The family’s brand-new house was built on the land that surrounded the old sanitorium in Howell, Michigan. Many people had died there from tuberculosis throughout the years. I believe land is imprinted with the energy of events and people—essentially a scar or memory is left on the earth that resonates throughout time unless properly cleansed. I have also observed that locations where mass amounts of death or despair occurred commonly attract demonic entities, as they feed off the negative energy. In retrospect, I firmly believe that the ground on which Jack’s home was built on was inhabited by something evil stemming from the old sanitorium.
Jack would have unpredictable mood swings, worse than any adolescent I had seen. Despite being eighteen years old, his behavior was uncharacteristic for his age, and I had a hard time understanding where this originated.
His mother and I began to notice how his eyes would actually change during his angry tirades. I found this to be quite odd and unsettling. His normally calm and soothing hazel eyes would burn with an intense green. His pupils would darken and widen as if his consciousness had slipped into an altered state. Foul and strange obscenities would spew from his mouth during an argument. He would only resume his respect towards me after I threatened to leave.
One day I did leave.
After screaming that I was a “stupid fucking bitch!” I grabbed my purse and left the house. Jack tore through the house after me and proceeded to chase me in his Jeep. He was swerving through traffic and cutting off other drivers just to gain distance behind me. I finally pulled over, fearing that his asinine driving would injure someone else.
When Jack approached me this time, his demeanor had changed. “Look, forget whatever it was that I said. I didn’t mean to hurt you … ” Jack continued with his explanation as if he had no recollection of the outrageous things he had said during the argument. His eyes looked normal again. I knew he was being greatly influenced by whatever entity resided in his home.
Most readers would say to themselves, “Just leave him and break up!” and I agree with you—that would have been a better idea, but I was determined to fight for Jack out of love and faith. I was still pretty young then and it didn’t seem that crazy of an idea at the time. It should be noted that adolescent’s frontal lobes are not fully developed, which leads them to make poor decisions and not fully think things through. That’s my excuse. Through my rose-tinted glasses I continued to see Jack. Then even more curious events began to happen.
When I spent time at their house, Jack’s sister Hailey would always cling to me as if I were some safety zone. Soon she started telling me about the weird tapping she heard on her window at night. I thought trees would logically be the cause for the rapping sound, but her room was on the second floor and not in proximity to any trees. She also mentioned how cold it was in her room and that she was scared to be alone there. I realized this was the reason she still slept in her parents’ bedroom at the maturing age of nine years old.
The family’s Golden Retriever Johnny would urinate and defecate all over the basement for no reason and seemed to hate being alone in the house. Despite all these strange incidents, when I discussed the possibility of ghosts, the family would scoff as if the paranormal realm was some figment of my imagination.
Aside from the worsening mood swings and habitual lying, Jack eventually started experiencing something even darker that he couldn’t explain. He would have nightmares and awaken to show me foreign hand marks and fingerprints around his arms. One person alone couldn’t replicate these with their own hands. I became more worried and determined to find a solution.
I began researching negative hauntings and how to remove them but was unsure if this was just a “ghost” or something darker. As a personal experiment, I brought a small bottle of holy water with me one day and left it in the passenger’s seat of the car while I visited inside the house. The family had recently purchased a new vehicle and had several of their cars parked in the driveway. Amazingly, after being inside the house for only a few minutes, all of the car alarms began going off—including my own! I leaned over the kitchen window and saw my car’s lights blinking and the horn sounding off. My car keys were resting in my purse on the kitchen table—no one had touched them. I didn’t mention to the family that I had brought holy water and it was sitting in my car.
Jack’s mother dismissed it as just a technical problem with the new car and turned off the alarms. However, it kept repeating. This happened several times and the family denied it as anything out of the ordinary.
I was baffled and now convinced that something darker was residing in their home. The sacrilegious reaction to the holy water verified my suspicions.
One evening at Jack’s house, I was suddenly awakened with sheer terror. Jack’s bedroom was located in the basement next to the bedroom of his older brother, Lenny. They both reported hearing the toilet seat down the hall slamming in the middle of some nights, along with an overall feeling of uneasiness. Needless to say, I wasn’t a fan of sleeping down there. The unfinished basement proved to be very creepy. All I remember that particular evening was being engulfed with fear and drenched in sweat—no nightmare had ever made me feel that frightened. I felt the presence of pure evil in the room with me and I will never forget that sensation.
I looked over at Mick, Jack’s pet red-tailed boa, and she was coiled up in the striking position while staring at something in the corner of the room—exactly where I sensed the presence. The snake’s heat lamp cast an eerie red glow upon the room that made it feel even more sinister. My heart and mind raced as I glanced around the room, looking for an explanation for why I woke up. But in the back of my mind I knew why. I felt the distinct emotions of hatred and rage turned towards me; whatever was in that room despised me and wanted me to know.
I tried to gently wake up Jack but to no avail. Finally, I resorted to shaking Jack awake, but he lay there asleep, seemingly dead, for over eight or ten minutes. I later discovered that this phenomenon is known as “psychic sleep,” in which it is almost impossible to wake the individual. My feeling of panic was so high I felt like I was being chased by a serial killer. “Come on! Wake up, please!” I whimpered to Jack.
I was being engaged by something dark and evil. The presence of evil is the most disturbing experience one could ever encounter and I don’t think I could ever thoroughly explain the terrible feelings and energy that were present in that room. I was nearly in hysterics when Jack finally woke up. Ashamed of how afraid I was, I sheepishly asked Jack for a glass of water upstairs. I never mentioned what I had just experienced.
Once we returned to the room with the water, I noticed that all the animals seemed to be uncomfortable. The cat refused to enter the room and kept meowing at us as if we were insane to even be in the same vicinity as the “thing.” I lay back down and closed my eyes, mentally trying to block out the entity. I envisioned a white light surrounding me and I prayed. Eventually, we were able to fall asleep again.
I tried not to acknowledge the being whenever I visited Jack’s home. I continued to envision white light surrounding me whenever I went over, and I tried to create a mental brick wall between the demon and myself. I hadn’t figured out a plan to get rid of it quite yet and needed more time.
Another night we were at my house, cuddling after watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose, when we both witnessed a black light anomaly, or “orb,” shoot out of the carpet and into the closet of my bedroom. The dark ball was larger than the size of a bumblebee and made no sound.
We commented on how strange it was but tried to brush it off. But we couldn’t let it go and started to investigate. We didn’t find any insects. There was nothing to be found inside of the closet. We couldn’t find any reasonable explanation.
The entity seemed to follow Jack and was now apparently visiting my home, which made me very uneasy. That entity was not welcome in my house and I felt violated that it started to assemble “visits
.”
A few days later Jack was driving his Jeep Wrangler and saw flashes of black, brown, and yellow lights mysteriously flickering in the backseat of the car. He pulled over only to discover nothing out of place and no explanation for the lights. Later that evening, he lost control of his steering and brakes, as if some unseen force were controlling the car. My father, an automotive engineer and inventor, examined the car and stated that nothing was wrong with the steering or braking.
That night Jack emotionally broke down at a party we were at and explained that he wasn’t happy, that something wasn’t right with him anymore and he wanted help. This was the final straw that drove me to confronting whatever darkness hid within the house. It was affecting his sanity, emotions, and ability to function on a daily basis—something had to be done.
I had read about house cleansings and how to remove demonic entities, but I wasn’t filled with the confidence I would have really appreciated at that time. I gathered my supplies, told my mother of my mission, and reluctantly left for Jack’s house. My mother insisted that she could help, but I wanted to fight off the evil entity by myself; it would look strange if the family returned home and discovered both my mother and I there doing God-only-knows-what in their house.
The new home would be empty that night; Jack was still at the party where he had his meltdown—it was a perfect opportunity to bless the house without any interference from the family.
Jack’s home was located about a thirty-minute drive from my parents’ residence. As I drove, I tried to mentally prepare myself. The entire way there I repeated the Lord’s Prayer over and over again, each time with more conviction, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name …” I do not recollect most of the drive there, but it was intense as I tried to motivate myself with courage and not fear.
I pulled into the subdivision, seemingly with tunnel vision of my only goal in mind: to cast out the demon. I entered the home with my smudging supplies in hand. I could actually feel the entity waiting for me in the house, almost mocking my existence and my intentions of getting rid of it. I felt like a mongoose dancing with a cobra, waiting for the right time to strike; we were watching each other’s movements.
And so the cleansing began. I worked my way through the dark house, burning the white sage. Oddly enough, much of the cleansing was also a blur, as if I blacked out during the process and Great Spirit had taken over. However, I do recall heading into the basement and sensing the entity’s thick presence amongst the smoldering sage. The air was heavier and dense; I felt the pressure weighing down on my chest and the sides of my head. It almost felt as if a vice grip had been placed on my temples. I could feel that the basement was where the entity liked to hide, especially in the utility room. This was the same room where their dog Johnny would repeatedly soil and now I understood why. I believe animals are very sensitive to unseen energies.
I made my way through each room in the basement, blessing and praying, then headed down the long hallway towards the notorious bathroom and utility room. Prior to the cleansing I was a bit unsure of my ability to remove this entity—I hadn’t attended church in years, as I disliked the glitz and tainted side of religion, and yet I was attempting something very few priests participate in. Was I worthy enough of God’s help? Despite my hesitation, I suddenly felt the presence of Great Spirit walking with me and protecting me as I made my way through Jack’s home. As I cleansed the storage room, which was adjacent to the utility room, I could feel the tension rising.
The air was extremely cold and thick; it almost had an electric feel to it. I had cornered a very angry animal and I half-expected to hear hissing and growling. I had finally come face-to-face with the demon that was tormenting this family. It was not happy with my visitation. I proceeded to bless the outside of the room as if to create a barrier, and I continued to pray. I was running out of white sage to burn and hoped that the remaining amount would be enough to finish the blessing.
Clips from movies began flashing in my head. I was worried that objects and furniture would be thrown at me and my fear would win me over. One side of me wanted nothing more than to run away from the house, but my stronger and more compassionate side demanded that I stay there to fight off this entity.
I prayed even harder and dared to add a tone of conviction with each word. “In the name of God, I command you to leave this house and family! I cast out any dark or evil spirits from this home, in God’s name I pray. Amen!” This continued for several minutes longer until I felt the presence start to weaken. It felt like a bright sun was breaking through a thick fog. Darkness was relinquishing its grasp. I pressed on with my prayers and willed the evil to leave.
I was unsure if the presence had truly left the home and held my breath. The nausea in my stomach slowly faded and I went back upstairs to gather my “witch doctor” supplies, fearing the family’s criticism if they were to return home while I was still there. I just wanted to help them before things got worse.
Jack came home later that evening and I worried the entity would come back full force and retaliate, something that I had read about in numerous books. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Jack finally got a good night’s sleep and nothing out of the norm happened. I was delighted that the cleansing provided him with some sense of relief and only prayed that it would last.
For many months the demon didn’t make its occupancy known and the family seemed to return to normal. Eventually, Jack and I went our separate ways after about a yearlong relationship and I wondered if the demon remained attached to the family. I never did follow up to ask.
It should be noted that dysfunctional families who do not address their issues are more likely to have a relapse with a demon—unless they take a proactive approach and really begin altering their lifestyles and relationships. As a healer, I can perform the cleansing and remove the spirits, but it is truly in the hands of the family to make sure they prevent any entity from having a foothold with which to stay attached to them. For example, if a demon is affixed to a parent because of their alcoholism and they choose not to become sober, the demon is likely to stay with that person despite how powerful a house blessing is performed.
After the experience with Jack’s family I began researching and trying to perfect the best techniques to use when cleansing a home from a demonic presence. I studied various cultures and religions and concentrated on the most potent methods.
I founded a paranormal group that year while at Central Michigan University and began receiving many requests for house cleansings. I started helping countless people and, through the power of Great Spirit, healing was brought into their lives.
In 2009 I relocated to Michigan State University and created the Michigan Paranormal Research Association (M.P.R.A.), which was followed by an overwhelming number of house blessing requests. Shortly after, I met and began dating my previous partner, Carl O’Toole. Mike Best, Carl’s coworker, soon became a group member and accompanied us on several severe cases.
Because of the large number of cleansing requests, I could only respond to the most acute cases. The following chapters contain stories from my most disturbing and active cases.
[contents]
CHAPTER 2
NOVI, MICHIGAN CASE
On April 17, 2010, in the early hours of the morning, I awoke from another nightmare. I had dreamt I was battling a demon; I found it hard to shake off the vivid and realistic qualities of the vision. In my dream I was praying and casting out the entity—a tall, dark, and faceless being—while speaking in Latin, even though I am unfamiliar with the language. The shadowy figure had a very strong presence and, although this altercation took place in a dream world, the tension and effort it took to ward off this spirit felt extremely real. I awoke exhausted and disturbed.
Later in the morning I checked my inbox and discovered an e-mail asking for help with a possible demonic case. The score was now five fo
r five: every time I had a demonic nightmare I would shortly receive a request for help to fight a demon. Was there some sort of correlation? Was I psychically tuning in to what I would soon encounter? I already accepted the fact that my dream world was far from “normal”; I would have accurate death premonitions or encounter horrifically evil entities in my sleep.
Bad dreams were frequent for me ever since I had begun battling the demonic, something I also had to accept. I now slept with a Himalayan rock salt lamp on, as a soothing nightlight. Salt rock lamps are believed to promote a positive environment by releasing ions into the room, but I also believe it keeps the darker things at bay.
The request for help I received on this particular occasion was from a woman named Betsy. She claimed that her son Bryan had been physically thrown across the room by an evil presence the same morning she contacted me. I immediately called Betsy and talked with her about the experiences, trying to figure out when and why this entity had entered their lives. Betsy had a sense of urgency in her voice that I knew was genuine.
Out of all the cases we had taken over the years, only two individuals had questionable stories and a possibility of mental illness—Betsy was very earnest in her story and I could tell she wasn’t being deceitful or just looking for excitement. I wanted to help protect her and her family from whatever it was they were experiencing. Although I was scurrying around with school and homework, I found this case to be particularly important and began scheduling a time for when we could visit.
Betsy and I discussed possible origins of the haunting. Betsy felt it might have been linked to the old farmhouse they had previously lived in. Carl’s coworker, Michael Best, had been on several investigations with us before and I truly appreciated his rock-solid and reliable demeanor—he wasn’t squeamish with the demonic. He was also someone who was serious about the client’s well-being; he wasn’t just seeking thrills through an investigation. I asked for him to join us on this cleansing.
Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters Page 3