Before I began writing Westward Prophets, before I even came up with the extremely vague ideas it would hold, I watched three demon related movies/TV shows: The Exorcist (on Fox), The Conjuring, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Each presents possession in a unique light. The Exorcist, while focusing on the family of the possessed, is interwoven with the lives of the priests performing the rites and politics within the Vatican. The Conjuring takes in the accounts of the paranormal investigators and how cases mentally and physically affect them. The Exorcism of Emily Rose looks at demonology with a scientific and legal approach, with the primary focus on being a priest being sent to court for an exorcism gone wrong. I enjoy all three (although The Conjuring 1 & 2 are my tops, with consistent viewings throughout the year).
However, the theme of a family dealing with a possessed family member is such a tired trope I refused to work with it now. Admittedly going big has not always worked out for me- Nutmeg for instance, because I blew all that out too quickly. This time I wanted to go big though, full stops. Why limit a demon to a human body? They can be more, given enough strength. So how do I get a demon, who needs a human vessel to survive on Earth, into the physical realm without too much explanation? One, I was ignoring possession altogether so I did not have to work with those tropes. Second, why not have the Prince of Darkness himself appear on Earth? Face it, he may not be as powerful as God, but Lucifer is still an extraordinarily powerful figure. It would make sense for his power to transfer to the demons up above so they can actually have some fun.
Demon possession in those movies is only focusing on one person or family, and then finally at the end when the exorcism is taking place it reveals its true powers. I am getting at demons being an incredibly dangerous species. Yeah, it is horrible for one person to be possessed, but the level of power only extends to that family. Not too many demon movies out there where the possessed goes out and kills a lot of people. Sadistic, that I wanted mass carnage? No. And why not bring more demons into play? This is very common in novels and short stories, but I was influenced by movies. Also, obviously, the Book of Revelation.
The Book of Revelation, whatever you may believe, is horrifying. Lucifer is finally powerful enough to reach the physical world with his legion and cause seven years of mass chaos before all of the rest of the sinners are saved. It is war, an invasion, and I wanted to finally play with the different levels of violence associated with demons. Because of the mass amounts of violence in the story I needed (it is definitely my most violent short, but nowhere near the goriest- Wish List) Isaac and the reader to lose hope in his situation from the very beginning and go from there. This is the End involves everything in the Book of Revelations too, but that is a smaller scope. I wanted it big, bigger, and biggest- a trilogy about the war between mankind and Lucifer. My favorite part to write of the story was the Leviathan in the end. That’s just a purely evil image that stuck in my head:
The Leviathan was so large, Isaac could see the quarter mile long tentacle with bus-sized suckers, all topped with a six fingered hand the size of a two story house reach out of the ground, out of the fire, and scrape away at the heavens above. He realized then, just how little envy he had for the soldiers facing the Leviathans. There were four of them, protecting a twenty mile radius in the valley that held Exodus Lake.
In conclusion, I have a personal goal for myself, called MDSA. Make Demons Scary Again. That is my ultimate goal whenever I write about demons from now on, and while probably not fulfilled entirely in Black Gospel City, it will be in the final story of the series, as of yet untitled.
Demon possession in those movies is only focusing on one person or family, and then finally at the end when the exorcism is taking place it reveals its true powers. I am getting at demons being an incredibly dangerous species. Yeah, it is horrible for one person to be possessed, but the level of power only extends to that family. Not too many demon movies out there where the possessed goes out and kills a lot of people. Sadistic, that I wanted mass carnage? No. And why not bring more demons into play? This is very common in novels and short stories, but I was influenced by movies. Also, obviously, the Book of Revelation.
The Book of Revelation, whatever you may believe, is horrifying. Lucifer is finally powerful enough to reach the physical world with his legion and cause seven years of mass chaos before all of the rest of the sinners are saved. It is war, an invasion, and I wanted to finally play with the different levels of violence associated with demons. Because of the mass amounts of violence in the story I needed (it is definitely my most violent short, but nowhere near the goriest- Wish List) Isaac and the reader to lose hope in his situation from the very beginning and go from there. This is the End involves everything in the Book of Revelations too, but that is a smaller scope. I wanted it big, bigger, and biggest- a trilogy about the war between mankind and Lucifer. My favorite part to write of the story was the Leviathan in the end. That’s just a purely evil image that stuck in my head:
The Leviathan was so large, Isaac could see the quarter mile long tentacle with bus-sized suckers, all topped with a six fingered hand the size of a two story house reach out of the ground, out of the fire, and scrape away at the heavens above. He realized then, just how little envy he had for the soldiers facing the Leviathans. There were four of them, protecting a twenty mile radius in the valley that held Exodus Lake.
In conclusion, I have a personal goal for myself, called MDSA. Make Demons Scary Again. That is my ultimate goal whenever I write about demons from now on, and while probably not fulfilled entirely in Black Gospel City, it will be in the final story of the series, as of yet untitled.
"The Last Judgement" Jean Cousin, 1560 AD
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