Possessed Child Narratives in Literature and Film: Contrary States (Crime Files)

The possessed child made a spectacular impact in the 1970s with The Exorcist, which was a literary, cinematic, cultural and social phenomenon. The book and film helped spawn an entire generation of possessed youngsters throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In the first full-length study of this image, Adrian Schober argues that the possessed child is first and foremost an American phenomenon that may be traced to certain religious and cultural factors in the United States.

In this thought-provoking analysis of the shifting cultural perceptions of the 'good' and 'evil' child, Schober revisits such American classics as The Scarlet Letter and The Turn of the Screw, while examining its more contemporary face in books and films such as The Exorcist and E.T.. He compares these American representations with those from other national contexts, as well as its treatment in the field of children's literature. The book adopts a unique interdisciplinary approach, which offers new insights by examining the possessed child trope within a broad historical and cultural perspective.
Winner of the 2004 Postgraduate Publication Prize, Faculty of Arts, Monash University