How many people do you know that have witnessed an actual exorcism? I have, and I have no reason to lie.
This was back in the day, I’m thinking ’91. I would have been a spritely, scrawny 15 years of age. Living under the same roof was my mutha, one of my sisters (the other was away at University) and a fellow grade niner we will call Dante. Only fictional out of respect for him. My mother had sort of taken him in for a while as he was in foster care but in a bad way. Honestly, I never cared for the guy. Everyone at school thought the same of him, as well. Unfortunate but just how it was.
First of all, throw out any and all visions coming to mind of the Hollywood movies pertaining to an exorcism. There was no Paranormal Activity style lead up to the occasion. The lights wouldn’t flicker. He wouldn’t sleep in a coffin and drink blood. Wait a minute, I’m confusing demons and vampires again.
And during said exorcism, there was no crucifix burning into foreheads. People weren’t tossed like dolls around the room. His head didn’t spin 360 degrees and I can assure you that green pea soup did not erupt from his stomach. What I saw, the demons were restrained, so I guess wild theatrics might have ensued if that was not the case.
It came to light that Dante, my mother or a family pastor believed that Dante was in fact the host of demons. The Pastor had been trained in dealing with this sort of thing so we were apparently in good hands. Knowledgeable hands. But seeing what I saw, knowledgeable or not, was very scary.
The night had come for it to go down. A somber, quiet kind of night, outside only. I remember it was Dante to the left of me in a chair then the pastor and my mom on a loveseat. I was on the other couch facing them all, as though the one chosen witness to watch a little bit of hell come to life.
It was a lengthy process. Hours and hours, I recall. Lots of conversing between the pastor and Dante, normal like. Lots of Bible reading by the pastor. Then the pastor went in for what we were there for.
He began calling forth any and all demons, under the power and the blood of Jesus Christ. This process took a while and nothing seemed to be happening. More Bible reading and prayer. Then more interrogating and questioning.
Then something broke. Dante’s entire countenance shifted as did his body. Dante was no longer there. His eyes darkened. His mouth sneered and teeth were bared, almost gnashing. The pastor spoke to this emerging creature, demanding its name. It wouldn’t respond at first. The pastor began praying and called for this unholy spirit to be bound by chains in the name of Jesus Christ.
Dante, or who ever was running the show at this point, could not move his body or limbs, just his head and face. And he did a lot of that. These jerky head movements and facial contortions were the stuff that would make a young girl cry. I remember saying to myself, over and over…this is real.
Details, I can’t supply you with a lot. I do recall the demon finally gave up his name. And through loud prayer and the name of Jesus repeatedly, the spirit chose to flee back to hell. But that wasn’t the end of it. Upon further speaking to the now returned Dante, who seemed exhausted and spent, the pastor dug a bit deeper only to discover another demon residing inside.
The pastor, taking into account the late hour and the weakened state Dante was in, decided to call it a night and resume the following evening. So we reconvened and basically the same process, though faster in calling up the remaining evil spirit. I remember similar facial contortions and with this one a lower, guttural voice. Very angry. Very evil. And also bound in spiritual chains, thank God.
This one didn’t want to leave. He used things against Dante, spoke lies. The pastor gagged him spiritually at one point and in the end, the ancient demon left Dante and the exorcism was complete. No, I didn’t see any spirit leaving through the wall or up through the ceiling.
I know what I witnessed was real. I believe there is demonic activity all around us, every single day. And some people that have opened doors to either the occult or to Satanism have made a gateway for demons to enter them. I believe God has made it that we are unable to see these demons (and angels equally, which are also everywhere, every day) because it is too much for us to handle as humans. And I’m okay with that.