She was acting like a fool. I don't know 'what possessed her'. [=I don't know why she acted that way]
He pounded on the door 'like a man possessed', yelling for someone to let him in.
A terrible rage 'possessed' her at that moment. [=she became filled with rage]
(..) These inscriptions are confusing and sometimes contradictory. But they're consistent about one thing: In order to stop this, the possessed must be cleansed. Purified. The book describes three specific ways. A live burial... bodily dismemberment... and purification by fire. (..)2013 Evil Dead