Demonic Foes

My Twenty-Five Years as a Psychiatrist Investigating Possessions, Diabolic Attacks, and the Paranormal

By: Richard Gallagher

Narrated by: Kevin Collins

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The world’s leading psychiatric authority on demonic possession delves into the hidden world of exorcisms and his own transformation from cynic to believer over the course of his twenty-five-year career.

Successful New York psychiatrist Richard Gallagher was skeptical yet intrigued when a hard-nosed, no-nonsense Catholic priest asked him to examine a woman for a possible exorcism. Meeting her, Gallagher was astonished. The woman’s behavior defied logic. In an instant, she could pinpoint a person’s secret weaknesses. She knew how individuals she’d never known had died, including Gallagher’s own mother, who passed away after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. She spoke fluently in multiple languages, including Latin—but only when she was in a trance.

This was not psychosis, Gallagher concluded. It was, in his scientific estimation, what could only be describe as paranormal ability. The woman wasn’t mentally disturbed—she was possessed. This remarkable case was the first of many that Gallagher would encounter. Sought after today by leaders of all faiths—ministers, priests, rabbis and imams, Gallagher has spent a quarter-century studying demonic activity and exorcisms throughout history and has witnessed more cases than any other psychiatrist in the world today.

In this eerie and enthralling book, Gallagher chronicles his most famous cases for the first time, including:

• A professional who claimed her spiritualist mother had “assigned” her a spirit who “turned on her.”
• A petite woman—”90 pounds soaking wet”—who threw a 200-pound Lutheran deacon across the room to the horror of onlookers in a church hall;
• And “Julia,” the so-called Satanic queen and self-described witch, who exhibited “the most harrowing” case, a “once-in-a-century” possession.

Going beyond horror movies and novels, Demonic Foes takes you deep into this hidden world, sharing in full details of these true-life tales of demonic possession.

©2020 Richard Gallagher (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Awesome Audiobook

It is well written and spoken. It does not get way in to deep but keeps it all at a level all can enjoy and understand.

Amazing and informative

I really enjoyed this book and how it explains the difference between mental illness and demonic possessions and the clinical study of it all. It really makes you think about the possibility of having a true demonic entity enter you or be around you.

Mandatory for all in Deliverance ministries

I was very impressed with the thoroughness and even-handedness of this book. One of my top 3 in the arena of Spiritual Warfare (Daniel Kolenda's Slaying Dragons is another). While this represents a Catholic approach to exorcisms, those of us in Charismatic circles can also learn a great deal of objective knowledge from a very respected source. Some in this ministry are what Catholics call "fast and loose", while others don't have the discipline or Bible knowledge to do it right.

Healthy Dose of Reality

Intelligent. Credible. Honest. Fascinating. Much needed. As a mental health practitioner I appreciate the approach the author pursued in this controversial topic. I also appreciate the nuances he brought to understanding the differences between the natural and the supernatural. I highly recommend!

loved it

I am not sure if this is concrete evidence for all, but I loved it!

Enjoyable has a little bit of everything

Brings in religion, health, exorcism of Emily rose, the exorcist, the conjuring, I enjoyed it

Fabulous!

A must listen. Excellent reader. Sooo enlightening, last book you ll need to listen to on this subject. Contains information about actual real possessions, psychiatric disorders, psyvhosis, etc that have occurred over the last 100 yesrs. Couldn't stop listening!

A Good Listen, But Better For Those In The Field

As someone not well versed in the field I feel that listening to book itself was fascinating and enlightening on several points. That being said there was language and vernacular that left me a little boggled at times or otherwise felt dry. I don't begrudge the book this due to the material being outside of my preview.
The only true complaint I have of the narration is that at times it was muddled on when he was reading a title or he had started the content of the chapter.

Sobering and Enlightning

A non-fiction book told from the psychological side of the subject of demonic possession as opposed to the religious side of the subject. I found it to be well read, well researched and a surprising conclusion to the veracity of possession. This an engaging and enlightening expose.

Interesting documentation of demons!

well written and well narrated account of a psychiatrists struggle to understand and accept demonic spiritual attack.