Cause: Demon Possession:

Can people be possessed by evil spirits?

Channel 4 seems to think so, and next week plans to broadcast "as live" the exorcism of a young man who says he is possessed by evil.

Scientists intend to monitor the man's brain with electrodes to see whether the procedure has any measurable effect.

Even within the Church of England, the idea of possession raises eyebrows. "The number of metaphysical assumptions it makes is quite incredible. It means there are such things as non-human evil spirits that can take possession of a human being and require to be told to go somewhere else by a greater power," says Canon Michael Perry, who holds a doctorate in deliverance and edits the Christian Parapsychologist.

"Some Christians believe it happens frequently - they see demons under every rug and will perform exorcisms at the drop of a hat. My view is possession is very rare."

Look back over case histories of supposed possessions and it's often easy to identify a real psychiatric condition, says Christopher French, who heads the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmith's College in London.

"Epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome and some forms of schizophrenia have all been labelled as possessions in the past," he adds.

Read the full article here: <a href=http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisweek/story/0,12977,1415683,00.html>The Guardian</a>