American Exorcists feat Sam Kestenbaum (E292)
Added 2024-08-30 19:45:37 +0000 UTCDemonic exorcism isn’t just a solid premise for horror films. It’s also the hook for an increasingly popular group of pentecostal pastors who leverage social media, spiritual warfare, and outrage to spread their message.
Tennessee pastor Greg Locke is the most prominent member of a supergroup of evangelical ghostbusters who call themselves the “Demon Slayers.” Together, they cross promote videos of supposed exorcisms (which they call “deliverance”), host live events that attract thousands of believers hoping to rid themselves of infernal forces, and even produce feature-length films.
Reporter Sam Kestenbaum embedded himself in Greg Locke’s operation, Locke Media, to see this algorithm-fuelled demon slaying first hand. He wrote about his experience in a longform piece for Harper’s Magazine and told us about personally witnessing a massive congregation shriek and convulse during a tent revival group exorcism.
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Sam Kestenbaum: https://x.com/skestenbaum / https://samkestenbaum.com/
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SOURCES:
https://harpers.org/archive/2024/08/the-demon-slayers-sam-kestenbaum-exorcisms/
https://www.ourmansfieldandarea.org.uk/content/topics/religion/john-darrell
Comments
I love you Julian
Hannah Lux
2025-01-27 16:38:45 +0000 UTCThe demons are in on the fun, too. These group exorcisms are a safe space for the repressed and oppressed possessed to get freaky. The relief of being absolved, because your sins were the demons, not your fault, could be a powerful drug. And the public theatre of exorcism seems a lot more fun than privately praying 10 Hail Mary’s and three Our Fathers. Also, the demons are pretty accommodating. Michael Cuneo (American Exorcism, Doubleday, 2001) told me how the preachers would announce at 9:45 that they only had the auditorium until 10 pm, say, and the pandemonium would settle down quick.
Jeanne H-B
2024-09-09 21:15:09 +0000 UTC
