The Devil came down to Georgia...and traveled the United States this year: Exorcism's reappearance in the Catholic Church

'The more emphatic someone is that they're possessed, the more I'm probably convinced that they don't have anything.'

Thousands believe they are victims of demonic possession, but how many instances are real?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "It is a big phenomenon," J. Gordon Melton, a Methodist minister said of exorcisms in the United States. "There is a lot of exorcism going on."

Sociologist Michael Cuneo, author of newly published "American Exorcism," believes "Exorcism is more readily available today in the United States than perhaps ever before."

In his book, Cuneo wrote, "By conservative estimates, there are at least five or six  hundred evangelical exorcism ministries in operation today, and quite possibly two or three times this many."

The Roman Catholic Church keeps at least 10 official exorcists in the United States, while only ten years ago they retained only one.

Since the release of William Friedkin's "The Exorcist," the world has become more aware of a practice the Roman Catholic Church has practiced for centuries - releasing those inflicted with demonic possession.

Several other films have cropped up from the 1980's original, which has only gained popularity over the decades.

Unlike the practice seen in the film, an actual exorcist is an extremely religious and delicate process that demands respect. Not all exorcisms involve spinning heads, gushing vomit and disfigurement of the possessed. Some believe exorcists can be as simple as laying hands on the afflicted and praying, leaving the rest to God.

As the popularity of possession spreads, so, too, does the idea that people, who are otherwise healthy, have acted out in bizarre ways as a result of demonic afflictions.

Father Gary Thomas's first encounter with the afflicted in Rome left him unimpressed. "I used to think, 'Is this for real? Is this a placebo effect? Are they acting out because they think they're supposed to?'" he wondered.

When he was invited to witness a "special case," he discovered three other priests present and a woman who was believed to have been possessed by a demon. Three hours into praying for her, she began thrashing to the point where "it took four of us to hold her down. She was hissing and pissing and blaspheming and screaming. That was the first one I ever saw."

Father Thomas later returned to America, where he began to perform exorcisms after subjecting each patient through thorough questionings concerning their mental health histories, trauma, sexual abuse, drug habits, sexual partners and more.

If Thomas and the medical doctors on his team conclude there is no medical, psychological or psychiatric malady, he then treats the patient with an exorcism.

"The exorcist is the ultimate skeptic," Father Thomas admitted. "The more emphatic someone is that they're possessed, the more I'm probably convinced that they don't have anything."

Pastor Steven Waterhouse, an evangelical Christian, wrote that possession is real, but not as widespread as most currently believe.

"People are too quick to diagnose demons. Human nature is plenty evil on its own," Waterhouse stated.

There have been several cases in which people have been killed as others attempted to exorcise them, but a real exorcism would never kill the possessed person. In fact, a bonafide exorcism can be as simple as a 20-minute prayer session, or can take years of ongoing prayer.

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