TESTIMONIES, TEXTS, AND THE LONG WAR AGAINST THE DEMONIC
Documented encounters. Ancient texts. The long war with the demonic.
Dark Matters explores the real historical record of how humans—and especially the Church—have understood, named, confronted, and resisted malevolent spiritual beings across the centuries.
From Mesopotamian incantation bowls to the letters of early Christian monks…from medieval exorcism manuals to forgotten American case files…this podcast investigates the testimonies, texts, and lived experiences that shaped the Church’s understanding of the Powers.
Hosted by Dr. Luke Bray, researcher of biblical angelology and demonology, the series draws from a wide-ranging body of primary sources—archaeological inscriptions, monastic writings, court transcripts, pastoral diaries, missionary accounts, and documented encounters preserved across eras and traditions.
Each episode is narrative, immersive, and sober—grounded in historical evidence rather than folklore, speculation, or paranormal sensationalism.
You’ll hear about:
The spirits that tormented the Desert Fathers
New Testament cosmology and early Christian exorcism
Medieval possession trials and ecclesiastical responses
18th–19th century American hauntings recorded by ministers and physicians
Modern documented deliverance encounters and pastoral case studies
The theological frameworks that guided discernment in different ages
Dark Matters is not spectacle. It is historical investigation—told with clarity, theological
depth, and respect for both Scripture and the lived experience of the global Church.
Follow the podcast and step into the long, often forgotten story of how believers have understood, discerned, and resisted the demonic throughout history.
Season 1
1. The St. Louis Exorcism (1949)
A rigorously documented American possession case involving Jesuit priests, medical professionals, and detailed diaries. This episode separates fact from myth to examine how modern exorcism unfolded in a post-war, clinical age.
2. The Testament of Solomon — A Manual of Demon Names
An ancient text attributed to Solomon catalogs demons, their functions, and the means of their restraint. We explore how this work shaped Jewish and Christian demonology—and why naming was believed to confer power.
3. The Gerasene Legion — Rome, Demons, and Occupation
The story of Legion is read against Roman military occupation and spiritual geography. This episode asks whether the demonic language of the Gospels also functioned as a critique of imperial power.
4. Loudun — Possession, Power, and Politics in 17th-Century France
A convent of possessed nuns becomes the center of a political and religious scandal in 17th-century France. This episode exposes how exorcism, hysteria, and state power collided with deadly consequences.
5. The Bell Witch — America’s Foundational Demonic Haunting
One of the most persistent and well-attested hauntings in American history. We examine eyewitness testimony, frontier religion, and why this case still resists tidy explanations.
6. Quedlinburg: The Possessed Maiden of the 10th Century
A young woman’s possession is recorded in early medieval sources tied to royal courts and monastic observers. This episode reveals how demons were understood in a world where theology and daily life were inseparable.
7. Evagrius and the Logismoi — When Demons Became Thoughts
Desert monks reframed demons not as apparitions but as intrusive thoughts. We trace how this psychological turn reshaped spiritual warfare for centuries to come.
8. The Drummer of Tedworth — A 1660s Poltergeist with Legal Records
A drumming spirit haunts a magistrate’s home in 1660s England, drawing legal inquiry and sworn testimony. This case shows how the supernatural was investigated before the rise of modern science.
9. Jesuit Exorcisms in Japan — Spirits at the Edge of Empire
Jesuit missionaries confront spirits within radically different cosmologies. This episode explores how exorcism functioned at the intersection of empire, translation, and spiritual authority.
10. Great War Trench Apparitions — Shadows in No Man’s Land
Soldiers report shadowy figures, angels, and presences amid industrialized slaughter. We ask how trauma, belief, and the unseen converged in no man’s land.
11. The Rosenheim Poltergeist — When Physicists Investigated the Unseen
A poltergeist case draws engineers, parapsychologists, and scientific instrumentation. This episode probes what happens when modern physics confronts phenomena it cannot explain.
12. The Pazuzu Amulet of Assur — Archaeology and Apotropaic Warfare
An archaeological artifact reveals how ancient peoples defended themselves against demonic harm. We explore apotropaic warfare long before biblical Israel or the Church.
13. The First Rebellion – How Evil Entered the Story
From divine councils to fallen watchers, this episode traces the earliest explanations for cosmic rebellion. It lays the theological groundwork for everything that follows in the history of demonology.