Religious Horror: Difference between revisions

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1. A subgenre of [[Horror]] that relies on presenting the motifs of a real-life religion as fact within the story's universe. Since this is mainly a Western subgenre, that religion is Christianity (well, [[Christianity Is Catholic|the only denomination that Hollywood knows of]], at least).
1. A subgenre of [[Horror]] that relies on presenting the motifs of a real-life religion as fact within the story's universe. Since this is mainly a Western subgenre, that religion is Christianity (well, [[Christianity Is Catholic|the only denomination that Hollywood knows of]], at least).


[[Satan]] is the [[Big Bad]] in a typical Religious Horror story, although he's rarely shown. He is mediated [[Demonic Possession|through a human vessel]], such as a [[Creepy Child]] or a [[The New Rock and Roll|degenerate rock musician]]. The protagonists are usually innocent people trying to live ordinary lives, not sensing anything wrong until their daughter or son starts speaking in someone else's voice, using [[Black Speech|foul languages she or he never studied,]] spewing Finnish pea soup, and/or chanting Satanic praises. Members of the clergy ([[Christianity Is Catholic|most likely the Catholic variety]]; in this case it is justified by the fact that the Catholic church, of all the few that employ exorcism, is the most noted, although it does so very rarely) intervene eventually, with varying degrees of success. If there are human villains, they're evil [[Cult|cultists]] who facilitate Satan's activity on Earth (or, rarely, the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts, if the author is less favorable toward organized religion in general). A variation is a woman giving birth to [[The Antichrist|Satan's child.]] This type of horror is often written just to cash in on the popularity of ''[[The Exorcist (Film)|The Exorcist]]''.
[[Satan]] is the [[Big Bad]] in a typical Religious Horror story, although he's rarely shown. He is mediated [[Demonic Possession|through a human vessel]], such as a [[Creepy Child]] or a [[The New Rock and Roll|degenerate rock musician]]. The protagonists are usually innocent people trying to live ordinary lives, not sensing anything wrong until their daughter or son starts speaking in someone else's voice, using [[Black Speech|foul languages she or he never studied,]] spewing Finnish pea soup, and/or chanting Satanic praises. Members of the clergy ([[Christianity Is Catholic|most likely the Catholic variety]]; in this case it is justified by the fact that the Catholic church, of all the few that employ exorcism, is the most noted, although it does so very rarely) intervene eventually, with varying degrees of success. If there are human villains, they're evil [[Cult|cultists]] who facilitate Satan's activity on Earth (or, rarely, the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts, if the author is less favorable toward organized religion in general). A variation is a woman giving birth to [[The Antichrist|Satan's child.]] This type of horror is often written just to cash in on the popularity of ''[[The Exorcist]]''.


2. Occasionally, the story revolves around a [[Religion of Evil]] that has nothing to do with Satan, which may or may not replace him with an [[Expy]] in the form of a [[God of Evil]]. These tend to be more creative than the Christianity-based novels, but not necessarily more bizarre, as you'll see.
2. Occasionally, the story revolves around a [[Religion of Evil]] that has nothing to do with Satan, which may or may not replace him with an [[Expy]] in the form of a [[God of Evil]]. These tend to be more creative than the Christianity-based novels, but not necessarily more bizarre, as you'll see.
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== [[Film]] ==
== [[Film]] ==
* William Blatty's ''[[The Exorcist (Film)|The Exorcist]]'', as noted above.
* William Blatty's ''[[The Exorcist]]'', as noted above.
* Ira Levin's ''[[Rosemarys Baby]]''.
* Ira Levin's ''[[Rosemary's Baby]]''.
* ''[[The Omen]]''. Because of this movie, many people think that the name Damien means "demon." It actually means "tame," which is used in the story in the sense meaning "kill."
* ''[[The Omen]]''. Because of this movie, many people think that the name Damien means "demon." It actually means "tame," which is used in the story in the sense meaning "kill."
* ''[[The Exorcism of Emily Rose]]''
* ''[[The Exorcism of Emily Rose]]''
* Oddly enough, the ''[[Babylon Five|Babylon 5]]'' direct to [[DVD]] movie: "The Lost Tales," in which a maintenance worker is possessed by what is implied to be a literal demon, but specifically not the devil, rather a lower ranking servant. Colonel Lochley calls an exorcist.
* Oddly enough, the ''[[Babylon 5]]'' direct to [[DVD]] movie: "The Lost Tales," in which a maintenance worker is possessed by what is implied to be a literal demon, but specifically not the devil, rather a lower ranking servant. Colonel Lochley calls an exorcist.
** Subverted because {{spoiler|the [[Batman Gambit|demon]] ''[[Batman Gambit|wants]]'' [[Batman Gambit|to be exorcised... in space, aka "The Heavens"]]. Lochley and the exorcist instead decided to ship his ass back to Earth first.}}
** Subverted because {{spoiler|the [[Batman Gambit|demon]] ''[[Batman Gambit|wants]]'' [[Batman Gambit|to be exorcised... in space, aka "The Heavens"]]. Lochley and the exorcist instead decided to ship his ass back to Earth first.}}
** Given that B5 Earth has been [[Ancient Astronauts|visited]] by [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]] ''at least'' once for a sufficient timespan to leave their marks in the human genome in the distant past, whether the 'demon' was a literal one or whether literature in turn and the practice of exorcism were inspired by events caused by him and his friends -- whatever kind of entity they might 'really' be -- hanging out on the planet since who-knows-when remains somewhat inconclusive.
** Given that B5 Earth has been [[Ancient Astronauts|visited]] by [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]] ''at least'' once for a sufficient timespan to leave their marks in the human genome in the distant past, whether the 'demon' was a literal one or whether literature in turn and the practice of exorcism were inspired by events caused by him and his friends -- whatever kind of entity they might 'really' be -- hanging out on the planet since who-knows-when remains somewhat inconclusive.
** The [[Backstory]] of B5 does seem to imply that demons were memories left behind by The Shadows.
** The [[Backstory]] of B5 does seem to imply that demons were memories left behind by The Shadows.
* ''~The Devil's Advocate~'' featured Satan (Al Pacino) in the form of the head of a New York law firm, and the protagonist (Keanu Reeves) is {{spoiler|his son}}.
* ''~The Devil's Advocate~'' featured Satan (Al Pacino) in the form of the head of a New York law firm, and the protagonist (Keanu Reeves) is {{spoiler|his son}}.
* ''[[Constantine (Film)|Constantine]]'', the [[In Name Only]] movie adaptation of ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]''.
* ''[[Constantine]]'', the [[In Name Only]] movie adaptation of ''[[Hellblazer]]''.
* ''[[Touch of Satan]]''
* ''[[Touch of Satan]]''
* ''[[The House of the Devil (Film)|The House of the Devil]]'' deals with babysitter and a group of Satanists.
* ''[[The House of the Devil]]'' deals with babysitter and a group of Satanists.
* ''[[The Last Exorcism]]''
* ''[[The Last Exorcism]]''
* In ''Zombie Cult Massacre,'' a sleazy cult leader pretends to be a compassionate man of God but is really in league with Satan, raising an army of zombies. It does not end well for him.
* In ''Zombie Cult Massacre,'' a sleazy cult leader pretends to be a compassionate man of God but is really in league with Satan, raising an army of zombies. It does not end well for him.
* ''[[The Prophecy (Film)|The Prophecy]]'' (1995) and its two sequels. About another war in heaven with [[Christopher Walken]] (who's creepy enough even when he isn't acting) as the Archangel Gabriel.
* ''[[The Prophecy (film)|The Prophecy]]'' (1995) and its two sequels. About another war in heaven with [[Christopher Walken]] (who's creepy enough even when he isn't acting) as the Archangel Gabriel.
* [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Prince of Darkness (Film)|Prince of Darkness]]'', about a bunch of theology students trying to stop the Anti-Christ from releasing his father, the Anti-God.
* [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Prince of Darkness]]'', about a bunch of theology students trying to stop the Anti-Christ from releasing his father, the Anti-God.
** Kinda. Prince of Darkness is actually a [[Playing With Tropes|fun exercise with]] or [[Deconstruction]] of the Religious Horror subgenre, because most of the characters ''weren't'' theology students. Instead they were scientists of one kind or another, four or five of which were under the direct tutelage of a physics professor who had been selected for a series of televised debates with a Catholic priest because of his philosophical beliefs on science. Those debates happened before the story begins, and the two characters seem to be very [[Agree to Disagree|good friends]] when the movie starts. To be fair, when speaking of said professor, one student said that "he wants philosophers, not scientists," so it is a little [[Your Mileage May Vary|open to debate or interpretation]].
** Kinda. Prince of Darkness is actually a [[Playing With Tropes|fun exercise with]] or [[Deconstruction]] of the Religious Horror subgenre, because most of the characters ''weren't'' theology students. Instead they were scientists of one kind or another, four or five of which were under the direct tutelage of a physics professor who had been selected for a series of televised debates with a Catholic priest because of his philosophical beliefs on science. Those debates happened before the story begins, and the two characters seem to be very [[Agree to Disagree|good friends]] when the movie starts. To be fair, when speaking of said professor, one student said that "he wants philosophers, not scientists," so it is a little [[Your Mileage May Vary|open to debate or interpretation]].
* The LDS-made film Brigham City uses elements of religious horror based on the LDS faith and puts them to work quietly in the background. This makes the film jarring to members of the LDS church without being over the top.
* The LDS-made film Brigham City uses elements of religious horror based on the LDS faith and puts them to work quietly in the background. This makes the film jarring to members of the LDS church without being over the top.
* Also the LDS-made WWII film ''[[Saints And Soldiers]]'', in the context of Deacon's [[Heroic BSOD|hallucinations]] (the only character implied to be Mormon). Understandable in that he {{spoiler|accidentally killed a room full of orphans under the age of eight (and thus not accountable for their actions, making them unquestionable innocents) and a couple of nuns with a grenade while fighting Germans in a church, and is only being held together by his faith and desire to return home to his wife as he's dealing with his PTSD}}.
* Also the LDS-made WWII film ''[[Saints And Soldiers]]'', in the context of Deacon's [[Heroic BSOD|hallucinations]] (the only character implied to be Mormon). Understandable in that he {{spoiler|accidentally killed a room full of orphans under the age of eight (and thus not accountable for their actions, making them unquestionable innocents) and a couple of nuns with a grenade while fighting Germans in a church, and is only being held together by his faith and desire to return home to his wife as he's dealing with his PTSD}}.
* "The Shrine" has an interesting twist. At first, the viewer believes the small Polish village is involved in Satanic rituals with [[Human Sacrifice]], but it turns out that they are only exorcising the tourists who unknowingly approach a demon statue that possesses them
* "The Shrine" has an interesting twist. At first, the viewer believes the small Polish village is involved in Satanic rituals with [[Human Sacrifice]], but it turns out that they are only exorcising the tourists who unknowingly approach a demon statue that possesses them
* ''[[Sin Eater]]'', also known as ''[[The Order (Film)|The Order]]'', starring [[Heath Ledger]].
* ''[[Sin Eater]]'', also known as ''[[The Order (film)|The Order]]'', starring [[Heath Ledger]].
* ''[[Stigmata]]'', starring [[Gabriel Byrne]] as the protagonist, Father Andrew Kiernan.
* ''[[Stigmata]]'', starring [[Gabriel Byrne]] as the protagonist, Father Andrew Kiernan.
* ''[[End of Days (Film)|End of Days]]'', statting [[Gabriel Byrne]] as [[The Devil]], and [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] as the protagonist Jericho Cane, a retired cop.
* ''[[End of Days]]'', statting [[Gabriel Byrne]] as [[The Devil]], and [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] as the protagonist Jericho Cane, a retired cop.
* ''[[The Seventh Sign]]'', starring [[Demi Moore]] and [[Michael Biehn]]
* ''[[The Seventh Sign]]'', starring [[Demi Moore]] and [[Michael Biehn]]
* ''[[From Hell]]'', starring [[Johnny Depp]], Based on the epinymous comic book series.
* ''[[From Hell]]'', starring [[Johnny Depp]], Based on the epinymous comic book series.
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* The ''[[Cthulhu Mythos]]'' often falls into the [[Religion of Evil]] version below, but even its official stance is this. There is no God, nor is there a Devil. There are entities of tremendous power such that humans would call them divine and deific, but these entities, due to their power, have no more concern for humanity than humanity as a whole would care for a dust-scurrying bug. Morality is a human creation, and humans are most certainly ''[[Subverted Trope|not]]'' [[Humans Are Special|special]]. Humanity must make worth of their own life, they have no inherent worth as a race.
* The ''[[Cthulhu Mythos]]'' often falls into the [[Religion of Evil]] version below, but even its official stance is this. There is no God, nor is there a Devil. There are entities of tremendous power such that humans would call them divine and deific, but these entities, due to their power, have no more concern for humanity than humanity as a whole would care for a dust-scurrying bug. Morality is a human creation, and humans are most certainly ''[[Subverted Trope|not]]'' [[Humans Are Special|special]]. Humanity must make worth of their own life, they have no inherent worth as a race.
** "Officiality" is a bit subjective where the Mythos is concerned, however, as a lot of figures in the canon (perhaps most notably [[August Derleth]]) have put a more humanistic and/or Judeo-Christian spin on it.
** "Officiality" is a bit subjective where the Mythos is concerned, however, as a lot of figures in the canon (perhaps most notably [[August Derleth]]) have put a more humanistic and/or Judeo-Christian spin on it.
* Parodied in the [[Neil Gaiman|Gaiman]]-[[Terry Pratchett|Pratchett]] collaboration ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]''.
* Parodied in the [[Neil Gaiman|Gaiman]]-[[Terry Pratchett|Pratchett]] collaboration ''[[Good Omens]]''.
* David St. Clair's ''The Devil Rocked Her Cradle'', a ceaselessly entertaining book that should probably not be sold as nonfiction. A young man kills his father, bruises a prostitute, rebels against his Catholic upbringing, becomes a thief, and hears demonic voices. He grows up to be an abusive husband whose daughter goes through on-and-off Satanic possession, especially after her newly widowed father starts living with his wife's sister. This leads her to projectile-vomit green stuff, recite [[Madness Mantra|Madness Mantras]], and gesture obscenely at nuns and priests. It's [[Better Than It Sounds]] because it's [[So Bad It's Good]]. (The book's preface even includes the pricelessly redundant line, "[T]his book is not intended to be anti-Christian or pro-demonic.")
* David St. Clair's ''The Devil Rocked Her Cradle'', a ceaselessly entertaining book that should probably not be sold as nonfiction. A young man kills his father, bruises a prostitute, rebels against his Catholic upbringing, becomes a thief, and hears demonic voices. He grows up to be an abusive husband whose daughter goes through on-and-off Satanic possession, especially after her newly widowed father starts living with his wife's sister. This leads her to projectile-vomit green stuff, recite [[Madness Mantra|Madness Mantras]], and gesture obscenely at nuns and priests. It's [[Better Than It Sounds]] because it's [[So Bad It's Good]]. (The book's preface even includes the pricelessly redundant line, "[T]his book is not intended to be anti-Christian or pro-demonic.")
* Jeffrey Sackett's ''Candlemas Eve'', a fun fiction novel about a rock band that adopts two self-proclaimed witches to add something unusual to the act (plus, [[Evil Is Sexy]]). They turn out to be {{spoiler|time-traveling Satanist Puritans who assumed the identities of two modern-day women because of some kind of curse that forced them to please Satan after their deaths. A faux-Satanic rock musician's kid and his friends let them in by casting a spell on Halloween.}}
* Jeffrey Sackett's ''Candlemas Eve'', a fun fiction novel about a rock band that adopts two self-proclaimed witches to add something unusual to the act (plus, [[Evil Is Sexy]]). They turn out to be {{spoiler|time-traveling Satanist Puritans who assumed the identities of two modern-day women because of some kind of curse that forced them to please Satan after their deaths. A faux-Satanic rock musician's kid and his friends let them in by casting a spell on Halloween.}}
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* This trope is the very essence of ''[[Carnivale]]''
* This trope is the very essence of ''[[Carnivale]]''
* Seasons 4 and 5 of ''[[Supernatural]]'', what with the [[The End of the World As We Know It|impending apocalypse]] and all.
* Seasons 4 and 5 of ''[[Supernatural]]'', what with the [[The End of the World as We Know It|impending apocalypse]] and all.
* ''[[The X-Files]]'' had its share of this. ''All Souls'' is a good example.
* ''[[The X-Files]]'' had its share of this. ''All Souls'' is a good example.
* "[[A Haunting]]," which aired from 2005 to 2007, was a series of reenactments of "true" ghost stories.
* "[[A Haunting]]," which aired from 2005 to 2007, was a series of reenactments of "true" ghost stories.
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== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
* ''[[KULT (Tabletop Game)|KULT]]'' is a good example.
* ''[[Kult]]'' is a good example.


== [[Video Games]] ==
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Easier for Westerners to get than the Higurashi example below, its sister series, ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni|Umineko]]'', uses many different motifs from the Bible, including having characters with names related to Biblical characters' and blood runes written near murder sites with passages from the Bible written around them in Hebrew.
* Easier for Westerners to get than the Higurashi example below, its sister series, ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni|Umineko]]'', uses many different motifs from the Bible, including having characters with names related to Biblical characters' and blood runes written near murder sites with passages from the Bible written around them in Hebrew.
* ''[[The Binding of Isaac (Video Game)|The Binding of Isaac]]''.
* ''[[The Binding of Isaac]]''.


== [[Web Comics]] ==
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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== [[Web Original]] ==
== [[Web Original]] ==
* While it's not immediately obvious, quite a few [[SCP Foundation (Wiki)|SCPs]] are clearly Judeo-Christian entities, such as Dr Clef's proposal for SCP-001, an angel guarding the Garden of Eden.
* While it's not immediately obvious, quite a few [[SCP Foundation|SCPs]] are clearly Judeo-Christian entities, such as Dr Clef's proposal for SCP-001, an angel guarding the Garden of Eden.
* The [[Our Angels Are Different|angels]] in [http://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop/writeups/Requiem+Aeternam?author=Jet-Poop Requiem Aeternam] are {{spoiler|[[I Am a Humanitarian|hungry]]}}.
* The [[Our Angels Are Different|angels]] in [http://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop/writeups/Requiem+Aeternam?author=Jet-Poop Requiem Aeternam] are {{spoiler|[[I Am a Humanitarian|hungry]]}}.
* [[The Fear Mythos]] gives us the Archangel, which is basically the ultimate perversion of Judeo-Christian beliefs regarding God and the afterlife.
* [[The Fear Mythos]] gives us the Archangel, which is basically the ultimate perversion of Judeo-Christian beliefs regarding God and the afterlife.
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* The original version of ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' has {{spoiler|nature-worshiping pagans living in northern Scotland.}} The protagonist is a devout Protestant, and a bit of [[Knight Templar|an asshole]], but by the end, he's become very sympathetic.
* The original version of ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' has {{spoiler|nature-worshiping pagans living in northern Scotland.}} The protagonist is a devout Protestant, and a bit of [[Knight Templar|an asshole]], but by the end, he's become very sympathetic.
** Interestingly, the ending of the original was almost [[Executive Meddling|meddled]] to have {{spoiler|it start raining, putting out the wicker man}}. This was cut because it clashed with the whole point. A deleted scene showed that {{spoiler|the sacrifice ''worked''}} but it was deleted to leave the ambiguity in place.
** Interestingly, the ending of the original was almost [[Executive Meddling|meddled]] to have {{spoiler|it start raining, putting out the wicker man}}. This was cut because it clashed with the whole point. A deleted scene showed that {{spoiler|the sacrifice ''worked''}} but it was deleted to leave the ambiguity in place.
* ''[[Stephen King (Creator)|Children of the Corn]]'' featured a cult based around "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," revealed at the end of the story to be a demonic-looking monster. In the movie versions, it's revamped to be an entire, nearly omnipresent (within and around the town) spirit whose influence increases when it starts to get dark. Though it is implied to be a devil-worshiping cult, it is never outright stated to be a demon OR Satan. It's referred to with pronouns by those who don't worship it.
* ''[[Stephen King|Children of the Corn]]'' featured a cult based around "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," revealed at the end of the story to be a demonic-looking monster. In the movie versions, it's revamped to be an entire, nearly omnipresent (within and around the town) spirit whose influence increases when it starts to get dark. Though it is implied to be a devil-worshiping cult, it is never outright stated to be a demon OR Satan. It's referred to with pronouns by those who don't worship it.
* Not exactly treated as a religion of evil, Voodoo is not framed in the best light in ''[[The Serpent and The Rainbow]]''.
* Not exactly treated as a religion of evil, Voodoo is not framed in the best light in ''[[The Serpent and the Rainbow]]''.


== [[Literature]] ==
== [[Literature]] ==
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== [[Video Games]] ==
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The ''[[Silent Hill]]'' games have this for the cult that summons/awakens the town's latent evil. The movie goes with vaguely Christian religious fundamentalists.
* The ''[[Silent Hill]]'' games have this for the cult that summons/awakens the town's latent evil. The movie goes with vaguely Christian religious fundamentalists.
* ''[[Xenogears (Video Game)|Xenogears]]'' has an entire [[Religion of Evil]] to start, but [[It Got Worse|it gets worse]] towards the end when you discover {{spoiler|God, creator of humanity, is a [[Deus Est Machina|malevolent interstellar weapon]] who created humanity to repair his '''organic parts'''}}.
* ''[[Xenogears]]'' has an entire [[Religion of Evil]] to start, but [[It Got Worse|it gets worse]] towards the end when you discover {{spoiler|God, creator of humanity, is a [[Deus Est Machina|malevolent interstellar weapon]] who created humanity to repair his '''organic parts'''}}.
** Somewhat closer to Type 1, {{spoiler|Deus, despite being responsible for creating most of that planet's human population, turns out to be a false god. The real "God" shows up in the form of the enigmatic "Wave Existence", who created the whole universe... apparently by accident, which, in some ways is even more terrifying, especially since he has no particular interest in His creations & just wants to go home. He's not a bad guy, though & does help our heroes along eventually.}}
** Somewhat closer to Type 1, {{spoiler|Deus, despite being responsible for creating most of that planet's human population, turns out to be a false god. The real "God" shows up in the form of the enigmatic "Wave Existence", who created the whole universe... apparently by accident, which, in some ways is even more terrifying, especially since he has no particular interest in His creations & just wants to go home. He's not a bad guy, though & does help our heroes along eventually.}}
* [[Resident Evil 4]], the Los Illuminados cult mixes this with traditional zombie-styled horror.
* [[Resident Evil 4]], the Los Illuminados cult mixes this with traditional zombie-styled horror.
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== [[Web Original]] ==
== [[Web Original]] ==
* Again, the [[SCP Foundation (Wiki)|SCP Foundation]] have a few of these, most notably [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-231 SCP-231-7.]
* Again, the [[SCP Foundation]] have a few of these, most notably [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-231 SCP-231-7.]
* Archangel from [[The Fear Mythos]] embodies this for all religions. {{spoiler|He is the afterlife and the only way to not become his slave after death is to sell your soul to the Slender Man}}.
* Archangel from [[The Fear Mythos]] embodies this for all religions. {{spoiler|He is the afterlife and the only way to not become his slave after death is to sell your soul to the Slender Man}}.
** This was also a central theme of The Refugees, a Slenderblog revolving largely around a [[The Fundamentalist|Fundamentalist Christian]] sect who believed the Slender Man was an angel. It was the central theme of supplementary story The Transcend Manuscript.
** This was also a central theme of The Refugees, a Slenderblog revolving largely around a [[The Fundamentalist|Fundamentalist Christian]] sect who believed the Slender Man was an angel. It was the central theme of supplementary story The Transcend Manuscript.
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* The Taiwanese film ''Double Vision'' is a religious horror in Taoist setting.
* The Taiwanese film ''Double Vision'' is a religious horror in Taoist setting.
* ''Jigoku'', a depiction of Buddhist Hell.
* ''Jigoku'', a depiction of Buddhist Hell.
* ''Feng Shui'' (not to be confused with [[Feng Shui (Tabletop Game)|the tabletop game of the same name]]) is a movie of Taoism in the predominantly Catholic Philipines. A woman finds a ''ba gua'' mirror, which brings her luck, though the source of her good luck is a [[Equivalent Exchange|tradeoff]], sacrificing her neighbors and loved ones in order to bring her material fortune.
* ''Feng Shui'' (not to be confused with [[Feng Shui|the tabletop game of the same name]]) is a movie of Taoism in the predominantly Catholic Philipines. A woman finds a ''ba gua'' mirror, which brings her luck, though the source of her good luck is a [[Equivalent Exchange|tradeoff]], sacrificing her neighbors and loved ones in order to bring her material fortune.
* ''Ghouls'' (2008) is from the perspective of Celtic Druids. Don't ask me what they're doing in what appears to be Eastern Europe, but it's an interesting film.
* ''Ghouls'' (2008) is from the perspective of Celtic Druids. Don't ask me what they're doing in what appears to be Eastern Europe, but it's an interesting film.


== [[Video Games]] ==
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The Wii survival horror game [[Cursed Mountain]] plays with the taboos, traditions, and underlying horrors of Himalayan Buddhism as its central theme.
* The Wii survival horror game [[Cursed Mountain]] plays with the taboos, traditions, and underlying horrors of Himalayan Buddhism as its central theme.
* Although [[Values Dissonance|most western viewers (and probably the rest of the non-Japanese audience too) don't get it]], part of the horror of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni]]'' for Japanese viewers comes from the Shinto temple with a history of human sacrifice. Shintoism places a high emphasis upon "purity." Shedding blood in a religious context is anathema to Shinto, as is touching corpses and bodily wastes. That Rika's ancestors (beware, really gross) {{spoiler|presided over ritual sacrifices in which the participants ate the intestines of the victims}} makes their religion as much an inversion of Shinto as Satanism is an inversion of Christianity. To western viewers, it's merely disgusting. To believers in Shinto, it's beyond blasphemy, much like sacrificing a pig on the altar of the old Temple in Jerusalem.
* Although [[Values Dissonance|most western viewers (and probably the rest of the non-Japanese audience too) don't get it]], part of the horror of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' for Japanese viewers comes from the Shinto temple with a history of human sacrifice. Shintoism places a high emphasis upon "purity." Shedding blood in a religious context is anathema to Shinto, as is touching corpses and bodily wastes. That Rika's ancestors (beware, really gross) {{spoiler|presided over ritual sacrifices in which the participants ate the intestines of the victims}} makes their religion as much an inversion of Shinto as Satanism is an inversion of Christianity. To western viewers, it's merely disgusting. To believers in Shinto, it's beyond blasphemy, much like sacrificing a pig on the altar of the old Temple in Jerusalem.
** There are lots of stories in Shintô about villages and shrines that did practice human sacrifice as a part of the religion. Mostly they tend to be moral parables of why this is not a good idea, though.
** There are lots of stories in Shintô about villages and shrines that did practice human sacrifice as a part of the religion. Mostly they tend to be moral parables of why this is not a good idea, though.
** For added irony, Oyashiro {{spoiler|her}}self is [[Corrupt Church|NOT happy with it.]]
** For added irony, Oyashiro {{spoiler|her}}self is [[Corrupt Church|NOT happy with it.]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Religious_Horror"