A fascinating, wide-ranging survey of the history of demon possession and exorcism through the ages. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the era of the Reformation, thousands of Europeans were thought to be possessed by demons. In response to their horrifying symptoms—violent convulsions, displays of preternatural strength, vomiting of foreign objects, displaying contempt for sacred objects, and others—exorcists were summoned to expel the evil spirits from victims’ bodies. This compelling book focuses on possession and exorcism in the Reformation period, but also reaches back to the fifteenth century and forward to our own times. Entire convents of nuns in French, Italian, and Spanish towns, thirty boys in an Amsterdam orphanage, a small group of young girls in Salem, Massachusetts—these are among the instances of demon possession in the United States and throughout Europe that Brian Levack closely examines, taking into account the diverse interpretations of generations of theologians, biblical scholars, pastors, physicians, anthropologists, psychiatrists, and historians. Challenging the commonly held belief that possession signals physical or mental illness, the author argues that demoniacs and exorcists—consciously or not—are following their various religious cultures, and their performances can only be understood in those contexts. “Riveting [and] readable . . . must-reading for students of history, psychology and religion.” —Publishers Weekly “Levak, a distinguished historian of early modern witchcraft, now sets exorcism in a long historical perspective, providing the most comprehensive and scholarly overview of the theme yet published.” —Peter Marshall, Times Literary Supplement

Posession. Murder. Mayhem. Let the games begin... Exorcism isn’t a job, it’s a calling—and a curse. Just ask Morgan Kingsley, a woman who has a stronger aura than any Demon. Or so she thought. Now, in a pair of black leather pants and a kick-ass tattoo, Morgan is heading back to Philadelphia after a nasty little exorcism—and her life is about to be turned upside down…by the Demon that’s gotten inside her. Not just any Demon. Six foot five inches of dark, delicious temptation, this one is to die for—that is, if he doesn’t get Morgan killed first. Because while some humans vilify Demons and others idolize them, Morgan’s Demon is leading a war of succession no human has ever imagined. For a woman trying to live a life, and hold on to the almost-perfect man, being possessed by a gorgeous rebel Demon will mean a wild ride of uninhibited thrills, shocking surprises, and pure, unadulterated terror. . . .

The Devil Within Us is a fast paced thriller set in 1933. A man calling himself Mephistopheles resides in a mountain fortress on the border of both Canada and the USA. He threatens world peace with an arsenal of advanced weaponry, including missiles that can reach the nearby cities of Vancouver and Seattle.Several foreign agents come together in an alliance of expediency. Some, like the British Agent Doc Hunter, want to stop Mephistopheles, others like Hartmann of the German Abwehr, want access to his weapons only. The Italian assassin, Artemisia Montessori, has a very different agenda. What they all find is that behind the mask of Mephistopheles lies an even greater mystery.A man known as the Philosopher has been walking the Earth and wherever he goes people disappear. Their wealth and possessions along with them. Any who try to interfere with the Philosopher fall foul of a group called Argus Panoptes who are quick to kidnap and kill his enemies.From the snow covered mountain lair of Mephistopheles to the steaming jungles of South America the trail leads a winding path. Many who follow it die along the way.Artemisia was destined to become a member of Roman high society before she became an agent of the Italian Military Intelligence Service. Beautiful and dangerous, she has her own reasons for seeking out the truth behind the mystery of the Philosopher. She has killed many people and feels a vast and empty void is growing between herself and other human beings. She is beginning to wonder if she can ever be normal again. When she teams up with Doc Hunter it seems more like an act of redemption than anything else.For his part, Hunter appears to the world to be the eugenic superman that he is touted to be. Tall, brave, highly intelligent, stronger than most men can ever be, nevertheless, he has his own reasons for pursuing this mission and they have far less to do with the Philosopher than it first seems.Agent Frasier of American Navy Intelligence is a man driven to show that he can keep pace with the best. Confident in the concrete jungle of New York he struggles to come to terms with the more dangerous jungles of South America.The three of them plunge into the darkness of this tale, only to find that it is not necessarily they who carry the light. What begins as an apparently simple mission to neutralise a madman becomes a journey of discovery that might very well prove to be the saving of humanity.

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Revelation 2:10 In a peaceful coastal town, a young woman is found brutally murdered, a piece of scripture held tightly in her hand. Local detective Charlotte Callaghan is put on the case, and she's glad for the distraction – Gull Bay can be a hard place to keep a secret, and she's holding on to a few. After Charlotte asks her brother, Father Joseph Callaghan, about the verse, her suspicions fall on his parishioners. Then a second victim is found, along with another biblical message. A dark betrayal is concealed within the small community. For Charlotte, there's something personal about this case, something that threatens the very core of her beliefs. Can she unravel this mystery before it tears her town apart? A gripping crime novel about murder, betrayal, and the monsters who hide in plain sight.

When Jimmy Hinton's sister confided in him that their own father had sexually abused her, Jimmy was both dismayed and spurred into action. His father, a respected minister in the community, was a predator who used his role behind the pulpit to secretly molest and abuse countless victims. Turning his father over to the police, Jimmy became a tireless advocate and voice for the victims. His pursuit of justice would eventually result in his father's confession and subsequent conviction. Haunted by the discovery of his father's grotesque acts against children, Jimmy, also a pastor, worked to restore the very church where his dad had perpetrated such sickening acts. He was determined to protect others and nurture an environment of healing in the aftermath of abuse. Today he relentlessly studies and exposes the deception techniques that predators like his father used to molest, harm, abuse, and terrorize children. The Devil Inside is, hands down, the absolute must-read for every seminarian, seminary instructor, and church leader and volunteer out there...Hinton addresses head-on theological problems of redemption and forgiveness and care for others exactly as Jesus would have him do. He cares deeply for the abused and wounded, makes space for the truly repentant, and offers a chilling description of the wolf in sheep's clothing. --Christine Fox Paker, MA, MACM, President/Executive Director, PorchSwing Ministries, Inc. In his book, The Devil Inside, Jimmy pulls no punches. He lays bare his soul and puts in black & white precisely why we should and how we can better defend children from sexual predators. --Dave Pittman, Executive Director, Together We Heal Child Safeguarding Trainer, GRACE I recommend this compelling story of a minister's family forced to make a painful choice - protect their father or protect children from their father? --Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, storyteller in "The Keepers" documentary The Devil Inside serves as a wake-up call for the church and seminaries - understanding abuse, how it happens, and prevention must be an integral thread in the church's fabric...This book is a must for every pastor, ministry leader, and seminary student. --Joe Harvey-Hall, KeepSAfe Director, The Salvation Army Jimmy writes about what he knows. And what he writes, you need to know for it may save those you love. Had I had this information years ago, my own family might have been spared the horror that destroyed us. This is a book that needs to be read by church leaders and church members alike! --Les Ferguson Jr., Minister and author of Still Wrestling: Faith Renewed Through Brokenness

First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"The Devil Inside the Beltway." This chilling and personal story that reveals, in detail, how the Federal Trade Commission repeatedly bungled a critically important cybersecurity investigation and betrayed the American public. Michael J. Daugherty, author and CEO of LabMD in Atlanta, uncovers and details an extraordinary government surveillance program that compromised national security and invaded the privacy of tens of millions of online users worldwide. Background: The FTC, charged with protecting consumers from unfairness and deception, was directed by Congress to investigate software companies in an effort to stop a growing epidemic of file leaks that exposed military, financial and medical data, and the leaks didn't stop there. As a result of numerous missteps, beginning by "working directly with" malware developers, such as Limewire, instead of investigating them, the agency allowed security leaks to continue for years. When summoned before Congressional Oversight three times since 2003, the agency painted a picture of improving security when in fact leaks were worsening. Then, rather than focus on the real problem of stopping the malware, the FTC diverted Congress' attention from the FTC's failure to protect consumers by playing "get the horses back in the barn." How? By attacking small business. "The Devil Inside the Beltway" is riveting. It begins when an aggressive cybersecurity company, with retired General Wesley Clark on its advisory board, downloads the private health information of thousands of LabMD's patients. The company, Tiversa, campaigns for LabMD to hire them. After numerous failed attempts to procure LabMD's business, Tiversa's lawyer informs LabMD that Tiversa will be handing the downloaded file to the FTC. Within this page turner, Daugherty unveils that Tiversa was already working with Dartmouth, having received a significant portion of a $24,000,000 grant from Homeland Security to monitor for files. The reason for the investigation was this: Peer to peer software companies build back doors into their technology that allows for illicit and unapproved file sharing. When individual files are accessed, as in the case of LabMD, proprietary information can be taken. Tiversa, as part of its assignment, downloaded over 13 million files, many containing financial, medical and top secret military data. Daugherty's book exposes a systematic and alarming investigation by one of the US Government's most important agencies. The consequences of their actions will plague Americans and their businesses for years.