10 Paranormal Stories

by Lamees Alhassar

  Mrs. Rogers shook her head. “She’s all right, Father. Can’t you see? She is just a child who needs some compassion and affection.”

  “You don’t know what you are saying, Mrs. Rogers. The evil inside her is seducing you already and making you think otherwise. Please step away from the child now,” Father Mathew commanded again.

  “Mummy, why is the priest talking like that? Why is he saying all this?” Anna asked in a soft voice.

  Mrs. Rogers patted her daughter’s head. “It’s all right, my dear. He is just worried. But he is confused as well. Worried and confused, you understand, Anna? He does not know what he is saying.”

  “Mrs. Rogers, step away I say!” Father Mathew insisted. He was now wielding a crucifix and a bottle of holy water in his hand.

  “Is it true, Father? Is it true that you don’t know what you are saying?” Anna asked.

  “Keep quiet, child. You do not know what you are saying. There is evil inside of you and it is trying to destroy your precious little innocent life,” Father Mathew replied.

  Anna turned her attention to Gabriel. She locked her eyes with his and smiled. “Is that true, Gabriel?”

  Gabriel blinked and ran his hands through his hair. “What? What was that you said?”

  “Shut up, Gabriel! Don’t respond to her enquiries. Remember what I told you!” Father Mathew shouted.

  “You don’t believe him, do you, Gabriel? Do you believe what Father Mathew is saying about me?” Anna persisted.

  Gabriel shrugged. “He is an ordained priest, you know? So he has to be right in what he is saying. Doesn’t he?”

  “Gabriel!” Father Mathew shouted.

  Gabriel turned to look at the priest. “I am sorry, Father. But she is just a kid. She cannot mean any harm.”

  “He is right, Father. My daughter is okay now. Maybe you should both leave us alone,” Mrs. Rogers said.

  Father Mathew shook his head and waved the crucifix. “This is not happening. The evil inside her is manipulating you both, blinding you to the truth. This is the work of evil.”

  “What evil, Father Mathew? Where do you see any evil around here?” Anna asked.

  “There is evil all right. And it is spewing out of you like steam would spew out of a boiling kettle. And it is pervading this entire room. I can feel it and I can sense its presence profoundly. But you are not going to succeed. Do you hear?” Father Mathew asked.

  “You don’t know what you are saying, Father. It is you who is full of evil and rubbish. You should be ashamed of yourself for coming after a little girl like me,” Anna said.

  As Anna spoke those words, her mother was the first person to frown and stare back at her child. It was still Anna who had spoken, but the voice in which she spoke was not Anna’s. It sounded more like a beast that was snarling and roaring. But before she could stand up and run to safety, Anna grabbed her fiercely by her hair and pulled her back to the bed.

  “And where do you think you are going to, Mrs. Rogers?” Anna demanded.

  “Anna!” Mrs. Rogers screamed, struggling to free her hair from her daughter’s grasp, which was unusually firm and strong for a girl of her age and size.

  “You witch! Don’t ‘Anna’ me again. I am not Anna, do you hear?” Anna snarled, pulling on her mother’s hair again.

  “Stop it, Anna! Let her go. Let your mother go this instant!” Gabriel shouted as Mrs. Rogers screamed and continued to struggle to get free.

  Anna turned to glare at Gabriel. As she did, Gabriel could feel cold fear envelop his heart and spread through his entire body. Apart from the voice she was speaking in, Anna’s eyes were no longer hers. Everything was now black. No iris, no pupils, just blackness occupied both of her eye sockets.

  “And what do you intend to do, you weak idiot?” Anna asked.

  “What? What did you call me?” Gabriel asked in a voice that betrayed his annoyance.

  “Idiot, Gabriel. I said

  idiot . And a very weak one at that,” Anna replied.

  “Gabriel. Shut up and stop communicating with the demon. Have you forgotten what I told you earlier?” Father Mathew said.

  “So you are still trying to train him to become like you, Father Mathew? Do you think you can succeed in grooming him to be a priest?” Anna asked.

  “Of course I will succeed. And not just at grooming him to become a priest, but in getting you out of that innocent child’s body,” Father Mathew replied.

  Anna laughed in a voice that sounded so deep and hoarse. She then snarled and growled like an angry lion before twisting her mother’s hair once again. As Mrs. Rogers screamed in pain, Anna grabbed her by the shoulder and to the shock and surprise of both Gabriel and Father Mathew, lifted her above her head.

  “Drop her. I say drop her right this very instant!” Father Mathew commanded.

  “You want me to drop her, Father? Then you can have her,” Anna said. With a heave, Anna tossed her mother towards him as if she was tossing away an old rag doll. Mrs. Rogers screamed as she flew through the air and collapsed on top of Father Mathew.

  Gabriel rushed to assist them get untangled. While he was helping Mrs. Rogers up, he felt someone hold his arm. Father Mathew was still on the floor. As he turned to get up, Gabriel’s eyes met with his. Gabriel could see that he was still in a daze because of the fall. But besides the daze, he could see the look of horror in the priest’s eyes.

  Fearing the worst, Gabriel momentarily paused in helping Mrs. Rogers to stand up. He turned around and instantly felt his body freeze. Right there behind him was Anna. And he was looking up at her. Somehow, she had gotten free from all of the chains. They all lay scattered by the side of the bed where she had abandoned them.

  But that was not the peculiar thing about the little girl. Gabriel found himself looking up at her because she was floating, hovering effortlessly, like some feather floating in the wind.

  Gabriel gasped as he took a step backwards.

  “What is it, Gabriel? Are you surprised to see me now?” Anna asked in that same hoarse voice.

  “Wait, Anna. Don’t do anything foolish. This is not you. Do you hear me, Anna?” Gabriel said quickly. As he said this, he took another step backwards.

  “Don’t communicate with her, Gabriel. Stop calling her Anna! Don’t you understand? That is not Anna anymore!” Father Mathew shouted as he pulled himself towards where his bottle lay.

  “Did you hear the priest, Gabriel? He said I am no more Anna. I wonder what I am now,” Anna said, with her gaze still focused on Gabriel.

  “Keep away from me, Anna,” Gabriel said while slowly taking another step backwards.

  Father Mathew got a hold of the bottle. But as he raised it, he discovered that it was empty. Its liquid contents had all spilled away when it fell out of his hand during his fall.

  Anna turned her gaze to him. “Disappointed or confused, Father? Tell me, which is it that you feel now that you don’t have anything to fight me with?”

  “Anna, my daughter. Please stop all this and come back to me. Come back to us again, little girl,” Mrs. Rogers said while on her knees.

  “And what good would that do me, Mrs. Rogers? Answer me, what good would it do me to return to that dreary life of a little girl in a dirty house like this?” Anna asked.

  “She is right, Anna. Come back to your family,” Gabriel said.

  “Stop communicating with her, Gabriel!” Father Mathew said again as he searched for his crucifix.

  “Father, why not stop telling the young man what to do and mind your own business,” Anna growled.

  “You are nothing but evil that should be vanquished out of existence,” Father Mathew said as he searched the more for his crucifix.

  “Is that so?” Anna asked.

  Father Mathew did not hear any more statements from Anna. From where he was on the floor with his back to the bed and the walls, everything had suddenly gone quiet.

  CHAPTER 3 Father Mathew saw that his hands were beginning to shake uncontroll
ably. He closed his eyes tightly and began to say a silent prayer. When he opened his eyes again, his hands were still shaking.

  He shook his head and looked around. Father Mathew could see Gabriel. Gabriel was staring back at him with his mouth wide open, as if he was about to scream out but words refused to come forth. Father Mathew caught sight of Mrs. Rogers as well. She was still on the floor and was also looking at him, with an expression of shock, bewilderment, and horror painted all over her face.

  Father Mathew felt his hands shaking violently again. For some reason, both of them were staring at him with great fear in their eyes. Swallowing, he slowly looked upwards. And his worst fears were confirmed.

  Anna was no longer hovering above the bed. While he was busy searching for his crucifix, she had floated above him and turned upside down so that now that he had looked upwards, her head was very close to his while the rest of her body remained suspended in the air close to the ceiling. It now appeared as if Anna was being held upside down from her legs by a piece of rope, with her face now dangling so close to Father Mathew’s face.

  It was a horrific sight for even the priest to behold as he stared into the little girl’s black eyes at such a very close range. But before Father Mathew could say anything, Anna abruptly reached out and grabbed his neck with her two hands. As Anna began to squeeze his neck, Father Mathew struggled to remove her hands from his neck. But the more he struggled, it felt as if her grip was tightening the more on his neck. For such a young girl to possess such a monstrous amount of force, energy, and strength was baffling and confusing to even Father Mathew, who was familiar with the effects of such possessions.

  After a while of fruitlessly struggling with her, Father Mathew gave up and his hands dropped to his side. He began to search with his fingers on the floor, hoping to pick up any object.

  Anna was still upside down, looking into Father Mathew’s face, which was now sweaty and tired. “You don’t seem too well, Father Mathew. Or maybe it is because I am slowly taking away your old, useless life?” Anna asked in the same hoarse voice.

  “Leave him alone, Anna. Leave Father Mathew alone!” Gabriel shouted.

  Anna turned to look at him while still holding onto Father Mathew’s neck. “And what do you want to do about this, Gabriel? Just look at how weak and scared you are.”

  “Just let him go right now!” Gabriel shouted back.

  “Stop it, Gabriel. Stop communicating with her!” Father Mathew managed to call out. He was already beginning to feel faint and dizzy. But he did not relent. Even with Anna still squeezing hard on his neck, his hands continued to search on the floor below him.

  Feeling a sudden urge to do something, Gabriel suddenly got up and began to walk towards where Anna and Father Mathew were.

  Through a blurry and hazy vision, Father Mathew could see his subordinate walking towards them. He began to shake his head. “No, Gabriel. Don’t come here. Go back. Go back!”

  Anna smiled at Gabriel. “Finally, Gabriel is trying to act courageous, isn’t he? Perhaps you also want to suffer the same fate as your weak, old, and useless mentor of a priest?”

  But Gabriel was not discouraged. He kept on advancing. But before he could take another step, Anna opened her mouth and began to cough. As she coughed, Anna raised her head and looked towards Gabriel.

  Anna was still suspended upside down, with both of her hands firmly clutching the priest’s neck in a viselike grip. From that awkward position, she began to throw up. But it was not an ordinary vomit. Anna’s vomit was deep red and brown in colour. And she somehow managed to target Gabriel with it such that he was bathed in the slimy and sticky goop, as if it had been launched from a burst pipe or a hose which was targeted at Gabriel, rather than from the mouth of a young girl who was suspended upside down from the ceiling of a room.

  Gabriel tried to block himself from what Anna was throwing up. He raised his hands and took a step backwards. In the process, he slipped on some of it and fell on the floor. Inevitably, he was covered in a lot of the vomit.

  At that moment, Father Mathew’s long-searching hands felt something. He lifted it up and mentally heaved a sigh of gratitude. It was his crucifix. Without hesitating, Father Mathew mustered all of his failing strength and lifted the crucifix up.

  Mrs. Rogers screamed as she saw Father Mathew raise the crucifix. Her mother’s scream startled and alerted Anna. But it was too late for Anna to do anything to prevent what was about to happen.

  Father Mathew drove the crucifix down and deep into Anna’s chest. Screaming in a voice that sounded more like the snarl and growl of a wounded wild animal, Anna let go of the priest’s neck and clutched onto the crucifix. As she did, it seemed as if whatever force had held her suspended upside down had suddenly lost its potency and power.

  Anna fell on the floor with a loud thud, still clutching the crucifix in both hands. As Anna screamed out in pain, black smoke began to escape from her agape mouth and nostrils. Soon, the ceiling was covered in what appeared to be a black smoke or fog.

  Mrs. Rogers ran to where the priest was kneeling by her young daughter. Anna’s eyes were now beginning to gradually clear from the previous black colour that they had been. Father Mathew then pulled the crucifix from Anna’s chest. Strangely, it did not draw any blood, and neither was Anna bleeding.

  Anna touched her chest with her little hands. There was no scar, and neither was she bleeding. She turned to look at Mrs. Rogers. “Mummy, what has been happening?” she asked in a quiet voice.

  Mrs. Rogers turned to glance at Father Mathew. The priest nodded to her, confirming that everything was now all right. Mrs. Rogers now grabbed her daughter and hugged her close to her bosom, sobbing all the while.

  Father Mathew sat on the floor. He looked at the crucifix in his hands and smiled. He was grateful that it was over.

  “Is she better now?” Gabriel asked, momentarily startling Father Mathew.

  The priest looked up at Gabriel, who was still covered in the abnormal vomit. He then followed Gabriel’s gaze to Mrs. Rogers and her daughter. “Yes, Gabriel. She is now better. She is no longer under any form of possession.”

  A little while later, Mrs. Rogers was by the doorway of her apartment with Father Mathew and Gabriel.

  “Thank you for the change of clothes, Mrs. Rogers. You are sure that your husband will not mind my wearing some of his clothes?” Gabriel asked. He was now dressed in a shirt and trousers which were different from the ones he had previously been dressed in.

  “After what you and Father Mathew went through to get our Anna healed and delivered? I really don’t think Mr. Rogers would complain if you decided to take his entire wardrobe. Please, don’t mention it. It is the least I can do. Besides, you were too messed up to go anywhere like that.”

  “You keep an eye on Anna and let me know if you observe anything unusual. But I don’t think there will be any reoccurrence. The demon has been vanquished, I am sure of that,” Father Mathew said.

  “I really cannot thank you enough for delivering Anna, Father.”

  “Please don’t thank me, Mrs. Rogers. Just endeavour to be in church on Sunday. Then you can offer your thanksgivings,” Father Mathew replied.

  “I will, Father. I definitely will be there, with Mr. Rogers.”

  “That would be nice, Mrs. Rogers. Do have a nice day then,” Father Mathew said.

  By the time they got to their vehicle, the sun was already high up in the sky and a lot of people could be seen walking through the street.

  “The sun is already up, Father,” Gabriel said as they both got into the car.

  Father Mathew nodded. “Yes, Gabriel. It is. And it has been such a hectic day. Just take me back to the parish. I need to get some rest and freshen up as well.”

  Gabriel suddenly paused. Rather than start the car, he suddenly grabbed the priest’s neck. “Why are you in a hurry to return to your parish, priest?”

  Father Mathew felt his hands begin to shake. He then felt the cold beads of
sweat begin to fill his face and drip down his neck. He observed all these sudden changes in his body even before he looked up at Gabriel’s now completely black eyes.

  “You did not think I would easily be gotten rid of, did you, Father?” Gabriel asked in the same now familiar hoarse and snarling voice.

  Father Mathew struggled to remove Gabriel’s hands from his throat. But his struggle was futile. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Gabriel start the car with his other hand and begin to drive off, all the while clutching him firmly on his neck with the other hand.

  Even as he made these observations, Father Mathew began to recollect what he had done wrong. His mind raced through the deliverance that they had just completed. There was Anna. And the vomit. And the cloud.

  Father Mathew almost cursed out loud. The black cloud that had escaped from Anna. He had forgotten to vanquish it. It must have gotten into Gabriel after leaving Anna’s body.

  Father Mathew was shaking his head violently, struggling to free himself from the grip of the now demon-possessed Gabriel, his assistant. But Father Mathew knew that it was too late. They were outside, on an open street, in public. And it was already well past dawn, and it was daylight already.

  He had made a grave error while delivering Anna, Father Mathew thought.

  He should have remembered the black cloud that had risen to the ceiling. Even as he could feel his strength failing, he began to search for his bag and its contents.

  “Is it that bag of tricks you need, Father? What would you do if you were able to get the bag? Tell me, Father Mathew. What would you really do? Too bad you are being strangled already and that is why I cannot hear what you are saying,” Gabriel snarled.

  Father Mathew was now gasping, and struggling to claw through any part of the car. But he could not reach anything. From the corner of his eyes, Father Mathew caught sight of the bag in question. It was far from his reach, in the back seat where Gabriel had put it.