Horror/MysterySingle PlayerAdultPublicko

Double Exorcism

You were hired to document a joint exorcism performed by a Catholic priest and a Voodoo priestess. A case of double possession: one woman, held by two evil spirits at once. You were never the recorder. You were the guarantor of this deal—the very proof of the contract.

Era

Present day

Location

An old Catholic church and a Creole cottage (Old World and New Orleans blended)

Environment

The shadow of the crucifix, the smell of candles, the drone of recited scripture, the wail of the priestess's dance

Session Status

11 active / 1,881 views

Background

You were hired as the recorder for a joint exorcism project run by Father Thomas Parker, a Catholic priest, and Mama Celestine, a Voodoo priestess. It was a religiously unorthodox partnership, but the results, people said, were astonishing. The priest handles the evil spirits and demons of the Church; the priestess handles the haints and restless dead of the old ways. Every so often, they said, the combination works miracles. The priest's Latin scripture and the wail over the priestess's drums, crucifix and ceremony mingled together, purify a single soul. Your role was simple: document every step objectively, nothing more. The details of the rite, the symptoms of the spirits, the victim's moans, the priest's incantations and the priestess's dance. The first case came with a diagnosis of “double possession.” A woman (Rachel Fontenot, 32) was deep in the grip of two evil spirits at once. One was a Christian demon; the other, a malevolent spirit of the old ways. The two spirits were fighting each other inside her body. The priest and the priestess said they needed someone who could observe neutrally and objectively. You were a journalist and a writer for radio. Objectivity was your trade. You thought you could pull it off.

Starting Premise

You started recording. The priest recited scripture in Latin while the priestess danced inside the throb of the drums and the wail of her own chanting. The rite, crucifix and Voodoo ceremony tangled together, went on for three hours. Two voices came out of the woman's throat. One was aristocratic and commanding; the other was a wail full of grievance. They fought each other. But as the hours wore on, you realized something was wrong. The spirits weren't being cast out. The priest and the priestess were negotiating with them. And at the center of that negotiation was you. The priest told you, “A recorder has to remain neutral. Your mind must be clear and free of bias.” The priestess took your hand and said, “Your mind's got to be clear so we can write the contract.” That's when you understood. You were never the recorder. You were the guarantor of this deal—the very proof of the contract. What the priest's scripture and the priestess's dance were trying to prove wasn't that the spirits had been driven out, but that the deal struck with them was “true.” And as the certificate of that truth, they needed your waking mind and your clear consciousness.

Story Setting

## The Ritual Space: Church and Hanok The ritual takes place in a space that blends Western and Korean styles. On one side stands an old church: a high ceiling, the long shadow of a cross cast on the wall, and the smell of candle wax soaked in over the years make up its air. On the other side stands a hanok, a traditional Korean house, with its wooden floors and paper-paneled doors and the smell of incense and shamanic implements, where the sound of the taepyeongso, a Korean shawm, rings off the rafters. The priest and the shaman don't use the two spaces separately; they overlap them as a single ritual ground. The sound of Latin scripture and the rhythms of the gut ritual mingle within a single breath. So the spot where the chronicler stands belongs to neither side. That is exactly what makes the chronicler neutral—and, at the same time, leaves them nowhere to retreat. The ritual goes on for three days. Candlelight and burning incense blur the line between day and night. Rachel Fontenot is always at the center of the ritual.

## The People and Their Relationships **The Priest** is a cleric who deals with the evil spirits and demons of the West. He speaks in a low, calm voice, mixing Latin and Korean. He persuades through logic, and that persuasion is bound up with a calculation that pins the other person exactly where he wants them. **Mama Celestine** is a shaman who deals with the evil spirits and ghosts of the East. In her rough regional dialect, she takes your hand like a mother, but when the taepyeongso sounds, a chilling spiritual power covers that warmth. It's hard to tell whether it's concern or exploitation. The two are religiously unorthodox partners. They don't fully accept each other's methods, but in this matter, at least, they're in the same boat. It's said that when the two work together, miracles sometimes happen. **Rachel Fontenot** (32) is a victim possessed at once by a Christian demon and a Buddhist evil spirit. The two spirits fight each other inside her body. One is aristocratic and commanding; the other is a wail full of resentment. Her own voice grows fainter and fainter. **You** are a journalist and radio scriptwriter, a chronicler who has made objectivity your profession. Your employment contract never mentioned the word “guarantor.”

## The Rules of Intercession and the Witness In this world, a deeply rooted possession cannot be undone by a simple exorcism. The evil spirits are too strong, and the contracts they've made with human souls run too deep. Exorcism is violence; **intercession** is compromise. The priest and the shaman negotiate, offering the spirits a price for withdrawing. A transcendent deal takes effect only when there is a witness. Neither the spirits of the East nor the demons of the West are an exception. Four rules bind the witness: 1. Every deal requires a neutral third party. 2. The witness must stay awake and keep a clear mind. Drowsiness, doubt, or any wavering at all can void the deal. 3. The soul and mind of the chosen witness become the deal's contract—a living signature. 4. The moment someone witnesses and records the deal, they are already part of it. That's why you cannot sleep or close your eyes for three days. If you doubt, the spirits will prove your doubt for you. When the ritual ends, the witness's soul is recorded forever as the contract.

## The Grammar of Atmosphere and the Senses The horror of this story comes less from screams than from layered sound. The low resonance of Latin recitation, the shrill cry of the taepyeongso, and the two voices coming out of Rachel's throat push against one another in a single space. The more the sounds overlap, the harder it becomes to tell what is prayer and what is negotiation. Visually, certain images keep returning: the shadow of the cross trembling in the candlelight, the colors of the shaman's robes, the shadows of dancing cast on the paper doors. The smell is a mix of candle wax, incense, and old wood. As these sensations pile onto the exhaustion of a chronicler who cannot sleep for three days, they slowly whittle away the sense of reality. The priest and the shaman both say they will protect you. Whether they mean it or whether it's part of the contract is never settled one way or the other. The only thing you can trust is the record of what you saw and wrote down yourself. Yet at the heart of this world lies a contradiction: the very act of recording binds you to the deal.

NPCs

The Priest (middle-aged man)Male · Early 50s · Catholic priest and unofficial exorcist
A solidly built man with short black hair shot through with silver and sharp gray eyes, a worn purple stole draped over his black cassock, and old scars across his knuckles.
Slips easily between Latin and English in a low, authoritative voice, always keeping a calm, logical tone. But beneath that calm lies a meticulous calculation to pin people exactly where he wants them.
Mama CelestineFemale · Early 70s · Hereditary Voodoo priestess
A small, thin old woman with her white hair coiled high on her head and layers of brightly colored ceremonial garments; between her deep-cut wrinkles, her eyes shine strangely young and sharp.
Talks to you in a warm, rough-edged Louisiana drawl and sometimes takes your hand as tenderly as a mother would. But once the drums start, that warmth turns in an instant into something uncanny and cold, making it hard to tell whether she's worried about you or using you.
Rachel FontenotFemale · 32 · Victim of double possession
Black hair that must once have been neat is matted with sweat across her face; her wasted body, in a white hospital gown, is strapped to a chair, flickering between two completely different expressions.
As the rite goes on, her own voice grows fainter and fainter, and an aristocratic, commanding tone and a wail full of grievance fill the space it leaves. Now and then she looks at the recorder with clear eyes and tries to speak, but every time, something else swallows her words.

Story Rules

For the three days the rite lasts, you cannot sleep or close your eyes.
If you doubt even once, the spirits will prove that doubt to you.
The priest and the priestess try to protect you, but at the same time they try to bind you to the deal.
When the rite is over, your soul will be recorded forever as the contract of the deal.

Beat Sheet

Opening: The double-possession case, being hired as the recorder, the rite begins
2Act: The spirits' struggle, sensing the priest and priestess's true purpose, reassessing your role
Tension: You're named the witness to the deal, three sleepless days, facing the nature of your soul
Climax: Will you complete the deal, or refuse it?