Is anyone out there terrified of demons/devils IRL?

[Brennin Magalus]

She also refuses to watch the movie Signs for some strange reason.

I also refuse to watch the movie Signs (again) for the strange reason that it sucks.

 

[Numion]

That's more than a little unfair. Demons are a part (albeit an unpleasant one) of many people's religions. There's no reason to be insulting about it.

Personally, I don't believe in any such thing. But that doesn't mean I can't respect the beliefs of the folks who do--or at least be polite enough not to belittle them for it.

I don't think he was trying to belittle anyones religion.

He was just momentarily possessed

No, just kidding. I just see demons as big and real threat as UFOs. UFOs are some peoples religion. I laugh at both.

 

[Brennin Magalus]

Ok, this is going to sound really bizarre. Is anyone here terrified of demons/devils/evil spirits in real life?

My cosmology allows for them (something has to be possessing the morally and intellectually bankrupt kooks who disagree with me) but I'm not terrified by them.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

My religion ain't real big on demons. My personal experiences, on the other hand, are a different story, and yes, I have been quite afraid every time I've encountered such.

I wouldn't waste the energy on being afraid of them when they aren't around, though. As Teflon Billy says, that's the sign of a weak mind.

 

[trancejeremy]

Gamers actually seem to be much more skeptical of the supernatural than the average person (as shown in this thread). (And a lot of non-skeptics gamers tend to be knowledgeable...).


But anyway, it's not that uncommon a belief.


They're really not connected to ghosts. I used to know someone who actually spend time investigating ghosts, to the point of staying in supposedly haunted buildings, but she was afraid of demons.

 

[S'mon]

I remember a minister who took a Religious Education class at my school one time telling the class how he cast 3 demons out of someone who turned up at his church. I guess psychologists would say the 'demon possessed' guy was schizophrenic. It was all very dramatic and creepy. This was in Northern Ireland.

 

[astralpwka]

I know my parents worried about the Dungeons and Dragons demons 15 years ago, especially after they looked through my copy of the original Fiend Folio after listening to a 700 Club episode.

Even if real demons would make me nervous, it was never enough to keep me from the game, the chanting, and the goat sacrifices that 1st edition demanded...

"the night time is the right time... the night time is the right time... the nght time is the right time..."

 

[Wormwood]

I don't believe in demons or devils.

Leprechauns, on the other hand, scare the bejeezus out of me.

Every night I make a point to state, in a loud and clear voice, "I have no interest in your gold."

But they come for me anyway.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I just found out recently that the wife of one of my players who is in my campaign is terrified of the possibility of demonic possession or infernal influences in real life.

Anyway, is this unusual? Has anybody else ever run into anything like this?

We have a similar situation in our gaming group. One of our players, who was raised in a very strict Catholic household, is very afraid of demons, devils and demonic possession. She refuses to watch "The Exorcist" or any similar movies. However, she loves to watch slasher-type horror movies.

I use her fear occassionally by hinting at the possibility of demons possessing her character, but it doesn't seem to bother her. She is able to seperate the game from real life, and hasn't mentioned any bads dreams or nightmares because of what happens in the game.

We have another player who, in real life, is afraid of lots of things. She won't watch any type of horror movie, won't go to a haunted house at Halloween, nothing. She gets spooked if we just dim the lights while playing, for effect. She's easy to scare.
And she does sometime have nightmares about events from the game.

 

[RangerWickett]

I scare easily.

Signs wasn't a bad movie. It just had a concept that fell prey to people expecting it to be hard SF about aliens, when actually it was a religious morality tale with demons. Oh, and it wasn't just any water. It was holy water.

Anyway, I tie in Signs with me being scared because, as I've mentioned, I scare easily. I like getting myself scared, and I get miffed at people who can't appreciate the fact that being frightened by a story often requires an investment by the viewer/reader/listener.

I watched Signs at a 10 pm showing, and couldn't fall asleep 'til the sun came up. I kept jumping at noises, and backed myself into a corner in a sleeping bag so they couldn't sneak up on me through a door or window. Of course logically I knew it was just a movie and there couldn't be anything to scare me, but my neurochemical brain processes wouldn't let the fear abide.

This very summer, I followed a link on these boards to a story about the Black-Eyed Children. Damned creepy stuff, man. I was over at my ex-girlfriend's house, and I insisted on staying and sleeping in her room so she could calm my shattered nerves.

I read Call of Cthulhu adventures -- ones I plan to GM myself, mind you -- and I get scared. A man named Robert no one ever sees but the NPCs, and those motion picture screens downstairs? Danged spooky.

Heck, I even let myself be scared by the Blair Witch Project, but the fright didn't last long, and I realized that I wouldn't have been bothered in the least if I hadn't gone in wanting to be scared. Same sort of thing with the American version of The Ring.

Of course, there was that time when the group was watching The Ring, and as soon as the little video ended, a particularly *ahem* clever guy discreetly used his cel phone to call the room. Movie ends, there's a pause, . . . then "RING!" Scary.

What is the topic again? Oh yeah, demons. I believe in the tenants and teachings of my religion (Christianity), but I take little of the book as concrete, so no actual demons or actual angels.