I thought dark spirits were abusing me.
In a recent sexual abuse case, which is having a significant impact on Christians and churches in Wales, one of the victims was quoted (in the prosecution statement, as reported on the BBC news) as saying “I thought dark spirits were abusing me”. I think I am right in saying that the abuse happened whilst the victim slept. In that half-conscious, dreamy state it must have felt like a nightmare was coming true. Alongside the emotional and physical distress, this individual experienced a sense of spiritual distress. Was this just a vivid imagination or is there more to it? Is there a relationship between abuse and the spiritual realm of the ‘occult’? I am not here thinking about satanic cult conspiracy theories or about the disturbing things which some people claim to have experienced whilst actively and intentionally seeking interactions with spirits. What is on my mind is the fact that victims of human-on-human abuse sometimes express their traumatic experiences in a spiritual framewo