Question

is there sympathy for ghost and their humans behavior towards humans

Answer 1

It has been suggested that Demonic possession be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2018.

See also: Demonic possession and Obsession (Spiritism)

Spirit possession is a term for the belief that animas, aliens, demons, gods, or spirits can take control of a human body. The concept of spirit possession exists in many religions, including Christianity,[1] Buddhism, Haitian Vodou, Wicca, Hinduism, Islam and Southeast Asian and Africantraditions. In a 1969 study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, spirit possession beliefs were found to exist in 74 percent of a sample of 488 societies in all parts of the world.[2] Depending on the cultural context in which it is found, possession may be considered voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects on the host. Within possession cults, the belief that one is possessed by spirits is more common among women than men.[3][4]


The belief in spirit possession is part of their native culture of the Sidama people of southwest Ethiopia. Anthropologists Irene and John Hamer postulated that it is a form of compensation for being deprived within Sidama society, although they do not draw from I.M. Lewis (see Cultural anthropology section under Scientific views). The majority of the possessed are women whose spirits demand luxury goods to alleviate their condition, but men can be possessed as well. Possessed individuals of both sexes can become healers due to their condition. Hamer and Hamer suggest that this is a form of compensation among deprived men in the