The Daily Show Investigates Skype Exorcisms and Beyoncé's Demons

In the market for an exorcism? If you’re shopping around, take a moment to watch this Daily Show segment from Jessica Williams, which examines the technological cutting-edge of sending demons back to the fiery pit from whence they came.

First Williams talked to the Reverend Bob Larson, an evangelical who’s amassed enough notoriety he’s got a fairly fat Wikipedia entry. And now, he is ready and willing to cast out your demons via Skype exorcism. All he asks is a $295 donation to his ministry! “Skype is a great technology to stare down the devil, to go after him and kick him back to hell.” But Father Gary Thomas—”America’s top exorcist,” according to CNN—disapproves. He told Williams that an effective exorcism demands an exorcist’s presence. You need the eye contact, the human touch, the old-school IRL methods.

But that doesn’t mean Father Thomas is totally anti-tech. He informed Williams that he watched a YouTube video of Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance and he’s preeetty sure he saw “a lot of demonic symbolism attached” to her dancing and her hand movements. So, to recap: Skype exorcisms bad, YouTube possession diagnosis good.