Demon Stories

by humblepotato 50 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  LisaRose

  I knew of a very odd brother that used to do a lot of street witnessing on his own, I guess no one would work with him. He was disfellowshipped, so I asked my dad why, he said because he heard voice, so they knew he was inviting demon attacks. I asked my father if he could just have been schizophrenic, he said no, it must be demons. This was a long time ago, but not so long they couldn't have know hearing voices was a sign of mental illness.

  I was also thinking about my daughter, who had mental issues as a teen, eventually she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (she's fine now though). If you didn't know her well you might think one of her meltdowns was a demon attack, she would go from normal to out of control meltdown very quickly, say very alarming things, cut herself, etc. It was really, really scary. I wonder how many JW teens with borderline personality disorder have parents who think they are demonized?
• 

  Vidiot

  LisaRose - "I asked my father if he could just have been schizophrenic, he said no, it must be demons."

  Can't have the rank-and-file begin to suspect that the WTS attracts crazy people or makes them that way, after all.
• 

  gda

  the meds...

  Pharmacia products that give interdimensional sight.

  That's why they r whacked out and try to interpret a good high by making demons a bad trip to the next Walgreens visit for new meds they have the Dr. prescribe.

  I see monsters and demons doc....can I get something else?
• 

  sir82

  Do JW's still believe this or have they renounced this loose alliance with orthodox Christianity?

  I don't think they've ever officially renounced it.

  That said, nothing more than very occasional, and extremely vague, references to "demonic influence" is published these days.

  Explicit & detailed references to "demon attacks", which used to be a staple of Watchtower writing in the 60's and 70's, started diminishing in the late 70's and were pretty much gone from the literature by, oh, the late 80's or early 90's.

  It seems to be another of those "kill the doctrine by merely not mentioning it any more" revisions, similar to the way they effectively killed the "creation days were exactly 7000 years long" doctrine that also just simply ceased appearing in the literature since the late 80's.
  
• 

  OrphanCrow

  My personal favorite demon story comes from the historical accounts of Clayton Woodworth, the man who co-authored The Finished Mystery with George Fisher. Both men were textbook writers for the International Correspondence Schools.

  Woodworth claimed to have been under demonic control at one time and declared such at a convention in 1913.

  
  

  Image and full story at Martin's Blog.

  And an older thread that has lots about the wacky, demon possessed editor of the Golden Age:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/121107/case-c-j-woodowrth-demon-possession?page=1
  
• 

  Village Idiot

  "If these things are not demons, then what are they?"

  What LisaRose said. They are mentally ill and acting out. Plus you have to realize that 99% of what the Witnesses say are urban legends and that miniscule amount that may somewhat have happened is the person's imagination.

  "But every once in a while...one comes along that just creeps me out".

  Which means that the person stating it is creepy himself or maybe suffering from sleep paralysis where vivid, morbid dreams are so realistic that some people think it actually happened.

  But like the second story, 4 elders, physical damage to the Kingdom Hall, visits from HQ regarding it? I'd feel foolish DENYING it happened.

  The so-called 4 witnesses to the act might as well be part of a made up story. The story may as well include the whole congregation observing the situation.

  Here's an example of a Christian Fundamentalist describing what is probably a sleep paralysis episode that he went through.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGTD5wL3mBI&feature=player_detailpage
• 

  TD

  Vidiot:

  The 60s? A f**king RING?

  It was pretty much anything. The ring story was from a Yearbook, but I'm too lazy to go up in the attic right now and get it down.

  This is from a 1966 Watchtower:

  "A vital question to ask if one experiences trouble with the demons is: Have you accepted any gifts from relatives or persons who dabble in spiritism? Any kind of article from such a person can cause trouble. In some actual cases it has been a radio, a sewing machine, a pair of shoes, jewelry, a “good luck" charm, a bathrobe, a blanket, a book."

  sir82:
  

  It seems to be another of those "kill the doctrine by merely not mentioning it any more" revisions, similar to the way they effectively killed the "creation days were exactly 7000 years long" doctrine that also just simply ceased appearing in the literature since the late 80's.

  Thanks! I suspect this stuff eventually became an embarrassment.
  
• 

  Village Idiot

  I knew of a sister that claimed that she had been raped by a demon in her sleep. When she woke up she would feel the wetness in her unmentionables. Needless to say, there are other explanations for that.
• 

  jws

  I remember my sister telling me a demon story. I thought she said it happened to her, but I was so young at the time. She was already grown and married. Something about either buying a tiki doll on vacation or being given one by somebody who was on vacation. Doll comes to life, chases her with spear. She manages to trap it in the oven, turn on the heat, and kill it.

  A few years, I picked up the I am Legend book by Richard Matheson aka Last Man on Earth (Vincent Price) and Omega Man (Charleton Heston). Along with it were other short stories. One of them Prey which describes the exact same story. And apparently was also one of a collection of shorts in a horror film.

  As for the deer's head, how do we know the husband didn't hate it, but the wife loved it? Sorry honey, it floated around the room. I had to shoot it. Now let's burn it. Wife is thinking "That's curious. A demon possessed that last tie I got him too".

  Guy getting beat up in a back room with 4 guys. Yeah, I don't think that went over well with the police. Perhaps that's why the higher ups came to visit. To figure out what really happened - and not in a supernatural sense. And whether they needed to protect themselves from a lawsuit.

  I'm with you. The whole demon thing makes no sense. Supposedly highly intelligent. As another pointed out, you scare JWs they only become more devout which is what you supposedly want to prevent. And seriously. As old and intelligent as they are, to be spending their lives hiding in a ring, waiting for years for somebody to wear it. Seriously? We didn't really shop rummage sales unless they were family or other JWs.
• 

  TD

  ...Doll comes to life, chases her with spear. She manages to trap it in the oven, turn on the heat, and kill it...One of them Prey which describes the exact same story.

  This was also a plot in the 1975 made-for-television movie, Trilogy Of Terror with Karen Black, so there are several places a JW could have picked up on the idea and simply not remembered where it came from.