Possession refers to the act of possessing something. This may include the possession of a personal object, or it may refer to the act of mentally dominating the physical form of another, displacing their consciousness with one's own. In the former example, possession may be a shortened form for drug possession, which is a punishable crime in most areas and can usually be found in TV shows of the crime drama genre such as Miami Vice. Low-key drugs such as marijuana is usually considered a petty offense, whereas higher grade, more addictive narcotics like cocaine, meth amphetamines and heroin will earn someone a serious stretch in prison.
The other kind of possession is a bit more fantastical and is generally represented in stories involving supernatural horror. A person may be possessed by either ghost or demonic entity and requires outside assistance (usually from a priest) to exorcise the possessing spirit from their body.
On the 1960s daytime Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, the disembodied spirit of a warlock named Count Petofi took possession of a man named Edward Collins and used his body in a failed effort to kill Edward's younger brother, Quentin. He later took possession of Edward's young son, Jamison Collins, who conspired with an assassin named Aristede to garner the secrets of time travel from vampire Barnabas Collins.
On the FX Network series American Horror Story, Seventeen-year-old Jed Potter was taken to Briarcliff Manor in 1964 after demonstrating evidence that he had been possessed by a demon. Monsignor Timothy Howard and an elder attendant named Father Malachi performed an exorcism to drive the demon out of Jed's body. This practice was observed using the traditional methods, which included a cross, holy water and recitation of prayer. The exorcism proved successful, but the ordeal was to taxing on the boy's physical form and he died of heart failure shortly afterward. The demon that had been possessing him then leaped into the body of a young nun named Sister Mary Eunice McKee. [1]
Characters[]
Characters who can possess others[]
| Character | Source |
|---|---|
| Carrie Stokes | Dark Shadows |
| Illyria | Buffyverse |
| James Forsythe | Dark Shadows |
| Patrice | Castle Rock |
| Tad Collins | Dark Shadows |
Characters who have been possessed[]
| Character | Source |
|---|---|
| Astra Logue | DC Television Universe |
| Boucher | Castle Rock |
| David Collins | Dark Shadows |
| Hallie Stokes | Dark Shadows |
| Morgan Collins | Dark Shadows |
| Valerie Blount | Castle Rock |
| Winifred Burkle | Angel |