Possession: A Fate Worse Than Death?

Driving hmoe from work tonight, I started thinking about whether being possessed - i.e., losing control of one's will and volition to some foreing entity in any form - is a fate worse than death.

Many films and stories imply it is; most zombie films contain at least a passing discussion of how little the characters like the idea of coming back as a zombie. And it seems they're less concerned with the idea of dying first, than they are with wandering around "like THAT", to quote Roger from DOTD.

We've seen various examples, from the demonic possession of films like "The Exorcist", with its horrific physical and mental changes, and the tendency of the demon(s) in question to make one do horrific things (uncharacteristically foul language in an otherwise innocent young girl, puking pea soup on a priest, spinning the head, masturbating with a crucifix, etc.) to somewhat more benign examples, such as Jonesey's possession by Mr. Grey in "Dreamcatcher". No physical change, but almost utter loss of control over one's actions to an alien intelligence intruding on one's mind.

Leaving aside the question of pain and torture involved in the dying, what scares you more: death in any form, or loss of control of one's body and mind? Does knowledge of what's going on (Jonesey presumably had knowledge of what Mr. Grey was doing with his body; Regan did not, if I recall correctly, and coming back as a zombie almost certainly does not involve any consciousness remaining) factor into it for you?

Personally, I'm actually not sure which scares me more. Death is unquestionably final. That cuts both ways; it means an end to your suffering, sure, but there's also no hope of continuing your existence. If you're possessed, there's at least some hope of coming back into control and continuing your life. But would possession for all eternity, with no hope of regaining control, or coming back after the entity in question has had its way with you and made a shambles of your life (eg., committed murders that get you thrown into prison or executed, killed all those you loved, or made you witness and get blamed for unspeakable atrocities, etc.) be worse? I honestly can't make up my mind. I think in my youth I would have said I'd prefer death without hesitation, but as I get older and face my own mortality from an ever shrinking distance. . . I'm nowhere near sure any more.

Opinions?

Helloooo? Is this thing on? *THUMP! THUMP!* Testing, Check 1 - 2 *whiiiiiIIIIIIINNNNNNNNEEEEEE!!!*

I guess it is on. . .

Did you win?

Way 2 B.

As to the topic at hand, I think it's a little harder to pull off possession scares really well. Fright caused by the possibility of straight up death are probably much, much easier to do. Which is why I guess you see more of this type of imagery.

That having been said, I think the scariest possession story - and I know I'm going out ona limb here, has to be The Exorcist. particularly for someone raised at least nominally Catholic, because the possessing entity is THE Devil. The big Kahuna of evil. The prospect of being in the devil's presence, let alone having him inside your mind & soul, has always freaked me the fuck out. What were some instances where you think possession as a horror device was pulled off well, in either film or literature?

There's a fine hair splitting philosophical question; do things like The Thing's or the Body Snatcher's taking over your form, which I always assumed meant the extinguishing of your own consciousness, count as possession? Do you, after being taken over, continue "living" in some sense, or are you as good as dead in those cases, rendering that kind of takeover no real possession at all? Initially, I thought I'd say no, those don't count, but then I've already analogized to zombification as aform of possession. So because the Private thinks the Sergeant Major will beat him more if he reverses himself, SiR!, I'll say yes, they do count on at least some level, and they were very effective (although I haven't seen the latest incarnation of Body Snatchers; the 50's & 80's versions nailed it well enough).