My phone rang at 10:35 p.m. that Friday night. I answered it, anticipating Helen’s voice on the other end of the line. “Steven, it’s Patty. Mom’s dead,” Helen’s daughter said, very quickly. I could tell by the way she said “Steven” that there was something terribly wrong. I think I screamed or yelled into the phone. I am not sure. It is all a blur now. The shock overtook me instantly. The fog has not totally lifted from me yet, and I dread the moment it does. The moment when the realization fully hits me that Helen will never be there again when I need her. Helen will never be there again, with a cup of coffee or a piece of cake, to make me feel better when life has taken an unexpected turn. Helen will never be there again with that unspoken understanding of what we went through during those dark days. Helen will simply no longer be there.
I had spent the whole day with her last Tuesday, Christmas shopping. We had the best day. We laughed so much all day long. It was like old times, and Helen was like the old Helen. She was clear and lucid the entire day. We talked about things we had never discussed before, and things we had not discussed in a long time. We talked about our families and how much we loved them. We talked about our exes, about how good it felt to finally move on by forgiving them and putting away all of the things they put us through. Helen told me she was in a very good place. The best place she had been in a long time. And then on Sunday, not even a week later, we were in a church saying our goodbyes. It just does not seem possible or even real. I pick up the phone and expect her to be there, and I get angry when she is not. The veil of grief comes washing over me again.
I always thought people might be afraid of Helen when they met her, but that was never the case. People loved her. When we would go to give a talk or open a movie, people would surround her with questions. Not only did they have questions, but people wanted to touch her. This never bothered her. I would see her surrounded by people, giving them hugs one after the other, answering anything they had to ask her. People gravitated to her light. I can only guess that the same thing is going on in heaven now. You know, she used to say to me, “That old Mr. Winters had better hope I do not die before him or I will haunt the hell out of him.” No one has heard from or received even the slightest sign from Helen yet. I imagine she has her hands full with old Mr. Winters. I would like to think she is busy haunting him, instead of being haunted by him and his wicked ways. I would like to think she is busy and now he is the one running, for once. I hope his guardian angels are watching over him, because he now has a heavy load to carry.
Yesterday I was looking at pictures of Helen from over the years. I could not help but notice the drain the haunted years had upon her. I never really noticed it before, until I was looking at the photographic evidence of what these years had done to her. She had aged way before her time. It was obvious, the toll it had taken on her body. I had to remind myself it was only the outward appearance I was viewing. Inside, Helen demonstrated the strength of giants and the greatness of the saints. I remember sitting in that church listening to the priest years ago, and how Helen began to cry when he told us that the good are the ones the demonic will attack. Helen never knew how good she was. Helen never understood how special she was. The things she did in this life, she did without thought. She lived her life from her heart, and that is why the demonic attacked her. She reflected everything God could ever want from us. The demonic had tried to extinguish her light, but failed over and over again. The light that drew people to her, the same light that people desired to touch and be close to, now is the light that shines like a star from heaven.
[contents]
The Uninvited
The True Story of the Union Screaming House
Steven A. LaChance
Its screams still wake me from sleep. I see the faceless man standing in that basement washing away the blood from his naked body.
Steven LaChance was forever transformed by the paranormal attacks that drove him and his family from their home in Union, Missouri. When another family falls victim to the same dark entity, Steven returns to the dreaded house to offer aid and find healing.
Paranormal investigators, psychics, and priests are consulted, but no relief is found. The demon’s presence—screams, growls, putrid odors, invisible shoves, bites, and other physical violations—only grow worse. LaChance chronicles how this supernatural predator infects those around it. But the one who suffers most is the current homeowner, Helen. When the entity takes possession and urges Helen toward murder and madness, LaChance must engage in a hair-raising battle for her soul.
The Uninvited is a true and terrifying tale of extreme haunting, demon possession, and an epic struggle between good and evil.
978-0-7387-1357-1, 264 pp., 6 x 9
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Encounter with Hell
My Terrifying Clash with a Demonic Entity
Alexis McQuillan
The events in this story are true, but the names and locations have been changed to protect the reader. Alexis is a psychic who never believed in demons until she came face to face with pure evil. This is her true story of battling a terrifying entity that was so powerful it turned her life upside down and put her in mortal danger …
Her nightmare begins shortly after she and her husband relocate to a small lakeside community. After hearing rumors about the nearby Matthews residence, Alexis investigates the nineteenth-century house and its spirit inhabitants. She soon finds herself caught in a demon’s snare of violent fury—subjecting her to deep growls, a malevolent force attacking her in bed, and phantom apparitions, ultimately leading to a horrific spiritual battle with a demon hell-bent on her destruction.
978-0-7387-3350-0, 216 pp., 53⁄16 x 8
To order, call 1-877-NEW-WRLD
Prices subject to change without notice
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Blessed Are the Wicked Page 23