Question to Grok AI: Tell me more about the news story that Tucker Carlson said he was attacked by a demon and what do psychiatrists say about people who claim to be attacked by demons?
Answer: ### Tucker Carlson’s Demon Attack Story
In late October 2024, Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, publicly shared a personal account of what he described as a violent supernatural encounter with a “demon” during an interview for the upcoming documentary *Christianities?*, directed by Scooter Downey and hosted by John Heers. The clip, released on Halloween via YouTube, quickly went viral and sparked widespread media coverage, debate, and mockery, especially amid Carlson’s ongoing political commentary and support for Donald Trump. Carlson recounted the incident occurring about 18 months earlier—around February 2023, shortly before his abrupt firing from Fox News in April of that year.
According to Carlson, he awoke in his bed in rural Maine (where he lives in a wooded area) to feel himself being “physically mauled” by an unseen force while asleep alongside his wife and four dogs, none of whom stirred. He described the attack as leaving him bleeding, with deep “claw marks” on his sides that he still bears as scars. “It was a direct experience with evil,” he said, emphasizing that it wasn’t a dream or metaphor but a tangible assault by “a demon or by something unseen.” Carlson, who admitted he had no prior familiarity with such phenomena, immediately called an evangelical Christian assistant for advice. She reportedly responded matter-of-factly: “That happens—people are attacked in their bed by demons.”
The experience profoundly impacted Carlson spiritually. He described being “seized with this very intense desire to read the Bible,” marking a shift in his faith journey from his Episcopalian background toward more fervent Christianity (he has cited Catholic friends as influences). In the interview, he framed it as a “transformative experience” that reinforced his belief in God’s love amid human disobedience, likening it to a parental correction. The story drew immediate backlash: Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza mocked it on X (formerly Twitter) as a possible “psychotic episode” and even shared AI-generated images of the alleged attack. Others, like author Rod Dreher, defended Carlson, noting he had privately shared the story a year earlier with no apparent motive for fabrication beyond ridicule. Orthodox priest Fr. Josiah Trenham called it a case of “vexation”—a demonic harassment short of full possession—and lamented that many modern Christians, including Carlson, are “unaware and ill-equipped” to handle such events.
The tale fits into broader cultural discussions on spirituality, especially as Carlson has leaned into religious themes in his Tucker Carlson Network content on X. Skeptics, including dream researcher Robert Waggoner, suggest it could stem from a hypnagogic hallucination (vivid sensory experiences during sleep transitions), where the brain blurs reality and nightmare, potentially explaining the physical marks via unconscious self-scratching—though Carlson insists the wounds didn’t match his sleeping position or nail length. As of November 2025, the story continues to resurface in clips and podcasts, with recent YouTube videos (e.g., from November 6 and 16, 2024) amplifying the “chilling” details, but no new corroborating evidence has emerged.
### What Psychiatrists Say About Claims of Demonic Attacks
Psychiatrists’ views on claims of demonic attacks or possession vary widely, reflecting a tension between scientific skepticism, cultural sensitivity, and openness to the unexplained. Mainstream psychiatry overwhelmingly attributes such experiences to mental health conditions rather than supernatural causes, but a minority of professionals advocate for interdisciplinary approaches involving clergy. Here’s a breakdown based on expert perspectives and research:
– **Psychological Explanations (Dominant View):**
Most psychiatrists diagnose these claims as symptoms of dissociative, psychotic, or trauma-related disorders. For instance, hallucinations, perceived physical assaults, and altered states can stem from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder with psychotic features, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or sleep disorders like night terrors/hypnagogic hallucinations. Jeffrey Lieberman, former president of the American Psychiatric Association, has noted that ancient attributions of mental illness to “demon possession” evolved into modern science as psychiatry established itself, emphasizing brain chemistry and environmental factors over supernatural ones. Historical analyses, like Sigmund Freud’s 1922 case study of a “demonological neurosis” or William Sargant’s 1973 book *The Mind Possessed*, frame possession as a physiological or neurotic response to stress, ecstasy, or cultural suggestion—e.g., a person in distress interprets seizures or voices as demonic due to religious upbringing.
– **Cultural and Dissociative Contexts:**
Possession-like states are recognized in the DSM-5 (psychiatry’s diagnostic manual) under “other specified dissociative disorder,” where individuals experience trance-like episodes tied to cultural/religious beliefs. Anthropologically informed psychiatrists, such as those studying “jinni possession” in Middle Eastern contexts, view it as a valid cultural idiom for distress, treatable via therapy or medication rather than exorcism. Symptoms like sudden strength, voice changes, or antisocial behavior often align with “schizohysteria”—a proposed (but unadopted) category blending schizophrenia and hysteria. Critics argue dismissing these claims ignores their universality across cultures (e.g., China, India, Africa), where shamans or healers sometimes succeed where meds fail, possibly due to placebo or community support.
– **Openness to Supernatural Possibility (Minority View):**
A small but vocal subset, like Dr. Richard Gallagher—Columbia University psychiatrist and author of *Demonic Foes* (2020)—argues some cases defy psychiatric explanation. Gallagher, who consults for exorcists across faiths (Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish), claims to have witnessed “superhuman” feats (e.g., a 90-pound woman hurling a 200-pound man) and hidden knowledge in patients unresponsive to therapy or drugs. In a 2016 Washington Post op-ed, he outlined criteria for potential possession: aversion to sacred objects, speaking unknown languages, and supernatural strength—after ruling out mental illness. He doesn’t “diagnose” possession but advises clergy when symptoms lack medical cause, having observed hundreds of cases over 25 years. Similarly, Stafford Betty’s 2005 paper in the *Journal of Religion and Health* urges psychiatrists to study why exorcisms sometimes work better than meds, challenging materialist biases and citing global evidence of spirit oppression.
Overall, while most psychiatrists prioritize evidence-based treatment (e.g., antipsychotics, CBT), there’s growing calls for collaboration with spiritual leaders to avoid alienating patients. As one 2024 review in *Mental Health, Religion & Culture* notes, complex cases may blend biopsychosocial and spiritual elements, requiring psychiatrists to “recognize a degree of mystery.” For Carlson’s story, experts like those above might first explore stress from his Fox exit or sleep issues before supernatural theories.
Does Tucker Carlson Offer Incense to Demons to ask them for Favors?
We have no evidence at this time whether Tucker Carlson has done anything to ask favors from the Demons. But his belief system makes it more likely, so it is appropriate to warn him in advance.
Do Muslims Offer Incense to Demons?
Yes, a significant minority of them do offer incense to demons!
The following is an excerpt from the post:
Muslim Idolatry Trees – Do They Interfere With Davening Mincha on the Temple Mount?
Whoever Doesn’t Want to Hide His Eyes From Reality Will Discover That Some Muslims Offer Incense to a Demon.
The following is Pew research results of what the Muslims say about themselves.
Overall, Muslims in Central Asia and across Southern and Eastern Europe (Russia and the Balkans) are least likely to say that jinn {demons} are real. In Central Asia, Turkey is the only country where a majority (63%) of Muslims believe in jinn {demons}. Elsewhere in Central Asia, about a fifth or fewer Muslims accept the existence of jinn. In Southern and Eastern Europe, fewer than four-in-ten in any country surveyed believe in these supernatural beings.
In general, Muslims who pray several times a day are more likely to believe in jinn {demons}. For example, in Russia, 62% of those who pray more than once a day say that jinn {demons} exist, compared with 24% of those who pray less often. A similar gap also appears in Lebanon (+25 percentage points), Malaysia (+24) and Afghanistan (+21).
The survey also asked if respondents had ever seen jinn {demons}. In 21 of the 23 countries where the question was asked, fewer than one-in-ten report having seen jinn {demons}, while the proportion is 12% in Bangladesh and 10% in Lebanon.
It is important to note that while belief in jinn {demons} is widespread, relatively few Muslims in the countries surveyed believe it is an acceptable part of Islamic tradition to make offerings to jinn {demons}. As discussed in Chapter 6, Bangladesh is the only country surveyed in which more than a fifth of Muslims (28%) say appeals to jinn are acceptable. In 18 of the countries, no more than one-in-ten say this is an acceptable practice.
According to reports on the internet offering incense of such things as frankincense and similar materials is part of the gift offerings they give to the demons.
And so I found on the internet a report of Muslims of offering incense to demons at the web site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7waqNdtOF4&ab_channel=WildFilmsIndia
And so too another video complains of Muslim religious figures that are involved in mysticism that practice all types of magic with demons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PWawUcQYvQ&ab_channel=IslamicGuidance
I also found a written article on Muslims who offer a type of incense to demons and bring them other gifts and request from them, all types of requests.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/residence-of-jinns-where-muslims-and-hindus-come-together-to-pray-17283
Muslim Demon Worship Idolatry
One Who Offers Incense to a Demon – Insights of “the Ran” to Tractate Sanhedrin 61b
Introduction
A Jew should be willing to sacrifice his life rather than worship Idolatry. But what if he makes the wrong choice and does not sacrifice his life? The Talmud says the punishment for those that serve Idolatry out of love and fear is less severe than someone who does not have this excuse. Most commentaries understand that love and fear, means love of a person or fear of a person. Rambam however has a different understanding of love and fear which “the Ran” criticizes.
“And Rambam of blessed memory in chapter 3 (of the Mishna Torah) on the Laws which discuss Idolatry, defines, “out of love”, such as, he desires an image because its service is very attractive – or when one serves it out of his fear of it – i.e., he fears that it will harm him – as the [idol] worshipers imagine that it provides benefit and harm but did not accept it upon himself as a Deity, he is exempt”.
The Ran disagrees with the definition of serving “out of love and fear” offered by the Rambam and brings as proof the ruling of the Gemara, that someone who offers incense to a demon is considered to have served Idolatry.
Now the normal case of someone who offers incense to a demon is that he does not accept it as a Deity but nevertheless incense worship to demons is classified as Idolatry.
“The Ran” concludes that anyone who does an act of worship to any form {or image} in order to derive from it some benefit, behold he has in essence given it, Deity status and dominion in that matter and therefore the one that serves it is doing an act of Idolatry.
The Ruling of the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, Chapter 179 Halacha 19
He who offers incense to a demon to bring it and to compel it to do his will, he is liable on account of serving Idolatry (see Tur and Beit Yosef commentary for background on this ruling).