Content Warning: This article discusses heavy spoilers for Midnight Mass, manipulation, and emotional and spiritual abuse.
Horror holds a mirror up to your psyche and dares you to look at your own risk: it’s a realization of your worst fears. Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass (streaming on Netflix) is no different. And for me, a devoutly religious person (Protestant, if you’re curious), the image within the dark mirror of my psyche is the specter of a trauma I’ve survived: spiritual abuse.
Most dedicated horror fans are well aware that abuse can be perpetrated through psychological and emotional means.[i] Spiritual abuse is a similar beast. WebMD defines spiritual abuse as: “Any attempt to exert power and control over someone using religion, faith, or beliefs.”[ii] And Midnight Mass is a veritable hit parade of red flags for spiritual abuse. This post aims to compare every bullet point within WebMD’s guide to spiritual abuse against what the residents of Crockett experience in Midnight Mass.[ii]
Spiritual abuse can be divided into two broad categories: abuse that occurs within a religious organization and abuse that occurs outside of one. There are plenty of instances of both in Midnight Mass.
Spiritual abuse that takes place within a religious organization can be referred to as “religious abuse.”[ii] Midnight Mass has personified this concept in the characters of Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan), who knows she’s abusing others, and Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), who seems—in my opinion—to genuinely believe he’s doing the right thing most of the time. Between these two characters, they perpetrate everything on WebMD’s list of warning signs for religious abuse:
- Using scripture or beliefs to humiliate or embarrass you
(Bev making passive-aggressive comments about spotty church attendance is one small example.) - Coercing you into giving money or other resources that you didn’t want to give
(Bev coerced most of Crockett into donating money toward a new recreation center for the church.) - Forcing you to be intimate or have sex that you didn’t want
(Not present… but Father Paul does force his “gift” onto Riley, which counts in my opinion.) - Pressuring you into doing things against your will
(Virtually every time Bev quotes the Bible in this series, she’s quoting it out of context to force others into agreeing with her.)
But, as stated earlier, not all spiritual abuse happens within religious organizations. And it’s worth mentioning that spiritual abuse is not a type of manipulation that’s unique to Christianity. To illustrate this point, the following instances of spiritual abuse will use Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli), one of the show’s few Muslim characters, as a point of reference example. His conversation with Dr. Gunning (Annabeth Gish) in Episode 6 and especially his exchange with his son, Ali (Rahul Abburi), in episode 3 showcase multiple examples of spiritual abuse.
- Shaming, making fun of, or ridiculing your religious beliefs or practices
(The post-9/11 Islamophobia experienced by Hassan is an extreme version of this.)
- Preventing you from practicing your religion in the way you would like
(Hassan insisted that his son, Ali, remain a practicing Muslim despite Ali’s desire to explore Catholicism*.) - Demanding that your children be raised with/without a certain religion
(Hassan’s deceased wife insisted that Ali be raised as a Muslim, and Hassan is enforcing that wish despite Ali himself stating “You didn’t ask me if I wanted to be a Muslim.”)
Lastly, there are two more points common to spiritual abuse that are present in Midnight Mass. They deserve their own mention apart from the others because they drive the plot of the entire series:
- Using your beliefs to manipulate or bully you
- Using religious texts or beliefs to justify other kinds of abuse
An entire dissertation could be written about the ways in which Bev Keane twisted the meaning of the Bible to achieve her own ends, to say nothing of Father Paul’s ramblings about his invented “Covenant.” But this is where I must set the WebMD guide aside and speak from experience. While I’ve experienced possibly half of the warning signs of spiritual abuse listed here, these last two points mentioned were my least favorite.
I’ve been in situations where I was confident that the spiritual leaders of my congregation were not acting in others’ best interests, and I tried telling those leaders about this in the most respectful way I knew how. Mind you, these were people I knew, not a strange priest that just arrived out of nowhere. I had every reason to believe that they would do the right thing when I asked how their behaviors aligned with our shared holy text. But their resistance to hear what I had to say made me constantly question what my holy text actually said about that topic. After all, no one else was saying anything about the leaders’ behavior… were my spiritual beliefs wrong? Was I delusional?
I can’t help but think that the faithful parishioners in Crockett (e.g. the Flynns, Leeza Scarborough, etc.) struggled with the same muddled mindset. The playbook to gaslight them into confusion was really simple: redirect their attention, and if that fails… claim the moral high-ground.
When the occasional objection arose about Father Paul’s erratic behavior (his unhinged sermon, living like a recluse, etc.), that objection would be redirected toward the “wonderful healings” or the increased church attendance or some other positive benchmark (this is a common tactic among abusers, and in spiritual abuse its effects can be magnified if said benchmarks are viewed as “blessings from God”).
In situations where such a justification wasn’t enough for the citizens of Crockett, an out-of-context Bible quote was used as a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card as if to say, “God is on my side, not yours.” Even if someone has studied the Bible (or some other holy text) extensively, these manipulations can be hard to detect at times… especially in communities that hold such holy texts in high regard. Such tactics are a sinister yet effective way to exert control over others, and Midnight Mass portrays it in a manner that strikes me as being largely true-to-life.
There is so much more that could be written about a topic as important as this one, but it’s important for me to mention that the type of behavior that’s outlined above runs antithetical to the core tenets of most, if not all, religions I’m aware of. If anyone uses religious beliefs to manipulate another person, they’re taking a self-centered view on spirituality and religion. And as Father Paul confesses in the final episode’s concluding moments: “It was never supposed to be about me. It’s supposed to be about God!”
If anyone is or has perpetrated any of the above against you (especially if on a recurring basis), I would encourage you to seek a different house of worship. The first step is the hardest—I know because I’ve been there.
If you feel that you are being spiritually abused, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has a toll-free number (1-800-799-SAFE) and a chat option on their website. They have professionals that are willing to talk to you if you’ve experienced any of the above (as well as other types of mistreatment) whether domestically or within a religious organization.
Midnight Mass is streaming on Netflix.
Notes:
*While it’s true that Hassan’s demands for Ali to dismiss the “Crockett version” of Catholicism were wise in hindsight, his reasons for making those demands were abusive. His words to Ali reflected this clearly: “You’re not a Christian,” “You are a Muslim,” etc. Hassan is both defining Ali against his will and robbing Ali of his agency to explore religion in the way that he prefers.
[i] If you are unfamiliar with the signs of mental and emotional abuse, please read this fairly comprehensive article on Healthline.com:
Ann Pietrangelo, Timothy J. Legg, “How to Recognize the Signs of Mental and Emotional Abuse,” Healthline, Last modified December 6, 2018, https://www.healthline.com/health/signs-of-mental-abuse
[ii] Dan Brennan, “Signs of Spiritual Abuse,” WebMD, Last modified December 1, 2020, https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-spiritual-abuse
Jonathan Brònico is a freelance writer and survivor of spiritual abuse. His work has appeared in various venues, including the best-selling horror anthology Secret Stairs: A Tribute to Urban Legend. You can find him on Twitter.
