Paranormal Intruder

by Caroline Mitchell

  ‘Dunno mate.’ They bent down to look inside the car but it was gone. Neil found the empty holder under the passenger seat, but the disc was nowhere to be found. He groaned at the setback.

  ‘I’ve had enough of this, I’m going inside,’ Neil said, stomping towards the front door. Joe was upstairs babysitting. Neil trotted upstairs and popped his head into their room. Joe and David were engrossed in a computer game and barely acknowledged him. He walked downstairs to join Lee, who was rolling a collection of cigarettes at the table. Neil sighed, wondering if inviting Lee inside was such a good idea after all. He was tired and just wanted to rest. A few minutes won’t do any harm, his inner voice said.‘Coming for a cigarette?’ Neil asked, taking a cigarette from his pocket.

  Lee nodded and picked out one of the thin spears he just created.

  As they got to the back door Neil noticed the key was gone. He shouted for Joe, who came running down the stairs. Joe had no idea where the key had gone, and worse still, the back door was locked. ‘You must have forgotten where you put it,’ Neil said. Joe opened his mouth in protest when something dropped from the ceiling and hit the ground between them. It was the key. Joe looked at Neil open mouthed. ‘It’s OK, just ignore it,’ Neil advised.

  Joe did not need to be told twice, and went back upstairs.

  Neil and Lee drew on their cigarettes in the garden, and returned inside. Neil gasped as a handful of breakfast cereal materialised from nowhere and hit Lee on the back of the head.

  Lee crouched in response to the unexpected tiny missiles.

  ‘Mate, it’s cereal. I saw it come from nowhere,’ Neil said, pointing to the cereal on the ground.

  Lee exhaled in amazement. After everything he witnessed it would take more than a few rice krispies to frighten him.

  Neil swept up the mess and entered the living room. ‘Oh, will you look at this,’ he said, examining the kitchen door. Five fingerprints were daubed on the door in thick white antiseptic cream. Neil recalled the open jar being in the living room the night before as one of the children used it to treat a small burn. Crudely daubed fingerprints also decorated the living room door. Neil stepped back as something came hurtling towards Lee from the kitchen, hitting him squarely on the back of the head.

  ‘Ow!’ Lee rubbed the back of his head and spun around to confront his attacker. Neil picked up the half empty pot of cream, which had bounced across the floor, fingerprints clearly visible from inside where the thick cream had been scooped out. ‘Are you OK, Lee?’ Lee rubbed the back of his head.

  ‘Yeah I’m all right, I don’t think he wants me here.’ Neil did not have to ask whom Lee was referring to, and regretted asking his friend inside. ‘I’ll just finish rolling this cigarette and then I’ll head off,’ Lee said as he deposited the tobacco into the tiny paper and expertly rolled it into a perfect cigarette.

  Neil took his tobacco pouch from his pocket and handed it to Lee. ‘Here mate, any chance you can quickly make one for me before you go? I can’t get the hang of it.’

  Lee smiled and held his hand out. ‘Okay, hand it over.’

  Lee’s smile evaporated when he opened the pouch, ‘Ugh what’s this? Is this a joke?’

  Neil peered into the pouch, and the smell of tomato ketchup wafted up his nostrils. ‘It smells like ketchup. I certainly didn’t put it there, bloody six quid that pack cost me.’ Neil jumped as the smoke alarms beeped into life, filling him with dread. He ran out to the kitchen in panic. Lee jumped up from the table to follow him, but there was no sign of any fire. He opened the door to the hall to see the orange glow of flames rising from his white tracksuit top hung on the banisters.

  ‘Open the front door,’ Neil shouted, grabbing the flaming clothing.

  ‘I can’t!’ Lee rattled the door handle, ‘it’s bloody locked, and the key’s gone.’

  This cannot be happening, Neil thought, turning for the back door with the flaming garment. Just then, the front door key dropped from overhead.

  Lee grabbed it and shoved it into the door, twisting it quickly to unlock it.

  ‘Quick,’ Neil shouted, the flames licking his fingers.

  Lee pulled the door open, and stood back as Neil threw the garment on the front driveway.

  Neil jumped in surprise as Lee slapped him violently on his back.

  ‘You’re on fire,’ Lee shouted. Neil twisted his head around to look at his back to see a small scorched circle, which Lee extinguished.

  ‘I saw it start,’ Lee said, breathless. ‘It was a little ring of fire, it came from nowhere.’

  ‘Jesus,’ Neil said under his breath, trying to comprehend what just occurred. Neil quickly checked on the children. They were oblivious to the carnage and he did not want to worry them. He entered his bedroom and pulled a T-shirt from his wardrobe. Taking off the burned top, he poked his finger through the round scorch mark. He should not have asked Lee inside, and it was a miracle nobody had been hurt.

  Neil walked downstairs to speak to Lee in the sitting room.

  Lee stood up, pushing his hands deep in his jeans pockets. ‘Guess I’d better be off then,’ he said.

  Neil nodded in reply, his eyes cast downwards. They made arrangements for their next meet up in the pub and Lee made his way towards the front door. Neil opened the door, Lee stared behind his shoulder. Neil turned to see a yellow puddle on the hall floor behind him, the same as before. His eyes darted to the stairs to see three sodden prints going up the stairs. I’m not afraid, Neil thought defiantly. A controlled calmness took over as he shouted up to the children to check their welfare. They replied with impatience that they were fine.

  ‘Do you want a hand cleaning up?’ Lee asked.

  ‘No mate, it’s just trying to frighten me. I think it’s best if you go, I’ll ring you later.’

  Lee nodded, giving the footsteps a backward glance. He visibly shuddered, and turned to leave.

  Closing the door behind him, Neil leaned against it, taking steadying breaths. Grabbing his camera, he took photos of the stairs, leaning in close to capture the footprints. Neil sniffed then recoiled. It had the same stale smell as before. Where the hell is it getting this from? Neil cleaned the mess, then sat down and plugged the camera lead into the laptop. The photos flashed up on screen, and one in particular drew his attention. He peered closer, trying to establish what it was. He recognised it as being in the series of photos, which he had taken of the footprints on the stairs. But this was different. A swirling circular motion surrounded a round white pattern. Neil frowned. What the hell had he captured on camera? He magnified the photo to see a small round white shape, resembling a small cloud on the bottom right hand corner. He saved the photo and emailed it to Mike.

  Neil’s phone lit up within seconds. He ran through the events of the day. There was no mistaking the astonishment in Mike’s voice. ‘I’ve analysed the photo and it’s no camera malfunction. You’ve captured something amazing there.’

  ‘What do you think it is?’ Neil asked.

  ‘Mate, it looks almost as if you’ve captured a picture of a portal. This could be the gateway for the paranormal activity in your home.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The Exorcism

  After months of waiting on the Catholic Church, Neil’s brother Mark decided enough was enough. ‘Put your coat on, we’re going to see the priest.’

  I rubbed my forehead in an effort to stave away a growing headache. ‘You go ahead Neil, I’ll stay here with the children.’

  Just over an hour later, the slamming of our front door signalled Neil’s return. He climbed the stairs to join me on the landing. I peeped over my basket of dirty washing to see he was smiling. ‘It’s all sorted, we met with Father Luke,’ Neil said, taking the basket from my hands and walking downstairs to the kitchen. ‘After all this time he asked what he could do for us.’

  I shook my head.‘What did you say?’

  ‘We went into his living quarters at the side of the church, and Mark explained things had escal
ated. Father Luke began to speak when three loud thumps hit the ground in front of him as if someone was stomping with heavy boots on the carpet. We hadn’t moved an inch. He looked surprised and asked what it was. I said, “That’s him.” I didn’t really know what to call it, but it registered with Father Luke quickly enough.’

  My eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘What did he do?’

  ‘He jumped up and looked flustered. Then there were more loud thumps, this time on the walls, like someone was really hammering with their fists, but stronger. Father Luke said it shouldn’t be happening as his room was part of the church. Then he said it was serious, and something needed to be done about it.’ Neil flashed me an ironic smile.

  I exhaled with relief. At last we were being taken seriously.

  ‘He prayed over me, Mark and Lee as the noises continued. When he was finished he looked in his dresser. He handed me a phone number and told me to ring it, saying they are the priests we need to speak to about the exorcism. I think he was glad to get rid of us, he seemed quite shaken by it all.’ Neil shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out the folded notepaper to show me. ‘Mark came back to Mum’s with me, and Lee went home. I called the number and a priest named Father *Hill answered. We had a chat and he told me they are qualified to perform exorcisms. He wants you to email everything to him, and we will visit them in two weeks’ time to talk about it further. They live near Ilford, just outside of London.’

  I folded my arms and leaned back in my chair. ‘I hope they can help.’

  Two weeks later we made our way to Ilford. I was distracted throughout the two-hour journey, my feelings playing a tennis match between hope and trepidation. Neil was just tired. The thoughts of going through the story again made him weary. I hoped we would not be judged too harshly, given we did not attend church as often as we should. The Church was situated in a built up area, which looked as if it had its fair share of troubles. A tower block of flats loomed on the opposite side of the road, the gloomy streets littered with people.

  ‘We’re a bit early,’ I said as Neil drove into the gravelled churchyard. ‘Do you want to wait, or will we give a knock?’

  ‘We may as well let them know we’re here. Just let me have a cigarette first.’ Neil stepped outside the car and cupped his hands over the lighter.

  ‘I wonder if the priest will be OK with us.’ I held my hands over Neil’s as he tried for the third time to light his cigarette in the breeze. ‘I hope he doesn’t ask how many times we go to church.’ I was still stinging from the phone call with my local priest. Since then, my appearances at church had been sporadic.

  ‘They probably will,’ Neil leaned back against the car and drew on his cigarette. ‘But the number of times I’ve been to church is the least of my worries.’ Neil stubbed his cigarette into the gravel, and we walked to the side door of the building. A stout middle-aged priest with short greying hair answered the door, a broad smile lighting up his face. He introduced himself as Father Hill.

  ‘It’s good to meet you at last, Father,’ I said, referring to the emails and phone calls that had passed between us in the two-week interval.

  ‘Come in, come in,’ he said, ushering us into a side room. ‘Will you be alright to wait in here for a bit, we’re not quite ready?’

  ‘Of course,’ I nodded. We entered the small windowless room and sat on wooden chairs placed against the wall.

  Father Hill closed the door behind us.

  I sniffed the damp air and glanced at the large cross and religious paintings on the wall. A large statue of the Virgin Mary stared back at us mournfully, her hands by her sides, palms upwards.

  Neil woke me from my thoughts as he whispered, ‘It’s like your mother’s house.’

  I smiled. I was accustomed to religious pictures adorning the walls where I grew up. Most houses in Ireland had them. I had a feeling Neil was a little intimidated. ‘They’re just pictures,’ I whispered, fiddling with my hair. ‘What do you think he meant when he said they ‘weren’t quite ready?’

  Neil shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I thought we just came here to talk about it. I didn’t know there was anyone else involved.’ Neil nibbled his nails as we waited. Minutes passed.

  I elbowed Neil sharply as Father Hill opened the door. ‘Thank you for waiting, please follow me.’ We followed him into a large room off the church, which I imagined was used as a church hall. I was surprised to see a full alter had been made up. Another priest, dressed in purple robes, was also present. Although short in stature, he looked as if he meant business. He introduced himself as Father *Rafael and shook our hands firmly, his face deadly serious.

  A tall grey haired man joined us. I guessed from his casual dress that he was not a priest. He introduced himself as *Bill and shook my hand, giving me a smile and a reassuring wink. I smiled back and turned my attention to the woman beside him. She introduced herself as *Mary and explained they were lay people involved in the church through prayer groups. I shook her hand, happy to hear the lilt of an Irish accent from her lips.

  Introductions made, Father Hill and Father Rafael sat behind a long wooden table. They gestured at us to sit on the opposite end, while Mary and Bill sat on either side of us. It all felt very formal, and my nerves grew as I took my place beside Neil.

  Father Rafael opened a folder containing printouts of all the e-mails I sent Father Hill and asked us to recount our story. For the next half hour we spoke about what had been happening in our lives. I felt sorry for Neil as he recounted the story once again. The priests nodded and explained that they regularly dealt with occurrences such as these, although none as severe as ours.

  ‘You say you have communicated with it. Has it ever given its name?’ Father Raphael asked, pointing his pen in Neil’s direction.

  ‘No,’ Neil said. ‘We have asked many times, but it refuses.’

  Father Rafael nodded in recognition, ‘Demons never do.’ He clasped his hands together on the table and carried on. ‘We can help rid you of it, but there is one stipulation. Many people ask us for help, but unless they are part of our church we cannot assist them. Do you attend church?’

  I squirmed as I disclosed I did not go as often as I liked due to shift work. I did not tell them my faith in the Catholic Church was crumbling, and my belief in God was one of a loving presence, rather than a judgemental one.

  Neil shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

  ‘And do you have communion when you attend Church?’ Father Rafael asked, his eyes boring into me. ‘I can’t take communion Father, I was divorced when I met Neil.’ The church frowned upon divorce and I hoped it would not stop them from helping us. The priests murmured to each other under their breath. They then explained that they would have to amend the situation. That would involve Neil and I living in chastity until I got my first marriage annulled, and then married Neil in a church. Only then would I be married in the eyes of God.

  ‘We know it will take great… Sacrifice,’ Father Hill said, giving a short cough. ‘You must live in chastity as brother and sister until you become married in the eyes of God.’

  My head snapped up as I looked at the priest in surprise. I held back a laugh as I realised he was serious. The priest suggested they could make arrangements for me to speak to the Bishop to get the annulment underway. The idea seemed ludicrous. I resisted the urge to look at Neil, but I could imagine what he was thinking. I nodded my head. At that moment I would agree to anything to get help. Formalities over, the priests announced it was time for the exorcism. They gestured to Neil and I to join them at the altar. I was taken aback by the idea and gave Neil a cursory glance.

  We sat on two chairs facing the altar while the remainder of the group stood around us. For the next two hours the priests and lay people poured prayers and healing over us. A warm energy emanated from their hands as they hovered over me. They spoke in tongues and the rhythmic chanting of syllables was strangely comforting. Their bibles were laid open and many prayers were made casting out demons in
the name of God. Holy water was sprinkled, and after two hours, the session came to an end. The priests looked exhausted as they closed their bibles.

  ‘How do you feel?’ Father Hill asked Neil at the end of the session.

  ‘Fine,’ Neil said. ‘I felt him here, but then he went. The problem is I think he can come and go as he pleases.’

  ‘Yes, well we will arrange to attend the house also when we can arrange the time,’ Father Hill said.

  We thanked them and left. I took Neil’s arm as we walked to our car. Neil opened his mouth to speak and I shushed him, worried we were still in earshot. I flashed him a mischievous smile, feeling twelve years old again. We climbed into the car and closed the doors.

  ‘I wasn’t expecting all that,’ Neil said in hushed tones. ‘I thought we were just meeting up for a chat.’

  I exhaled, ‘God yeah, that was very serious wasn't it.’

  Neil started the car and drove out of the churchyard.

  ‘So what did you think when the priest said we had to live as brother and sister?’ I asked with a grin.

  Neil laughed, ‘I thought he was joking until I saw the expression on his face.’

  ‘Me too,’ I giggled.

  ‘So are you going to go for an annulment then?’ Neil said.

  ‘They really put me on the spot,’ I said. ‘But it wouldn’t be right, there’s no reason to annul my first marriage, it was right at the time.’