My Review of Hostage to the Devil

Written by Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil is one wild ride. This book contains the allegedly true cases of "possession and exorcism of five contemporary Americans". The cases are unrelated to each other and are "contemporary" in that they took place during the 20th century.

These cases are indeed wild, so wild that I used the word "allegedly". They are hard to believe though the author swears that the cases could be substantiated by multiple witnesses, at least at the time of first printing which was in 1976. The book is also hard to believe because in one of the cases, a person is possessed due to a satanic ritual that takes place in an upscale home. That case reeks of the satanic ritual abuse panic that took place a few decades ago, and I wonder if this book among others (like Michelle Remembers) had anything to do with it. Keep in mind I do believe that the supernatural exists and that some cases of demonic possession are real, but given the number of false claims over the last 30 years one should be skeptical.

It should also be noted that this book comes from a Roman Catholic perspective. The author was a former Jesuit priest; in all of the cases, the exorcisms are conducted by Roman Catholic clergy. In one case, even the possessed was a Catholic priest.

Overall this book is a very good read. It is scary to think that even some of the material contained therein might be true. Pretty much every type of eerie phenomenon associated with demon possession is there. Unknown foreign languages, books flying off shelves, the forth telling of personal information only a psychic would know, rape by a giant spider, and even an imp from hell are all in the 473 pages of this book. Much can be learned about the Roman rite of exorcism as well. If you the reader are wondering, there are indeed many parallels to William Peter Blatty's movie The Exorcist. Thankfully, the book is not quite as intense as that movie but it comes close.

In addition to being an engrossing author, Martin is also a theologian who is very knowledgeable about his church. His background as a well educated priest definitely shows in his writing. I am not the only one who thinks so. Many other people think he did a fine job here judging by the reviews online as well as the statements found on the back cover.

This book is in my top ten of all time if not my top five. Not only is it written well but the cover is "spooky" and artistic at the same time. The book can be read online though I will not tell you where. Scare yourself by reading Hostage to the Devil.