Do demons cause mass shootings?

In this guest post, supernatural folklorist Victoria Jaye examines the fallacy of demons having anything to do with mass shootings. Which you might think goes without saying, but there are people out there who believe that’s why we have so many in the U.S. Victoria helps us understand why that’s not the case.

No, Mass Shootings Aren’t Caused By Demons
By Victoria Jaye

Demons aren’t even close to being as common as people believe. Paranormal television and movies reinforce that they’re just waiting around every corner to pounce on the nearest Christian for possession.

But the reality is that most people never even come across the supernatural in their lifetimes. Even fewer come across the demonic. Of the hundreds of people who have contacted me since my thesis was published last year, one of them was a case that sounded like a demon.

The problem with paranormal television is that it advertises demons as being much more widespread than they are to boost ratings —other entities exist and can be very malicious. That alone doesn’t make that shadow you saw a demon.

It has also never been proven that demonically possessed people murder others. Show me the evidence, not the things you fear.

In fact, I created an entire classification system to address what demons can and can’t do for my thesis work because once you classify something, it becomes less mysterious, which lessens the fear. Demons can make you act differently, even change how you look/seem. According to published narratives, they can weaken your mental health and break you down until you are a shell of what you once were.

Human beings are also evil creatures, and taking away their agency in heinous acts of violence shifts blame. Besides demons, let’s look at other factors that play into mass shootings.

Mental Health

First, the mental health crisis leaves young, angry men without access to the help they need. When the Catholic Church is evaluating a demonic infestation case for an exorcism, they always evaluate mental health first because mental health issues can mimic demonic oppression and, eventually, possession. It would be irresponsible to send in a priest if a person was simply mentally ill —people die during exorcisms.

We also see a culture of “suck it up” reinforced to boys/men, as if boys/men feel less than other genders. Here’s a question: why are none of these mass shooters women or nonbinary/trans? Perhaps it is because all the other genders know what oppression feels like as men police our bodies, tell us what we can and can’t wear then call us whores/sluts because we don’t want their misogyny anywhere near us.

Easily Accessible Guns

Second, I’m not going to go into depth about the easy access to guns in this country, but the fact is, mentally ill people keep getting their hands on assault weapons and hurting others. That is a serious factor in the amount of mass shootings that happen.

Incels

Third, we also have the incel movement. Incels are just a form of (usually white supremacist) right-wing extremist-concentrated misogyny that blames women for their lack of success, usually in the romantic sphere. It’s rooted in a deep hatred for women combined with self-hatred.

One of my sister’s psychology teachers thought that the reason men are reacting so violently to “oppression” (the calling out of decades of inappropriate, white-privileged, racist, misogynistic behavior) is because they’ve never experienced oppression of any kind, so that’s what they imagine it is like. Imagine: accountability as oppression.

Obsession

Fourth, drawing pentagrams and making a manifesto about Satan doesn’t make you a “Satanist” or a “devil-worshipper,” such as what happened with the Umpqua Community College shooting. Obsessing over something in that way makes you mentally ill.

The same thing was said about Columbine —they blamed the music they listened to and the movies they watched because it was easier to put the blame on external influences than to realize that this could happen anywhere. (Which we’ve now seen —and keep seeing— can.)

There wasn’t a reason except something was wrong mentally with them. People wanted it explained as if rationality comes into psychosis and then Fox News starts putting out the idea that demons could actually be responsible. Because humans could never be responsible. Because then it’s neither the fault of the victim nor is it the fault of the system that failed them. It’s the nameless, faceless demons Christianity tells us to be afraid of.

Christian Fantasy and Satanic Panic

When we call the above obsessive behavior “Satanist,” we are feeding into Satanic Panic. Satanic Panic was a moral panic that happened from the 1980s to the 1990s and is still unfortunately happening today.

Parents at large believed their children were becoming deviant because of the music/media they consumed as if mental illness has never had anything to do with anything. (At that time, therapy and mental health were largely pushed under the rug.)

The FBI investigated Satanic ritual abuse when rumors grew so rampant, but they found nothing. The accusations are simply frenzied Christian fantasy about what they imagine their polar religious opposite is doing in secret, unseen.

It also functions as a way to keep Christians in line through fear, which Christianity claims is not what it is about —Jesus preached about love and acceptance. Modern-day Christianity is a far cry from what Jesus was teaching. I’ve read both Bibles and most Satanists don’t believe in hurting others; it’s a rule written there in black-and-white.

I’m not saying either side is right or wrong in their belief systems. Nor am I saying dark magic designed to take and hurt doesn’t exist. It does. You are allowed to believe what you want, but don’t project fear onto others and call it fact.

Demonic Influence Devil’s Advocate

Now, to play devil’s advocate (no pun intended but here we are), I’m not saying it’s impossible. A person could be pushed to do something terrible by demonic influence, especially if that person is possessed.

However, be mindful that it takes near-complete breakage of the soul to accomplish that. This is not an easy process considering that demons cannot stay in the body for long; it begins to break down and the person usually regains their autonomy, even if it’s momentarily.

Humans have free will —it’s a choice to pull the trigger and to hurt other people. Feeding into the narrative that it’s demons and absolutely nothing else at play is just fertile soil for people to become fearful about “Satanic” activities.

The Real Danger of Satanic Panic

At its core, Satanic Panic is a conspiracy theory because it’s blaming a group to be high and mighty above us, wielding power/working against everyone beneath them. Christianity in performance these days is not about accepting people or the love that it claims it has for everyone. It reminds me of Puritanical England and the way they handled people who were different.

The real problem with Satanic Panic is that it is dangerous. You could have the Christian finger pointed at you/a group you belong to and labeled as demonic. Then, mentally ill people with easy access to guns and no mental health help might try to destroy you.

I wholeheartedly reject the idea that demons could be behind mass shootings because it ignores the myriad other problems that exist. We don’t know that these angry, self-loathing incels were ever involved in the occult. Drawing a pentagram and actually calling forth a demon are two very different things.

I’m not saying it’s impossible. It’s just that it’s so rare that it shouldn’t be causing this kind of fear. Don’t buy into the hype that every negative supernatural experience is a demon because there are other things out there, including spirits that can possess people.

Resources

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/incels-involuntary-celibates

https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained

Guest Contributor Info

Victoria Jaye is a supernatural folklorist who specializes in the demonic. She graduated from USU with a Master’s in folklore; her thesis was a classification system of demonic phenomena organized by the senses. Her interests include demons, folklore/mythology, and horror movies. Visit her at demonfolklorist.com.