ABSTRACT
The aim of my chapter is to make use of the mimetic theory of René Girard to address the anthropological and political orientation presented by King James VI of Scotland and I of England in his notorious text, Daemonologie (1597). In doing this, the very conception of demonic possession offered by James is rendered problematic, and the mythic component of James’s text, which renders scapegoating violence ‘legitimate’, is made explicit. Part of this discussion involves an interpretation of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac told in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 8.28; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26), and the manner in which this story—only mentioned in passing by James in his book—undermines the entire Jacobean witch- hunting project. The ultimate goal of this hermeneutic exploration is to argue that demonic possession is not a matter of individual experience, but is a socio-political concern.
