Why I Write About Demons

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by Bruce Hennigan

I am amazed at times by friends who think that I am somehow in league with Satan because I write novels about demons. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

So, why do I write about demons?

Because I have stared the enemy in the its face and I will not back down again!

My first encounter with pure evil took place shortly after I finished medical school during my internship. On a cold February night during a raging icestorm dozens of people were crowded into the emergency room waiting room trying to stay warm. It was my turn to evaluate a psychiatric patient.

I should have known something was up the minute I rounded the corner of our coldest hallway in the winter. Two nervous policeman leaned against the wall and neither one would meet my gaze. A sheen of water covered the hallway floor. The shattered tubes of fluorescent lights hung from exposed wires. Sparks showered down.
11th Demon
The door to the room was ajar and when I stepped in, I was met by chaos. The sink hung off the wall and water gushed onto the floor. Something sharp had ripped open the cover to the examining table and its stuffing filled the air with particles. Our “Wood’s” light, a black light used in the diagnosis of skin fungus, hung by a wire from its twisted articulated arm and made the gases from the broken fluorescent light bulbs glow with an unearthly purplish hue. From behind the examining table in the back corner I head a raspy, deep throated breathing. Slowly, I stepped around the end of the table. Crouched in the far corner a tiny girl in her early twenties hunched in the corner. The skin on her naked back barely covered her gaunt form and her rib cage retracted with each gasp.

“Ma’am, I am Dr. Hennigan. How can I help you today?”

She spun around quickly and with a twisted, feral look on her face hissed at me and shoved her clawed hands at my face. I stumbled out of the room and fell in the cold water. The policemen came and dragged me from the hallway. With shaking hands, I dialed the psychiatry resident and informed him of his new patient and I added one final suggestion. “You might want to pick up a priest on your way down.”

Since that time, I have learned to listen to the still, small voice within me that groans and moans in the presence of evil. I believe it to be the Holy Spirit. I am convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that evil is real and I have dwelt for a moment in its presence.

As authors of Christian fiction, we know of an extra dimensional realm in which God’s first creations dwell. These angels carry out the bidding of God. But, the fallen angels live to thwart every effort of God’s good work. They are all around us, unseen, unseemly, and committed to destroying human lives. To ignore this spiritual realm is to do so at the expense of our souls. This is why many of us have chosen to write about the spiritual battle that wages around us.

Do I believe demons are real? I have faced them and run away. No longer. I have struggled in the presence of their evil auras and I have fought them with prayers and scripture. This is why I write about demons and angels. We must understand who are enemy is. We must be aware of the war that is raging around us for our very souls. To deny evil is real; to ignore the existence of the Enemy’s soldiers is to have already surrendered the world to the forces of evil.

Bruce Hennigan JuneBruce Hennigan is a radiologist, a church dramatist, and a certified apologist. He co-authored the upcoming release, “Hope Again” with B & H Publishing and is the author of three novels, “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye“, “The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon” published by Realms Books. Check out his latest book in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” on his website, www.brucehennigan.com or www.11thdemon.com and join in the battle against evil!

Comments 0

  1. Hey Bruce:-)

    I’m new to ACFW and writing, as yet unpublished, an amateur. I was reading down through your post and had a question about the example of a mentally ill person, who may actually be a demon, or in the least, be demon-possessed and requiring an exorcism. I share your concern about the importance of recognizing that there is a spiritual battle going on, but then I tend to see my part, as a Christian, as “standing” in my armor, focused on the Scriptures, but with eyes fixed on God, praising Him, as Satan makes a hasty retreat as a natural byproduct. Since there is so much history involving the mentally ill being seen as demon-possessed, not to mention other groups of human beings (the physically disabled, people of color) stereotyped as strange and ‘spooky’ (‘spooks’), at best, is that taken into consideration in your writing? For example, since Christians cannot be demon-possessed, and demons aren’t human beings anyway, or animals for that matter, do you ever just describe demons as deceptive ‘angels of light’in other ways? What I tend to recognize as ‘evil incarnate’is for example a deceptively kind family member (family members, as a group, not dealing daily with being stereotyped) who is revealed to be doing something evil to one of their younger family members (although that’s still a human, of course) or a corporate business man (stereotyped these days, some would say, but not on the level of the mentally ill) who is secretly stealing money out of the retirement funds of older people (there again, though, just a human committing a despicable act, not a demon). Do you take into consideration, during the writing process, whether or not a ‘type’ of person that is to serve as a demon in disguise may already have a constant struggle with being stigmatized as such? This is a question that hadn’t occurred to me, since it’s not my genre. Thanks…!

  2. I totally agree with everything you have mentioned. I find it interesting in reading the scriptures that at times the apostles claim Jesus healed someone and cast out a demon. And yet, the only real demon encounters we see are from Jesus’ point of view and they are clearly different than a typically sick person. The way of thinking in first century Palestine was that all sickness was secondary to sin whether from you or one of your parents. Through the ages, it is tragic that many mental illnesses were seen as demon possession. But, today, in Western culture I believe demons work very subtly and I don’t anyone who continues to believe that mental illness may be due to demon possession. My encounter was a fluke — a rarity and I can tell you that in the medical profession the possibility of demon possession is as far away as the nearest star!
    In my writing, I deal very clearly with the limitations, powers, abilities, etc. of demons. Being an apologist, one of the reasons I write my books is to dispel common misconceptions about demons and the occult.
    Thank you for your comment.
    As far as my characters, I try and stay away from cliche and stereotypes as much as possible. My characters are humans who have sought the kind of arcane abilities demons can afford even if they don’t clearly understand what they are asking for.
    As to the subject of evil — well there isn’t enough room here to discuss the types and kinds of manifestations of evil. My expression “evil incarnate” is a literary device at best.

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