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Possession: A Girls Story of Demonic attachment
- Melissa Dawn
- Nov 7, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 16, 2023
This article is also available as an audio podcast here.
It's the 1960s, and a young girl of faith has an experience that will change her life and result in a demon entity following her.
Welcome to The Ghostly Archives
Today, we are covering a story about a demonic attachment that began to follow a devout catholic girl when she had a bizarre experience one Sunday after Church, but first, let's go over the basics of demonic possession and exorcism that the Catholic Church believes and follows.
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First Things First: What is a Demon?
Did you know that the word "Possesses", possesses more S's than any other word in the English language? The great and late director William Friedkin pointed this out in the documentary "Leap of Faith," which examined the brilliant film The Exorcist that Friedkin made in 1973. Possession of a human is the ultimate goal of a demon, so it is essential to start by examining what a demon is and why it seeks to possess a human being.
"In Christian tradition, demons are fallen angels with the same characteristics as their good angel counterparts: spirituality, immutability, and immortality. They are not omniscient, but each one has a specific knowledge (sometimes on more than one subject). Their power is limited to that which God allows, so they are not omnipotent. No reference is made to omnipresence, so it is unclear if they can be in different places simultaneously. Still, according to the tradition of the medieval witches' Sabbath, two conclusions can be reached: either the Devil can be in different places simultaneously, or he sends an emissary in his name." Wikipedia
The fallen Angel that leads them all, of course, is Satan, who was known as Lucifer before God dispelled him to the bowels of Hell. What was his sin? To be prideful, attempt to become God, refuse to serve humankind, and wage a war against God. Lucifer convinced a third of the Angels to side with him against God, and so they, too, were expelled to Hell along with their dark king, Satan. Before his fall, Lucifer was at the top of the hierarchy of Angels; some parts of scripture (Ezekiel 28) claim that Lucifer was a Cherub, while others reference him as a Seraphim, which is at the top of the hierarchy. Below is an image of the nine choirs of Angels for a visual reference.
Why Do Demons Want To Possess Us?
The notion is straightforward. Demons are bitter and resent God's love of humans. Demons resent that we are made in the image of God. They resent that they cannot have a physical body, and most of all, they resent God himself. Possession is a demon's way of entering God's creation and leading that human astray so they can take more of us away from God's light. You know the saying "misery loves company"? Well, with demons under the command of Satan, this gets to the jest of it. The more they can lead away from Heaven, the more they believe they strike at God. However, as much as demons may hate humans, they hate themselves and each other even more. They are not omnipotent, nor are they omnipresent the way God is. Therefore, demons use trickery and lies mixed with truth and focus on our weaknesses to fool us against God.
pos·ses·sion. /pəˈzeSH(ə)n/ noun
the state of having, owning, or controlling something.
Exorcism & The Process of Demonic Infestation
I'm not a priest, nor have I studied Theology; therefore, I won't go into exorcism rites at any great length here, but what I will do is let you know the stages a demon will take on its way to full-on possession of a human being. Before I do, it's important to note, as I have heard priests like Father Lampert say, that a demon can never possess your soul. Why? Because you don't own your soul. God does. But a demon can create an abundance of emotional, psychological, and physical turmoil for you in the meantime. A demon operates from a dimension of nonphysical and often uses trauma and certain activities as an entryway into your environment and mind. It will happen in this process:
Stage one: Infestation
Stage two: Oppression
Stage three: Obsession
Stage four: Full-on Possession
Infestation is usually marked by what one might call paranormal phenomena. Knocks and bangs around the house, items moving on their own, items going missing, electronics constantly breaking for no reason. You can even start to see strange apparitions or feel a sense of dread. Often, the person of focus has been unwittingly participating in activities like using Ouija Boards, drugs, and abusive relationships, amongst many other elements, that allow the entryway for infestation to begin. Infestation is meant to frighten humans and give the demon more leeway for the next step.
Oppression occurs once the demon has instilled enough fear at the first stage, and they gain more power. They begin to oppress the thoughts and body of the individual slowly. You may see an increase in depression and anxiety in individuals. Their personality might start to slowly change to someone who is not recognizable. They may begin to hear voices telling them to do terrible things. Note, depression will not be explained by ordinary things, like Seasonal Affective Disorder, or a sudden life change like moving. It will be seemingly out of nowhere. Usually, if the person undergoes a medical exam, all will appear healthy. The oppression stage is meant to break down the person for further control.
Obsession is not often mentioned, but usually, people will become obsessed with dark films and dark activities, and they may even begin to stalk individuals. It is a small step just before full-on possession. Also, other people in the household might begin to see strange shadow people, and that individual might start to have sleep paralysis or The Old Hag syndrome.
Full-on possession means that the person, when possessed, is taken over by the demonic entity or entities. I hear they sometimes play tag team when enveloping a human being. The person will speak in tongues and languages they never knew. Display knowledge of information that could never be available to them have disfiguration of the body and have sudden cuts and scaring appear and disappear. Writing forms on the skin will sometimes occur, foul odors coming from the individual, foul language being used, objects being hurled as weapons, and in extreme cases, the individual will experience levitation. Many will stop eating and may even participate in self-harm or mutilation.
The earlier one cuts off the original activities and goes for help, the better. I'm not a priest, so you would have to contact one, and they will probably start with a complete psychological and medical evaluation before they even consider exorcism rites. Remember, those Angels in the lower hierarchy are there to help you!!
The Story:
It was the 1970s, and Deanie had moved into an old Victorian flat and regularly visited her neighbor for tea, talk, and a cigarette. On this one particular day, Deanie begins to tell the young neighbor that she has a dark entity that follows her. The declaration is met with skepticism and interest, so the young neighbor tells her to continue the story.
Deanie was raised a strict Catholic and attended Church regularly. When she was a teenager, she came home on a Sunday after service feeling exhausted and decided to have an afternoon nap. During her nap, Deanie began to have a terrifying dream that a very close friend was in a car accident and died. She awoke from the dream feeling very disturbed. She tried to shake it off as just a silly dream, but it would stay impressed in her mind. Eventually, as a few days passed and nothing happened, she began to forget the nightmare and get on with everyday life. However, about a week later, on yet another Sunday, Deanie received the news that her friend had indeed just died in a fatal car accident.
Deanie was beside herself with grief, and she felt fear that she had seen the events in a dream, almost prophetically. It was something that didn't mesh with her religious teachings. In her grieving, Deanie exclaimed to her young listener; it was at this time that she began to feel the presence of something in her bedroom. Initially, she felt a feeling of comfort, as if whatever it was was alleviating her pain. It told her future scenarios more often to be careful of certain events. But soon, the presence began to become darker. They whispered terrible words in her ear, telling her bad things about herself. Her life began to spiral into a bleak depression, and she felt like this entity followed her around everywhere, draining her energy and exhausting her. Eventually, she stopped attending Church with her family and went into adulthood to lead a life of abusive relationships and multiple marriages.
Deanie stopped her story and looked up at her young neighbor, sitting with a look of bewilderment. Deanie sipped on her tea and took a puff of her cigarette, paused, and then told her neighbor, "I think it's here right now watching us." As you can imagine, that did not sit well with the young girl, and as the story was related to me, the young girl could feel a change in the room. She looked to the back porch door and could sense something standing there, watching and breathing. The girl became upset and quickly left to get her mother. She brought her mother back down to Dean's apartment, and they related the story to her. To make them feel better, the mother replicated a casting out of the spirit and demanded it to leave. It satisfied both Deanie and the young teen for the time.
That evening, the young teen was up in her flat in her bedroom trying to sleep when suddenly she felt someone was in her room. She looked but could see nothing, so she returned to sleep. Then, the young girl felt as if someone had come up to her and was trying to sit on the bed. She looked again and could see the impression as if someone was sitting right beside her. She started to scream for her father, but it was as if no one could hear her. After a few seconds more of terror, she finally got the courage to jump out of bed and run out to the living room, where her father was relaxing watching T.V. She screamed at him hysterically for not helping her when she screamed, but he said he hadn't heard a thing. She explained her story, but her father just thought she was dreaming. But she knew it was Deanie's entity coming down to bother her. Several other creepy instances would happen in that young girl's flat, and then it seemed to fade away.
The girl eventually moved out of her parent's house and to a city far away. A few years later, she returned, pregnant and living with her parents. Deanie had since moved out, but she was able to contact her about being her baby's godmother for baptism. Deanie exclaimed that, indeed, her entity still showed up from time to time, but it would seem that it was more potent at points of severe challenge or trauma in life. After this, the two parted ways in their life paths, and we assume that Deanie still has the entity around to this day.
Do Demons Even Exist?
We have to ask ourselves, "Do demons even exist"?, it's an excellent question to ask as I have just told you a story where someone has had a dream that turned out to be prophetic, and for whatever reason, Deanie is exposed to some force that acted helpful at first, and then it switched. I call that the Demonic Bait n Switch technique, where one is offered something of a positive value, and then the demon switches to an abusive mode. Narcissistic Personality Disordered people do this all the time.
One could argue that Deanie had "Catholic Guilt," or she had some shame, or she could have made it all up out of guilt over her friend's death. However, I think something very real happened here. Deanie believed it wholeheartedly, and apparently, other people had witnessed events and experiences related to her. So I think it's important to understand what is going on. In this case, the demon seems to be confined to infestation and oppression as far as we know. I don't have any reports of total obsession or possession. But that doesn't mean it didn't ever happen.
Deanie's story also brings up the question of the possibility of entire families having demonic attachments, or it is an even bigger picture where we should question the culture at large. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of sexual revolution and significant cultural change. Could our society, out of its arrogance, play host to the acceptance of demons? The old saying goes: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince us he doesn't exist. So, is our culture at large now infested by demons they are being controlled by? When you look out on the social landscape today, the moral decay would certainly make Satan very pleased.
Focus On the Light
We've traversed through the somewhat darker subject of demonic possession in this article and often view them as solid and robust. Rarely do we realize how weak and powerless they are, which is why they are creating all this havoc. You know they have shunned God and the light out of ego, just as our culture has. You'll probably benefit more from focusing on Jesus and God and their love than you ever will concentrate on the darkness of demons. A legitimate priest knows that it is not he who rids the demon from the possessed, but the love and power of Jesus and God the Father who does so. I know focusing on the love of God can be hard when you've had trauma; believe me, I know! But it is the key to a healthy, stable life that can ward off these dark creatures.
References:
Wikipedia: https://tinyurl.com/bdwucajw
Documentary: Leap of Faith Documentary on Shudder
New Advent Catholic Dictionary: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04710a.htm
Book: Exorcism: The Battle Against Satan and His Demons by Father Vincent Lampert
9 Choirs of Angels Hierarchy Infographic: https://soulpainter.com/2015/09/explanation-and-hierarchy-of-the-9-choirs-of-angels-infographic/
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