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The Possession Story
Marlena Evans was at the lowest point of her life. Her affair with John Black had been exposed, costing her marriage to Roman Brady. Soon after, John discovered he was a priest, something he’d never known due to his missing memories.
Obsessed with Marlena, Stefano DiMera blackmailed Mike Horton into giving him the key code to her apartment. He rented the unit next door and constructed a secret passage through Marlena’s armoire. Wearing a mask, Stefano visited her at night, drugging and hypnotizing her, drawing her into a twisted fantasy where he crowned her his “Queen of the Night.” The sustained psychological, emotional, and spiritual abuse left Marlena weak and vulnerable.
Strange events soon followed. Marlena began levitating from her bed, hearing eerie sounds, and awakening frozen with fear. Furniture moved on its own, trapping her in her room. When she looked in the mirror, her eyes had turned yellow, the Devil revealed he had taken control of her.
Possessed, Marlena unleashed chaos: vandalizing a church, setting the Christmas tree ablaze, dropping a chandelier at Bo and Billie’s wedding, causing droughts, heat waves, animal attacks, and even transforming into a black panther. She abducted Kristen, painted pentagrams on her body, chained her to an altar, and later disguised herself as Kristen to seduce John. Though tempted, John’s faith held, aided by Tony. The Devil later set the church on fire with John, Tony, and Kristen trapped inside, yet all survived.
Marlena briefly found refuge in a church, where the Devil couldn’t reach her, but was lured out by a vision of Sami under attack by the ghost of Curtis, summoned from Hell. Once outside, the Devil reclaimed control. Eventually exposed, Marlena was tied to her bed, and the Devil again tried to break John by transforming her into his dead wife, Isabella, but failed.
Feigning a successful exorcism, the Devil terrified Stefano by morphing into a monstrous form, then attacked him as Marlena, throwing him from a terrace. A final exorcism appeared to kill Marlena, but when John visited her body in the morgue, the Devil attacked. After a fierce struggle, John’s faith prevailed, casting the Devil out of Marlena and back into Hell.
When Doug Williams began showing signs of dementia, locking his wife in a freezer, groping Paulina Price, and forgetting names, he sought help from Marlena Evans. During their session, Doug revealed he was possessed by the Devil, who had been trying to reclaim Marlena for over two decades. He issued her an ultimatum: allow him to possess her again or Doug would suffer. With no choice, Marlena agreed.
To keep Doug silent, the Devil had him committed to Bayview Mental Hospital under heavy sedation and isolation. As Marlena’s possession deepened, she began hovering and communicating with the Devil through electronic devices. He manipulated events across Salem, including convincing Ben Weston and Ciara Brady to conceive a child he needed.
John Black eventually realized Marlena was possessed, but the Devil overpowered him and imprisoned him in the DiMera crypt. On Halloween, the Devil resurrected Nick Fallon, Charlie Dale, and Deimos Kiriakis to wreak havoc for 24 hours. Susan Banks arrived to warn Ben and Ciara about their unborn child, uncovered the truth about Marlena, and was turned into a black cat and locked in the crypt with John. Though Marlena briefly expelled the Devil, he soon possessed Susan and later reclaimed Marlena.
Julie rescued Doug from Bayview and brought him home for Thanksgiving, only for Marlena, openly possessed, to try to kill them. Julie’s prayers drove the Devil away temporarily. Marlena later framed John as abusive, forcing Ben and Ciara to flee with her to a remote cabin. Steve Johnson rescued John and Susan, and the truth was finally revealed when Marlena attacked John, Shawn, and Ben before Belle knocked her unconscious. Marlena escaped.
The Devil escalated his schemes by awakening Jan Spears, disguising her as Belle to sabotage Shawn’s marriage, and terrorizing Doug and Julie by setting their Christmas angel on fire. With divine intervention, John captured Marlena. Eric Brady returned to the priesthood, and despite the Devil’s attempts to manipulate him, a group led by John and Eric performed an exorcism that finally expelled Satan from Marlena.
Unknown to anyone, even himself, the Devil entered Johnny DiMera after leaving Marlena. Johnny soon traveled to Italy with Chanel, and upon returning to Salem, they revealed they had secretly married. Though Johnny abandoned his movie plans, strange symptoms followed. On New Year’s Eve, the Devil revealed himself and took full control.
Possessed Johnny abruptly ended his marriage, caused a chandelier to fall on Paulina, and erased Susan Banks’ memories when she realized the truth. He manipulated EJ into giving up his DiMera shares, turned Gabi against Jake, and erased Jake’s memory after revealing himself during a violent confrontation.
When Susan returned, the Devil framed Belle as the possessed one, temporarily taking control of her to convince Marlena. After an exorcism, Salem believed the Devil was gone, unaware Johnny remained possessed, leaving Belle blamed for his crimes.
The Devil later revealed himself to Allie, ultimately possessing her. Johnny was imprisoned in the DiMera crypt, where the Devil summoned André DiMera to torment him. The Devil poisoned Ben and trapped him with Johnny, hoping André would push Ben to kill him, but EJ and Susan intervened, sending André back to Hell.
As Allie, the Devil freed Evan Frears and targeted Ciara and her unborn child, intending to possess the baby before it could feel love. After Ciara gave birth, the Devil abducted the baby, but Johnny, Ben, and Ciara intervened. Protected by divine power, Ciara rescued her son, and the Devil fled.
At St. Luke's Church, the Devil prepares to burn it down with Allie inside. Johnny, Tripp, Eric, John and Marlena prepare to exorcise the demon out of Allie, but it threatens to snap Allie's neck if they continue. Tripp offers to let him take over his body, the Devil agrees. Fighting for control, Tripp threw himself from the bell tower, finally sending the Devil back to Hell.