all at once.

* In the last book of ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]'' {{spoiler|an ill-advised magical experiment leads to a number of powerful demons inhabiting most of the higher members of the government. The demons have no ability to possess people, but the magicians summoned them into their own bodies, believing they could control them. Instead they obliterated their minds and set up shop.}}

* '''Things''' in ''[[Septimus Heap]]'' have this as one of their standard abilities. In ''Queste'', this first happens to Hildegarde Pigeon and then to the Toll-Man.

== Tabletop Games ==

* In the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' game ''[[Demon: The Fallen]]'' demons can only possess people with either terribly damaged souls or whose souls have been removed. In the new setting, Spirits (and presumably ghosts) have a much easier time possessing bodies whose souls have been removed from their still living bodies.

** Don't forget the starships possessed by daemons.

* In ''[[In Nomine]]'', a particular 'band' of demons, the Shedim do this, unlike other demons who are given specially created bodies to inhabit while on earth, they enter the bodies of humans and manipulate the unlucky individual into doing evil things, which the host believes were his own idea. They can only stay in a certain host for so long at one time, the host's resistance increases over time and the demon MUST force their host to preform acts of escalating evilness each day or suffer. Their angelic counterparts, the Kyriotates, act similarly, only they can possess multiple entities (which do not have to be human),can totally take over the host's body (the host's mind is kept in a dreamlike state and will remember nothing about the possession) and may stay within a host as long as they like, as long as their host is not in worse condition than it was originally found. Needless to say, they don't force their hosts into depravity.

** There's actually a Song (which are the spells of the game) that allows any Celestial to possess any living thing.

** ''[[Eberron]]'' This setting provides rules for creating demons (and devils) that possess people. The Quori from Eberron, creatures from the plane of dream, use this as their main MO. They are unable to planeshift to the material plane, so can only rely on possession of people as they sleep. Ironically, the Church of the Silver flame has developed many tools and powers to deal with demonic possession (as they focus on hunting down demons). Those very same power can also be used to end quori possession just as effectively. It's a shame that most of the people working of the Silver Flame are unaware of the Quori and the Dreaming Dark's plans for Eberron.

** Ghosts in some editions could do this, and it's the signature trick of the odem, a type of disembodied evil spirit from the [[Ravenloft]] setting.

** This is [[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|Veran's]] trademark. First is the Oracle Nayru and then {{spoiler|Queen Ambi.}}

*** And Impa, briefly before possessing Nayru.

* This is one of the more frustrating strange moods in ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''. Not because the dwarf does something unpleasant (that's fell moods), but because ''they don't get experience for whatever it is they make''.

* In one of the endings of ''[[Ogre Battle]]'', {{spoiler|the demon Galf possesses your victorious character, ruling the now united continent in your name.}}

* Early on in ''Muramasa: The Demon Blade'', Momohime gets possessed by a demon named Jinkuro, forcing her original soul out of her body. An evil monk then steals the soul to give to a giant demon, and Momohime-Jinkuro has to rush to get it back, because if the original soul is destroyed, then Momohime's body will wither and die, leaving him once again without a vessel.

* [[Tear Jerker|Tragically done]] AND [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|gloriously inverted]] in ''[[Arc the Lad]] II'': {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] manage to take control of Kukuru and "absorb" her, only to discover that Arc's Girlfriend's soul is stronger than his own: she promptly inverts the demonic possession and gives Arc the time to seal him again}}

** The final fight of the first game has {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Sovereign]] ''melt'' the flesh off [[The Dragon|Saren's]] corpse to fight Commander Shepard with Saren's cybernetic implants}}.

** '''''"[[Boss in Mooks Clothing|ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!!!]]"''''' [[Memetic Mutation|Sound familiar?]] [[BioWare/Memes|It should]].

** And Nemissa did it before either in ''[[Soul Hackers]]''. Kinda subverted in that she leaves when she realizes it's necessary. And the possessee still has pretty much control over herself, limiting how much damage Nemissa can do. Later, {{spoiler|Spooky}} is taken over by Satanael, who later decides to take on the party... by ''blowing his way out of the victim's body''. '''''And he doesn't make it all the way out.'''''

** Before [[Devil Survivor]] but after Nocturne, the [[Light Is Not Good|Four Seraphs]] and [[Knight Templar|Metatron]] joined in, converting five poor saps into their physical bodies through the Demon Virus and obliterating their memories and personalities, making it a horrific combo between Type 1 and 2.

* [[Sonic Unleashed]]: you can converse with the townsfolk in the hub worlds, and some of them at night become possessed by Dark Gaia monsters, who make them either depressed, apathetic, or weirdly for some normally serious characters, laid-back and happy. As side missions, you can perform 'exorcisms' on them by flashing them with a camera and then defeating their "demons."

* ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' has a [[Shout-Out]] to [[The Bible]] in Zappa, (yes, [[Musical Theme Naming|named after]] [[Frank Zappa|THAT Zappa]]) who is possessed by five (or rather, seven - one is a set of triplets) separate ghosts. [[Confusion Fu|You have no say in which one comes out, and they all fight differently]] (the only guaranteed emergence is if you summon with eight "eyes", in which case the strongest gets out). They're led by a [[Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl]] named S-Ko.

* There are a few of these floating around the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' universe, most notably K'Z'K the Vowelless.

* This is the major plot point in [[Garanos]].

* [[The Dragon Doctors]]: While initially believed to be an alien, {{spoiler|the Crax}} is later revealed to be {{spoiler|the manifestation of a [[Complete Monster|sociopathic]] man who learned how to become [[Immortality Immorality|immortal]] by taking over other people's bodies. Did we mention he's become what is basically [[Body Horror|sapient cancer]]?}}

* [[Drowtales]]: There's basically two levels of demonic possession. First, there's tainting. This is generally done in a controlled manner, so that the demon will not progress to the next level. It leaves the host in full control, while making sure that she can't be possessed accidentally in a more dangerous manner. Very weak taints can sometimes be reversed. Tainting also is generally used to dull fear and pain. In the full form of possession, the demon has full control, and the host's body commonly [[Body Horror|deforms]]. Both forms leave the host with [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red eyes]].