Written & edited by Lonely

Faith, religion and spiritualism have been some of the driving forces of horror since its inception. Just like horror, faith is one way that humanity seeks to find meaning in the things that are inexplainable. Here are three of my favorite faith related themes in contemporary horror:

1. Power of Belief

As a member of the Catholicism to Paganism pipeline, I’ve been drawn to stories of faith, religion, and belief for as long as I can remember. Faith and belief are two of the strongest inter- and intrapersonal entities in our human world, partially because they intersect our world and the next. Things with that much power are scary. Scary enough to be the main theme of a ton of horror films and novels.  

2. Seeing is Believing

Regardless of what we believe in, we as conscious beings can often “believe” things into existence. And in the case of most possession films, we can also believe them out of existence. There is this long standing debate as to whether or not exorcisms, regardless of the faith they are based in, are more of a psychological intervention than a spiritual one. Possession stories are often underscored with this idea of punishment, retribution, and guilt. Children become possessed due to the sins of their parents, either their faithlessness, infidelity or neglect. Their child’s possession becomes a personification of the belief they have in their own punishment. 

3. Question of the Cloth

Made famous by the character of Damien Karras in the Exorcist, the trope of the questioning priest has always been a favorite of mine. The priest as an archetypal character is one that is authoritative, stoic, and unwavering – but so often in horror, the priest is portrayed as fearful, flawed, and doubtful. It speaks to belief on a different level. Doubting what you’ve been indoctrinated to preach while also being petrified by the evil you know can exist – it’s the Devil that proves your faith, not the God. 

My Top 10 Religious Horror Films

1. The Exorcist (1973)
2. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
3. The Medium (2021)
4. The Witch (2014)
5. The Lodge (2019)
6. Incantation (2022)
7. The Sacrament (2013)
8. The Conjuring (2013)
9. The Last Exorcism (2010)
10. The Possession (2012)