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 def
ense, 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.
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. The
y 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.
Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters Page 13