Teen Girl Exorcism Squad: Three Arizona Girls Claim to Cast Out Demons

[Are_grits_groceries]

Brynne, Tess and Savannah from Phoenix are black belts in karate, expert horseback riders and avid musical theater fans. And they perform exorcisms.

"We're just normal girls who do something extraordinary for God," Brynne said. "After seeing an actual exorcism in person, led by us, you will walk away with no doubt, whatsoever."

Brynne, 17, is the leader of the pack, the one the others call the "enforcer." She is home-schooled and a regular on the beauty pageant circuit. Savannah, 20, is known as the "compassionate one," a college student who likes to shop. Finally, there's Tess, "the middle man" because the others say this 17-year-old can play both good and bad cop. She also performs in local musicals.

"There is a war going on every day, being waged against us," Brynne said. "Satan hates us. We know how the enemy is, we know what he's attacking and we can fight back."

Their teacher is Brynne's father, the Rev. Bob Larson, who says he has performed more than 10,000 exorcisms in the last 30 years.
<snip>
Watch the full story on "Nightline" Tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.
much more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-girl-exorcism-squad-arizona-girls-claim-cast/story?id=16074541#.T32GOBB5mK1

Out of control!
What happened to Nancy Drew? Even Sweet Valley High?

Give me those noxious teenage vampires any day. The Hunger Games could only be better if Katniss were hunting this Trio of Terror!

Can't make this shite up.

[Enrique]

1. CNN had this ridiculous huckster on recently

and now ABC News is advertising his snake oil too.

[hobbit709]

2. what a crock!

Let's see ONE bit of evidence about these 10,000 demons existing anywhere except inside his head.

[jberryhill]

3. Being in Arizona must keep them busy

Give them a map to the governor's residence and the Maricopa sheriff's office.

Worth a try.

[Brickbat]

4. The last sentence spells it out for all of us in case we can't figure it out.

"We have to fund what we do," he said.

Larson is currently weighing several offers for new reality shows starring Brynne, Tess and Savannah.

[Lizzie Poppet]

21. hit.nail.head

As the late, great George Carlin said:

"Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man -- living in the sky -- who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! "

[raccoon]

5. A quote that seems particularly appropriate here:

Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them?



Source: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Henry IV, Part I, act III, scene i, lines 5355. •

[JHB]

6. "more than 10,000 exorcisms in the last 30 years"?

10,000/30=333.33 exorcisms per year

Leaving aside the notion that we're supposed to take the word of someone who believes in evil spirits seriously, he's saying he's performed nearly one a day for three decades straight? Pretty tight schedule! Is this just "slap 'em on the forehead and shout 'begone!'", or does he need to take time with each of the afflicted to learn what ails them?

Do they all come to him for the convenience of his assembly line, or does he travel to them? Does the travel time cut down on his exorcising time?

Are there any "mass exorcisms" that are throwing off the average, so that he actually had enough free time to schtup his wife once much less raise a kid?

Since he's such a fearsome demon-demolisher, doesn't he have to waste any time chasing down people because the demon possessing them knows it is toast if this guy lays hands? Or is Satan so inept at doing his infernal work that he doesn't share this important bit of intel with his underlings in the field?

The logistics just don't add up.

I didn't watch the video, and can't at the moment. How did Nightline treat it? I'm guessing not as "hucksters: the next generation".

[Bolo Boffin]

7. I'm betting he's counting multiple infestations of the same person

"Oh, this person has 15 different demons!" That sort of thing. Because you're right, the numbers don't make sense at face value.

[JHB]

25. How does that work, anyway? Like Voltron, just more complicated?

...
Demon #3: "I'll form... the left elbow!"
...
Demon #8: "I'll form... the right big toe!"
...
Demon #14: "And I'll form... the head!"
Demon #15 (lower down, with big leer): "And I'll form... the other head! Wheee!"

[LeftinOH]

8. "Brynne said she can tell when someone is demonically possessed when she looks into his eyes"...

I can make "scary eyes", honey; most people can.

[get the red out]

9. Scary

This kind of thing is a small step away from putting the mentally ill in cages and burning "witches". This isn't just someone harmlessly practicing their religion, the consequences can be a mentally ill person being convinced they are possed by demons rather than being guided to actual treatment.

[hobbit709]

10. I question the mental health of someone who believes that they can cast out "demons"

[get the red out]

23. So do I!

Unless he's just a con artist and this is his gig.

[Walk away]

11. Arizona. nt

[bowens43]

12. more evidence that religion makes you stupid..... as if we needed more.

[Skidmore]

18. Either that or they've seen too many seasons of "True Blood" and the like.

[malaise]

13. The US of A is having a collective

mental breakdown

[Are_grits_groceries]

15. Well, SC has lead the way in something.

This quote has been around forever:
South Carolina: ‘Too small to be a country, too big to be a mental institution’

I believe it is just about the right size for the latter.

[snooper2]

27. No, there are hundreds of millions of people, of course you are going to have

your idiot religious fundies that make news....

And these guys are good, making money from removing imaginary beings from one. What a great gig! You can work your own hours, length of each job is up to you, get to be on TV,


I'm in the wrong business

[Egalitarian Thug]

14. Why did this just pop into my head?

[VWolf]

16. "home-schooled and a regular on the beauty pageant circuit"

Pretty much tells you all you need to know.

[deutsey]

17. She's Bob Larson's daughter?...that explains a lot

http://exposingboblarson.wordpress.com/

[Johnny Rico]

30. I remember listening to Bob Larson in the '80s.

At the time I (rather naively) thought he was simply a sincere (and fairly entertaining) nut...but of course I now recognize him for the huckster that he is.

I recall one exchange he had with a caller when the subject of the day was rock music and the demonic influence it had on the youth of America. At one point, he said "Well, what groups do you like?" to which the caller answered, "Abba!"

There were a few moments of Dead Air as he frantically tried to come up with a reason to criticize one of the squeakiest-clean groups of the time.

"Oh, yeah? They memorize the words! They don't even speak English...and you listen to their garbage?"

What can I say, it was before the internet...

[CBGLuthier]

19. Fuck Bob Larson and his progeny

This idiot railed against rock music as a tool of Satan. In the 1980's. What an idiot.

I dedicate this to the whole rotten family

[vaberella]

20. Hah...Christian version of The Craft. Gotta love it. n/t

[JHB]

43. More than you know:

Separated at birth?

[vaberella]

45. Wow, that's scary. It will be horrifying when they fill in the spot for the Black girl. n/t

[Marrah_G]

22. The world is full of nuts and con artists.

[dembotoz]

24. homebuilt reality tv show--i bet it is on by fall

hell we have multiple wives, jersey shore, dwarf people, storage unit shoppers, pawn shops

why not??

i hear olbermans slot is open......

[JHB]

41. Hey, the formula worked for the Duggars and the Quiverfull cult

Last edited Thu Apr 5, 2012, 05:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Besides, in the Great Recession it's probably harder for Larson's to get the sheep of his flock to part with the same level of cash that they could a few years ago.

Now the Duggars have pointed to a whole new way to monetize his shtick, and his daughter & her pals are old enough to be a hook for a new demographic.

Brynne, center and Tess, right, both 17, and Savannah, left, 20, from Pheonix, Ariz., are black belts in karate and expert horseback riders and avid musical theater fans. And they perform exorcisms. (ABC News)

P.S.: I see that ABC didn't bother to spell-check "Phoenix", unless Fee-onicks is someplace else.

[davidthegnome]

26. Wow

When I was 20, I had a friend who believed strongly in demonic possession. He would say that if you watched porn, a minor demon could easily enter you through your eyes. Back then I was frequently having fairly severe panic attacks, I recall him telling me that I had a "demon in me" because I was shaking. Now if you've ever had a panic attack, you know they aren't exactly rational feelings, so in my case that just scared me even more. I spent the next week reading the bible, praying frequently and even read online about demonic possession and how to cast out the demon.

Before I made the leap of actually seeking out someone to perform an exorcism, I went to see a Doctor who prescribed xanax and my panic attacks became much less severe and frequent. Later, I sought out my old friend and told him this - he looked me in the eye, spit on the ground and told me the devil was having a "hay day" with me. It wasn't much longer until I discovered that my old friend was abusing his girlfriend who was also his cousin, or that he had frequently threatened a local Native American woman with burning down her sweat tent because it was a tool of the devil.

These people tend to be dangerous - but there is almost always a leader, someone of "faith", or so called "Righteousness" leading the young in their efforts to "combat Satan". I feel great sympathy for the young women - and only contempt for Bob Larson. If there were indeed demons or evil spirits possessing human beings, I suspect they would reside in people like Larson and my old friend.

Consider, if you will, what young women who believe in the "Godliness" of this man would be willing to do for him. Before I woke up to reality, I had a great deal of trust in my old friend, considered him a spiritual mentor. At twenty seven now, I have learned enough to be deeply suspicious of anyone who claims to be able to cast out demons or sense them in another human being. I suspect that there is not a single one of them that is not a fraud or a dangerous lunatic.

[PassingFair]

28. Belief in angels and demons cloaks mental illness.

Those that aren't mentally ill find it a convenient
mental game for avoiding responsibility for their own
thoughts and actions.

Scary shit, if you ask me.

[Poll_Blind]

29. +1

PB

[Javaman]

31. let's not mistake this for anything else than what it is...

A preteen sexual fantasy's for the right wing.

if this article wasn't so bizarre to begin with, it would be down right creepy.

[hifiguy]

32. Batshit insane or grifting hucksters?

Could be both, methinks.

[Initech]

33. What decade are we living in?

[NoGOPZone]

34. I know a sheriff right in their state who's possessed. nt

[mainer]

35. "50% of the population" has demons!

"But Larson claims that 50 percent of the population is probably affected by demons in some way and his girls are the front line of defense."

These gals will have lifetime employment.

[woo me with science]

36. This is going to be a TV show. nt

[longship]

37. These things can go horribly wrong

Top 10 Exorcisms Resulting in Death or Injury:

10. In April 1994, Nicholas Sogunro of East Ham, East London, became convinced his fiancée was possessed by the Devil when she refused to marry him. Mr. Sogunro locked her is a bedroom, starved and beat her for 14 days, and force fed her communion bread and wine. After her death, Mr. Sagunro tried for 3 days to resurrect her, and then hid her body in the back of his church for a year. He was jailed for 6 years.

9. In January 1998, Charity Miranda, 17 years old of Sayville, Long Island, NY, was suffocated to death with a plastic bag by her mother and sisters after an unsuccessful attempt to exorcise her of demons. The women had recently embraced Santeria, which Charity resisted joining. When she developed the flu after resisting, her mother interpreted it as demonic possession and began the exorcism. Vivian Mairanda, the mother, was excused from a trial on the grounds of insanity, and will spend the rest of her life in a maximum-security psychiatric hospital.

8. In October 1993, Cheung Ho of Norwich England, believing her body had been invaded by spirits taking the form of snakes and worms, asked her brother to exorcise the demons. Mr. Chi, the brother, repeatedly stomped on her to drive out the demons, breaking ribs, lacerating her liver, and causing internal injuries. Mr. Chi was jailed for 5 years.

7. On December 8, 1993, Farida Patel of Ilford, East London, began displaying various signs of demonic possession, when problems with her husband’s immigration began to plague her. Her family called in an exorcist, Mouna Pai, who, along with Farida’s sister and brother, preformed an exorcism. Pai beat Farida with a plastic vacuum cleaner pipe and a walking stick for over five hours, interspersed with readings from the Koran. The attack was repeated for over four hours the following day until the woman expired. All 3 were found guilty of manslaughter, and spent from 3 to 5 years in jail.

6. In April 1997, Kira Canhoto of Kitchener, Ontario, was killed by her mother and grandmother during an exorcism. The women felt that the child was the victim of a demon, and tried to exorcise it by forcing Kira to drink vast quantities of water. The grandmother pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

5. Also in April 1997, a busy month for exorcism, 5 year old Amy Burney of Staten Island, was killed by her grandmother and mother, during an attempt to exorcise a demon that they believed caused Amy to have tantrums. Not being satisfied with vast quantities of mere water, these good women tied Amy down, forced her to drink a mixture of ammonia, vinegar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, & olive oil. They taped her mouth shut to prevent her from spitting out the mixture, and she expired. Police charged the women with 2nd degree murder, and both were sentenced to 12 – 25 years.

4. In July 1996, 5 year old Breeann Spickard of Baldwin Park, Los Angeles was beaten to death during an exorcism preformed by her mother, and two of her friends. All 3 of the women, who were taking methamphetamines, held the girl down and whipped her with a cheeseboard for 2 hours, stripping away several layers of skin and eventually killing the child. All 3 women were convicted of murder.

3. In August 1994, Hoda and Abir, of Egypt, punched their mother to death. The daughters claimed their mother was possessed by a djinn, and said “incomprehensible things”. The daughters were sent to a state mental hospital.

2. In May, 1994, Lindsay and Janice Gibson were charged with killing their son. Janice had become convinced she was God, and had convinced her husband of this as well. Janice first tried to expel demons from her 2 year old daughter by beating her in the face for 10 minutes. When Janice tried to exorcise her husband’s boss, he called the authorities. The doctor refused to sign commitment papers requested by social services, as he felt she was just a religious fanatic. The next day, Janice, convinced her family and especially her 12-year-old son were surrounded by demons, fed then a hearty meal and thence forced them to vomit the just consumed food. She then kicked her son out of the house naked into the cold. Later, while her husband restrained the boy, Janice beat him repeatedly in the head with a concrete block. When police arrived, she shouted, “He’s already dead. We killed him, you stupid man, just like the first Jesus”. Mr. & Mrs Gibson were both found not guilty by reason of “folie a deux”, a rare psychiatric syndrome of psychosis, particularly a paranoid or delusional belief, that is transmitted from one individual to another.

1. In April 1996, Sommai Chaipanya of Udon Thiland agreed to a ritulastic beating to her head and genitala with a stingray tail by a Shaman to exorcise evil spirits. After the exorcism began, she changed her mind and fled, only to be abducted later by the Shaman who continued the ritual untl Ms Chiapanya’s death. The Shaman was charged with the murder.

(from Skeptic's Guide to the Universe)

[ThomThom]

38. wasn't there a cartoon with 3 girl crime fighters?

life imitating art? or just too much TV?

[JHB]

44. The cartoon probably had more realistic stories

and more believable dialogue.

[tjwash]

39. Did they get their black belts from the same dojo that Elvis did?

[LadyHawkAZ]

40. What ¢ould po$$ibly be per$uading the$e kid$ to do thi$

$tupid $hit? Exor¢i$ms? $hee$h.

[Tom Ripley]

42. Is she the spawn of Bob "Backmasking" Larson? God, I hate 80s nostalgia!