History Main / ReligiousHorror

* The Tal'darim from ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' is an ancient Protoss cult that knowingly worships [[GreaterScopeVillain Amon]] and expects him to hold his part of the bargain and ascend the strongest of the Tal'darim into hybrids. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} in ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid Legacy of the Void]]'': They ([[{{Hypocrite}} except Highlord Ma'lash]]) had ''no idea'' Amon was not going to keep his word. Once they find out, they pull a HeelFaceTurn]].
* The Payasos from ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 3}}'' are a church of {{Monster Clown}}s, driven mad by the apocalypse. They believe the atomic cleansing of the Earth was the greatest joke ever played on mankind, and take nihilistic glee in re-delivering the punchline to anyone still left standing in the audience -- which is to say, you and everyone else in reach.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' has an entire ReligionOfEvil to start, but it goes FromBadToWorse towards the end when you discover [[spoiler: Deus, creator of humanity, is a [[DeusEstMachina malevolent interstellar weapon]] who created humanity to repair his organic parts]].
** Somewhat closer to Type 1, [[spoiler:Deus, despite being responsible for creating most of that planet's human population, turns out to be a false god. The real "God" shows up in the form of the enigmatic "Wave Existence", who created the whole universe… apparently by accident, which, in some ways, is even more terrifying, especially since he has no particular interest in His creations & just wants to go home. He's not a bad guy, though, & does help our heroes along eventually]].

** With the exception of ''[[VideoGame/FatalFrameMaskOfTheLunarEclipse Mask of the Lunar Eclipse]]'', the series feature HumanSacrifice in order to keep some sort of {{Hellgate}} sealed up. ''VideoGame/FatalFrameII'''s sacrifice is probably the least Squicky of the examples (''VideoGame/{{Fatal Frame I}}'' involves a VirginSacrifice being torn apart by ropes attached to her legs, arms, and neck; ''VideoGame/FatalFrameIII'' is '''much''' worse). However, in the second game, there is another ritual that must be performed if the first can't be done for some reason. [[spoiler:It involves torturing an outsider to death with the clear intent to cause as much suffering as possible for the Hellish Abyss to be temporarily placated.]]

* The Skyfishers from ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 3}}'' are a faction of people who formely lived underground, and upon seeingthe sky for the first time came to view it as divine. They have essentially re-captured a hellish mix of various pre-Columbian spiritual and religious beliefs: The Skyfishers believe the sky to be alive (much like some Great Plains beliefs), and to coax its favour they must provide the sky with HumanSacrifice (similarly to the Aztecs). They do this by capturing enemies, flaying them alive, and making kites from their skins from which they fly their victims so the sky will see their devotion and make it rain. Skyfisher territory tends to be flush with human kites, and they are viewed as TheDreaded by most other factions in Colorado.

* The ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' series is full of this. But instead of being based around Christian motifs, it's centered around secretive Shinto sects with forbidden and outright blasphemous practices.

* Ditto with the ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' series, especially with the first and second titles. In Shinto, some deities are malevolent and must be placated, but the All-Gods Village take it to a whole new {{Squick}}y level, with a HumanSacrifice ritual gone horribly, horribly wrong. It's like a follower of an Abrahamic religion having to fight his or her way through an entire village of Satan-worshippers.
** With the exception of ''Mask of the Lunar Eclipse'', the series feature HumanSacrifice in order to keep some sort of HellGate sealed up. ''Fatal Frame 2's'' sacrifice is probably the least Squicky of the examples (''Fatal Frame 1'' involves a VirginSacrifice being torn apart by ropes attached to her legs, arms, and neck. ''Fatal Frame III'' is '''much''' worse.)
*** Except that in the second game, there is another ritual that must be performed if the first can't be done for some reason. [[spoiler:It involves torturing an outsider to death with the clear intent to cause as much suffering as possible for the Hellish Abyss to be temporarily placated.]]

* ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' is a Religious Horror movie in a religion-gone-bad sense rather than in a supernatural demonic horror sense. Indeed, there are no demons, devil cults, or any supernatural evil at all. Instead, the main driver of the horror is the fanaticism, corruption, and cruelty of its main villain and title character, a [[TheWitchHunter Witch Hunter]] who engages in horrific torture and burning of innocent people for witchcraft.

* ''ComicBook/TexWiller'', being a Western, doesn't normally deal in this... Unless [[NamesToRunAwayReallyFast Mefisto]] or his son Yama are around, as he's a warlock that derives his powers directly from the powers of Hell and has no problem unleashing all sorts of illusionary horrors. It's implied [[spoiler:and eventually shown]] that Mefisto could do ''much'' worse... But [[EvilIsNotAToy he's well aware of the horrific risks and price involved]] and [[GodzillaThreshold won't dare unless he knows it's the only way to survive a dangerous situation]].

* ''WebVideo/MandelaCatalogue'' has shades of this, with the alternates implied to have been meddling with humanity since biblical times and the "Metaphysical Awareness Disorder" video advicing people to avoid religion all together. [[spoiler:Probably the biggest example, however, is the revelation that {{Satan}} has disguised himself as the {{Archangel Gabriel}} and has proclaimed himself as [[FalseProphet the true saviour]] in an elaborate scheme to steal the planet Earth for himself.]]

* In the French thriller ''Le Serment des Limbes'' (literally "The Oath of Limbos") by Jean-Christophe Grangé, the protagonist is a French policeman who'se also a devout catholic. Non-reassuring near-death experiences feature heavily in the plot, and are interpretated by some as descending to Hell and meeting the Devil; various people who suffered from this ordeal and are referred as "the Lightless" later committed ''very gruesome'' murders under this influence. Some of the antagonists belong to a cult of Devil-worshippers named "the Subjugated", who track the Ligthless to extort a report of their near-death experience from them (to use first-hand testimony of meeting the Devil in order to write their own holy scripture). A scene where the protagonist meets and fights a party of Subjugated (some of them described as looking sickly and grotesque) in a city drowned in fog reads like something straight from a horror novel.

[[caption-width-right:270:[[Music/{{Megadeth}} Your soul better belong to Jesus... 'cause your ass belongs to me.]]]]

{{Satan}} is the BigBad in a typical Religious Horror story, although he's [[UnseenEvil rarely shown]]. He is mediated [[DemonicPossession through a human vessel]], such as a CreepyChild or a [[TheNewRockAndRoll degenerate rock musician]]. Sometimes Satan is not much or even at all present in the story, but is instead [[GreaterScopeVillain a distant force of evil]] responsible for the actual BigBad in the story. The protagonists are usually innocent people trying to live ordinary lives, not sensing anything wrong until their daughter or son starts [[VoicesAreMental speaking in someone else's voice]], using [[BlackSpeech foul languages she or he never studied,]] spewing Finnish pea soup, and/or chanting Satanic praises. Members of the clergy ([[ChristianityIsCatholic most likely the Catholic variety]]; in this case it is justified by the fact that the Catholic church, of all the few that employ exorcism, is the most noted, although it does so very rarely) intervene eventually, with varying degrees of success. If there are human villains, they're evil [[{{Cult}} cultists]] who facilitate the Devil's activity on Earth (or, rarely, the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts, if the author is less favorable toward organized religion in general). A variation is a woman giving birth to [[TheAntiChrist Satan's child.]] This type of horror is often written just to cash in on the popularity of ''Film/TheExorcist'' and ''Film/RosemarysBaby''.

* In the French thriller ''Le Serment des Limbes'' by Jean-Christophe Grangé, the protagonist is a French policeman who'se also a devout catholic. Non-reassuring near-death experiences feature heavily in the plot, and are interpretated by some as descending to Hell and meeting the Devil; various people who suffered from this ordeal and are referred as "the Lightless" later committed ''very gruesome'' murders under this influence. Some of the antagonists belong to a cult of Devil-worshippers named "the Subjugated", who track the Ligthless to extort a report of their near-death experience from them (to use first-hand testimony of meeting the Devil in order to write their own holy scripture). A scene where the protagonist meet and fights a party of Subjugated (some of them described as looking sickly and grotesque) in a city drowned in fog reads like something straight from a horror novel.

* In the French thriller ''Le Serment des Limbes'' by Jean-Christophe Grangé, the protagonist is a French policeman whose also a devout catholic. Non-reassuring near-death experiences feature heavily in the plot, and are interpretated by some as descending to Hell and meeting the Devil; various people who suffered from this ordeal and are referred as "the Lightless" later committed ''very gruesome'' murders under this influence. Some of the antagonists belong to a cult of Devil-worshippers named "the Subjugated", who track the Ligthless to extort a report of their near-death experience from them (to use first-hand testimony of meeting the Devil in order to write their own holy scripture). A scene where the protagonist meet and fights a party of Subjugated (some of them described as looking sickly and grotesque) in a city drowned in fog reads like something straight from a horror novel.

A sub-genre of {{Horror}} that relies on presenting the motifs of a real-life religion as fact within the story's universe. In Western examples of this subgenre, that religion is normally Christianity.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 3}}'' features the Dorsey Clan, an early-game enemy faction of HilbillyHorrors that also acts like a revivalist-style Christian doomsday cult movement. The Dorseys believe that the setting's nuclear war represented a second Deluge to purge humanity of sin ([[Literature/TheBible the Great Flood]] being the first) and seek to create a third Deluge (this one in blood, to contrast the one of water and the one of fire) by rigorous bloodletting of all non-Dorseys. The first boss in the game, Jarrett Dorsey, is set to a minor-key gospel version of the Presbyterian hymn "Are you Washed in the Blood?".

* ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 3}}'' features the Dorsey Clan, an early-game enemy faction of HilbillyHorrors that also acts like a revivalist-style doomsday cult movement. The Dorseys believe that the setting's nuclear war represented a second Deluge to purge humanity of sin ([[Literature/TheBible the Great Flood]] being the first) and seek to create a third Deluge (this one in blood, to contrast the one of water and the one of fire) by rigorous bloodletting of all non-Dorseys. The first boss in the game, Jarrett Dorsey, is set to a minor-key gospel version of the Presbyterian hymn "Are you Washed in the Blood?".

[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': The titular god, Sigmar, is usually written as a GodOfGood, albeit a very pragmatic kind of good, since that's what's necessary to beat back the Chaos Gods. Having said that, it's been shown that while ''Sigmar'' might be good, he still has followers that become fanatical, self-righteous, and power-mad. The most noteworthy examples of this are Stormcast Eternals who CameBackWrong; the Stormcast are ''supposed'' to be paragons of good and righteousness, but coming BackFromTheDead chips away a little more of their soul every time Sigmar reforges them, eventually turning them into a BlackAndWhiteInsaity KnightTemplar. Imagine a golden warrior forged from the soul of one of humanity's greatest heroes, coldly butchering "rebellious" citizenry, sparing only those as fanatical and dogmatic as they are. Thankfully they're the minority (especially compared to their 40k counterparts) and Sigmar is working to fix the problem, but it speaks volumes that one of the most terrifying things in the setting can, under the wrong circumstances, be its greatest heroes.

* Seasons 4 and 5 of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', what with the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt impending apocalypse]] and all. The forces of Heaven and Hell continue to be a problem afterwards, but the show eventually slides into an AllMythsAreTrue mythology.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'' had its share of this. ''All Souls'' is a good example.
* ''Series/AHaunting'', which aired from 2005 to 2007, was a series of reenactments of "true" ghost stories.

[[folder:Radio]]
* The AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio "The Devil's Armada". Priest holes, Catholic persecution, demons, imps and the Devil himself.
[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' had strong elements of casting Kindred as the Damned, starting with vampirism itself being a manifestation of the Curse of Caine, the first murderer. The very idea of GothicPunk that ''Vampire'' codified was half-based in the visual elements of decaying cathedrals. Of course, this was dialed up with the ''Gehenna'' supplement, and the majority of scenarios end with God himself passing His judgement on vampirekind in some way (the only one that doesn't is instead about Lilith and Caine). The clearest possible example comes from the "Wormwood" scenario, where God sends a red star and miasma down to Earth to wipe vampire-kind quietly off the Earth, and only a handful of vampires are Chosen to take refuge in a broken-down cathedral for forty days (a metaphor for Noah's Ark) and [[HumanityOnTrial prove that they are worthy to be allowed to live as humans]].

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' series features an invasion by the forces of Hell, who among other things love to SigilSpam the faces of the Barons of Hell everywhere and have an Unholy Cathedral dedicated to whatever they worship. The Icon of Sin can be assumed to be something like Satan.

* Trauma from ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'' is a hulking monster spawned from Ruvik's religious frustrations. Think ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk with arms nailed to a plank and wrapped in barbed wire (crucifixion and a crown of brambles, which tells us the religion Ruvik's frustrated with).
* The Testament of the New Ezekiel in ''VideoGame/OutlastII'', who are a religious cult of fanatical, child-murdering Christians [[spoiler:possibly driven mad by a Murkoff experiment]] who kill every child that's born in the cult in order to prevent the birth of the Antichrist. And then there's their enemies: the Scalled and the Heretics, who are just as violently deranged.
* The ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow Lords of Shadow Castlevania]]'' games have this as a central pillar of the story. The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is part of a christian warrior group called "The Brotherhood of Light", and the plot of the first game is about Gabriel trying to revive his dead wife and restore Earth's displaced connection with the Heavens which prevents dead spirits from moving on. It even turns out that [[spoiler: the main antagonist is Satan, who appears in physical form in the story. His main goal is to gain the power of an artifact known as the God Mask, which he believes will allow him to challenge God, his father, as retribution for casting him out.]]

* ''Lucah: Born From A Dream'' features the protagonist wandering either limbo or a post-apocalyptic world. It's difficult to tell. Either way, the hellish environ definitely is the fault of the Church.

* The aptly-titled ''VideoGame/{{Blasphemous}}'' is built around the more morbid elements of Christianity (specifically Spanish Catholicism), particularly focusing on the obsession with guilt, penitence, and martyrdom. The world of Cvstodia abounds in warped Catholic imagery and faux Latin terminology, and lore reveals that the land used to be ruled by TheTheocracy who preached [[MartyrdomCulture a religion defined by the need to suffer endlessly to atone for one's inherent sinfulness]]. Then came the Age of Corruption, when the Grievous Miracle arose and transformed the land into a hellscape by warping its people into hideously maimed yet undying monstrosities as living manifestations of their guilt and their obsession with being punished for it. The player is presented with equal ambiguous evidence as to whether this happened because the Grievous Miracle [[GodIsEvil is a cruel, sadistic monster]], because it is lashing out at a CorruptChurch that tried to twist and exploit its power, or if it is merely genuinely trying to grant people their wishes... and in a culture obsessed with the need to suffer to prove their spiritual virtue, ''this'' is what people genuinely wish for.

* ''VideoGame/DontChatWithStrangers'': In the player charcter's room there is a cross on a wall. Turning it upside-down causes a big shadowy cross to descend into the room and eventually [[spoiler: the player character appears crucified on it and slowly dies]]. The cross will invert itself during the conversation with the mysterious girl if you say that your favorite color is red (because that's the color of Hell), saying "jeez" (as in "Jesus Christ") or saying you don't like the Christian God.

* ''Webcomic/ImTheGrimReaper'' is a deconstruction of Protestant Christianity. It's set in a world where God was the first being in existence, and did create the universe, humanity, the Devil, Heaven, and Hell. Then it goes on to give explanations to ''why'' God would even care about a trillion pathetic humans, and the answer is horrifyingly apathetic, resulting in a monstrous world where corruption and eternal torment is not just tolerated but ''desired'' by God, all without Them being actively sadistic.

* While it's not immediately obvious, quite a few Website/{{SCP|Foundation}}s are clearly Judeo-Christian entities, such as Dr Clef's proposal for SCP-001, an angel guarding the Garden of Eden.
* The [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] in ''[[http://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop/writeups/Requiem+Aeternam?author=Jet-Poop Requiem Aeternam]]'' are [[spoiler:[[IAmAHumanitarian hungry]]]].

* ''[[http://everything2.com/title/Five+Visions+of+the+Ascetic Five Visions of the Ascetic]]'' introduces us to a future version of Christianity devoted to the brutal weekly execution of a criminal codenamed "the Ascetic," who dies for our sins.

[[folder:Film]]
* The original version of ''Film/{{The Wicker Man|1973}}'' has nature-worshiping pagans living on a small island in northern Scotland. The protagonist is a devout Protestant, and a bit of [[KnightTemplar an asshole]], but by the end, he's become very sympathetic.
** Interestingly, the ending of the original was almost [[ExecutiveMeddling meddled]] to have [[spoiler:it start raining, putting out the wicker man]]. This was cut because it clashed with the whole point. A deleted scene showed that [[spoiler:the sacrifice ''worked'']], but it was deleted to leave the ambiguity in place.
** Also interestingly, it arguably falls under an intersection of the first category and the third; the historic Celtic pagans, which the islanders claim to be, are recorded — admittedly by [[UnreliableNarrator the Romans Caesar and Strabo]] — to [[spoiler:have used "wicker man" sacrifice in the event of a bad harvest. It is certainly less disputed that the Celts practiced human sacrifice. There is a departure from what even the Romans record, though, in that there was no requirement that the sacrifice be a virgin or a representative of authority; indeed, it seems that the peoples who practised this custom sacrificed criminals and delinquents whenever possible]].
* ''Film/ChildrenOfTheCorn'' featured a cult based around "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," revealed at the end of the story to be a demonic-looking monster. In the movie versions, it's revamped to be an entire, nearly omnipresent (within and around the town) spirit whose influence increases when it starts to get dark. Though it is implied to be a devil-worshiping cult, it is never outright stated to be a demon ''or'' Satan. It's referred to with pronouns by those who don't worship it. ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' eventually revealed that He Who Walks Behind The Rows is another name for BigBad Randall Flagg, who is also the main villain of ''Literature/TheStand'' and ''Literature/TheEyesOfTheDragon''.

* Not exactly treated as a religion of evil, but Voodoo is not framed in the best light in ''Film/TheSerpentAndTheRainbow''.

* The nordic pagan cult in ''Film/{{Midsommar}}'' orchestrates some gruesome human sacrifices.

* William Gladstone's ''Cat's Cradle'', which is about an ancient cult whose religion revolves around {{Half Human Hybrid}}s. The cover is pure distilled NightmareFuel, and the novel itself is ''extremely'' violent.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', the Los Illuminados cult mixes this with traditional zombie-styled horror.
%%* ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'', anyone?
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' features the Healing Church. Despite being visually based off Gothic and Christian imagery, the Healing Church worships the [[EldritchAbomination Great Ones]] and uses magic blood that can cure any ailment to control the city of Yharnam, killing dissenters and being indirectly but knowingly responsible for the [[ViralTransformation Scourge of the Beast]] ravaging the city. [[spoiler:The Great Ones themselves (notably Oedon) are all notably and feverishly seeking out surrogate children without caring much for the well-being of humans or other life, and the Healing Church has also long been abusing their newly obtained abilities and the Great Ones themselves to try and keep themselves in power; it doesn't end well for the latter.]]
* The Tal'darim from ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' is an ancient Protoss cult that knowingly worships [[GreaterScopeVillain Amon]] and expects him to hold his part of the bargain and ascend the strongest of the Tal'darim into hybrids. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} in ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid Legacy of the Void]]'': They ([[{{Hypocrite}} except Highlord Ma'lash]]) had ''no idea'' Amon was not going to keep his word. Once they find out, they pull a HeelFaceTurn]].
* ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment of all games]], features an ApocalypseCult as the main villains of the story. When Kirby and friends finally encounter the BigBad, [[SinisterMinister Lord Hyness]], their light-hearted adventure about ThePowerOfFriendship [[KnightOfCerebus turns deadly serious]] as the cult leader [[MotorMouth rants insanely]] about [[spoiler:taking revenge on [[{{Precursors}} the Ancients]] who [[TheExile banished his cult to the edge of the galaxy]] by summoning up [[DestroyerDeity Void Termina]] to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy everything]]]]. The ensuing battle is chock-full of creepy gamelan music and other assorted NightmareFuel, and even when Hyness is beaten, he still has enough left in him to [[spoiler:perform an onscreen HumanSacrifice of ''[[BadBoss his own followers]]'' and ''himself'']]! [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids You know, for kids!]]

* Again, the Website/SCPFoundation have a few of these, most notably [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-231 SCP-231-7.]]

* ''Ankoku Shinwa'' (a.k.a. ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle/{{English}} Dark Myth]]'') blends Myth/JapaneseMythology, UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}, and Usefulnotes/{{Hinduism}} together as the living incarnation of Maitreya gathers the Imperial Treasures to stop the return of Susanoo, here an EldritchAbomination made of dark matter.
* ''Ghost Hound'' becomes a [[UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}} Shintō]] variant of this, as emphasis shifts to the town's MysteryCult and its [[spoiler:[[NumberTwo transfer]] of [[DrunkWithPower power]]]].

* The Taiwanese film ''Double Vision'' is a religious horror in a Taoist setting.

* ''Feng Shui'' (not to be confused with [[TabletopGame/FengShui the tabletop game of the same name]]) is a movie of Taoism in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. A woman finds a ''ba gua'' mirror, which brings her luck, though the source of her good luck is a [[EquivalentExchange tradeoff]], sacrificing her neighbors and loved ones in order to bring her material fortune.
* ''Ghouls'' (2008) is from the perspective of Celtic Druids.

* ''Film/TheGolem'' is a Jewish horror movie about what happens when someone tries to channel the power of God through the kabbalah without the ability to control it.
* ''Film/ThePossession'' is all about demonic possession and exorcism. This time, it is with a [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish]] theme.
* ''Film/SvahaTheSixthFinger'' is about a Catholic priest who specializes in exposing cults and religious scam artists. He winds up uncovering a particularly evil, murderous cult that is an offshoot of Buddhism.

* ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' derives heavily from Christianity, although it later brings in AllMythsAreTrue. Whether a soul goes to Heaven to Hell is ''not'' dependent on morality, but through ''bartering'' between the two sides, who see most humans as cannon fodder, and both sides want the AxCrazy high-functioning psychopaths on their war rosters. The most obvious example is the use of GodAndSatanAreBothJerks in the ''Armageddon'' story line, which takes the concept to nightmarish levels; God and Satan are literally ''exactly the same''. They are both vicious, sadistic, petty ''monsters'' who regard humanity as nothing more than toys for them to break. At the end of the storyline, the devout Grandma Simmons can only spit vehement denials as to God's claims to be God, weeping that the "evil, monstrous child" cannot be the benevolent savior she has believed in all her life. [[spoiler:Technically, she's right. Realistically, the True Creator still doesn't care that much.]]
* Creator/GarthEnnis's infamous ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', which is heavily influenced by Ennis's disdain for religion. The Christian God [[GodIsEvil is a vindictive coward who willfully encourages the worst aspects in his followers, and cruelly manipulates people's lives to fit with his plans]]. He's also only Omnipotent while sitting on his throne in Heaven, which bites him in the ass when the Saint Of Killers finally ambushes him [[GodIsDead and kills him]].

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/TheExorcist'' is about a child who is possessed by a murderous demon, forcing the mother to try to convince the local church to give her an exorcism.
* ''Film/TheReaping'' features the return of the Ten Biblical Plagues of Egypt, now returning to the modern-day American South.
* ''Film/RosemarysBaby'' is the iconic story of a woman giving birth to TheAntichrist.
* Because of ''Film/TheOmen1976'', many people think that the name Damien means "demon". It actually means "tame", which is used in the story in the sense meaning "kill".

* ''Film/Alien3'' focuses on Ripley crash-landing on the [[PenalColony prison planet]] Fury 161, which is filled with [[ExtraYExtraViolent XYY chromosome-only prisoners]] who use religion as a means to redeem themselves for their dark history of rape, murder, kidnapping, drug dealing, torture, assault, and child molestation. The Xenomorph comes off as more demonic and controlling than the ones from the [[Film/{{Alien}} previous]] [[Film/{{Aliens}} two]] films, even [[MindRape mind-raping]] the prisoner Golic, an already disturbed man, into aiding it to escape a trap. However, most of the religious horror comes from the much longer Assembly Cut of the film, in which Dillon compares the Xenomorph to a herald of the apocalypse, which Ripley later agrees with, stating that if the alien ever got loose on Earth, it would be devastating. In the infamous unmade Vincent Ward 'wooden planet' version, it's outright said that the Xenomorph is a demon, and the ending blatantly rips off ''Film/TheExorcist'', with the character of Brother John dying exactly like Father Karras does; he even 'exorcises' the Xenomorph out of Ripley. To say that this would've outraged fans far more than the final film ever could is an understatement.
* ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'' features Satan in the form of [[OccultLawFirm the head of a New York law firm]], and the protagonist as [[spoiler:his son]].

* In ''Film/ZombieCultMassacre'', a sleazy cult leader pretends to be a compassionate man of God but is really in league with Satan, raising an army of zombies. It does not end well for him.

* ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' is about a bunch of theology students trying to stop the TheAntichrist from releasing his father, TheAntiGod. It's a sort of {{deconstruction}} of the Religious Horror sub-genre, because most of the characters ''aren't'' theology students. Instead, they're scientists of one kind or another, four or five of whom are under the direct tutelage of a physics professor who had been selected for a series of televised debates with a Catholic priest because of his philosophical beliefs on science. Those debates happen before the story begins, and the two characters seem to be very [[AgreeToDisagree good friends]] when the movie starts. To be fair, when speaking of said professor, one student says that "he wants philosophers, not scientists", so it is a little open to debate or interpretation.
* The LDS-made film ''Film/BrighamCity'' uses elements of religious horror based on the LDS faith and puts them to work quietly in the background. This makes the film jarring to members of the LDS church without being over the top.
* Also the LDS-made WWII film ''Saints And Soldiers'', in the context of Deacon's [[HeroicBSOD hallucinations]] (the only character implied to be Mormon). Understandable in that he [[spoiler:accidentally killed a room full of orphans under the age of eight (and thus not accountable for their actions, making them unquestionable innocents) and a couple of nuns with a grenade while fighting Germans in a church, and is only being held together by his faith and desire to return home to his wife as he's dealing with his PTSD]].

* ''Film/EndOfDays'', starring Creator/GabrielByrne as TheDevil, and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as the protagonist Jericho Cane, a retired cop.
* ''The Seventh Sign'', starring Creator/DemiMoore and Creator/MichaelBiehn.
* ''Film/FromHell'', starring Creator/JohnnyDepp, based on the comic book series of the same name.
* ''Film/BlessTheChild'', starring Creator/KimBasinger
* ''Film/AngelHeart'' has some really creepy religious elements. [[spoiler:It turns out at the end the entire plot was orchestrated by Satan himself, who hired Johnny Favourite to condemn himself to Hell.]]
* In the 1999 film ''Film/TheNinthGate'', book collector Dean Corso is called to retrieve a book of The Nine Gates, causing many scary things to happen such as people dying, Corso himself nearly getting killed by people who want the book for themselves for satanic purposes, and being followed around by a mysterious blonde woman only known as The Girl.

* ''Film/TheSentinel1977'': A woman moves into an apartment building that turns out to house the [[{{Hellgate}} gates of hell]].
* ''Film/ValhallaRising'', one of the many interpretations of the film has the Christians being punished by the Gods of nature for killing their worshippers.
* ''Film/{{REC}}'': While the infection certainly has a biological aspect, the end of the first movie strongly suggests, and the sequel confirms, that DemonicPossession also has a part in it.
* ''Film/EyeOfTheDevil'' revolves around a TownWithADarkSecret — namely, it's a Satanic cult. The cult has taken on much of the iconography and symbolism of the Catholic Church, including black masses that look a lot like the regular Mass, and the use of crosses and Christian symbolism for their human sacrifice.

* ''Film/Holocaust2000'' (one of several films following in the wake of ''The Omen''), which revolves around TheAntiChrist being born at the end of the second millennium and utilizing nuclear technology to bring about the apocalypse.

* ''Film/TheWitch'' is set in 1600s New England, where a Puritan family is banished from their village and must set out on their own into the wilderness, where they are tormented by the title creature.
* Everything in ''Film/TheConjuring'' [[Film/TheConjuringUniverse series]]. ''Film/TheNun'' is obviously the most blatant example, but they all follow ordinary people who've been attacked by demons for whatever reason (they bought a house where a witch performed Satanic rites, a demon pretended to be their dead daughter in a CreepyDoll, their convent was bombed and reopened a portal to hell...) and need to rely on Christian rituals to get rid of them.
* ''Film/WeSummonTheDarkness'' is a subversion, and a satire of the "Satanic Panic" of TheEighties. [[spoiler:The [[HollywoodSatanism "Satanist"]] villains are actually born-again Christians staging a [[FalseFlagOperation fake Satanic murder spree]] in order to scare people back into the church.]]
* The titular ''Film/MisterFrost'' is a serial killer who, having been shuttled from mental institution to mental institution after being caught two years prior, reveals to the one doctor he's willing to speak to — one Sarah Day, who does not believe in religion — that he is actually {{Satan}} in human form. She initially dismisses his claims as the same nonsense as many patients who've come through the facility before have spouted, but it soon becomes clear he does have supernatural abilities. His EvilPlan is to make her believe in him to the point that she'll be willing to [[spoiler:murder his Earthly form, which will ruin her life]], [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly all so he can regain the power he's lost in the last century due to people coming to believe that Evil is mental deviance or human cruelty rather than a force in and of itself]]. Interestingly, while Christian iconography does appear in the film, this {{Satan}} hearkens back to the Old Testament in that he doesn't want to ''conquer'' humanity, but rather regain his edge in the CosmicChessGame he plays with God.
* ''Film/{{Antrum}}'' is an interesting example of this. The framing device is that of a supposedly cursed movie that caused a number of people to die after seeing it. The internal story within the titular movie has two children trying to dig a hole to hell to save their dog's soul. The movie is purposefully [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane vague]] as to whether or not they actually ''did'' manage to awaken something demonic.
* ''Film/BabysitterWanted2008'' has a babysitter who eventually learns that the man who has broken into her home is trying to kill her charge, who is the literal son of the Devil.
* ''Film/ThePopesExorcist'' is a horror film based around a real life Vatican exorcist attempting to exorcise a demon from a young boy.
* ''Film/{{Errementari}}'', a tale about a man striking a literal DealWithTheDevil and later going to Hell (in all its Creator/HieronymusBosch flavor).
* ''Film/TheDayOfTheBeast'' follows a priest who has prophesized the second coming... of Satan.
* ''Film/Requiem2021'': A PeriodPiece set in 1605 England during the witch hunts, exploring how any woman who in some way was suspicious or nonconforming (such as by being a lesbian) had to face the risk of a witchcraft accusation and the [[BurnTheWitch fate this brought]].

* Creator/DennisLehane's ''[[Literature/KenzieAndGennaroSeries Darkness, Take My Hand]]'' features a trio of serial killers who model themselves on the Holy Trinity and crucify all of their victims before killing them.

* David St. Clair's ''The Devil Rocked Her Cradle'', a book that should probably not be sold as nonfiction. A young man kills his father, bruises a prostitute, rebels against his Catholic upbringing, becomes a thief, and hears demonic voices. He grows up to be an abusive husband whose daughter goes through on-and-off Satanic possession, especially after her newly widowed father starts living with his wife's sister. This leads her to projectile-vomit green stuff, recite {{Madness Mantra}}s, and gesture obscenely at nuns and priests. (The book's preface even includes the pricelessly redundant line, "[T]his book is not intended to be anti-Christian or pro-demonic.")
* Jeffrey Sackett's ''Candlemas Eve'', a fun fiction novel about a rock band that adopts two self-proclaimed witches to add something unusual to the act (plus, EvilIsSexy). They turn out to be [[spoiler:time-traveling Satanist Puritans who assumed the identities of two modern-day women because of some kind of curse that forced them to please Satan after their deaths. A faux-Satanic rock musician's kid and his friends let them in by casting a spell on Halloween]].
* John Saul's ''Punish the Sinners'' is a subversion: [[spoiler:the villain is not Satan, but the principal of a Catholic high school]].

* Creator/RobertAntonWilson's ''The Masks of Illuminati'' reads like a rather moralistic Religious Horror story right up until the very end, but if you're at all familiar with Wilson's other works, you should know that things aren't going to be that simple. Lets just say that it takes the UnreliableNarrator to new heights.
* ''The Blood of the Lamb'' starts out rather mild, with a priest (Peter Carenza) discovering that [[spoiler:he was cloned from the ShroudOfTurin, and as a result had the power to heal, walk through fire unharmed, and even raise the dead]]. But, after [[spoiler:killing his best friend of jealousy, his personality becomes much darker]], and by the end he manages to scare the ever-loving shit out of a pair of Jesuit assassins, [[spoiler:kills the Pope]], and has pretty much [[TheUnfettered become]] the [[spoiler:only candidate for TheAntichrist]].
* Many of Frank Perretti's novels have elements of this, one of the most prominent being, ''Literature/TheVisitation.''
* Graphic depictions of Rapture fiction like ''Literature/LeftBehind'' and ''Literature/ChristCloneTrilogy'' series can easily become this, whether intended by the author or not.
* ''Literature/TheMysteriousStranger'' is a [[HumansAreBastards very]] [[CrapsackWorld cynical]] take on this trope and, depending on one's interpretation of it, can also be considered a huge TakeThat at Christianity.
* Steven L. Peck wrote a short story, "A Short Stay in Hell", in which after death, a man is sentenced to a limited stay in Hell before he can go to Heaven. Of a multitude of hells, he is sent to a library filled with books of every possible combination of characters on a keyboard and tasked to find the autobiography of his life among the nearly infinite number of nonsensical volumes.
* Demons drawn from Abrahamic cosmology represent the main villains in the ''Literature/MerkabahRider'' stories. Then again, [[LightIsNotgood the Angels aren't that nice]], either.

* ''Film/TheProphecy'' and its two sequels, ''Film/TheProphecyII'' and ''Film/TheProphecy3TheAscent'', are about another war in heaven with Creator/ChristopherWalken (who's creepy enough even when he isn't acting) as the ArchangelGabriel.

** In the direct-to-UsefulNotes/{{DVD}} movie ''[[Recap/BabylonFiveTheLostTales01 The Lost Tales]]'', a maintenance worker is possessed by what is implied to be a literal demon -- specifically not the devil, rather a lower-ranking servant. Colonel Lochley calls an exorcist. In a twist, [[spoiler:the demon ''[[BatmanGambit wants]]'' to be exorcised... in space, a.k.a. "The Heavens". Lochley and the exorcist instead decided to ship his ass back to Earth first]].

* ''WebVideo/MandelaCatalogue'' has shades of this, with the alternates implied to have been meddling with humanity since biblical times and the "Metaphysical Awareness Disorder" video advicing people to avoid religion all together. [[spoiler:Probably the biggest example, however, is the revelation that {{Satan}} has disguised himself as the {{Archangel Gabriel}} and has proclaimed himself as [[FalseProphet the true saviour]].]]

* ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', [[SurpriseCreepy of all games]], features an ApocalypseCult as the main villains of the story. When Kirby and friends finally encounter the BigBad, [[SinisterMinister Lord Hyness]], their light-hearted adventure about ThePowerOfFriendship [[KnightOfCerebus turns deadly serious]] as the cult leader [[MotorMouth rants insanely]] about [[spoiler:taking revenge on [[{{Precursors}} the Ancients]] who [[TheExile banished his cult to the edge of the galaxy]] by summoning up [[DestroyerDeity Void Termina]] to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy everything]]]]. The ensuing battle is chock-full of creepy gamelan music and other assorted NightmareFuel, and even when Hyness is beaten, he still has enough left in him to [[spoiler:perform an onscreen HumanSacrifice of ''[[BadBoss his own followers]]'' and ''himself'']]! [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids You know, for kids!]]