M. Scott Peck, eminent psychiatrist, graduate of Harvard University, author of the well known book “The Road Less Traveled” describes his theory of what caused contortion of the face during demonic possession in his book “Glimpses of the Devil.”
In his remarkable work, “Glimpses of the Devil – A psychiatrist’s personal accounts of possession, exorcism and redemption”, M.Scott Peck M.D. – details some of his otherworldly encounters with demonic entities.
In one instance, he discusses how people’s faces sometime “contort” during possession:
” I have told how the presence of the demonic was really instantaneous – paranormal appearance of an expression on Jersey’s face that I can only describe as blatantly satanic.”
A fact he confirmed later on videotape:
“Jersey turned away from the camera so that her face was in profile for no more than ten seconds – probably less. During those few seconds her face did undergo a transformation, even more dramatic and inexplicable – and horrible – that what I had experienced. For that ever so brief period her expression was not only blatantly satanic: it was as if her very physiology had undergone an inhuman shift. The skin of her face normally unusually taut and smooth, became deeply creased and wrinkled.
In addition to being a Satanic face, it was also the face of an old woman – an ancient gnarled witch. It was no subjective experience of mine. It is on the film, and the dramatic shift in facial expression was recently verified by one of the original team members. As soon as she turned her back to the camera, the expression was gone, and it looked as if Jersey had instantly grown a hundred years younger”, said Dr. Peck (pg 114-115).
He later writes:
“The physician in me is particularly intrigued. The phenomenon makes me wonder whether there might be a genetic element in possession to cause such a face” (pg 102).
Morgan Scott Peck (May 23, 1936 – September 25, 2005) was an American psychiatrist and best-selling author, best known for his first book, The Road Less Traveled , published in 1978.
See related video: Exorcists: the Unexplained http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfi_BUE4DMs