DOOL Famous Plots: The Desecrator

Where there is evil, one will find Stefano DiMera lurking close behind. After all, it was his nightly seductions of Marlena that left her open to demonic possession. Stefano placed Marlena into a trance, and night after night would lead her to his secret, underground world. He gained access to her bedroom by purchasing the neighboring apartment and creating a passageway through the closet. He referred to Marlena as "The Queen of the Night" and was well on his way to seducing her when Satan stepped in. 

Strange occurrences began happening in Salem, beginning with the burning of the Tom Horton Memorial Christmas Tree and followed by the torching of the gifts that the Horton Center was collecting for children. "The Desecrator" had arrived! Meanwhile, Father Francis began receiving mysterious items in his mail, including a strange wooden box and three ancient sealed scrolls. Immediately after translating the scrolls, Father Francis felt an evil presence. Kristen discovered him choking on the floor and rushed him to the hospital. Also, a stranger turned up in Salem going by the name of Gabe, and began offering John spiritual advice. 

The Desecrator meant to get rid of John Black. Things began to heat up when Kristen was found naked and handcuffed to the church altar. Pentagrams had been painted on her back. John discovered her there and was able to pick the lock on the handcuffs by using his belt buckle. Tony arrived on the scene, but Stefano, who had been skulking around outside and saw the whole thing, stalled him. When Tony finally entered the church, John and Kristen were no where to be found. The Desecrator became enraged and swore revenge on John. 

In a second attempt, Marlena was transformed into Kristen and went to John's apartment to seduce him. Once again, Tony was the pawn in The Desecrator's plans. A message had been left on his answering machine informing him that he could find his wife at John's loft. In a rage, he burst in to find "Kristen" semi naked and in John's arms. When a fight broke out between the men, "Kristen" made her exit and turned back into Marlena. The real Kristen was having car trouble and was stuck on the road. Gabe appeared out of nowhere and, magically, Kristen's car was working again. Kristen was caught off guard when Tony arrived back home and began yelling at her about the events of the night. He did not believe her story of car trouble; after all, if it wasn't Kristen in John's arms, who was it? 

Poor Marlena! The possession was wreaking havoc on her normal life. Between her double life as The Desecrator and Stefano's nightly visits, she wasn't getting any rest. The exhaustion began to show and her friends were continually worried about her. They constantly urged her to get more rest. But sleep was no sanction for Marlena's troubles. 

Celeste continually begged Stefano to forgo his plans for Marlena; she felt the presence of evil and feared the worst. Ignoring Celeste warnings, he continued to visit Marlena's room. One night while Stefano was caressing her cheek, she awoke, revealing her demon-possessed green eyes before she began choking him. A struggle ensued, but Celeste was able to release Marlena's hold by begging for God's help. Marlena instantly fell into a deep, lifeless sleep, allowing Celeste to pull Stefano out of the room before being discovered by John. Assuming that an assault had taken place, John phoned for an ambulance. Mike performed tests on Marlena's blood, and was shocked to find her anemic. A blood transfusion was necessary to keep her alive. 

Father Francis was receiving visits by a demon in his hospital room and his health continued to teeter. Kristin made constant visits to him where he urged her towards spiritual guidance. Meanwhile, Marlena began to make a remarkable recovery and John took her home to finish recuperating. 

Stefano was now, more than ever, determined to win Marlena over. He made another attempt to enter her room, but The Desecrator had other plans. While John was helping Kristen and Tony to renew their wedding vows, Marlena jammed the doors and set the church on fire. Stefano was on the pier looking for Marlena when he caught the scent of smoke. Following the odor, Stefano and Celeste saw a green-eyed Marlena lurking in the bushes. John and Tony attempted to open the door, but to no avail. Fortunately, Bo, Peter and Lucas arrived on the scene to rescue them. The Desecrator was not pleased. 

John donated a holy statue that had been in his family for years to St. Luke's. He planned on using it to trap The Desecrator and it worked. Hiding in a back room of the church, John jumped The Desecrator and a fight ensued. John managed to remove the cape and was shocked to discover it was Marlena. While his back was turned, she tried to strangle him. Fortunately for John, Mike arrived and was able to knock Marlena out with a syringe from his bag. Later, Abe discovered evidence that linked Marlena to the church fire and he was forced to arrest her. Stefano overheard and made plans to kidnap her. Celeste continued to beg Stefano to back off. 

When the opportunity arose, Stefano removed a sleeping Marlena from her room. He forged a note from Marlena claiming that she had left town. He'd hired four look-a-likes to roam the country and claim to be Marlena Evans. When he returned home, he found Celeste passed out on the floor. She claimed to have been thrown across the room by Marlena. Stefano did not believe her and accused her of being drunk. 

Bo and Billie's wedding took place at St. Luke's and the reception was held in the Penthouse Grill. All of Salem was in attendance - including a stark naked Marlena! Mike and Laura rushed over to find her dazed and unresponsive. They insisted that Marlena be brought to the hospital, much to the displeasure of DA Pat Hamilton, who had just announced to everyone that Marlena was suspected of being The Desecrator. 

Mike had begun to suspect that Marlena may have a tumor, but tests proved negative and he feared he would not be able to help her. Father Francis overhead this and entered her room with a vial of holy water. The Devil in Marlena warned the priest against attacking him, but the Father was able to cast the holy water at him. The Devil screamed and threw him across the room. John and Kristen heard the commotion, but when they entered the room, Marlena appeared to be sleeping peacefully. It wasn't until later that a nurse discovered what appeared to be burn marks on Marlena's hands. Everyone was mystified as to how she got them. The Devil decided he needed some help and called on his old friend, Stefano. 

Stefano was delighted to hear from "Marlena" and promised to help her. The Devil continually made Marlena butter up Stefano by proclaiming that she trusted him and that she counted on him. Stefano had long been enamoured by Marlena and felt that he finally had a chance to have her. Celeste repeatedly tried to convince Stefano to stay out of it and even refused to obey his orders. She swore she'd be damned forever if she helped Stefano help the Devil. 

John was beginning to get suspicious and began investigating the various tenants in Marlena's building. He assumed that the resident in the apartment next to Marlena's was Stefano. He began searching and found the entrance. Tony and Stefano were barely able to make it out of the apartment before John broke through the secret passageway. John discovered proof that it was indeed Stefano's apartment. 

Earlier, Kristen had left a rosary with Marlena and it appeared to be agitating the demon inside of her. Momentarily she was able to fight him off, but in her weakened state, it didn't last long and she went into cardiac arrest. Fortunately, Mike was nearby and was able to help her. Meanwhile, an APB had been issued for Stefano and guards were placed all over the hospital. It was assumed that Stefano had given Marlena drugs that caused her erratic behavior. This did not keep Stefano from disguising himself and entering the hospital. He led the police on a wild goose chase and was able to sneak Marlena out of the hospital. 

Once at the lighthouse hideaway, Stefano left Celeste alone with Marlena. The devil began provoking and threatening Celeste to do his bidding. He informed Celeste of his demonic plans for both John and Stefano. She rushed to her car in an attempt to warn Stefano, but the devil used his evil powers to cause her car to careen off the road. Meanwhile, Stefano returned to the lighthouse and questioned Marlena about Celeste's whereabouts. As he was preparing to take Marlena, John showed up and a fight ensued. The devil kept mentally urging John to kill Stefano, in hopes that he could get him to break his priestly vows. Kristen and Tony arrived and were able to keep John from killing him. Stefano was arrested and Marlena was returned to the hospital 

A battery of tests was run on Marlena and it was discovered she needed another blood transfusion. The hospital was low on her particular blood type and the only matching donor was Stefano. He professed that he had done nothing to hurt Marlena and would give his life to help her. Marlena's inner battle to cast out the demon continued 

Father Francis continued his efforts to make others aware of Marlena's possession, but he was still weak and unable to communicate. He was only able to point out the word "succubus" in a dictionary to a couple of nurses who informed Father Jansen. They all believed that Father Francis was trying to tell them something. Meanwhile, the devil made a phone call to Celeste and coerced her into obtaining some colored contact lenses. Marlena's eyes needed to be covered as they glowed green while she was possessed. Celeste came through and was able to sneak them to the devil after Marlena was returned home. 

The devil continued to try and force John to break his priestly vow of celibacy. It almost worked, too, for it was difficult for John to refrain. John was tricked into joining Marlena at the Horton Cabin on Smith Island. The devil continually sent images to John of his past romantic life with Marlena and even took her body out skinny-dipping in an attempt to lure him. Fortunately, Kristen arrived before John could succumb. She reminded John of Father Francis pointing out the word "succubus," but he insisted the situation was his fault. Kristen attempted to prove once and for all the Marlena was possessed and threw holy water on her. Nothing happened, as the devil had switched the water. John scolded Kristen for taking things too far. Unbeknownst to them, back at University Hospital, Father Francis was making a miraculous recovery. 

Marlena's soul was finally able to resurface and resume control over her body. She jumped into the boat that Kristen had used to reach Smith Island and raced off. The devil sent a ghastly wind in hot pursuit of her. On land, she stumbled to her car, refusing to give in to the devil, but the wind continued to follow her. She managed to make it to a church and began running towards the safety it provided her. She was unprepared for the evil that met her at the door. It was none other than Curtis Reed - straight out of Hell to do the devil's bidding! Marlena was saved when Father Francis threw open the doors of the church and beckoned her to come to him. Once in the church, he instructed Marlena to prey to God for forgiveness while he went to fetch John for help. He urged her to stay inside the church, as she would be safe there. But, Curtis scared her out of the church by threatening Sami and the devil had possession of Marlena once again. Father Francis never made it to John as he was knocked out by debris flying around the street. 

Kristen and John arrived at the church and Marlena fainted into John's arms. They rushed her and Father Francis back to the hospital, but Marlena requested to be returned home. John spent the night at Marlena's apartment where she attempted to seduce him again, but he resisted by going off to pray. Later Kristen and John discovered Marlena's sleeping body thrashing on the bed. Marlena awoke and overheard Mike suggesting she be admitted to the hospital for more tests. She refused and blamed her convulsions on the residual effects of the drugs Stefano gave her. Meanwhile, Kristen paid Stefano a visit in jail and demanded to know if he gave Marlena drugs. He professed his innocence and claimed that Marlena is possessed. 

Three religious scholars arrived in Salem to transcribe the scrolls that Father Francis had received. Their studies found that a terrific evil was about to be unleashed on the town. Kristen attempted to tell John about the prophecy, but he didn't believe her. She confronted Marlena about her belief that she was controlled by evil, but was frightened off by a deadly looking snake, which conveniently disappeared when John arrived. When John again refused Marlena's attempts to have sex, the demon decided to take out his anger by terrorizing John's loved ones. He sent a swarm of bees after Shawn, who was stung so severely he had to be taken to the hospital. Next, the devil transformed Marlena's body into that of a black panther and sent her out to stalk the three scholars. John still refused to believe that Marlena was possessed. 

Kristen confronted Marlena again and they began to fight. One of the contacts was knocked out and Kristen noticed Marlena's glowing eyes. The demon admitted to Kristen that Marlena was possessed but that it was too late to do anything about it. Later, the demon disguised Marlena's voice and phoned John, claiming to be Kristen. John rushed over to Marlena's apartment, where he found Kristen tied up and unconscious on the roof. He finally realized that she was right and they went to confront the demon. Stefano, finally out of jail on bail, arrived at the apartment, followed closely by Father Francis. When they arrived, they were shocked to find Marlena's body levitating above her bed. Father Francis used prayer and holy water to bring her back down. 

John and Father Francis left Marlena in Mike's care and went to request the bishop's permission to perform an exorcism. He required more proof of the possession, so they took him to the apartment. They arrived to find Marlena levitating in the room. The bishop granted his permission for the exorcism and Father Francis warned John that the procedure is very dangerous. It could quite possibly kill Marlena. 

The demon began to use his tricks to prevent the exorcism. He summoned up a strong wind to keep the participants out of the bedroom, taunted Caroline by claiming that Shawn would die, tormented John with images of Isabella in hell and even went so far as to tell Carrie that Austin was seeing another woman. He began to use Tony as his pawn again, and sent him images of Kristen being unfaithful with John. Though he attempted to deny the demon's version of the truth, the images of Kristen and John making love were too much for Tony to bear and he fell under the demon's spell. 

The exorcism continued and the demon appeared to be weakening, but he still had many tricks up his sleeve. He continued to cause Tony to have visions of John and Kristen kissing and urged him to kill John. Celeste managed to prevent Tony from shooting him. Meanwhile, Stefano, determined as ever to help Marlena, snuck into her room disguised as a deliveryman. Stefano untied her from her bindings and, in thanks, she turned into a hideous creature and attacked him. The demon tossed him out of the window and he was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. 

On what was to be the last day of the exorcism, the demon told Kristen that Tony replaced her birth control pills with phony ones. Tony was still being haunted by images of Kristen and John. He begged Celeste to lock him in the wine cellar before he did anything drastic. Marlena began to go into cardiac arrest during the exorcism and Mike was unable to revive her. A tearful John kissed a lifeless Marlena goodbye before she was taken away in a body bag. He vowed to continue to take down the demon. 

John found it hard to deal with Marlena's death and visited Father Francis for comfort. The Father warned John that demons play tricks and things aren't always what they seem. John decided to visit Marlena's body in the morgue one last time. It is revealed that Marlena is trapped in her body and is too weak to cry out for help. When John gave Marlena a farewell kiss, he noticed some movement and yells for help. She opened her eyes and the demon emerges, grabbing John by the throat. After a vicious battle, John begged the demon to leave Marlena alone and possess his body. The demon jumped at the opportunity. John was possessed for a brief time before he managed to drive the demon from him. He prayed to God for help and demanded that the demon be gone. Her lifeless body fell to the ground and John prayed for her wellbeing. He picked her up and carried her to the church, where all of her friends and family had gathered to honor her memory. They were all relieved and shocked to find out that she was alive. 

Marlena managed to make a remarkable recovery and was ready to be the matron-of-honor at Austin and Carrie's wedding. The memories of the possession started to return to Marlena and she felt uncomfortable about being in St. Luke's. John reassured her that nobody holds her responsible for her actions.