Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall looks back on iconic devil possession storyline: ‘I actually d...

Although she found it to be “so ridiculous,” Hall fully committed to her character being possessed by the Devil on the soap opera. Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall looks back on iconic devil possession storyline: ‘I actually did levitate’ Although she found it to be “so ridiculous,” Hall fully committed to her character being possessed by the Devil on the soap opera. By Kathleen Perricone July 30, 2026 7:43 p.m. ET Leave a Comment :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/DeidreHall08607302026053c5115369048609fe27f750ddebaee.jpg) Deidre Hall; Marlena possessed by the Devil on ‘Days of Our Lives’ in 1995.

Although she found it to be “so ridiculous,” Hall fully committed to her character being possessed by the Devil on the soap opera.

Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall looks back on iconic devil possession storyline: ‘I actually did levitate’

Although she found it to be “so ridiculous,” Hall fully committed to her character being possessed by the Devil on the soap opera.

By Kathleen Perricone

July 30, 2026 7:43 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Deidre Hall; Marlena possessed by the Devil on ‘Days of Our Lives’ in 1995. Credit:

Kevin Winter/Getty; Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

- Deidre Hall reflects on her character’s “ridiculous” possession storyline — and exorcism — on *Days of Our Lives*.

- “I actually did levitate,” said Hall. “I hesitate to call it a stunt.”

- The actress also shared an update on her invitation to Ryan Gosling to come visit the set of *Days*.

Deidre Hall is setting the record straight: She did her own stunts during Marlena’s supernatural arc on *Days of Our Lives*.

Thirty decades after the Devil famously possessed her character, the soap opera star looked back on the “ridiculous” storyline, which climaxed in March 1995 with Marlena levitating off a bed during an exorcism.

Hall learned of her character’s new narrative just before *Days* went on hiatus for the 1994 holiday season. At the time, Marlena had fallen under an evil spell cast by her enemy, Stefano.

Marlena (Deidre Hall) levitates during an exorcism on ‘Days of Our Lives’ in 1995.

Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

“We had been shooting shows where strange things were happening — Christmas trees catching fire, blah, blah, blah, you know the story,” Hall recalled to PEOPLE. “I got called upstairs before Christmas break, and I thought, ‘This is not a good thing.’”

In her meeting with *Days* executive producer Tom Langan and head writer Jim Reilly, they informed the actress that Marlena had been “the one who’s causing all the chaos” in Salem because she was “possessed by the devil.”

Hall’s initial reaction to the idea was, “It’s so ridiculous” — but also, so Marlena.

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“All I said at the time was, just because it’s such an odd thing to do, let’s really commit to it and do it right so it’s a story we can be proud of,” Hall told PEOPLE. “[I said,] ‘Please do it well’ — and I didn’t even know what I meant by that, but, ‘Please don’t cheap out on it.’”

Months later, when the Devil was forced out of Marlena during an exorcism on daytime television, production went all in shooting the now-iconic scene.

“I actually did levitate,” said Hall, who wore yellow contact lenses to portray her possessed character. “I hesitate to call it a stunt, but they’d cleared the studio and they’d turn off all the monitors to the entire building, including the dressing rooms and makeup room. Nobody was seeing it on camera. And we had the man there that had created the device that made it happen and we just shot it — one, maybe two takes. It was a little scary because I actually do lift out of the bed. And then you saw it on TV, and with all the lighting and the music... Yeah, it was pretty thrilling.”

Deidre Hall as possessed Marlena on ‘Days of Our Lives’.

Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

At the time, the scene was polarizing with critics and soap fans (EW deemed it “Dumbest Soap Plot Ever”). But over the years, it’s been embraced by pop culture — as well as the actress.

“It’ll be on my tombstone, ‘Deidre Hall: Possession,’” she joked to PEOPLE.

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Earlier this year, Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling revealed Hall’s portrayal of possessed Marlena actually inspired his own acting aspirations. In response, she invited him to the *Days* set to “see what we do in our neck of the woods… Nobody will be possessed. And if they are, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Gosling hasn’t yet taken her up on the offer, revealed Hall, but “my people have been talking to his people.”

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Soap"

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Source: Soap

Published: July 30, 2026 at 08:57PM on Source: OPERA MAG

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