Stories of exorcisms have long captured the fear of the public. While generally associated with the Catholic Church, such accounts have existed since Mesopotamian times. From movies like The Exorcist and countless horror novels on the subject, it is clear that these demonic stories still hold sway over the general public’s imagination.

She stated that the man was a tailor in his forties and went by the name of George Lukins. According to her account, Lukins experienced fits daily, which were characterized by certain events. One of the foremost features of his fits was that he sang and screamed loudly in different sounds. Many other medical gentlemen had also lent their help to Mr. Smith and his patient. All was in vain. No cure could be found for the mysterious malady, with George himself declaring that in the middle of his fits no doctor could do him service.Knapp’s symptoms eventually subsided and she lived out her life quietly as a Puritan wife and mother. 2. ‘Gina’ I personally knew him; a youth about 18, short in stature, and meagre in aspect. He had frequent fits or paroxysms, and was sometimes affected like the Pythonesses, or rather like the furies, mentioned often by Herodotus and ancient writers. He was cruelly distorted, and uttered foul language; but was often heard to say that he should be delivered, if 7 ministers should pray with him. In the 1770s, a man named George Lukins was possessed by an entity so powerful that seven clergymen were needed to perform an exorcism upon him. This possession and exorcism, which became known as the Yatton Daemonica, is one of the most well-known cases of demonic possession in history.

In the daemoniac his personality seems to be destroyed, and his actions, words, and even thoughts to be overborne by the evil spirit on its path for the kingdom of man”. They were not vessels but rather gateways for demonic entities. George Lukins was not possessed in the traditional sense so much as he had stopped the entities from traveling through him.After this night of drinking, Lukins began experiencing seizures where he could not speak. Stories about Lukins also asserted that he would make strange animal sounds, including barking like a dog. He would also argue with himself and act violently. The fits always began and ended with "a strong agitation of the right hand." Witnesses also reported that Lukins "cannot hear any virtuous or expression used without pain or horror." Lukins is also described as being an "emaciated and exhausted figure."

Sarah Baber had been living in Yatton many years before the incident and had formed a different impression of George Lukins. She affirmed that Lukins was a religious man who went to the church regularly and was perceived as a good man in society. However, all of this goodness in George Lukins was apparently put to the test when his fits started almost 18 years ago. After two hours of repeated prayers, Lukins announced in his own voice, "Blessed Jesus." Then he praised God for deliverance and said the Lord's Prayer. After that point, Lukins seemed to experience no other issues. Rev. Joseph Easterbrook found his six men of God, which along with himself decided upon the Trinitarian rites and had George Lukins brought to Temple Church in Bristol. On Friday the 13th of June 1778 the seven clergymen began their exorcism of Mr. Lukins in the attached vestry of Temple Church. A strange choice of location, but perhaps they too felt an inkling of what was about to occur. One of the Doctors that examined Lukins was Samuel Norman. According to Norman, "To prove himself bewitched, he gave me and others many relations of the power of witches, their iniquitous practices and punishments for them."

Satan visits Manchester

During the ritual, ‘Gina’ was restrained by nurses and other members of the exorcism team as she writhed around shouting and speaking in different voices. On May 31, 1778, a woman named Mrs. Sarah Barber traveled to the Yatton Village in Mendip, Somerset, and summoned Rev. Joseph Easterbrook of Temple Church. She said she knew a man she felt was afflicted with an odd infirmity, a tailor named George Lukins who would sing and scream with different voices that barely sounded human. Because of his bizarre behavior, Lukins eventually ended up at St. George’s Hospital, where he was confined for over five months. He was pronounced incurable by the doctors. The Methodist exorcism ceremony resembles the Catholic rite in many ways. The ritual consists of adjurations and commands for the demon to depart. These commands are accompanied by prayers and hymns. Ironically for this case, all of these rituals were expressly rejected by the Church of England as well as the other Protestant denominations.