Here are some of the lesser-known but equally terrifying possession movies to add to your queue.
1. "Verónica" (2017)
This Spanish horror kicks off with Verónica, a 15-year-old girl, and her pals trying to contact her dead dad via a Ouija board during a solar eclipse – because that's when it's the most potent, obviously. Mistake numero uno.
After blacking out during the séance, Verónica starts experiencing some majorly creepy occurrences: hearing phantom footsteps, seeing dark shadows, and, oh yeah, getting bite marks on her body. Verónica finds out that she accidentally summoned a demon, not her dad.
2. "The Taking of Deborah Logan" (2014)
In this found-footage horror, a documentary crew sets out to film the life of Deborah Logan, an elderly woman diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. As they film, though, it becomes abundantly clear that something else is afoot. Deborah starts doing weird stuff, like violently scratching at the walls, munching on garden snakes, and talking in French (she never learned the language, mind you).
Plot twist: she's actually possessed by the spirit of a doctor who killed little girls in satanic rituals.
3. "The Last Exorcism" (2010)
A preacher named Cotton, who's lost his faith, agrees to perform an exorcism for a documentary, fully planning to expose it as a sham. He meets Nell, a sweet Southern girl who's showing some classic possession signs.
After what he thinks is a successful fake exorcism, Nell starts contorting her body, killing livestock, and drawing creepy demonic symbols. Cotton realizes this ain't just hocus pocus, and real supernatural forces are at play.
4. "Session 9" (2001)
A group of workers, led by Gordon, works on removing asbestos from an abandoned mental hospital. Things go haywire when one of them discovers old session tapes of a patient with multiple personalities, one of which is demonic. As they listen to the tapes, weird stuff happens: lights flicker, voices whisper, and Gordon starts seeing apparitions.
Turns out, the demonic personality from the tapes has jumped ship and is now possessing him.
5. "Lovely Molly" (2011)
Newlyweds Molly and Tim move into Molly's old family home, and that's when things get hairy.
Molly starts hearing voices and footsteps – classic possession stuff, right? But then she also starts engaging in some very un-Molly-like behaviors, such as stabbing a deer and keeping its decaying body as a pet. She discovers her dad was into some occult rituals, which might explain why she's now the host for a demonic entity.
6. "The Possession" (2012)
Based on the "true" story of a dybbuk box (a haunted Jewish wine box), this one's a family affair. A divorced dad, Clyde, buys his daughter, Em, a box at a yard sale. Em becomes strangely attached to it and starts behaving bizarrely – like, she stabs her dad's hand with a fork at breakfast. The box has a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit, that's slowly possessing her.
Clyde scrambles to find a way to rid his daughter of this terrifying spirit.
7. "Hereditary" (2018)
This one starts as a family drama and ends in full-blown horror insanity. After the death of her secretive grandma, Annie, an artist, notices strange goings-on in her house. Her daughter Charlie is particularly affected, making creepy sketches and cutting off a dead bird's head (who does that?).
Tragically, Charlie dies, and her brother Peter starts to unravel. He hears clucking sounds (Charlie's signature noise) and finds himself levitating. We later find out the grandma was into demonology and has set the stage for a demon to possess Peter.
8. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" (2005)
Loosely based on a true story, this movie is half courtroom drama, half possession story. Emily Rose, a college student, experiences nightmarish visions and bodily contortions. After medical treatments fail, her family resorts to an exorcism. It doesn't go well, and Emily dies.
The priest is put on trial for negligent homicide, and we get flashbacks of Emily's horrifying ordeal – being branded by demonic symbols, speaking in tongues, and animalistic behaviors.
9. "The Rite" (2011)
Inspired by real events, this follows Michael, a seminary student with doubts about his faith. He's sent to Rome to train as an exorcist under Father Lucas.
They meet a pregnant teen who's showing signs of demonic possession. She coughs up nails, her belly distorts, and she speaks in ancient languages. Michael is skeptical until Father Lucas himself gets possessed after a failed exorcism. Suddenly, it's up to Michael to save the day, then.
10. "Sinister" (2012)
True-crime writer Ellison moves his family into a new home, not telling them it's the scene of a grisly murder. He finds a box of home movies in the attic, which show families being killed in increasingly gruesome ways.
Soon after, his own family starts experiencing creepy phenomena. He realizes they're being stalked by Bughuul, a pagan deity that consumes the souls of children after tricking them into killing their families.