Exorcism (from Greek ἐξορκισμός, exorkismos - binding by oath) is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions.

Requested and performed exorcisms occurred rarely until the later half of the 20th century where the public saw a sharp rise due to the media attention exorcisms were getting. There was “a 750% increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s”.

In Catholic Christianity, exorcisms are performed in the name of Jesus Christ. A distinction is made between a formal exorcism, which can only be conducted by a priest during a Baptism or with the permission of a Bishop, and "prayers of deliverance" which can be said by anyone.

Bob Larson (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and television evangelist, currently based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Larson has authored numerous books on the subjects of rock music and Satanism, written from a Christian perspective.

Larson was born in Westwood, California, the son of Viola (née Baum) and Earl Larson. He was raised in McCook, Nebraska.

Larson plays guitar; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about occult and destructive influences in rock music. He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his sermons. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the leftist political ideology, sexually suggestive lyrics, Eastern religious mysticism, and antisocial behavior of many of the era's rock musicians.

During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Bob Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted Satanists, during the period known as the Satanic panic. On two separate occasions he hosted Nikolas Schreck (a gothic rock musician) and Zeena Lavey (once the spokesperson for the Church of Satan and later a priestess in the Temple of Set). During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended Setianism. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success.^{[verification needed][verification needed]}

Anneliese Michel (21 September 1952 – 1 July 1976) was a German Catholic woman who was said to be possessed by demons and subsequently underwent an exorcism. The case has been labelled by some as a misidentification of mental illness, negligence, abuse, and religious hysteria.

Three motion pictures, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Requiem, and the Asylum film Anneliese Michel: The Exorcist Tapes, are loosely based on Michel's story.

Anneliese Michel was born on 21 September 1952 in Leiblfing, Bavaria, West Germany to a strict Catholic family. When she was sixteen, she suffered a severe convulsion and was diagnosed as having epilepsy. Soon, she began hallucinating while praying. In 1973, she suffered from depression and began to hear voices telling her that she was “damned” and would "rot in hell".

Her treatment in an unnamed psychiatric hospital did not improve Michel’s health. Moreover, her depression began to deepen. She grew increasingly frustrated with medical intervention as it did not help. Long-term medical treatment proved unsuccessful; her condition, including her depression, worsened with time. A devout Catholic, Michel began to attribute her condition to demonic possession. Michel became intolerant of sacred places and objects, such as the crucifix, which she attributed to her own demonic possession. Throughout the course of the religious rites Michel underwent, she was prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, which she may not have taken.

John Safran (born 13 August 1972) is an Australian documentary maker and radio broadcaster, known for combining humour with explorations into religion and other issues. His more famous television segments include turning the tables on tabloid current affairs host Ray Martin by arriving unannounced at his house in John Safran: Media Tycoon (an early pilot for a TV series), having a fatwa temporarily placed on Rove McManus to satirize the fatwa process and sneaking nine young men into an exclusive Melbourne nightclub by disguising them as members of American nu-metal band Slipknot.

Safran was born in Melbourne, Victoria. After attending North Balwyn Primary School he was sent to Yeshivah College, an Orthodox Jewish high school in St Kilda East.

In Year 12 he formed the hip-hop group Raspberry Cordial with his friend Chris Lumsden. They played to some success, receiving high rotation airplay on the city's community radio, playing many gigs in Melbourne and coming second in the RMIT Battle of the Bands competition. Their debut album was Melbourne Tram, of which Safran apparently has hundreds of unsold cassettes in his bedroom to this day.