Beware the Night

by Ralph Sarchie

  Her eighty-year-old mother, who lived with her, never considered the spirit benevolent. “I was watching TV and all of a sudden there was movement on the stairway. I saw a tall black figure, swaying slightly. After about half a minute, I got up and walked toward the figure, which suddenly vanished. I got goosebumps, a terrible chill, and an uneasy feeling. I am scared to death to be alone in this place.”

  Interestingly, both women said the specter had appeared near a crucifix they had hanging on the stairway wall. The daughter added that one other strange thing happened after the spectral visits began. Although they had paid their landlord extra to use a top grade of paint when their apartment was redone, the pure white tint they’d chosen mysteriously turned to a dirty brown a week after it was applied.

  The thing on the stairs may have been trying to pass itself off as a ghost, but it certainly wasn’t doing a very good job of it. While it had temporarily fooled the daughter, the mother wasn’t taken in. The peculiar phenomenon of the paint as well as the decidedly inhuman appearance of the creature were all the telltale signs I needed to recognize it as a demon. Joe and I exorcised the house. No sooner had I finished the Pope Leo XIII prayer than the case literally ended with a bang. After a thunderous clap from a vacant room on the second floor, the so-called ghost was gone for good.

  Human spirits use electromagnetic energy to manifest themselves. They can draw this energy from any living creature, including trees and plants, but need a lot of it before they can show themselves. Some of us, such as psychics or highly intuitive people, have greater amounts of this energy and so are more likely to see, hear, or sense spirits than the rest of us are. Clairvoyants also may detect the presence of ghosts or demons by “reading” the residues of spirit energy these beings leave behind in small, enclosed areas like hallways or small bedrooms.

  Supernatural entities can harness the power of nature as well. Horror movies always use a stormy night as the backdrop for spirit manifestations. Hollywood does this for the frightening effect thunder and lightning have on the audience, but there’s also reality to this: Spirits are more likely to be seen during stormy, misty, or rainy weather, when the clouds overhead are crackling with electromagnetic energy. When rain and lightning are all around you, you may see a bluish-white ball of “spirit energy.”

  If the conditions are right, or if you give off enough psychic energy yourself, this ball may grow in size and intensity until you are able to make out a distinct person. Another way a spirit can manifest is by diverting power from a person’s aura, the spiritual energy that surrounds all of us. While demonic spirits are drawn to a dull and broken aura, indicating a state of sin, ghosts can take energy from any human aura. Both kinds of spirits also can use heat in the room as an energy source, which is why you’ll feel a psychic chill during a manifestation. The spirit has sucked the warmth out of the room. At times a spirit that’s invisible to the human eye can be captured by a camera—I’ve taken several such pictures myself and seen balls of light on videotapes I’ve made during investigations.

  While it’s terrifying to see a ghost—if it really is a ghost—most human spirits don’t intend to cause fear. Instead, they usually wander Earth because they have some unfinished business here. Maybe the person died tragically and can’t rest in peace: He was murdered, died young in a car crash, committed suicide, or suffered greatly during a long, lingering illness. Or she may not realize that she’s dead. Picture a young mother, on her way home from work to her small children, who is suddenly killed in a freak accident. Her spirit continues on home but is bewildered when her family no longer interacts with her. So she tries to get their attention—and ends up scaring the wits out of the survivors.

  Because this ghost refuses to leave her family, she remains earthbound, even after the kids grow up and leave the house. Years pass and new tenants move in, but the mother’s sorrowful spirit stays on, because, as I’ve said, there’s no time frame in the spirit world. She hovers unhappily in the background, wondering where her physical body is and when she’ll finally get home to the life she lost. That’s why I say a ghost is a tragedy. I cringe when I meet people who are experiencing ghost-related phenomena and feel that’s perfectly fine. They’ll say the spirit is doing no harm, causing no negative phenomena, or is even helpful to them, so they have no intention of helping it move on. Or they’ll even argue that it has a right to stay.

  That ghost may be friendly, but it’s definitely not happy being stuck between two planes of existence. It’s caught in a void that has no time and no pleasure. The spirit is denied the opportunity to be reunited with all the loved ones who have passed on before that person did and with those who die afterward. And most of all, that spirit won’t get the chance to atone for the sins of the past and be reunited with God. The best thing you can do for these lost, suffering souls is have a mass said for them, or pray that they will find their way beyond pain and confusion to the Lord.

  Although most ghosts are more unhappy than harmful, there are also evil human spirits. Some people are just plain mean in life and remain the same way in death. These angry or hostile forces have an excellent reason for refusing to move to the next plane: They don’t want to face the prospect of going to Hell or, at the very least, having a long stay in Purgatory, a hellish place you don’t hear much about these days. It is here, according to Catholic and some Protestant churches, that souls ultimately destined for Heaven are either purified of minor sins the person never repented of during life or subjected to a period of punishment for mortal sins. If I get a case involving a wicked ghost, my prescription is the same as for a good ghost: prayer, which can shorten the time a soul must spend atoning for sins or lessen its suffering in Purgatory.

  Evil ghosts can oppress the living in much the same way the demonic do. If they’re the spirits of people who were addicted to drugs or alcohol, practiced witchcraft, or sinned in other ways, they can influence the people they haunt to turn to these vices. While Dr. Edith Fiore writes in her book, The Unquiet Dead, that people can even become possessed by wicked ghosts, I have never seen or heard of a case of human spirit possession in all my years in the Work. Instead, my experience is that wicked ghosts serve as magnets for the demonic, so they open a potential pathway for possession by drawing satanic powers to the location they haunt.

  Unlike demons, ghosts aren’t subject to exorcism, so it’s difficult to get rid of them. What sometimes helps is having a psychic communicate with the spirit and determine its reason for remaining earthbound. The medium should try to convince the spirit that it is no longer a part of the physical world and should stop scaring people. He or she can then try to send the ghost toward the Light of God, where it will find happiness and peace at last. The trouble is, if a ghost doesn’t want to go, there’s nothing we can do to make it leave, except pray.

  Here’s a word of warning for both psychics and anyone who wants to make contact with a deceased loved one. Don’t open that door unless you have the spiritual knowledge to tell what’s on the other side. Unless you’re 100 percent sure you’re dealing with a ghost, not some con man from Hell, you could put yourself in great peril. If there’s any doubt, don’t talk to the spirit—just command it to leave, in the name of Jesus Christ! Any other communication with a satanic spirit can be extremely dangerous or even lead to possession.

  Another factor that makes it hard to tell at the start of a case whether ghosts or demons are involved is that both have the power to manifest themselves, create strange sounds, and manipulate objects. The key to telling the difference between the two types of spirits is taking a close look at what kind of phenomena are occurring. In some cases a demonic presence is unmistakable from the start, while in others, making a determination is quite tricky.

  Like the ADA who was worried about the troubles her aunt was having, one of my fellow cops, Tony, also thought his house was haunted and asked for my help. Many strange things had happened to him and his large Italian family. Lights and household appliances wou
ld turn on and off all by themselves. But the phenomena didn’t stop there: Once Tony’s father was awakened by an odd noise. Usually a heavy sleeper, he rubbed his eyes and looked around. At the foot of his bed stood a little girl, watching him sleep. Just as suddenly as he saw her, she disappeared, but not for good. Over the years he and other family members saw the little spirit several times.

  When Tony invited his future wife home for dinner one night, the family was regaling her with stories about their ghost. She didn’t believe a word, until a heavy ashtray suddenly slid across the table, as if the spirit were showing off. That was enough for the family—they had their parish priest come and bless the house. But the problem didn’t stop: Tony told me that he’d been awakened by the sound of a baby or small child weeping. I asked if there was anything odd about the cry, since I’ve seen several cases where the supposed cry of a baby was anything but human. He said it sounded perfectly normal—except that it was right there in the room with him.

  By now I thought I was dealing with a human spirit, but one thing bothered me. Ghosts don’t normally have the ability to turn appliances on and off or move objects around. Could it be the demonic? During the investigation, I learned that the house was built on a plot of land that was once a Dutch Reformed cemetery. The mystery was solved, since I felt there must be more than one human spirit in that house, intensifying the ghost’s powers. My partner and I went over the house to be sure but found no sign of the demonic. I told Tony to have a mass said for these lost souls, but from time to time, that little girl ghost still appears—or a light flickers on or off when it shouldn’t.

  Contrast this situation with another eerie story I heard when I was assigned to what the police call a “fixer post.” Some repairs were being made to an elevator in a dangerous public housing project, so I was sent there to make sure the workmen weren’t robbed of their money or tools. The owner of the repair company told me he was renovating his home and working late into the night. He kept having an unsettling sense of someone—or something—watching him. The feeling was so overwhelming that he turned around every few minutes to make sure he really was alone. He’d stop work when he couldn’t take it any longer, only to return the next night and have the same thing happen all over again.

  One night he went downstairs to start work and found his tools missing. He questioned his kids, but they insisted they hadn’t been in the basement. When he returned to the area he was renovating, the tools were back in their usual spot. The kids couldn’t have done it, since they were still upstairs. At this point I knew we were talking about the demonic because ghosts can only move small objects and can’t make things materialize or dematerialize. The contractor’s next words proved that I was right: When he tore down one of the walls in his basement, he found crucifixes behind it, suggesting the former owner had been trying to banish an unholy spirit.

  By now I was extremely interested in his case and told him I investigated happenings of this nature. I gave him my card but never heard from him again. I found it very strange that he told me all this stuff, then never contacted me for my help, but in this Work, the strange is common.

  However, the ADA’s aunt, whose name was Ginny, was quick to call about her “ghost.” Although she was very frightened, she was also apprehensive about seeking my help. Since she lived in the Bronx, I suggested she get in touch with Father Livanos, a priest I’ve worked with in that borough, and discuss it with him. She did and was relieved when he told her I was a reputable person of faith who was knowledgeable about these matters and had helped others with similar problems.

  Still worried about what she might be letting herself in for, she asked the priest if she’d be doing anything against God by working with me. He told her the prayers and sacramentals I use conform to Catholic doctrine, so there was no cause for concern. I wasn’t the least bit offended by her caution—instead, I respected this woman’s meticulous devotion to God.

  A week or so later, she was back on the phone. By now it was near Christmas, and as is so common at this time of year, the activity had intensified. Hearing her rapid-fire, obviously nervous voice on the phone convinced me it was urgent to set up a formal investigation as quickly as possible. When I arrived at her home the following day, her first remark was a familiar one: “What I’m going to tell you sounds crazy—and if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it myself.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” I said. “Chances are that whatever you have to say I’ve heard before. From my conversation with your niece, I already have some idea of what you’re up against.”

  Ginny was a schoolteacher. She’d been teaching for so long that her eyes were permanently set in a steely stare and her mouth in a faint, disapproving frown. You got the feeling that she knew everything naughty you’d ever done—or even thought about doing—and was just waiting to get her ruler out and give you a well-deserved smack or two.

  Frankly, she reminded me of some of the sterner nuns at my parochial school. Even her clothing had an austere, nunlike appearance, and her face was innocent of makeup. Although she was about fifty and her hair was heavily streaked with gray, she didn’t try to hide it with dye. She was also extremely slim and fit, giving me the impression that her body was so well disciplined that no fat would dare settle on her angular frame.

  As we talked, I could see that her daughters were in awe of her. All three of them promptly snapped to attention every time she spoke. While all this may make her sound rather unlikable, a softer side came out when she played and joked with her little grandson. I realized that this doting grandma wasn’t nearly as fierce as I’d thought at first. Her only vice seemed to be coffee, which she drank black and bitter, in large quantities during the interview. Around the living room, which was extremely neat, I saw many pretty little statues, some of them of a religious nature, and numerous family photos in silver frames.

  Between sips of coffee, she explained that the problem had begun in October, around the time her oldest daughter, Nancy, who was going through a divorce, moved back into the house with her three-year-old son. The little boy started waking up at 3:00 A.M., screaming and pointing at the wall. When his mother would ask him what was wrong, the little boy, who had a very limited vocabulary, would say he’d seen a monster. This went on night after night, but the family didn’t believe he’d seen anything and wrote it off to nightmares.

  One night the middle daughter was down in the basement, doing her college homework. As she was typing her paper, she heard her younger sister call her name. She turned around, but no one was there. She got back to work, and heard her name called again. It was definitely her sister’s voice. By now she was getting mad, thinking her kid sister was playing silly tricks on her when she had an important paper to write. She stormed upstairs to give Sis a piece of her mind—and discovered that her sister wasn’t home!

  A few weeks later Ginny had an odd experience of her own in the basement. She put a load of laundry in the washer and went back upstairs to continue her housework. When she returned to put the clothes in the dryer, the washing machine had turned completely around, so the water hoses were stretched to the breaking point. And this was a three-hundred-pound machine! Even at this point, she didn’t make a connection between all the strange things that were happening in her house. Instead, since the machine was too heavy for her to move back into place by herself, she enlisted the aid of her next-door neighbor, a New York City cop.

  He asked her how on earth this had happened and, when she couldn’t explain it, suggested that she get a new washer. “But it is a new machine,” she replied. “And it’s never budged an inch before!”

  All the bewildered cop could say was, “Pretty weird, if you ask me.” My sentiments exactly: First we bust two seemingly satanic washing machine salesmen—if that’s what they really were—and then it turns out that the aunt of the ADA assigned to the case has a washing machine with a decidedly supernatural “spin cycle”!

  Other than the involveme
nt of this ADA, however, I could discover no connection between the two cases, so I figured it was just a rather peculiar coincidence. Despite being in the Work, I’m not inclined to see the demonic under every rock or behind every bizarre circumstance. Still, I felt the Lord had moved in a rather mysterious way by sending this particular pair of cases my way.

  Over the next several weeks, other odd events took place, Ginny explained. “It wasn’t one strange thing after another but a gradual buildup,” she said. “One evening when I was in the living room, I heard a baby crying, but it wasn’t a normal cry. I knew it wasn’t my grandson—it sounded like a much younger baby, in great pain or fear. Another disturbing thing about the cry was that I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I even went outside and looked around, but I didn’t see any child or animal that could have made the sound. It sounded horrible and upset me terribly.”

  More unsettling incidents followed. After looking at her mother as if asking permission to tell her story, Erica, the youngest daughter, who was a senior in high school, said she’d also gotten a scare one night, when she was alone in the house, or so she thought. “All of sudden, I heard loud footsteps walking from room to room upstairs. I thought someone had broken into our house and was so frightened that I ran next door to get our neighbor, the policeman.”

  The cop grabbed his gun and searched the entire house without finding any burglar—or any evidence of a break-in—while Erica stayed at his house. Having been at the house a month earlier to help with the washing machine, the officer now felt that things were more than “pretty weird” and joked that maybe the house was haunted. More terrified than ever, Erica refused to go home until her mom returned.