If you’ve ever listened to “The Exorcist Files,” you know that the hit docuseries podcast strikes an admirable balance between horror and humor. In fact, producer Ryan Bethea describes it as a blend of “catechesis, spiritual teaching and solid biblical knowledge, terrifying anecdotes from the actual case files of an exorcist, and a really good number of dad jokes.”
But that doesn’t mean that the stories behind the “The Exorcist Files” are fun and games. From Ouija boards and wolves to witches and levitations, Mr. Bethea recently sat down with The Washington Times’ Higher Ground to discuss the experience of bringing Catholic priest and exorcist, Father Carlos Martins’, case files to life.
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“Good horror and humor, I’m learning, as I grow as a storyteller, are really intertwined and you can have so much tension and then you have to have a little bit of comedic relief to get there,” he explained. “Each episode is a case or part of a case that happened, and obviously the names, places, and details are changed … It’s designed to give people a sense of realism of why you want to avoid this stuff in the first place, but also to use storytelling to bring messages of hope and truth.”
While Mr. Bethea plays the valuable role of a skeptic on the show, as a believer in Christ, he acknowledges the presence of evil and ongoing spiritual warfare in the world.
“If you are a believer, and you read the scriptures, it’s like, you’re not supposed to fear the demonic, you’re supposed to be aware of it,” Mr. Bethea noted. “A lot of these folks, they end up getting liberated, right? And that is Father’s job is to help set people free … And I think, even if you think in the end it’s not, you know, demons or whatever, I still think you’re going to walk away going, ‘There is pretty compelling evidence for something happening.’”
For many people who work on the show, including the actors who bring these stories to life, the proof is in the pudding. Not only did the team have some unusual encounters during filming, but people often experienced a range of emotions that required taking a break or not working on a scene altogether.
“You talk to enough people, like weird stuff happens,” Mr. Bethea said. “Like we had the power go out the second we started recording. On one of the days, uh, we’ve had recordings disappear.”
“Actually, before we do this, we take a lot of precautions,” he added. “We do a lot of prayer. Some people actually don’t want to perform. We actually have a lot of talent, a prospect of talent requests not to do certain scenes because they’re just not comfortable. And those are the moments where you go, ‘Am I missing something?’”
The series, which is currently recording its second season thanks to an ongoing crowdfunding on Kickstarter, has proven to be a hit with audiences. And while the formatting of the show is meant to have an entertainment factor, the inspiration behind it, especially for Father Martins, is rooted in spiritual awareness and concern for victims of demonic possession.
“Father Martins always wants people to know that he’s doing this because he just wants to wake people up regardless of whether you’re Christian, Atheist, Jedi, whatever” Mr. Bethea concluded. “He just wants you to know that, ‘Hey, evil’s real.’ And at the very least, this should be a motivation to put the Ouija board away and stick to Chutes and Ladders.”
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.