Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters (10 page)

We announced that we had finished doing the blessing and could now close with the prayer. I asked if we could all sit together in the living room, indicating to Whitney and David to grab their paper copy of the prayer. We had to wait for Stephen to return from his cigarette break, and I am sure he was reluctant about even coming back into the house. Even
tually, he situated himself on the recliner and awaited our ini
tiation. As usual, I had the clients lead us in the prayer and we all repeated after Whitney. Throughout the prayer, Stephen seemed distracted and would look about the room as if he were daydreaming and preoccupied with thoughts like
I need to get my oil changed. Next week I should probably call the dentist.
Then again, I might have been reading into Stephen’s expression too much, but I could only wonder what was going on inside his head. Maybe I didn’t want to know.

I remember praying to myself that day. “
God, please help Stephen remember that you are real. Come into his life and show him. Give him a sign that he cannot dismiss. Remove any darkness, depression, or evil from his life and help him. Heal him
.” I had hoped that something in Stephen’s life would turn around and maybe he would remember the good in this world, and that someone was indeed watching over him. I reminded myself that not everyone could be helped and I focused on the present moment. The house’s energy was definitely different and I felt much more peaceful.

“Can you guys feel it too? The house is lighter!” Whitney asked us with excitement.

I will never get tired of the sensation after a house blessing, no matter how many I perform. It is a feeling of light, love, happiness, peace, relaxation (yet energizing), and all the good feelings wrapped into a little bundle. It feels like the
presence of God, which I can only describe as pure beauty
and love.

David and Whitney continued commenting on how the impression of the house had changed. Carl, Mike, and I were delighted to help another family.

“I cannot wait to get a good night’s sleep! And in the same bed as David!” Whitney now reminded me of a giddy schoolgirl and I couldn’t help but smile. Whitney achieved independence again. She could now shower alone, sleep in the same bed as David, be in the house by herself, and go back to her normal life.

I was pleased to receive a testimonial e-mail from Whitney the next day:

“I want to thank the Michigan P.R.A. for helping us so quickly. They are a very professional group and did a wonderful job of getting rid of the demon in our house. The blessing of the house was a blessing.
”

I continued checking in with Whitney to see how her
house was doing and if anything had happened. The night after the blessing, Whitney woke up around 3:00 a.m. again. She looked around the room, expecting her usual visitors, but was pleasantly surprised to find that she and David were finally alone. Whitney’s internal clock would need to readjust itself and not wake her up at 3:00 a.m. anymore, but that was something she could get used to. Whitney reassured us that the haunting was finally gone and it was a relief.

I had left Whitney some white sage, salt, and instructions to use as protection in case anything happened in the future. She slept soundly with the items next to the bed on her nightstand.

Over half a year passed, and I received a disheartening e-mail from Whitney on February 27, 2011:

“I haven’t put the camera up there; I don’t know if I want to, I’m still debating. I put the recorder in the bedroom and when I left I turned the recorder on. The next morning, I went up there and it was on, but the recorder only recorded the last five minutes. You could hear me coming up the steps. The recorder is a fifteen-hour recorder. Something shut it off and turned it back on … Well, IT’S BACK … It isn’t as bad as it was, though. I have claw marks all over my TV again, and it’s noisy up there, but nothing really tries to scare just me. I haven’t heard any whispers … just thumps and the marks on the TV. When I’m up there I get the same creepy feeling.”

I found out that Stephen had moved out for six months and had just returned home. About the same time, Whitney and David had begun to experiment with EVPs again. Following the EVP sessions and attempts at communicating with the spirit world, the dark entity returned to their house. It was an open invitation for the demon to return—likely because they didn’t use any protection before conducting spirit communication or because it had attached itself to Stephen and returned home with him.

I realized that without a family’s full participation and commitment to keeping the entity away, the haunting could return. I could not prevent them from experimenting with recording EVPs and the paranormal, even if there were consequences. Whitney asked me for directions again on how to perform her own blessing and I gladly gave her some tips and steps to follow.

I informed Whitney that if she wished to continue spirit communication against my recommendations, she should perform some protection prayers to prevent negative entities from indulging. Here’s the protection prayer I gave her:

“God, I pray that only positive, white light spirits may communicate with us and prevent any dark or negative spirits from contacting us. Amen.”

I have not heard from Whitney since and she never requested another house blessing. I consider that a good sign. I hope their home is finally at peace.

[contents]

CHAPTER 5

LANSING, MICHIGAN CASE

I
t had been an extremely busy winter with paranormal cases and I was growing tired of the constant battle against “the dark side”—as if I were in some warped
Star Wars
movie (although, personally, I’m a fan of
Lord of the Rings
). Michigan’s winter was slowly beating me down and I found myself overloaded with requests for house blessings, on top of entering my final semester in college.

I could not wait to finally graduate and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. In an effort to prioritize the most severe cases and my personal life, I found myself handling the request of Kacey and her daughter Shannon. On January 29, 2011, we met at Kacey’s home to discuss their haunting and to provide a house blessing.

When we arrived, both Carl and I felt the tension of a recent argument in the home and it was uncomfortable to walk into. Shannon was nineteen years old and had a two-year-old daughter, Holly—both of whom lived in Kacey’s home in a small suburb of Lansing. The relationship between Kacey and Shannon was extremely strained and they constantly fought on a daily basis. I admired Kacey’s efforts at being a good mother and grandmother. Kacey explained to us that Shannon wasn’t required to pay any rent, bills, food expenses, or utilities—she simply lived at her mom’s house for free with Holly.

She also mentioned that Shannon frequently criticized Kacey, physically attacked her, and was emotionally abusive. In addition to not having a job, Kacey complained that Shannon would often relax around the house while Kacey took care of Holly and the basic chores. There was definitely a power struggle between Shannon and Kacey, and it was apparent during our visit.

“Just shut the hell up already, Kacey!” Shannon screamed at her mom.

Shannon’s disrespect and hatred was unpalatable, but many households across America exist in this state of dismay, especially when a demon is present. All I could see was Kacey’s kindness and generosity towards her daughter and granddaughter, but perhaps I wasn’t seeing the situation’s entirety
.

I had suspicion that a darker entity was influencing Shannon’s behavior and that she had lost touch with reality. Her angry tirades and physical attacks on her mother and boyfriend led me to believe that the entity was feeding off her energy and manipulating her.

I had to embody a leadership role, calm and assertive, to stop the bickering between Kacey and Shannon. “While Carl and I are here, both of you will take turns speaking. I don’t want you interrupting each other, because both of your stories and opinions are important to us and we want to make sure we hear everyone’s side.” I continued, “Try to be respectful and to not accuse each other, but rather you are working together as a team to get rid of this haunting.”

I calmly explained the process and hoped that we would get through the interview smoothly. Most families try to be civil while we are present, but that is not always the case. I deal with severely dysfunctional families and, fortunately, my experience with counseling comes in handy quite often. I try teaching communication techniques, coping mechanisms, and a variety of tools for families to use—I have helped numerous families regain their composure and trust.

“So let’s begin!” I cheerfully announced, trying to put everyone at ease. I asked Shannon for a description of some of the most severe experiences she had while present in the house. Shannon raised her eyes towards the ceiling and began pondering her response.

Shannon’s first experiences were seeing shadows in the home—similar to full figures, but they were very dark, just like shadows. She had also seen a face in the ceiling of her bedroom and eventually began hearing things. Shannon was able to list off her experiences effortlessly as if she had shared this information with someone before. The house was quite active, and especially rambunctious when Shannon was home.

One day Shannon was getting changed in her room when
she heard some noises on Holly’s baby monitor. Shannon continued dressing herself and ignored the white-noise
sounds until it grew louder. It was difficult to ignore. As she listened more closely she heard a distinct voice come over the receiver
and say, “Touch her!” It was a deep, gravelly voice that sounded rough. Shannon, in a moment of panic, ran from her room without the rest of her clothes and began sobbing to Kacey
.

“I remember that day very well,” Kacey confirmed. “I was hoping that Shannon had just been hearing noises and mistook it as something else. But things continued and the house began to feel different.”

Shannon also heard conversations on the baby monitor. When she and her mom tried listening to the discussion, it sounded like two men talking about something in a low tone. Kacey and Shannon sat there listening to the baby monitor and after a few moments, a growling sound began in the room they were standing in. The growling was not on the baby monitor. Shannon said it was like “it” knew they were listening to the conversation. It became angry and came in to the room growling at them. Both Shannon and Kacey agreed it sounded like a dog or some kind of animal.

Shannon shivered with chills when retelling their accounts. I had seen so many clients share similar reactions—these people were truly afraid for their safety on a daily basis and their lives were forever altered. Whether the spirits and entities were removed or not, the experience of a haunting changes people.

As the two women continued sharing their stories I began to mend together facts and incidents that pointed towards the possibility of a demon being present in their home. Growling sounds have always indicated a dark and evil entity in our cases and is a phenomena that people should be cautious of. I have yet to experience a “human haunting” in which the spirit growled.

Whenever Shannon would visit her father’s separate house, the entity would follow her to his home. On one occasion both Shannon and her father witnessed what appeared to be a dark, hooded creature floating out of the house. They refused to go inside for several hours and instead they drove around in their car debating what to do next and where to receive help. “How do you get rid of something when you don’t even know what it is!” Shannon explained. The entity was tall, extremely dark, had no face and seemed to glide above the ground as it moved. It made Shannon’s skin crawl and its presence emanated the feeling of evil.

Black orbs were frequently seen in Kacey’s home, and even their family dog took notice. About three weeks prior to our visit, their dog Bonnie tried eating one of the orbs that flew past her face. Everyone who was present saw it. Kacey insisted that there was no possibility those “things” were bugs or just a light reflection.

Orbs are interesting phenomena. Some paranormal researchers believe that the color of “orbs” is indicative of their nature—black or dark orbs consist of negative energy. In my experience, this theory seems to hold true in that many black masses and orbs have been seen with demonic cases.

The light anomalies became more common and Kacey’s family could no longer ignore their presence. They tried capturing a photograph of the orb. Instead of an orb appearing in the picture, they discovered that a foreign and “alienlike” silhouette was reflected in the mirror.

I examined the image thoroughly and determined that it was not a double exposure, the image was also in the negative, and it was not the reflection of someone in the room at the time the photograph was taken. At first glance, the picture seemed to be legitimate. Had I more time, I would have loved to take it to a specialist for examination. For now, it was just additional evidence that Kacey’s family was experiencing something not of this world.

The sounds of growling pervaded throughout the home for weeks on end and the family even hired a pest control company to inspect their home for any wild animals in the attic. Nothing was found during the pest control’s exploration of the home and Kacey and Shannon were left without answers. Nothing seemed to make sense in their home anymore—paranormal incidents were becoming a weekly occurrence and it was taking a toll on the family. As with many cases, they began to doubt their own sanity and started to hate the idea of being in Kacey’s house.

One evening Shannon was playing with her daughter Holly when suddenly the child became distracted and gazed up at the stairwell. Holly ran to her mother and cried out in a frightened and trembling voice, “I’m scared!” Shannon tried comforting the girl in her arms and asked what she was afraid of. Holly pointed up the stairs and Shannon was horrified to see blue smoke drifting in the air.

At first Shannon thought her eyes were tired, but confusion quickly followed. A few feet off the top step, a mass of swirling blue “mist” was hovering. Within seconds the cloud evaporated into thin air as if some invisible vacuum had cleared away the image. Shannon hastily grabbed her child and ran outside until Kacey returned home from work. Shannon didn’t know how to explain to her mother what she and her child had seen. Again, it was unnatural and the feeling of it was malicious.

Throughout random hours of the day and evening, both women would find themselves running to the kitchen to see if something had caught on fire. Nauseating smells of burning rubber and sulfur were permeating throughout the house without a viable cause. I have yet to explain why demonic cases incorporate such foul smells, other than to offend and confuse the victims into a further state of fear.

In addition to the odors, Shannon began experiencing strange mood swings and bouts of depression. The haunting was escalating.

Shannon recalled an experience in which she became severely depressed for three days. She wasn’t upset with Holly or her mom, and it wasn’t because of any relationship issues with her boyfriend. Shannon was just extremely sad for three days and she could not figure out why. Even her dreams were macabre and disturbing. She did not want to live anymore and was happy with the idea of being gone from this world. It seemed as though the demonic entity was not only influencing her emotions but also beginning to have an effect on her thought process and decision-making. The demon’s ability to manipulate Shannon was becoming stronger.

As Shannon’s personal experiences with the haunting became more severe, the fights between her and Kacey intensified. Surprisingly, Kacey did not call the police when Shannon hit and slapped her during their arguments. Kacey felt that whomever she was dealing with was not her daughter, and she did not want to see Shannon go to jail for something she might not be able to control. “She just did not look like herself when she was angry and trying to hurt me! It was not my daughter!” Kacey insisted that she never raised her daughter to hit anyone, and yet Shannon was beating her.

I asked Shannon if she remembered these fights; specifically, hitting her mother and the things she said during the arguments.

“No, not really. I remember getting upset, but after that point everything seems like a blur. I remember feeling rage and hatred and it would be over the dumbest things in hindsight, but I just could not stand to be around my mom.” Shannon blatantly stated, “I still can’t.”

I explained that sometimes I see cases in which an individual is pitted against the person that loves them the most to break down that bond and relationship so that the family further deteriorates. I tried reaching Shannon on a personal level to see if I could still get through to her personal emotions, and not the emotions of a demon. I told Shannon that I couldn’t think of someone who loved her more than her own mother.

Shannon seemed uninterested. Either she was putting on a facade of being tough or the demon had really shut off her emotions from the rest of the world and was controlling her greater than I thought.

“And Kacey, you know that your daughter really does love you. Sometimes daughters and sons say terrible things to try to hurt us because they themselves are hurting inside. Even though you two are going through a tough time right now, who else would be here for you? Who else would be as supportive as your own family?”

I continued trying to rationalize with Shannon. “Your friends seem to be too scared to come over and visit anymore, Shannon. But you two have each other and surprisingly that will be the key to getting out of this whole mess in the end. That and asking God to help.” Shannon seemed to grow annoyed with my statement and rose from her chair while maintaining eye contact with me. She had a scowl on her face and went to the kitchen. After Shannon left, Carl, Kacey, and I decided to visit the basement to discuss one of the other active rooms. Kacey had been kind enough to begin refinishing a room for Holly—the renovation was also questionable in terms of what instigated the paranormal activity.

In the corner of the basement, Holly’s playroom stood, and adjacent from it was a very odd and peculiar room. The door to the strange room was covered with blankets. I asked why it was concealed from view. “Oh, it’s because Holly and Shannon were seeing evil faces in the door’s window. So we covered it up,” Kacey explained. I asked if I could examine the room.

Apparently, the room had previously been an underground garage but was now sealed in. I proceeded into the cement room. The energy of the room was imbalanced and there were no outside windows to lighten up the space. I felt that the demon likely resided in there, especially in such a dark room—demons love darkness and a lack of sunlight, much like cockroaches. I felt the strong presence, to a great extent the same as I did when walking into the home; however, it seemed more concentrated in this space.

I agreed to take “extra special time” in that room during the blessing, a term I jokingly used when describing the dungeon-of-hell vibe I often felt in areas like this. Think of a cozy and quaint den that a bear hibernates in during the winter—except the bear is demonic and the den is really an ice-cold abyss that sucks the life and happiness out of its surroundings. The space desperately needed attention!

I have always hated the anticipation and build-up of energy right before a blessing. It is similar to having an out of control child running rampant around the house waiting for me to enforce discipline. The demon was constantly moving around the house and sometimes I fantasized about having one of those child harnesses on the demon so it would just sit still during my assessment. But alas, it is never that easy to control an unseen force, let alone one that should not be taken lightly. These forces are capable of harming people, ending the life of someone, and greatly influencing others.