Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters (14 page)

Entities sometimes take a while to release their grasp on a family, and I prayed that if they prevented the demon from feeding off energy it would eventually leave. Many, many months passed and I hadn’t heard from Clarissa. In my mind the family had started a new chapter and regained a happy life. No response was a good thing.

Although I believed that the family had reclaimed their lives for the better, this case had always remained under my skin. It was the one case that resulted in an unsuccessful house blessing and I would often find myself wondering about the family and pondering why the blessings failed. I had dealt with equally severe cases and had great success with casting out the demons …
why didn’t this one work?
It stumped me.

I had many months to consider why the cleansing failed and concluded on several reasons or theories. One was that in our rushed efforts to get the family the help they deserved, we scheduled a house blessing on a day the children were at school. Clarissa was able to stop in during her lunch break and Rick was at the home with us the entire time.

I later deeply regretted this last-minute decision. However, this also led me to change the way I currently perform house cleansings. I now require
all
family members to be present during the cleansing and to remain present until the cleansing is finished. A large part of battling the demonic involves the family acting as a whole unit, a team, and working together. Also, an entity can jump to locations to hide with one of the family members until the cleansing is finished and return home to the family to continue its haunting. By having all the members together, a bond is built in the family and the entity doesn’t have an escape route.

In Clarissa’s family’s case, having children present at the cleansing would have allowed them to share their experiences, such as Nicole’s assaults, and further bring closure to the family. Instead, the cleansing was performed and after the fact the children were able to come forward. When Clarissa and Rick learned of the children’s attacks, it only fueled fear and negative emotions. There was much emotional unrest after the cleansing, which may have altered the results and left a good foothold for the demon to remain attached to the family.

Another mistake we made was networking with several individuals who claimed to be experienced with demonic cases and entities. At one point, I had recruited the help of a colleague, John M., who claimed to have experience with demonic cases. John joined us for Clarissa’s house blessing. Despite our long and thorough discussion about the seriousness of the case and what the blessing would entail, I was later disturbed to find out that John was interested in performing hexes and so on.

While interviewing Clarissa and Rick during our visit, John was present and mentioned how he was “tempted to hex a person a few weeks ago.” I almost had a heart attack. He never mentioned anything of that matter during our conversation and I felt embarrassed and deceived to be in the presence of someone like that. Likely he was there for thrills and may have also led to the failure of the cleansing.

During a cleansing, everyone present must be on the same page with only one goal in mind: to help the family. If you are in the presence of someone with lower ambitions, such as hexing others, their energy may also cause the blessing to fail. I shared my deep apologizes with the family and no longer associate with either John or Hubbard.

Needless to say, I no longer bring in inexperienced individuals or “newbies.” If I feel I need support, only Mike and a few others will join me to perform house cleansings. Our energies and methods work very well together and I’m happy with our technique. Not only is bringing in an inexperienced individual a liability for safety of the family, but the newcomer is also at risk of being harmed. This was another possible reason as to why the house blessing failed, but I will never know for sure.

I wasn’t present for the deliverance or exorcism, so I wasn’t sure as to why Hubbard’s attempt failed.
How was it that two experienced groups, Hubbard and ourselves, were unable to help Clarissa?
Perhaps this was just a difficult case and I would be left wondering for the rest of my life—something I didn’t want to accept.
Everyone can be helped and saved
. Maybe I was being naïve from the beginning.

At least, I thought, Clarissa had found a way to starve the demon of its energy and the family had found a solution. But then I heard back from Clarissa.

On December 12, 2011, a year and a half later, I received an e-mail from a familiar address:

“I am still having issues. I just thought you might want to know, Samantha. Rick and I are currently separated and we left the house. But it is still with me every night. I don’t sleep at all. Doc has me on sleeping pills. My hair is super gray now too. I keep having to dye it. I don’t know what to do.”

I sat there reading the e-mail from Clarissa and I became deeply saddened. I had often said prayers to God that He helped Clarissa and her family, just in case they were still experiencing the entity. Now it was confirmed they were still being haunted. This damned entity wanted to take her life and soul, that was apparent. It would be convenient to just kill or get into a good old-fashioned bar fight with a demon; however, it’s not that easy. Demons are persistent and conniving.

Clarissa and I began talking eagerly again. I suggested that I perform another house blessing. Since the original blessing, I had come to incorporate a more potent method of cleansing houses and felt very confident that this technique would work. Clarissa appreciated the offer but felt that the house was no longer haunted; instead, she felt that she, herself, was haunted. “It is very strong now. Much stronger than before. I really believe it possesses my body at night … My head gets heavy and I fall into a deep sleep. When I try to wake and try to get it off of me it holds me down and won’t let me speak or move.”

The entity had grown in strength, as many do, over the time it was attached to the family. “The other day really scared me; I said a prayer out loud and did the cross where it was strongest (near my neck) and just then its claws grabbed at my hand to knock it away. It was fierce. It was very strong. And I literally felt claws.”

Clarissa was experiencing strange health problems that appeared out of nowhere and correlated with the beginning of the haunting. I instructed Clarissa to perform a few protection rituals until I was able to help further with a different blessing. Christmas, New Year’s, and Clarissa’s birthday were coming up and she wasn’t sure when she could schedule another blessing. I told her to contact me immediately when she was ready for a blessing and sent her some special prayers to recite until my visit.

“You truly inspire me. I just got home from the hospital so I just saw your email today. One thing is for sure, I said the prayer out loud a few times and my entire body tingled from the top of my head down to my feet. It was a little strange. So I am not sure if that is normal or whether it is surrounding me. Very odd feeling … My kids had to take me to the hospital because my legs were completely swollen (ankles and feet too) … I was dizzy and pale as a ghost. They ran some tests on my heart. They think I might have acute heart failure. Yes, I am only thirty-nine. I have VERY high blood pressure and rapid heartbeat. My heart is beating at 137 per minute when it is supposed to only be at ninety to one hundred.
”

The entity seemed to be claiming Clarissa’s body and health—her willingness to fight was dwindling.

“Ever since we have been having issues with this THING I have been in and out of the hospital. So far: kidney stones, gall bladder, appendicitis, and now acute heart failure … On top of it all the stress with the family and work-related things are driving me completely insane.”

Although Clarissa felt that a house blessing would only cleanse a home, I reassured her that it also removes the negative energy and spirit from a person.

“The bags under my eyes are black and swollen from no sleep. It is just not healthy. I feel sick all the time. I stopped talking about it to people because they just think I am crazy or I am paranoid and hallucinating. Boy, I wish I were!”

I finally contacted Lorraine Warren. She and her late husband are famous demonologists, and I highly valued her opinion on how to handle an incubus/succubus case. I remember dialing her phone number, unsure as to what to expect but with great excitement as I had always admired her. The phone rang a few times and I recognized her sweet voice on the other end of the line.

I introduced myself and asked if she had time for a few questions.

“Hold on, honey! Just a second!” Lorraine began to violently cough. I got really nervous, hoping that Lorraine was all right. I felt helpless listening to this wonderful and elderly woman fighting to get a breath.
Oh please don’t die on me, Lorraine!
I thought to myself as I suggested that she hang up the phone and call for help if needed. It seemed as if minutes had passed as I sat there listening in horror. The paranormal community would probably never forgive me if my phone call led to her passing.

“My goodness! I was choking on my orange juice!” Lorraine exclaimed as she cleared her throat.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay now? I got so worried!” We laughed together a bit and I remember hearing her chickens clucking in the background—a woman after my own heart.

I really appreciated her insight and the time she took to talk with me. We share a lot of the same opinions and theories on hauntings and her life experience is awe-inspiring.

“The phone is always ringing! Every fifteen minutes!” Poor Lorraine was taking phone calls from strangers and colleagues constantly. She has dedicated her life to helping so many people and treading where others refuse to go. It was truly an honor to talk with her.

I explained Clarissa’s case to her and how the blessing and deliverance had both failed. She explained that she would be in Toronto for a lecture in a month and suggested that I meet her for lunch. “Oh, Lorraine, I would be honored!” And so we planned to meet in Canada.

But then I realized my passport was expired and I began scrambling to obtain an enhanced driver’s license that would allow me to cross the border by car without a passport. The Secretary of State clerk informed me that it would take over six weeks to get the ID in the mail. I paid for a “rush order” of the ID and prayed that it would arrive in time.
Well, I could get into Canada easily
…
getting back into the U.S. without my passport or enhanced ID would be difficult.

Weeks passed and nothing arrived in the mail. I grew anxious, fearing that I wouldn’t be able to attend my lunch with Lorraine. I had always wanted to meet her. She was one of the few people that I looked up to in this world. She had dealt with some of the most severe cases and her insight could help resolve Clarissa’s case. I informed Clarissa that I would be discussing matters with Lorraine in hopes of finding her a final solution. Until then, I had to continue to wait.

One day I received a call from the owner and manager of the Holly Hotel. She asked me if I would be able to host an episode of
Most Terrifying Places in America
for the Travel Channel in the upcoming weeks. I happily agreed as I was very familiar with the history of the place and had numerous personal experiences while I was at the Holly Hotel. I would host annual “ghost hunts” at the Holly Hotel and lots of people witnessed the paranormal during their visits.

As the days approached toward my meeting with Lorraine in Canada, I realized that my passport and enhanced ID would not arrive in the mail in time. I regretfully wrote a message to Lorraine informing her that I wouldn’t be able to attend our planned lunch and thanked her continuously for the generous offer. Lorraine made several recommendations on how to handle the case and the entity. Unfortunately, it became a moot point during this phase of the haunting as I had already tried everything she suggested. Lorraine didn’t know of any references for me in the Michigan area that I could contact for help. We were out of ideas and options. I felt as if I hit a brick wall. I now had to turn my focus back on Clarissa and to find her the help she needed.

Despite facing a dead-end situation with Clarissa’s case, I still had an obligation to film with the Travel Channel that weekend. I was distracted while filming, as thoughts of Clarissa rolled around in my head and I constantly pondered,
What do I do now
? I wish sometimes that God would commu
nicate with us via a large billboard sign that would clearly
state how to handle dire situations like this. I just wanted to help but I didn’t know how.

Clarissa emailed me in December of 2011 and we aimed to schedule an additional blessing after her birthday in January. Finally, a response and an estimated timeline! I asked her to send me some dates that would work for her and I would visit as soon as I heard back from her. By this time, the entity had killed their chinchilla, Chinchy, the dog’s health was in decline, and, of course, Clarissa had separated from Rick. It seemed as though the entity was succeeding in its mission to destroy the family’s life. Chomping at the bit, I was ready to perform a blessing again. But, I
never
heard back from Clarissa again. Nothing. That was it.

In my deepest fears, I worried that Clarissa had given in to the entity, that she was struggling in the hospital, or that it finally took her life. I made
relentless
attempts to contact Clarissa, only to find no response or that the phone numbers were disconnected. I no longer knew her home address as she had moved into a new condominium, so I couldn’t drop by to check in on her.

Clarissa and I shared a close enough connection that if she had been uncomfortable or unsure of the upcoming blessing in any way, she would have let me know. I couldn’t imagine her just blocking my number and ignoring my e-mails.
What happened to her?

Clarissa had been in and out of the hospital and I worried that her health took a turn for the worse. Maybe the entity was aware of my upcoming visit and decided to hurry its efforts. I searched through the Taylor obituaries and held my breath. I was grateful her name was absent from the list.