A Demon Story for Halloween Countdown 2025
A cinematic demon and a scriptural demon!
Time for a scary movie and scary scripture passage. This week: a demon story!
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Scary Movie: Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Sometimes, it’s all about the ambience. And the slow, slow, slllooooow build-up to the startling conclusion in Rosemary’s Baby shows the power of ambience in storytelling.
Rosemary Woodhouse and her husband move into an old New York apartment building. She has a pregnancy and as it advances so too does… ritualistic conspiracy?! She doesn’t know if she can trust her neighbors, her husband, or even herself as Rosemary’s paranoia grabs ahold of her. In the scene above, for example, she rearranges Scrabble tiles until they go from the name of her seemingly kindly elderly neighbor to the name a notorious devil worshipper.
Man, don’t you just hate it when that happens?
Rosemary finds evil literally spelled out in her home. Her discovery further isolates her. Feeling more trapped, what will she do?
Scary Scripture: Matthew 8:28-9:1
Double demons. Jesus and his disciples come across two people seemingly possessed by demons. Whether you take that as a supernatural phenomenon or a figurative one is up to you. Either way, these are men who are not only afflicted by something that haunts them, but also isolated from a community who could otherwise care for them.
28 When Jesus came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two men possessed by demons came out of the tombs and met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32 And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine, and suddenly, the whole herd stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water. 33 The swineherds ran off, and, going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the men possessed by demons. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their region. 9 1 And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.
Here, an isolating and life-altering evil dwells on the margins of society, separating good people from one another. When confronted with a new way, a holiness even, that which breaks is healed, that which creates a gap is bridged. The community does respond with fear, unfortunately (they’re so used to these two men being corrupted by what haunts them that when Jesus brings them healing, they kick Jesus out of town!), but steps toward restoration are here.
Scary Phobia: Daemonophobia
I don’t believe in the devil, so if you need permission to not have daemonophobia, the fear of demons, well, there it is. This phobia brings intense anxiety if you think “they’re after you,” and that’s often rooted in religious or cultural beliefs. Rosemary has her paranoia. The town doesn’t know what to think. There’s a better way.
I’m intensely grateful that “the devil” was not a major part of my religious upbringing, nor a required topic in my current vocation or way of doing faith. I’ll never have this phobia, and I believe it’s my job to be there for people who do.
Scary Connections: Isolation vs. Welcome
Rosemary’s path as a mother will not be a simple one. Over and again, she is robbed of her dignity and agency, by those who allegedly care for her. Her community isolates her in their midst. The two possessed men were isolated out of community, so now that they have healing, will they be welcomed back? It’s disheartening to see the town is so used to their brokenness that they’d rather send the healer away than embrace the healing.
We all battle our own demons. Some are private, some are public, all are harmful. Whatever has possessed you, please know you don’t have to do it alone. There are people who you can tell and who you can trust. Therapy is good for everyone, and there are always treatments available.
Beyond that, how do each of us welcome someone back to community? How do we walk with someone in their brokenness? How do we not let our fear of “demons” lead us to ostracize those who are afflicted? Religion is about welcoming people in, not shutting people out.
Your turn!
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The Halloween Countdown continues… if you dare…
Glad you’re here today, Dear Reader. God’s peace and good movies to you!