Ep. 17 – 4 Manuals Used to Fake Demonic Possession in the Renaissance | Cursed Voices Dark History Podcast

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: This episode includes themes involving death, tragedy, violence, and supernatural or potentially disturbing historical events.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, faking a demonic possession wasn’t just a random cry for attention—it was a highly calculated survival tactic. From dodging arranged marriages to settling deadly political feuds, feigning a demonic attack could be an ingenious (and sometimes profitable) escape route. But how did everyday people know exactly how to act “possessed” to fool the authorities?

They studied the manuals.

In this episode of the Cursed Voices podcast, we uncover the dark history behind four Renaissance-era books that accidentally served as “how-to” guides for demonic hoaxes. While these texts were originally published as religious propaganda, legal blueprints, or skeptical exposés, they provided step-by-step symptom lists for desperate people—and calculating con artists.

In this episode, we break down:

• The Devil of Laon (1578): The original “viral script” that taught notorious copycats like Marthe Brossier exactly how to swell their stomachs and fake unholy convulsions.
• A Discovery of the Fraudulent Practises of John Darrel (1599): A skeptical exposé that gave teens like William Perry the ultimate guide on smuggling props to “vomit” foreign objects.
• The Witches of Warboys Pamphlet (1593): How a chilling legal document became the blueprint for coerced revenge plots, like the tragic case of Anne Gunter.
• Flagellum Daemonum (1577): The professional exorcist manual that laid the groundwork for sensory triggers and forced reactions.

Want to dive deeper into the historical documents and case studies we discussed? Read the full breakdown of the history in our detailed blog post here.

You can also watch the visual deep-dive of this episode on YouTube or stream the audio version on Spotify.

Episode Chapters

00:00 – Fake Possession: A Weird History Documentary
01:22 – The Skeptic’s Handbook & The Exorcism Hoax
06:36 – Witchcraft History: The Tragic Case of Anne Gunter
11:05 – The Exorcist’s Playbook: History of the Catholic Church
16:04 – Marthe Brossier & The Possession Fraud
19:22 – Uncovering these Historical Enigmas

𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
• The Bewitching of Anne Gunter (2000), page 7 – Used as published reference image. James Sharpe. Source: Google Books.
• English translation excerpt from Marianne Closson (2022) – Used as translated research quotation. Source: UNA Éditions.
𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 & 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞:
Some images and historical documents used in this video are public domain, Creative Commons licensed, or included under fair use for commentary, research, and educational analysis.
𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐬:
Research, writing, and production by Jessica M. Lathrop, M.A. & Larry C. Lathrop, M.S.
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