Hollywood has spent decades frightening audiences with spinning heads, levitating bodies and priests shouting down demons.
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Hollywood → spend → demons
But Catholic exorcist Father Carlos Martins says the most terrifying part of alleged demonic possession isn't what the audience can see.
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audience → say → what
"The thing that Hollywood doesn't pick up well is the demonic mind," Fr. Martins told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview ahead of Halloween, as the third season of "The Exorcist Files" podcast gets underway.
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season → pick → podcast
"It picks up [the devil's] demonic power well, throwing of chairs, the screaming, levitating and so on and so forth.
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It → pick → chairs
But his rage, his inner anger, his disgust with humans and God, that it doesn't get well.
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it → get → humans
Fr. Martins, who co-hosts the podcast with co-creator Ryan Bethea, described what he believes Hollywood misses about the psychological dimension of alleged demonic encounters, including an incident in which he said a person undergoing an exorcism threatened to bomb a flight he was scheduled to take the following day.
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he → co → flight
You're not supposed to be here.
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You → suppose → ?
I'm going to bomb your flight tomorrow," Fr. Martins recalled hearing while assisting another exorcist.
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Martins → go → exorcist
The priest said he subsequently changed his flight, not because of the threat, but because the session had been so productive that he offered to remain for additional appointments.
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he → say → appointments
When he returned the next day, Fr. Martins said, the person appeared surprised by his presence.
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person → return → presence
"You weren't supposed to be here," he recalled the possessed person saying.
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person → suppose → ?
Fr. Martins interpreted the encounter as evidence of what he believes is the extraordinary but imperfect intelligence of the devil and demonic beings.
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he → interpret → devil
He said the apparent knowledge of his original flight contrasted with the alleged demonic entity's failure to anticipate his changed plans.
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knowledge → say → plans
For Fr. Martins, the encounter was a chilling example of why he believes the most frightening aspect of demonic possession has very little to do with the supernatural spectacles audiences see on-screen.
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audiences → believe → screen
The third season of "The Exorcist Files" launched Oct. 5, with new episodes scheduled to roll out over the next two months.
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episodes → launch → months
Among the new cases is an especially complicated account involving multiple family members, according Bethea.
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account → involve → Bethea
"There is one particular episode this season that involves so many moving parts and multiple family members being demonized," Bethea told Fox News Digital.
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Bethea → be → Digital
The case, he added, "actually spans hundreds of years."
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he → add → years
Bethea said the story may encourage listeners to examine unresolved trauma, mental health concerns and other personal struggles that he and Fr. Martins believe may contribute to spiritual vulnerability.
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he → say → vulnerability
The podcast, which dramatizes purported exorcism case files, has also challenged Bethea's own understanding of spiritual warfare.
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which → dramatize → warfare
After working with Fr. Martins and hearing similar accounts from other exorcists, Bethea said he has become more confident in his Christian faith rather than more fearful of the supernatural.
"I have walked away feeling, ironically, less scared and more confident than ever," he said.
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he → work → supernatural
Fr. Martins warned that what he considers the greatest danger of demonic influence is not necessarily its physical manifestations, but the intimate knowledge he believes the devil and evil forces possess about their targets.
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devil → warn → targets
"When you're dealing with the devil, you're dealing with an entity that has observed you your whole life," Fr. Martins said.
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Martins → deal → you
"He knows your weaknesses.
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He → know → weaknesses
He knows where your soft spots are.
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spots → know → ?
He knows what your preferences are.
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preferences → know → ?
"
"So he knows exactly where to press and how hard to cause maximal damage," the priest added.
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priest → know → damage
Fr. Martins cautioned against attempting to confront demonic forces without spiritual preparation, arguing that human intelligence alone is no match for the adversary he describes as the "ancient serpent."
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he → caution → serpent
The priest acknowledged that the 1973 horror classic "The Exorcist" remains, in his view, a compelling depiction of what can occur during an exorcism, although he singled out the film's famous head-spinning sequence as physically impossible.
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he → acknowledge → sequence
He also described witnessing what appeared to be a person's canine teeth growing several inches, an experience he attributed to a supernatural illusion rather than an actual physical transformation.
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he → describe → illusion
For Fr. Martins, however, the disturbing imagery is secondary to what he described as the hatred and irrationality of the demonic mind.
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he → describe → mind
"Because that is the part of him that has no rational explanation," he said.
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he → have → explanation
Despite the dramatic subject matter, Fr. Martins said the actual practice of exorcism is considerably less theatrical than its Hollywood portrayal.
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practice → say → portrayal
"I never yell at the devil.
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I → yell → devil
I've never heard of an exorcist doing that," Fr. Martins said.
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Martins → hear → that
He described exorcism as a generally calm process centered on prayer, spiritual reconciliation and helping the individual receiving assistance.
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He → describe → assistance
"The job of the exorcist is not to cast out the devil," Fr. Martins said.
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Martins → cast → devil
Rather than attempting to overpower an alleged demon through increasingly forceful prayers, Fr. Martins said he seeks to understand why he believes the entity has gained influence over an individual and how that person can return to a state of reconciliation with Christ.
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person → attempt → Christ
The priest also described exorcist training as largely an apprenticeship process, with less experienced priests learning alongside seasoned practitioners before conducting sessions independently.
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priests → describe → sessions
With Halloween approaching, Fr. Martins and Bethea also addressed whether ordinary holiday traditions pose spiritual dangers.
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traditions → approach → dangers
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
