‘Demonic possession’ footage is scary, but fabricated

In a black-and-white video clip being newly shared on social media, a person scales the side of a building with one hand while holding a girl or woman by the hair with the other hand before dropping her to the ground. 

"This is so scary … " reads the text above the video. "This is footage of an ACTUAL demonic possession in 1896." 

It is scary, but before you’re too impressed by the apparent quality of video cameras in the late 19th century, please know: This is not actual footage of a demonic possession. 

Featured Fact-check

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stated on March 27, 2024 in an Instagram post

A March 26 bridge fire in Ohio is related to the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

An Instagram post sharing the video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The video was created by a French artist who works under the name, "MBG Core." He posted the video to YouTube in 2019 and reposted it on Instagram in April. When another user asked what software he used to create it, the account replied: "Endorphin for characters, M.Designer for cloth." 

We rate claims that this is authentic footage of demonic possession Pants on Fire!