—New York Times Book Review
“He gives fascinating, almost poetic, accounts of religious experiences.”
—Chicago Daily News
“There is a magnetism about him that draws from others thoughts and feelings they didn’t know were there. He is a weaver of spells with words.”
—San Francisco Examiner
“Malachi Martin is one of the most fascinating writers in the religious field today.”
—Sunday Houston Chronicle
“One of the world’s most scholarly yet passionate authors. Malachi Martin is probably one of the finest writers alive.”
—Psychology Today Book Club
“His writing is moving and intelligent. And in his writing, he has won a victory over the forces of evil.”
—Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate
About the Author
MALACHI MARTIN—eminent theologian, premier authority on the Roman Catholic Church, and former professor at the Vatican’s Pontifical Biblical Institute—is the author of such national bestsellers as The Final Conclave, Vatican, The Jesuits, and The Keys of This Blood. His most recent book is Windswept House: A Vatican Novel.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Other Books by Malachi Martin
The Scribal Character of the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Pilgrim
The Encounter
Three Popes and the Cardinal
Jesus Now
The New Castle
Hostage to the Devil
The Final Conclave
King of Kings (a novel)
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church
There is Still Love
Rich Church, Poor Church
Vatican (a novel)
The Jesuits
Then Keys of This Blood
Windswept House: A Vatican Novel
Copyright
All of the men and women involved in the five cases reported here are known to me personally; they have given their fullest cooperation on the condition that their identities and those of their families and friends not be revealed. This stricture has, of necessity, been extended to the publisher who has therefore not verified the book’s contents other than the author’s personal assurance, and the publisher’s own verification from independent sources that exorcisms have been and continue to be performed currently in the United States. All names and places and any other elements that could conceivably lead to the possible identification of the people involved in the cases reported here have been changed. Any similarity between the cases reported here and any others that may have occurred is unintentional and purely coincidental.
A hardcover edition of this book was published by Reader’s Digest Press. It is here reprinted by arrangement with the author.
HOSTAGE TO THE DEVIL: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Americans. Copyright © 1976 by Malachi Martin. Preface copyright © 1992 by Malachi Martin. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
FIRST PERENNIAL LIBRARY EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1987;
HARPERSANFRANCISCO EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1992.
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martin, Malachi.
Hostage to the devil : the possession and exorcism of five Americans / Malachi Martin.—HarperSanFrancisco ed.
p. cm.
Originally published: New York : Reader’s Digest, 1976.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-06-065337-X (alk. paper)
BX2340.M35 1992
265’.94—dc20
92-53900
CIP
* * *
05 RRD H 30 29 28
EPub Edition © JUNE 2013 ISBN: 9780062285164
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East – 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollins.com
* This is the only exorcism reported in this book for which I have no transcript and could not conduct extensive interviews. My sole source was Father Michael himself, who recounted these events to me and allowed me to read his diaries.
* A town in County Clare, Ireland.
* “Come! Let’s make a deal.”
* “Being and nonbeing cannot be one and the same.”
* Richard O. Is a transsexual. In talking about his life before his operation, I refer to him as Richard O. or simply as Richard. Afterwards, until his exorcism is completed, he is referred to as Richard/Rita. In conversation. Father Gerald frequently referred to him as R/R. With Richard O.’s permission, I refer to him throughout this narrative with the masculine pronouns—he, his, him. Today he calls himself simply Richard O.
* Here, this letter is condensed from its original version. Omitted are some of the long, technical discussions with his students and colleagues, as well as personal references that concern them alone. In every other respect, the condensation is complete and maintains the meaning and intent of the full version.