Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters (13 page)

I gathered my supplies and asked Rick to prepare the rooms in the house by opening the windows and closets with us. I unpacked my materials and handed Rick several holy anointing oils for them to keep, in addition to a holy candle. I told him to burn the candle whenever he felt disturbed and to use the oil to anoint themselves and their rooms. Rick was very appreciative and put the items in a safe place until the blessing was finished.

I could feel the pressure building in the home and knew that I would either be confronted by the demon or it would hide.

I was a bit hesitant given the fact that this home was a condominium. In my opinion, attached or adjoining homes, like condominiums, are more difficult to cleanse because you can’t fully bless the entire building, thus the entities can simply move to another unit temporarily and return later to haunt once the blessing is finished. I was concerned about not having access to the other units. It was impossible to go around “blessing” everyone’s unit in a condominium! Likely I would end up in a psychiatric ward.
There’s that weird girl trying to cast out demons again!
No thank you.

As we began blessing the home we first started from the front door to the back of the house and out towards the sliding door. The Maltese seemed to be comforted by the white sage aroma and soon settled down comfortably on its bed. “That feels better, right?” I sweetly asked the dog. We ascended the stairs towards the kids’ bedrooms and I saw a chinchilla in a cage in the hallway. We later found out it was named Chinchy. It frantically raced about the enclosure and seemed on edge. The entire house seemed to be on pins and needles; I admittedly felt a bit jumpy as well. This was one of the most bizarre and disturbing cases I had dealt with.

The bedroom of the oldest daughter, Nicole, felt very dense and oppressed. I sensed that the demon spent a lot of time in this room, or was currently present in the room with me. We worked our way through the rooms and into the parents’ bedroom. I also sensed the same dark feeling in the master bedroom, a thick negativity loomed.

I usually record the counseling sessions with the client for documentation. On this occasion, the digital recorder had been recording the entire time we performed the house blessing. An unusual low, deep rumble was heard on the recorder when I began the smudging part of the ceremony; it seemed to have an effect on the entity.

I felt there was a connection with the attic space and the bedrooms, as if the entity used the attic as an entrance or place to hide, so we asked Rick if we could borrow a ladder to access the attic. I always bless the attics, basements, crawl spaces, and so on, but wanted to address this area immediately so the entity couldn’t seek refuge there during the rest of the blessing.

As Carl braced the ladder, he lifted the door to the attic and I balanced behind him with the abalone shell and white sage smudging supplies. Suddenly, the abalone shell became unbearably hot; I felt the jolt of pain and nearly dropped the shell. It began burning my hands so I had to find an alternative way for me to continue holding the shell. Rick offered an oven mitt, which proved to be very helpful.

As we continued with the blessing of the attic we began to notice a terrible burning smell stirring through the air. Many demonic entities will manifest odors and foul smells, so I wasn’t completely surprised when I caught a whiff of something like burning rubber. However, the smell became so strong none of us could ignore it.

During this time Carl was holding the abalone shell with the oven mitt. I finally realized that the oven mitt was starting to burn from the abalone shell! The smoldering white sage was
so
hot that it was burning through the thick abalone shell and into the mitt beneath it. I had
never
seen this before—something burning through several dense layers. I think it was apparent that the entity was trying to prevent us from continuing with our cleansing.

Then the phones began to ring, their home phone and our cell phones, at different times but all in succession of each other. Other distractions followed and we eventually unplugged the house phones and turned off our cell phones. I explained to Rick that this was pretty common; entities would try all sorts of methods to get us to stop the cleansing. I refocused my efforts and continued on with my mission.

Carl began anointing the home with olive oil and I made my rounds with the salt. For some reason the entity didn’t seem to be completely gone—just weakened. This lingering presence really bothered me and I began kneeling and praying in Nicole’s room. I was desperate. “
God, please help this family find peace. Cast out any demons and evils that reside in this home.
There are innocent children in this home and they need to be protected. They need your help. I know that they let their guard down and unknowingly bonded with a demon, but I really think they’re
ready to have the entity removed. Please help me cast out this evil and bring them closer to you. In your name I pray forever and ever. Amen.
”

I continued with praying and commanding the entity out and I felt its energy weaken, to the point where I was unsure if it still was in the house or not. I held my breath and waited. I had performed so many house blessings that I had become desensitized to the feeling of when an entity finally leaves.
Was the entity still there, just in hiding?
In my heart I was worried that the incubus hadn’t left, but I wanted to remain positive and give the blessing a chance to work. Maybe I was just being paranoid and the blessing was fine. I was hesitant to put away the supplies and to end the ceremony, but we had performed all the steps and needed to talk further with Rick.

I still felt suspicious …

We sat down with Rick, as I usually do with clients after a blessing, and asked him to recite some commands and prayers with us. We thoroughly denounced all involvement with the dark and prayed that any hexes placed upon the family would be abolished. I asked Rick if he’d like to share any other comments. He began telling the demon to leave their home, “Get out of here! We don’t want you here anymore and you need to leave! Leave us alone!”

Sometimes it serves as therapy for clients to be able to speak their minds and to demand that the entities leave. Rick said he felt better and confirmed that the house seemed more peaceful.

“Let me know if the entity does come back and I will return to do another cleansing or I can begin to apply for an ordained deliverance,” I told him. Rick was content and I prayed deeply that the family would finally be at peace.

As I began packing my our supplies, the children returned from school and were quite inquisitive about what we were doing and why the house “smelled funny.” Nicole seemed skeptical and slightly annoyed with our visit, waiting to be allowed to watch TV once we had left their house. I pet the Maltese goodbye and we were on our way home. I felt drained but also excited that we had completed another blessing for a family, hoping that it was the solution they needed.

While driving back, I noticed a massive bird flying above the tree line, which I assumed was a turkey vulture. Upon closer examination, I realized it was a bald eagle. I hoped it was a sign from God that we had successfully helped the family, but I also view eagles and hawks as a message for “beware or be aware.”

Even though I was exhausted, I had trouble sleeping that night and thoughts of Clarissa and her family kept racing through my mind. I sent her an e-mail before bed asking her to let me know how everything went and to notify me if the demon troubled them any further. I just hoped it really worked.

In the following days I checked my mail continuously and finally found a message from Clarissa several days after the blessing. The news was not good. The entity had returned the night after the cleansing. It was my worst fear. We had severely upset the entity and Clarissa said it was one of the worst nights they had experienced—everyone was poked, touched, and harassed during the night. They also had nightmares. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed the night with the family to help protect them.

This entity was a coward—instead of confronting us while we were there, it waited until the family was alone at night and vulnerable. The children were never told about the nature of our visit and their violent experiences that night confirmed that something paranormal was happening; it was not just mass hysteria.

The night after the cleansing, all the children began sharing their experiences. Clarissa was horrified to learn that Nicole was being sexually assaulted by the entity and had been for quite some time. “
She just thought it was her body behaving weird, until she described her experiences and I realized she was encountering the same raping that I was! She’s only fifteen and a virgin so she doesn’t understand!
”

My heart was heavy reading Clarissa’s e-mail. I wish the children had spoken up sooner so we could have addressed the haunting fully and had them present for the blessing.

I was disappointed, worried, and angry. I felt that I let the family down. I was concerned for their immediate well-being and I was entirely furious with the demon. Our blessing did something to wound the demon and it was rebelling, trying to punish the family again for seeking help, much as it did whenever they tried to go to church.

As with the most severe hauntings, some cases require multiple blessings and exorcisms, depending on the entity’s strength and level of attachment. This entity had embedded itself so deeply by having a sexual relationship with the family. I had never dealt with a case that required a second blessing, but knew that I couldn’t abandon the family.

I began contacting different churches and ministers in hopes of a resolution.
No one
was willing to help.

Finally, I came across one of the few exorcists in Michigan, B.T. Hubbard (fictional name). I had previously attended one of his seminars on demonology. Although we didn’t completely see eye-to-eye on religious matters, I figured he would be able to help the family. This case would prove to be a learning experience on several levels.

I asked Pastor Hubbard if he could help with the case. Because Nicole was now reportedly being raped by the entity, it was critical to me that the family received immediate help. Clarissa was nearly hysterical. I had not heard a response from Pastor Hubbard and put more pressure on him to tend to the case as soon as he could. I was deeply concerned for the family and my heart and soul was tied into the case. I wanted to protect and save them in any way possible.

It took Hubbard over eight weeks to visit with the family. Prior to his visit, Hubbard stated that in order to perform an exorcism or deliverance, he required solid evidence. I immediately sent him the EVPs I captured during our visit, but he insisted he required more unyielding evidence. He requested that a paranormal group he worked with visit and perform an investigation at Clarissa’s house. I had no problem with bringing in another group, however, I viewed it as unnecessary stalling. The family was at their wit’s end and was close to crumbling apart; I wanted to act quickly.

I insisted that the demonic entity was real and ever-present in the family’s home. For weeks Clarissa tried contacting Hubbard but was often left without a response. Finally, after reviewing the evidence from his paranormal team’s appointment and client testimonials, Hubbard’s verdict came in and we were in agreement that this truly was a demonic case. He claimed, “Incubi and succubi are the hardest to get rid of.”

I still prayed that he would be able to help the family.
Maybe these things just take time
. I was desperate to find the family any kind of help as long as it would bring them peace and happiness.

Weeks passed and Clarissa contacted me very upset after Hubbard had made his visit for a deliverance. During his stay there, Clarissa was informed that the demon was primarily her fault because she occasionally read daily horoscopes. “I am not so sure about his beliefs of us being so sinful just because I read a horoscope,” Clarissa shared. Clarissa felt condemned by Hubbard and sobbed during much of his visit. She was made to believe that the demonic haunting was her fault. She felt intense guilt and sadness; her entire family was suffering and her own daughter was being raped as a result of her mother’s actions.

My theory that Clarissa’s ex-husband had sent her the entity after their divorce—the “die” text message and his experience with practicing black magic—was not considered. In Hubbard’s mind, the culprit was the daily horoscopes.

I followed up with Clarissa again and asked if she felt a difference in the home since Hubbard’s visit. She stated she felt his visit might have been helpful but was unsure of her personal experience with Hubbard, “…
I don’t know if he is living in 2011; things are different since biblical times. LOL.
” I was glad that Clarissa was able to find some humor and light out of the experience with Hubbard. I really hoped his exorcism worked and that Clarissa was finally at peace.

I checked with Clarissa a month later to see if progress had been made and discovered that the entity was
still
residing in the home.
How was this possible?
The deliverance Hubbard performed had failed. In Hubbard’s defense, I will say that sometimes if a client is not committed to changing himself or herself for the better, to stop involving themselves in negative habits and behaviors, that the entity will likely not leave. I felt that Clarissa and her family were very committed to removing the entity, but despite their best efforts it remained in their home. I was unsure as to why the exorcism failed and felt that we were facing a brick wall without any more routes or options to choose from.

On June 2, 2010 Clarissa wrote me back, “
It still lingers
…
rainy days bring out the worst, but we are surviving.
”

I kept in contact with Clarissa for quite some time to make sure the presence was no longer physically attacking the family and offered to find additional help from the church. However, I was happy to hear that when Clarissa would unplug the electronics and appliances, the entity was weakened and rarely caused problems. Finally, after a blessing and deliverance, the solution seemed to be electrical and unorthodox. It was the resolution we all had been waiting for.