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This is a general overview of Demonic Possessions, Theories on nightmares, Spirit Attachments, and Haunting theories.

 Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying. Other descriptions include access to hidden knowledge (gnosis) and foreign languages (glossolalia), drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, the sudden appearance of injuries (scratches, bite marks) or lesions, and superhuman strength. Unlike in channeling or other forms of possession, the subject has no control over the possessing entity and so it will persist until forced to leave the victim, usually through a form of exorcism.

Many cultures and religions contain some concept of demonic possession, but the details vary considerably. The oldest references to demonic possession are from the Sumerians, who believed that all diseases of the body and mind were caused by "sickness demons" called gidim or gid-dim. The priests who practiced exorcisms in these nations were called ashipu (sorcerer) as opposed to an asu (physician) who applied bandages and salves.Many cuneiform tablets contain prayers to certain gods asking for protection from demons, while others ask the gods to expel the demons that have invaded their bodies.

Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans perform exorcisms. In these cultures, diseases are often attributed to the presence of a vengeful spirit (or loosely termed demon) in the body of the patient. These spirits are more often the spectres of animals or people wronged by the bearer, the exorcism rites usually consisting of respectful offerings or sacrificial offerings.

Christianity holds that possession derives from the Devil, i.e. Satan, or one of his lessor demons. In many Christian belief systems, Satan and his demons are actually fallen angels.

Catholic exorcists differentiate between "ordinary" Satanic activity or influence (mundane everyday temptations) and "extraordinary" Satanic activity, which can take six different forms:

1. External physical pain caused by Satan;
2. Demonic Possession, in which Satan takes full possession of a person's body without their knowledge or consent: the victim is therefore morally blameless;
3. Diabolical Oppression, in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary action, such as in the biblical Book of Job in which Job was tormented by a series of misfortunes in business, family, and health;
4. Diabolic Obsession, which includes sudden attacks of irrationally obsessive thoughts, usually culminating in suicidal thoughts, and typically influences dreams;
5. Diabolic infestation, which affects houses, things, or animals; and
6. Diabolic subjugation, in which a person voluntarily submits to Satan.

True diabolical or satanic possession has been characterized since the Middles Ages, in the Rituale Romanum, by the following four typical characteristics:

• manifestation of superhuman strength;
• speaking in tongues or languages that the person cannot know;
• the revelation of knowledge, distant or hidden, that the victim cannot know;
• blaspheming rage and an aversion to holy symbols or relics

Demonic possession is not recognized as a psychiatric or medical diagnosis by either the DSM-IV or the ICD-10. There are many psychological ailments commonly misunderstood as demonic possession, particularly dissociative identity disorder. In cases of dissociative identity disorder in which the alter personality is questioned as to its identity, 29% are reported to identify themselves as demons, but doctors see this as a mental disease called demonomania or demonopathy, a monomania in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.

 

Christianity:

Roman Catholic doctrine states that angels are non-corporeal, spiritual beings with intelligence and will. Fallen angels, or demons, are able to "demonically possess" individuals without the victim's knowledge or consent, leaving them morally blameless.

Scientific materialism

Scientific materialists, skeptics, and empiricists have said that those who have experienced demonic possession have sometimes exhibited symptoms similar to those associated with mental illnesses such as psychosis, hysteria, mania, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia, or dissociative identity disorder. Common features of possession include involuntary, uncensored behavior, and an extra-human, extra-social aspect to the individuals actions.

However, cultural context is critical for proper diagnosis of spirit, or demonic, possession as psychosis or spiritual. In western industrialized nations such as the United States, spirit possession is not normative, and therefore calls for caution in acceptance of this condition as actually caused by spirits. The DSM-IV-TR, in describing the differences between spirit possession and Dissociative Identity Disorder, identifies only the claim that the extra personality is an external spirit or entity, lacking that, there would be no difference between the two conditions. Dissociative Identity Disorder in the United States is itself extremely rare. All forms of DID constitute only about 1% of the entire population. Of those, 98-99% are of the type of DID commonly recognized as the traditional form of Multiple Personality Disorder, rather than related to spirits.

 

Those most susceptible to being possessed are people with weak boundaries and low self-esteem, pointing to dysfunctional ego involvement in manifestations of this phenomenon rather than actual outside entities.

^:Definitions

The mare in nightmare is not a female horse, but a mara, an Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse term for a demon that sat on sleepers' chests, causing them to have bad dreams.

Dialect variants, as explained below, include the forms mara, mahr, mahrt, mårt, and others.

In High German, the demon who causes bad dreams is most often called an Alp, a word that is etymologically related to elf.

A mare-induced bad dream is called a nightmare in English, martröð (mare-ride) in Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic, mareridt (mare-ride) in Danish, mareritt (mare-ride) in Norwegian, and Alpdruck (alp-pressure) or Alptraum (alp-dream) in German.

What Are Entities and Negative Energies, and Where Do They Come From?

Earthbound spirits and dark energy forces are the two most common types of entities. The spirit is the part of us that survives after death of the physical body. Sometimes spirits just don't know what to do when their physical body dies, so they stay in the earth plane and can attach to living people, or remain in a specific place (thus a haunting spirit or ghost). The dark energy forces can be termed demons. They have never been alive in their own physical bodies, and are usually on a mission to destroy. We don't really know where the dark ones come from. Some say that negative thought forms give dark forces--or Satan or Lucifer--the tools needed to create these beings. Another theory is that they may be fallen angels. Part of our current research involves asking these dark ones where they came from, or how they came to be.

Curses, psychic attacks and negative thought forms are negative energies generated by living people.
What About Places That Are Haunted by Spirits or Negative Energies?

Spirits usually have a reason for haunting specific places; for instance: sudden death, or death from violent or traumatic causes. They may have "unfinished business" or "a score to settle." They may be unwilling to give up their physical possessions. They may be confused or not realize they are physically dead. These spirits can also be released by remote means.

Negative energies may inhabit places for many different reasons. Places where violence or traumatic deaths have occurred may retain the overall energy of those happenings--battlefields, for instance. Homes where people constantly fight or argue with each other may retain the negativity of those actions.

An example of positive yet solemn energy clinging to a place is The Wall memorial to Vietnam war casualties.This energy has been created by visitors to the memorial paying homage to their fallen comrades and loved ones.