Ep 82 Cast It Out: The Real Horror of Demonic Possession, Parasites & the Diet Shake From Hell

This week on Medical Media Mixer, we're diving into Grady Hendrix's beloved horror novel My Best Friend's Exorcism (2016) and its Amazon Prime Video film adaptation (2022) — a love story about female friendship set against the backdrop of 1988 South Carolina, demonic possession, and a tapeworm that crawls out of someone's mouth in the middle of school. (Yes, really.) The medical pivot point is impossible to ignore: the demon uses body image insecurity as a weapon, delivering a 'diet shake' laced with parasites. This week, we take that moment and run with it — covering the real science of GI parasitic infections including tapeworms, hookworm, pinworm, and amebiasis. We talk transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and the very real (very horrifying) Victorian history of the tapeworm diet. Equal parts camp, friendship, and parasitology. This one crawls under your skin — in the best way. Sources My Best Friend's Exorcism — Wikipedia My Best Friend's Exorcism (film) — Wikipedia Tapeworms: Causes, Types, Symptoms, and Treatments — Medical News Today Tapeworm Infection — Cleveland Clinic Tapeworms in Humans — WebMD Tapeworm — StatPearls / NCBI Tapeworm Infection (Intestinal Cestodes) — Merck Manual The Horrifying Legacy of the Victorian Tapeworm Diet — Atlas Obscura Tapeworm Diet: Weight Loss, Risks and Side Effects — Healthline Fad Diets and Weight Loss: From the 1800s to the 1930s — ZOE Common Intestinal Parasites — American Family Physician (2023) Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections — Lancet Entamoeba Histolytica Infection — IDSA Guidelines The Diagnosis and Treatment of Pinworm Infection — Deutsches Ärzteblatt Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review! 🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first box ClassPass: 2 weeks free 15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof 💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.