In 1973, it was a girl’s relationship with a Ouija board in The Exorcism. Today, it was a girl’s relationship with a box in The Possession. The topic of possession is a common horror film subject. It is like the disease or virus common in many modern day Horror-Sci-Fi blends. Possession is a sickness that once caught is dangerous to the individual and everyone nearby. It is even possibly contagious. Yet, with a horror-film virus like zombie-ism, or possession, characters are skeptical of the affected person, because it cannot possibly be something foreign that is ailing the individual and causing disruptive mood swings. It must be something more quantifiable; crumbling relationships, a mood disorder, or maybe even simple adolescence? Yet, we all know, as shown in every modern day horror movie regarding possession, that evil is at the core and this evil can only be defeated with God. Now, many of you are not religious and I am always very careful when I speak of religion as I respect everyone’s belief, whether they believe in religion, or just God, or do not believe in either. This blog post is about the film The Possession, the purported true events around the film, and the overall belief of possession.
Now, some background: The belief in possession has existed for thousands of years. The belief has also existed across a range of cultures and religions. It is believed that there are two forms of possession; one caused by a demonic entity and the other caused by a spirit. In both instances it is believed that the external being takes control over an individual’s actions and speech. People who claim to be able to communicate with the dead, by allowing the dead to use their body temporarily are referred to as Mediums, and they are an example of individuals who claim to be able to be possessed by spirits. Spirit possession is ultimately still thought of as a form of possession, whether the action is voluntary or not. However, many claim any kind of possession is evil.
In the cases of reported demonic possession, all cases are malicious as cultures and religions who believe in these phenomena believe that the demonic entity possessing the person does so for one purpose only – to harm, which eventually can lead to death. Now, many of you do not believe in possession of either kind, but remember again, there are many cultures and religions to this day that believe in these occurrences. These belief systems are complex and so we respect each and everyone’s ideas and opinions.
What The Possession does differently than all other major films dealing with this subject is that it broadens audiences’ folklore vocabulary with the word Dybbuk. We tend to think of these films, and even these topics as being exclusive only to Catholicism or Christianity, but what I found most interesting was that this film incorporates another culture and religion, Judaism. The word Dybbuk is Yiddish for malicious, possessing spirit. It is believed that a Dybbuk is an evil spirit that seeks to possess, and really to destroy everything good around it. Now, I am a very superstitious person, and so I am going to graze over the following, and so if you do wish to seek additional information on this subject, please Google “Dybbuk Box” or look to the link I am posting below.
The film The Possession is loosely based on true events of a man who purchased a wine box at a yard sale for his antiques shop. It turned out to be more than an old wine box. The box was a Dybbuk box, a box where an evil spirit was locked away. Strange things began to occur at his shop, such as people hearing disembodied voices and perfectly good bulbs exploding. The shop owner’s mother had a stroke after getting a little too close to the box. As you guessed, the box was sold – and on eBay. A group of male college students purchased the item, for novelty, and then again strange, and yes, sickly things happened. The box changed hands again, and it exists today still, but hidden. The program Paranormal Witness recently did an episode on the real events, and so, you should watch that if interested.
Now, the film deviated from the true events, and honestly, I believe that the real events were much more terrifying than the events in the film. Still, the film was shot well, and the acting was decent, but really, the inclusion of the Jewish culture and their practices were really what I found most of interest in the movie– as well as the overall folklore of the box.
I recommend going to see the film. If you are interested in this topic, I recommend watching the Paranormal Witness episode here http://www.syfy.com/
I won’t cover this box again in the future. I don’t like this thing. It makes me feel quite uneasy, and really, even writing this blog made me feel uneasy. Did you know that after they ended shooting of the film that all of the props burned mysteriously in a fire? See, it’s strange.
Superstition is a funny thing, isn’t it? I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight, not because of the film, but because of the terrifying things that exist out there in the world.
-Gravedigger
