David had grown up in the house and both of his parents had passed away in the home many years back. The family had great aspirations for the house and looked forward to finishing the refurbishments once disposable income became more readily available. Until then, the renovations came to a standstill and the house was kept in disarray. Rubble, lumber, and drywall cluttered the kitchen and the disorder of the house was beginning to affect the family greatly.
It was September 3, 2010, and I sat cupping my mug of hot tea, feeling the warmth travel into my hands and arms—it helped counter the chills I got when reading Whitney’s request for assistance.
“I happen to have a demon or something like it in our house. I have put a night-vision camera in the room at night and in the daytime and it messes with the camera a lot … we hear something walking, and at times it is a heavy walk with claws clicking on the floor. It sounds like a Saint Bernard or something bigger … We also have gone in the room at night and sat there and asked it questions and we didn’t hear anything until we listened to the recorder. It answered us alright and not nicely! We also have a short, dark shadow that comes and goes … So now I sleep with the light on! Now, even with the light on … something I can’t see starts growling in the corner! So after a few times of that I sleep on the couch downstairs. I hate not being comfortable in my own home and I don’t know what to do. A few churches said they don’t bless houses and don’t know anyone who does! Do you have any advice for me? Anything would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.”
Carl, Mike Best, and I sat there listening to Whitney and David in their home, trying to pull together a timeline of their experiences. It was our day off from work and school, being an observed holiday, but Whitney felt that a house blessing was desperately needed. We complied and spent our holiday fighting the dark side (not to be confused with the Darth Vader dark side).
It had been a colder-than-usual September morning and fall was slowly making its presence known. I had always admired how the seasons changed in Michigan and each year we were shown a fantastic display of colors in the leaves. I sat on Whitney’s living room couch jotting down notes as the monotonous rhythm of the rain tempted me to sleep. The colder season, for some reason, had always correlated with an increase in paranormal activity, and especially a boom in house-blessing requests. Some believe the “veil” between our worlds is thinnest during the fall.
“It was like, as soon as we tore into the fireplace and began our demolition, our finances went to crap and the mood of the house changed entirely,” David explained during our interview.
Although many would stipulate that the death of David’s parents in the home was the origin of the haunting, I believe that most spirits cross over and do not remain to haunt a location. I explained to David that just because there was a death in a home did not mean there would be a haunting.
I assumed the renovations were the cause of the haunting. Numerous paranormal cases have been mysteriously linked to building renovations, as if the haunting is created once the building’s features are altered. I think renovations may release energy that was imprinted inside the home, which may lead to spirit encounters. Then again, maybe the spirits were previously there and out of contempt for the renovations, they make their presence known. There are plenty of theories, and I have yet to settle upon one line of thought to explain renovation hauntings.
I initially thought that perhaps David and Whitney were experiencing a residual human haunting. But when I listened to their personal experiences, I changed my mind. This sounded like something darker. Could a demonic haunting really result from a renovation? I thought renovations were only related to human spirit hauntings … There had to be more to the story that we were missing and I continued asking questions. Whitney and David sat across from us and began sharing their accounts.
One day while Whitney was using the computer, she witnessed a cowboy hat being thrown down the stairs by an unseen force. No one else was home and Whitney felt very uncomfortable. After inspecting the stairs and where the hat had previously been sitting, she concluded that it could not have fallen on its own accord. She later mentioned the event to David, but he was unsure in his mind if it was paranormal or something explainable. After speaking with Whitney, he shared with her that he had also experienced strange things while he was home alone but disregarded them, as many individuals do.
While David was gone at work, Whitney would often hear disembodied voices inside the house and shadows would move about the rooms. Whitney began feeling as if she were captive in her own home, constantly under the surveillance of some invisible presence.
“I remember when the house used to be cozy and friendly, but then I felt uncomfortable and on edge in the house—as if someone had taken over my home and I was just an unwelcomed guest visiting,” Whitney recalled. “After I knew I wasn’t alone, I figured I would try to communicate with the spirit to see what it wanted, and maybe then it would leave. Or so I hoped.”
Whitney was an avid viewer of paranormal shows and, after experiencing a few odd events, Whitney decided that she would try to record EVPs with her analog voice recorder, as she had seen on television. She wanted to speak with the presence in her home and perhaps bring resolution to the situation. During their recording sessions they captured several spirit voices. In one of the audio recordings, Whitney asked the spirit, “Can you tell us who you are?” The entity immediately responded in a harsh, dry voice: “No!”
This particular EVP concerned me because most spirits have no qualms about sharing their personal information. They usually are happy to finally communicate with someone who is willing and able to listen to them. Demons, on the other hand, despise giving their names because it enables a person to gain power or control over the demon. Demons will avoid revealing their name at all costs.
Later, on the same audio recording, Whitney and David comment on a strange thump sound they heard:
David: “Did you hear that?”
Whitney: “No …”
David: “Sounded like somebody knocking at the door!”
*Five distinct knocks are heard in the background.*
Demon: “Come in!”
*The sound of a door opening is heard.*
At the time of recording, Whitney and David had only heard the first initial thump on the door. They did not hear the second round of knocking or the door opening. What was equally disturbing was that the knocking sound was identical to when someone knocks five times and someone else knocks back twice in response—the “shave and a haircut, two bits” rhythm. It was darkly playful.
The activity became more severe, and progressed into an aggressive nature after they attempted to interact with the entity by conducting EVP sessions. The more attention they gave the entity, the more disruptive it became. It was growing in strength and force.
One morning, Whitney was taking a bath when she saw several dark shadows standing outside of the shower. The shadows moved in front of the shower curtain, blocking out the light from the bathroom vanity. Whitney instinctively knew these figures were not her son or husband. Panic began to settle in. She called out to her husband, unsure of what to do as she was too frightened to leave the shower. David entered the bathroom and reassured Whitney that nothing was out of place and no intruders were in the bathroom. The shadows were gone.
“See? Look. There is no one in here. You’re fine. The heating vents were probably just moving the shower curtain and it looked like someone was in here.” David tried calming Whitney but provided her with no relief. Whitney was positive that she saw figures outside the shower. Whitney returned to her routine of getting ready that day. As time passed that afternoon, she began to doubt her own experience and reasoned that she was severely sleep deprived. Whitney was losing rest lately, waking up in the early hours of the morning without an explanation. She assumed it was related to the stress of trying to finish the house and diminishing finance
s. Maybe I am losing my mind. I need to get some sleep, Whitney thought to herself.
Days passed and Whitney found herself performing her daily ritual of getting ready again while David was at work. She headed into the master bedroom to get dressed after her shower, patting her face dry. As she removed her towel to put her clothes on, she heard a distinct wolf-whistle—as if someone were being sexually suggestive towards her. Whitney got the chills, and the feeling of being violated engulfed her. She was home alone and the whistling came from directly behind her in the bedroom. Afraid of possibly seeing the ethereal intruder, Whitney quickly dressed herself and ran downstairs, pretending not to hear the perverse whistle. The entity was making its presence known more frequently and in more direct ways, which unsettled Whitney.
Soon, Whitney began awakening at exactly 3:00 a.m. every morning. She could feel an evil presence in the bedroom with her. Dark shadows would commonly appear next to the television in the master bedroom. David would always be fast asleep during these encounters. Whitney could not wake him up some nights and I wondered if David was experiencing the same “psychic sleep” that my ex-boyfriend Jack had experienced. Whitney would shake and pinch David, trying to rouse him from his sleep, but he would remain in a deep slumber. Whitney would shut her eyes tightly, hoping that the shadows would disappear once she opened her eyes again. Instead, the shadows would be located in different parts of the bedroom, as if they teleported, further terrifying Whitney. Trying to ignore the spirits she rolled over and tucked her head into David’s shoulder and tried falling back asleep. It was becoming a regular occurrence.
One evening, Whitney had forgotten to turn off the T.V. before drifting off to sleep. When 3:00 a.m. rolled around, Whitney found herself awake again. She rubbed her eyes trying to make out the television and realized there was something dark blocking the screen. As she cleared her eyes and strained to make sense of what she was seeing, she saw a figure directly in front of the television. The black silhouette growled. She stared in horror and watched as the entity took its long, slender hand and dragged its fingers across the screen. Whitney shrieked and ran downstairs, leaving David still sleeping in the bed. David never woke up. She spent the night downstairs on the couch and regretfully told David the story in the morning.
“Its fingers were long and narrow, almost skeletal,” Whitney explained while rubbing her arms from goose bumps. Her abhorrence and fear of the entity was obvious. During our investigative walk-through of the house, we were able to see the finger marks left on the dusty television screen. Granted, anyone could create such a mark on the T.V. with a small object like a pointed ear swab. Whitney assured us she had genuinely experienced the entity’s harassment.
There was no benefit or reward in lying to us about some fabricated haunting—she wasn’t getting paid for her story, it wasn’t going to be publicized, and her only motive was to have us perform a private house blessing. Whitney was terrified in her own home and began altering her routine around the entity. Slowly it was gaining control of her life. It was then that David finally considered Whitney’s suggestion to look for outside help.
At last, Whitney began searching online to find someone who could help with their haunting. She wasn’t sure where to even begin her search. Finally, after spending some time on the internet, she came across the M.P.R.A. site and decided to contact me.
While Whitney was writing her first message to me, she heard growling by the stairs and then her computer started to behave strangely. “It kept shutting itself off, the internet wouldn’t work and finally the keyboard was not typing correctly!” Whitney had to rewrite her e-mail nearly five times until it was successfully sent to me. “I think something was trying to stop me from contacting you guys!” Whitney was adamant and I agreed with her. I had numerous clients mention how electronics and communications failed when they tried to contact me for help with their hauntings.
Hearing Whitney talk, I was unsure if we were dealing with one demonic presence or several. Based on the multiple shadow figures Whitney was seeing, I assumed it was an “infestation”—that several demonic entities were actually present within the home.
Carl and Mike suggested that we listen to the remaining audio recordings to see if we could verify that there were multiple entities. Carl asked Whitney if she could retrieve the additional tapes that she recorded. She soon returned with an audiotape and a video recording.
“We recorded a video in the storage room next to our master bedroom. You can actually see a shadow figure move!” Whitney exclaimed. I had forgotten that she mentioned the videotapes in her original message and this renewed my interest in the footage she captured. We hooked up the camera to the television and began playing back the film.
For nearly half an hour the camera sat still, when suddenly the camera shifted. Whitney and David had positioned the camera to face a mirror in the corner of the room. The room was extremely dark and we strained our eyes to make out the camera’s footage. Eventually, a pitch-black figure moved in front of the camera and then disappeared out of the camera’s frame. Carl, Mike, and I all sat up straight in excitement and awe. Not only had the family captured legitimate EVPs, but they also had credible footage of their haunting.
Carl sat on the couch listening intently to the additional audio recordings that Whitney and David had documented. “You have to hear this!” Carl announced. I grabbed the headphones and Carl began playing back the segment. To my disbelief, I heard a distinct pig-grunting sound that I had only read about in demonology books. I never understood how or why demons made these audible sounds, but the EVP confirmed we were not dealing with a human spirit. With her permission, I used my digital voice recorder to record the playback of Whitney’s EVPs. I wanted to take a copy of the recordings home and review the audio in further detail.
As Whitney and David shared their stories with us in the living room, I had been quietly watching and observing their son Stephen. Stephen was nearly twenty-nine years old by my guess and didn’t appear to be very happy. Based on his personal energy and expressions, I sensed that he might be unsure of where he stood in this world.
Stephen was distant and uninterested in the cleansing and our intentions to help his mother, as if his mother’s terrors weren’t a concern of his. “It doesn’t ever bother me,” Stephen explained in a complacent manner when I asked him if he would like to have the entity removed from the home. Perhaps he enjoyed seeing his mother being tormented, or maybe he felt a connection with the entity and it was now manipulating him. I wasn’t sure. Regardless, it seemed as though he didn’t truly want the entity to leave. I was apprehensive of his objectives. Why wouldn’t you want something dark to leave your house and to stop tormenting your family?
Carl, Mike, and I all perceived a certain darkness that surrounded Stephen and yet none of us could pinpoint exactly what it was. I felt that Stephen might be withholding information from us when discussing the entity in their home, as if he were avoiding the truth. Sometimes it felt as if he were trying to challenge the belief that this entity was negative. I was here to help the family, and I could not force Stephen to cooperate. But I also could not guarantee a successful cleansing with Stephen’s stance and opposing feelings about the entity.
I had asked Whitney over the phone if she and her family believed in a Higher Power and she stated, “Yes we do.” I then heard her mumble something about Stephen “complying” when it came to saying a group prayer at the end of the cleansing. I found the statement to be odd and later realized what she was referring to. During our phone call, Whitney had given me the impression that Stephen wasn’t religious but he was just spiritual—which was completely fine with me. However, during our visit I was shocked to discover that Stephen was not spiritual, nor did he believe in a Higher Power at all. Stephen was a recent atheist and found it very difficult to agree to recite a nondenominational prayer at the end of the blessing. The group prayer at the end of a cleansing asks a Higher
Power to remove any evil inside the home. I had hoped that Stephen would consider participating in the prayer for the sake of his mother’s well-being. I specifically brought and used that prayer because almost anyone from any belief can use it. I respect athiests but was unsure how to handle the situation. Stephen clearly believed in some sort of spiritual realm, having experienced the entity and knew of the harm it was doing to his mother, and yet he didn’t seem to want it to leave.
I excused myself outside, saying that I had forgotten some supplies in the car, and had Mike and Carl come with me. We all agreed that we were not sure the cleansing would work if Stephen wasn’t in agreement with his parents and did not believe in a divine force, but we decided we would try our best to help the family. While we were outside, our digital voice recorder was unknowingly still recording inside the home. I later heard Stephen’s protest after reviewing the voice recorder at home. After Whitney begged him to “just go along with it and say the prayer,” Stephen replied: “I think it is bullshit that I have to pray and pretend in some God! I do not want to fucking do it!”
As much as Whitney wanted to believe that Stephen was spiritual and that he would not affect the house blessing results, these things cannot be forced.
Carl, Mike, and I returned back inside after gathering our thoughts and method for approaching this delicate case. We were ready to begin the house cleansing, but we had a few remaining questions. I would try to connect with Stephen to see if we were able to pinpoint what his exact beliefs were, and thus we could customize the blessing so we were not offensive or imposing.
“Stephen, do you believe in a positive energy or a higher being that exists in this world?” I asked him, trying to be gentle about such a delicate subject.
“I believe in energy, but I don’t think it’s good or evil. I think it is all the same.” This stumped me and I tried altering the prayer so that Stephen could participate in it without feeling forced or coerced into a foreign religion. I feel it is very important to be respectful of every client’s beliefs and to never impart my beliefs on him or her. Upon further review, Stephen relayed that he used to believe in God but no longer did. “Too many bad things happen in life for there to be a real god.” This saddened me, because I never want someone to feel they are alone in life or that Great Spirit has forgotten them.
Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters Page 8