Possessed? Need help?
“I am possessed. Please help me.” “My sister needs an exorcism.” “I think my house has a demon.”
That’s what’s in my email most days. Either someone thinks they’re possessed, or they think someone close to them is.
Though at least 80% of those emails are pranks — and replies will immediately bounce back as undeliverable email — someone from Hollow Hill always replies in case the person really does need help.
Unfortunately, replying to those emails takes time away from our real research: Proving, disproving and predicting the phenomena that could explain what people think are ghosts and hauntings.
(The pranksters… do they call 911 “just for fun,” too? Did no one read them the story about the little boy who cried “wolf” too many times? I would not wish a demon on anyone, but people need to know: Demons are not something to joke about, or a door to open for fun.)
Demonic possessions are very serious. The good news is, they’re also rare.
Other things can look like demons or possessions. In the vast majority of cases, the person is not possessed, is not tormented by demonic entities, and the best help does not involve an exorcist.
Devil possessions and demonic possessions — two different things — have been studied for centuries from a variety of theological and practical viewpoints.
Generally, no one wakes up one morning and is suddenly possessed. It doesn’t happen. There were always many warning signs of increasing intensity, and they built up over a period of time.
What you can do
If someone does transform overnight, suspect a medical issue. The first call should be to the person’s doctor.
If the person seems to be transforming gradually, and turning from happy and normal to dark, brooding or even malicious, you’ll still want to alert the family physician. The cause might be something physical, such as a reaction to food or a medication.
However, I also recommend contacting a professional in the spiritual/religious community. It doesn’t have to be someone at a church that you (or the victim) go to… or even believe in. It simply needs to be a traditional and/or mainstream church: When you might be dealing with a malicious spirit, you need someone with spiritual experience.
Was a Ouija board involved?
In most cases, the problem started with a Ouija board — or some other divinatory technique — in the hands of someone who didn’t understand the risks. (I’ve already weighed in on that subject, in other articles.)
Whatever you do, do not burn the Ouija board… or anything else that might be possessed.
Consult a demonologist about how to dispose of it, safely.
If the problem is severe
Are you afraid for your personal safety, or the victim’s? If this issue has been building for awhile, but you thought it’d go away on its own, contact a demonologist, a priest or a minister right away.
Don’t keep searching the Internet for answers. If anyone is in danger, contact someone in your community today. If they don’t have enough expertise to deal with the issue, see my Recommended Resources list, below.
If your house may have a demonic entity
If something odd is going on at your house and you feel in great danger, get out of that house.
Never stay in a situation where you feel in danger. Even if it turns out to be something normal — such as EMF issues from unshielded electrical wiring — your safety must come first.
If the problem at your house has been going on — at a low (but annoying) level — for awhile, read my book, Is My House Haunted? (That link explains what’s in the book, and you can download free pages as well.)
It covers the step-by-step measures to take first, to rule out normal explanations for your problems. Then, if it’s a paranormal issue, I explain what to do next.
Possessions are rare
Remember, the answer to strange behavior — especially sudden and dramatic personality changes — is rarely anything demonic.
However, if you aren’t sure, it’s smart to contact someone who will know the questions to ask to determine your level of danger.
Recommended resources
I recommend* only a few demonologists and exorcists with whom I’ve worked in the past:
John Zaffis – http://www.JohnZaffis.com and PRSNE (203) 375-6083
Father Andrew Calder – http://www.myspace.com/andrewcalder
NEAR – http://www.nearparanormal.com/
Also, if you might be dealing with a poltergeist rather than a demon, and especially if a teen or a child is involved, contact Peter Haviland. He travels to meet with clients, and is based in Texas. Lone Star Spirits – http://www.lonestarspirits.org/
*I’m sure there are other excellent professionals in this field. I simply cannot recommend people I don’t know in real life, and haven’t worked with in the context of demons and dark entities.
Related articles
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Very good information. I just thought I’d throw up another article about ‘Metaphysical Remediation’ that you may find interesting. It’s written by a member of my team, we’re NYS certified social-sciences researchers with degrees including Anthropology and Psychology. Give it a check, site is new the firm is old.
http://www.nyshadowchasers.com/articles.html
plz if any1 need help do contact me.if some1 in ur family or ur house is haunted or possessed i can help u.free of cost. contact me [edited] i will love to help
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Hello, Fiona.
I trust John Zaffis is to be a very good investigator. I believe this. I just seen the trailer “The Haunting in CT”
which is based on a true case he worked on. I haven’t seen the full movie, yet.
My question is this. I know its based on a true story, but how much? Is there some or most not quite true just to make the movie more frightening?
After watching just a little bit, that nearly made me quit being a paranormal investigator.
Please let me know what you’re insight is on this.
I trust everything you tell me.
Thanks, Fiona.
Hi Rich,
Thanks for the compliments!
John Zaffis is a good friend, and I trust him. However, I can’t speak for him, so this is simply my opinion based on what I’ve seen and heard about the CT case and about demons in general.
There are two productions based on the actual CT case. One is the TV show, “A Haunting in CT” and the other is the movie, “The Haunting in CT.”
As I understand it, the TV show is mostly based on fact. The movie… well, it’s a movie, very loosely based on what happened. John’s character was turned into a priest, I think.
So, don’t let the movie alarm you. It’s entertainment for some (not for me) who think that sort of thing is fun to watch. I’m pretty sure it was intended to be a “good” scary movie, not even vaguely resembling a documentary.
The TV show is worth seeing. So are John’s presentations about his work.
If you’ve read my oldest articles, you know that I didn’t believe in demons. Demons… they just didn’t fit with my views.
Then, one of my investigators died suddenly after visiting a cemetery where she encountered something that… well, it wasn’t a ghost and it seemed to follow her home. That’s covered in my articles about Vale End Cemetery in Wilton, NH.
After that, I took demons (whatever they really are) more seriously.
John and I regularly speak at the same events, so I’ve seen his presentations several times. Each time, I take another step back from this field in general. What he deals with… that’s not fun and it’s not at all what I got into this for.
It’s one reason why I’ve shifted my emphasis away from haunted houses, and towards more R&D work… finding patterns that predict paranormal activity, and some of the tools we can use to measure what’s going on there.
We need to get a handle on what it is we’re witnessing at “haunted” locations. Our personal safety could be very much at risk.
I’m not sure how much our belief in things (in quantum terms: the effect of the observer) creates what’s going on in our world. The added emphasis on demons in TV shows… it seems to have opened some kind of door that’s led to more demon reports. Since I don’t work with demon cases, I don’t know how many are real and increasing cases, how many are the paranormal version of hypochondria, and how many are demonic issues that people previously thought were simply cases of insanity.
All in all, I think it’s vital for people to understand the risks involved in this kind of work. Ghosts, parallel worlds, etc… that’s one thing. Something that can take over a person’s body — with who-knows-what going on regarding the soul/spirit — that’s dangerous stuff.
It puts all of us in a difficult position. We need answers, and the only way we’ll find them is through research. However, we have to be very, very careful about spotting dangers and immediately shifting those cases to people who know what they’re doing if it’s a demonic case… people like John Zaffis.
Thanks for asking. I should probably rewrite this as an article, where more people will see it.
This is an issue that I think we need to be very aware of, and take appropriate precautions.
Sincerely,
Fiona
If you have possessed or question you can feel free to email me. serious people only