Brynne Larson and Tess and Savannah Scherkenback are
all-American girls from Arizona, who enjoy martial arts and horse riding. But
something sets them apart from most teenagers - they perform public exorcisms
and often appear on TV chat shows.
Eighteen-year-old Brynne met sisters Tess and Savannah about
eight years ago at a karate class.
"We just really hit it off," says Savannah, aged
21. "I don't know what happens but somehow you bond when you're punching
one another and throwing knees. We were working out together, learning how to
fight and how to defend ourselves and defend others."
The girls are now karate black belts, but because of their
particular Christian beliefs, they have also decided to do battle, they say,
against evil spirits or demons. They believe that these demons can possess a
human being and cause suffering, depression or addiction.
"A demon can't just come into anybody whenever it
chooses too, God doesn't allow that," says Brynne.
"What happens is when someone sins or does something,
or something's done to them that allows the demon to come into them, that's
called the legal right or the reason that it's there."
The girls have been trained by Brynne's father, the Rev Bob
Larson, who says he has performed over 15,000 exorcisms. They have appeared
alongside him in America and overseas, including the UK.
"Every single country has a specific kind of
demon," says Tess, 18, who loves music and reading.
The girls believe that the UK in particular is a hotbed for
"witchcraft" because of the popularity of J K Rowling's Harry Potter
books.
"The spells and things that you're reading in the Harry
Potter books, those aren't just something that are made up, those are actual
spells. Those are things that came from witchcraft books," says Tess.
The teenage exorcists are skilled in martial arts and black
belts in karate.
The girls see themselves as "freedom fighters".
During an exorcism they brandish silver crosses and Bibles while confronting
the so-called demon to make it return to hell.
"I'd have to say my special skills [are] probably the
enforcer or the lead exorcist. I can take on those demons," says Brynne.
The teenage exorcists are greeted on stage as if they were
celebrities. There is applause and they announce to the audience that they look
forward to "kicking some demon butt".
But Brynne denies that it's a theatrical performance.
"Honestly, I've never tried to do any showmanship at
all, I'm just demonstrating the power of God," says Brynne. "We're
not doing it to play up to the cameras. I've seen some amazing things in
private with nobody there."
The girls' mentor, Brynne's father, disagrees with critics
who say it's dangerous to teach teenagers to perform exorcisms.
"We think it's OK to train teenagers to get drunk and
have sex, but to do moral things for God, oh let's not train them to do
that," says Larson.
He asks for a voluntary donation of a couple of hundred
dollars or pounds when he and the girls perform a one-to-one exorcism, and
rejects the idea that spiritual services have to be free of charge.
"Money and motives, anytime someone is in God's work it
always comes up," he says.
"People will pay thousands of dollars to go to drug
rehab or to pay psychiatrists but there's this idea that spirituality needs to
be for free.
"The average megachurch pastor in America, it's not
uncommon for them to make up to $1m a year. Well I can assure you we are
nowhere near that."
Brynne, Tess and Savannah perform an exorcism in Ukraine.
Exorcism is an ancient practice and one that appears in many
different religions, but even some believers doubt the existence of demons.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, saw spirit
possession as a neurotic delusion, and demons as repressed "instinctual
impulses".
Before undertaking a one-to-one exorcism, Larson says he
asks clients to complete a psychiatric questionnaire to identify if they have
any mental health problems. He says it is important for anyone with mental
health problems to receive medical care and psychological support.
Brynne's mother Laura Larson, says the girls are sincerely
trying to help people.
"This is a family who lives by what they believe,"
says Laura, "and I think the teenage exorcists are making a difference,
whether you believe in what they do or not, they are committed and they stand
by what they believe."
She did not actively encourage her daughter Brynne to become
an exorcist she says.
"Given the environment you would think that we would
have been grooming them at the table, 'OK now how do you define this? What kind
of demon is this?' But that really wasn't the approach.
"In fact I was the opposite, I didn't really keep her
from doing deliverances but I didn't encourage her.
"Then her friends Tess and Savannah just started
getting this training and she said, 'Mum can I please go along, I really want
to learn,' and of course I mean I couldn't say no".
Tess, Savannah and Brynne have all been home-schooled. In
Brynne's case it was because her father's profession led the family to travel
widely.
"With going [to] over 20 countries and stuff, I don't
really have time to go to school, but I'll just sit at my desk and work on
calculus or read all my books," she says. "This is so much better
than going to a stinky old school room."
Brynne and Tess have been awarded places at college this
year, while Savannah is already a college student. But as well as continuing
their education they are determined to continue their spiritual battle against
what they see as the forces of evil.
Teen Exorcists will be broadcast on Thursday 12 September
at 21:00 BST on BBC Three. Or catch up later on BBC iPlayer.
What do the teenage exorcists believe?
- That exorcism can cast out a demon or evil spirit which has possessed a person
- That these demons have names like Abaddon and Jezebel
- That God cast the angel Lucifer out of heaven and he became Satan
- That the angels who were cast out of heaven with Lucifer became demons
- That a demon can be provoked to come to the surface, what they call "manifesting"
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