Paranormal Intruder

by Caroline Mitchell

  Neil nodded, ‘It’s a bit harsh though, turning people away if they don’t follow their beliefs.’

  ‘I know, I thought the same. Still, they did their best to help us,’ I yawned, leaning back in my seat. Neil focused on the road, and we drove in silence. I closed my eyes, wondering if I had dreamt the whole thing.

  The next day my work colleague Tracey asked how my day off had been. I smiled. ‘Let me put it like this. Most couples go out for a curry on their days off, we went out for an exorcism.’ I could not help but laugh. Strange was becoming our new normal. Still, I knew that as long as I had the support of my friends, I would get through it.

  A few weeks later I got back in touch with the priests. The exorcism helped, but the entity was still in our lives. They arranged to attend our house. I felt immensely grateful they were still on board, and a time was arranged. Mike had been in touch and asked if he could attend. I was not so sure. Mike had been very against the idea of us having an exorcism, but changed his mind after emailing Father Hill. Despite their communications, I did not think the priests would appreciate an audience. Neil arranged for Lee, Mark and Chris to attend as they were also heavily involved.

  The priests arrived mid morning, bringing two helpers. I recognised Mary, who was dressed in pastels and wore a bright gold cross around her neck. The second lady was introduced as *Noreen. The elderly lady had a gentle handshake and a kind face.

  Our introductions were cut short as Father Rafael entered the room, obviously displeased. He grimaced at the sight of our guests. ‘I must say, I was not expecting all these people to be here,’ he said, stiffly.

  Neil reasoned that everybody present was key to what occurred, particularly Lee. Father Rafael did not agree, and a disagreement ensued. As they reasoned back and forth on who should be present, nobody seemed to notice Mary, who was gasping for breath as she clutched a hand to her chest.

  ‘Are you alright?’ I asked.

  ‘I cannot stay here,’ she panted, as her eyes darted towards the door.

  Father Hill finished putting his hand through the sleeve of his robes and took her arm in concern. ‘Mary,’ he began to say.

  ‘There’s an evil presence, I cannot stay in this house!’ she screamed and bolted out the front door. I watched through our front window as Mary ran down the road with Father Hill chasing after her, his clerical clothing billowing in the breeze. The neighbours have seen everything, police, fire engines, investigators and now priests running out of this house. What next? I thought, hoping Mary would return.

  A few minutes later Mary returned with a breathless Father Hill, thanks to some calming words. It was decided that Lee, Chris, and Mark could be present but Mike and his co-investigator John could not as they were not Catholics. Mike had recently converted to the Muslim faith, and did not see any problem as he reasoned that he would not interfere. But Father Rafael was adamant. He would not stay and perform an exorcism while Mike and John were present. The two men reluctantly walked outside as fresh embarrassment washed over me. It was not a good start. I offered refreshments, but the group was keen to get things underway.

  They set up an altar in the dining room, and we all stood around them, our heads bowed in respect. They began by tracing the sign of the cross over everyone present. Holy water was sprinkled as prayers were said. The words were similar to those spoken at the vestry. The litany of the saints followed as each saint was called upon and we responded, ‘pray for us’ in return. The litany progressed to Father Hill reciting the antiphon, ‘Do not keep in mind, o Lord, our offences or those of our parents, nor take vengeance on our sins.’ As the priest invoked the help of God, his angels and the saints, I half hoped the entity would show itself. Perhaps then they could see what we were dealing with, and banish it from our lives forever. We recited the Lord’s Prayer, and the priests continued to read many psalms.

  Father Rafael’s voice took on a commanding tone as he spoke directly to the ‘demon’. ‘I command you, unclean spirit, whoever you are, along with all your minions now attacking this servant of God, by the mysteries of the incarnation, passion, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the descent of the Holy Spirit, by the coming of our Lord for judgement, that you tell me by some sign your name, and the day and hour of your departure, I command you, moreover to obey me by the letter, I who am a minister of God, despite my unworthiness, nor shall you be emboldened to harm in any way this creature of God, or the bystanders or their possessions.’

  I glanced at Mary. She was standing halfway through the kitchen and dining room while I stood across from her. Father Rafael began blessing water and salt on the dining room table as Mary swayed on her feet. She uttered a small gasp as she wobbled and fell onto the hard tiled floor. The priests carried on, ignoring the fact she appeared to have fainted and was emitting small moans. I wondered why nobody was helping her. Cautiously, I interrupted the prayers and whispered to Father Hill, ‘Is she alright? Does she need help?’

  Father Hill kept his gaze firmly fixed on his Bible, breaking his prayer only to whisper, ‘Leave her, she’ll be alright.’

  Noreen crouched down to Mary and held her hand. She nodded to reassure me, and the prayers carried on.

  I shot a look at Neil and shrugged in return. After five minutes Mary recovered and took her place within the group. I quietly asked if she was all right and she whispered softly that she had been ‘under attack.’

  A little while later, two chairs were brought into the living room side by side, and Neil and I were asked to sit on them.

  ‘How do you feel?’ the priests asked Neil.

  He responded by rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Just a strong burning feeling on my back when you were praying, nothing else.’

  The priests stood behind us and placed their hands on our heads. I strained to listen as I heard Father Rafael whisper to Father Hill, ‘Be careful, we may have to restrain Neil.’ My pulse quickened, not least out of concern for Father Rafael; he was quite short and thin, I could not imagine how he would manage to restrain Neil if the entity decided to become violent through him.

  I need not have worried. Neil did not move. Further prayers were administered and they spoke in tongues, whispering unknown syllables in prayer.

  I tried hard to concentrate, but after a while my mind began to wander. I listened to the cars outside, driving past our house. Little do they know what’s taking place in the ordinary looking house at the side of the road. The priests moved on to praying in the garden and in every room throughout the house. They ended the session by blessing the car on our drive.

  As they flicked the holy water over the bonnet of the car, I had another what must the neighbours be thinking moment, but consoled myself that at least they were being thorough. Mike and John were allowed back inside, and Neil and I thanked the priests and their helpers for their time. They refused to accept any payment after spending the entire morning with us. I hoped they had been successful in their mission. If the exorcism did not work, then I did not know what would.

  Neil apologised to Mike that he was not allowed to witness proceedings. Mike took it with grace and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Don’t worry about it mate, it’s not your fault.’ As Mike walked inside he whispered something to Neil that chilled me to the bone. ‘To be honest mate, I think it was outside with us most of the time, the amount of banging against your fence and the stones being thrown… well, I think he was just biding his time.’

  Neil

  My life is separated into two parts, before the entity and afterwards. Everything I thought I knew about life changed from that day. I now know there is so much more to our existence than we can ever imagine. Death does not frighten me anymore. People can come up with all the theories they want, but I know whatever attacked me was a real being, with a separate intelligence and personality. I’ve felt its fingers dig into me, I’ve heard its voice and I have smelt its presence. It was very strong, manipulative, had a brilliant sense of humor, capable of great cr
uelty, and had its own agenda.

  We waited for repercussions after the exorcism, but nothing happened. Still, I sensed the presence lurking in the background. The gaps between activity grew longer as it seemed to lose momentum. The entity gave one final display of strength before it left the pub for good. It had been a very active night, and I recall hearing it in the background during a telephone conversation with Mike. I went outside with Lee for a cigarette, holding my voice recorder. Without warning, the aluminum garden chairs screeched towards me, and suddenly, several of them were thrown in my direction, all at once. I jumped out of the way and grabbed for my voice recorder, which fell on the floor. When I played it back, the gravelly voice said, ‘I’m going to fucking get you if it’s the last thing I do.’

  Lee moved away and gradually we lost touch. We knew it was for the best, after everything that happened, I understood why he would want to move on with his life. Unless you are attacked by something you cannot see or understand, then you cannot truly appreciate just how frightening it is.

  I am very grateful for the friends and family that have stuck by me when I was at my lowest. I know it did not just affect me, but everyone around me. Having said that, there are times I have felt very alone. All I have ever wanted is answers. I nearly drove myself mad trying to find them, and it caused a lot of friction in my family. It became addictive. No matter how much communication I had with the entity, it was one step forward and two steps back. I now realise it never intended on giving us answers, and was only stringing us along until the next big thing, when our lives would be put in danger. You have got to know when to walk away from something like this, but it’s difficult.

  I don’t think I will ever be fully free, but we have managed to get to a point where we are safe, and for that I am very grateful. We still have odd occurrences, but after three years we have learned to cope.

  I know some people will doubt us, or say we are making it all up. It’s hard coming out to a world not fully open to the possibilities. But it’s for this very reason that our story needs to be told. People need to know this sort of thing happens to ordinary people, just like us. I hope that by getting out story out there, people will gain a greater knowledge of the paranormal and develop a better understanding when it comes to helping innocent victims.

  A last word of warning. Don’t dabble. Don’t play with Ouija boards, and don’t invite anything into your life because it’s fun at the time, as once you open that door it may never close again.

  Caroline

  I’ve always been told I have a way with words, but I never imagined I would express them in this way. A year after it all begun, Neil asked me if I would write a book about our experiences. I was desperately trying to block everything paranormal out of my consciousness, and said no. He never gave up asking, and after a few months I began to put a rough draft together. When the entity became active I hid the draft away. When it stopped, I picked it up again. One night I was writing a chapter when an icy cold presence stood behind me. It travelled from my back, to over my hands as I typed. I tried to shake it off and put it down to an overactive imagination, but when Neil came in, he noticed his handheld recorder had been switched on by itself. He played it back to reveal a loud growl, obviously directed towards me. I put the manuscript away for a long time after that.

  I’m glad I waited. I felt a lot stronger when I picked it up again, and writing our story was a way of retaliation. I felt angry our family had been put through so much stress and disruption, not to mention the arguments it caused within our family unit. I am happy to say we have come out of it a lot stronger as a result.

  The exorcism became a major turning point for us. Instead of feeling a heavy presence in the house I felt peace. I knew we were not alone, but there was something in the air, something good and pure that reassured me. It’s a beautiful energy, and has been with me ever since.

  Writing this book has not been easy. Much of the dialogue in the pub is taken directly from voice recordings Neil accumulated on his recorder. So much has happened over the last three years, I did not want to list every movement, every item thrown, or every strange phone call. A list of hundreds of occurrences would only serve to bore; therefore I tried to keep the story as interesting as possible by including the most memorable events. I know this approach may disappoint those wishing to read the account on an evidential basis, but I am confident our investigator Mike Hallowell has that side of it in hand. He has been thorough with regards collaborating evidence from the beginning, and I am sure his findings will be of great fascination for many.

  The ‘entity’s’ true identity is open to interpretation, and it has been given many different labels from people depending on their religion and belief system. We have never claimed to know what it is, but it is beyond the comprehension of many.

  I am not writing this story to frighten people, although I assume some will find it disturbing. I write it in the hope that it will provide comfort to those who have experienced strange occurrences in their own lives, and I would like them to know they are not alone. I will never forget the feeling of feeling so desperate, so desolate as a family with nowhere to turn. There were times when I honestly believed it would not stop until it possessed my husband or ended his life. Writing about those experiences has been heart-wrenching for me, and there is many a chapter in this book I have found difficult to pen, due to the emotions it rekindled.

  There were times when I felt like holding back information as I knew it would be deemed as ‘too far fetched’ or ‘unbelievable’ by many. Neil encouraged me to tell the whole story, and looking back now, I agree it was the right thing to do. It is my greatest wish that victims of paranormal attack are treated with the respect and compassion they deserve, and that by writing this book, it will encourage others to come forward and share their stories also.

  Mark Coughlan

  When Neil first called to say he was being haunted, I just thought, ‘Here we go, what’s he up to now?’ I thought he was playing some kind of a prank on me, and it just seemed too far-fetched to believe. I guess the first time he called, he wasn’t that worried, so I didn’t think much of it.

  The next time he telephoned, he sounded really scared. This made me listen. Each time he became more and more frightened, and when he mentioned the knife I thought ‘This is serious.’ Strangely enough, I remember feeling jealous as he was getting to experience all these amazing things and I wasn’t. Even though it sounded frightening, it was something out of this world too. I wanted to see it for myself. I drove from London to Neil’s house that night, and my whole perspective on life changed from the moment I experienced it for myself.

  Of course, I was faced with the same problem when I returned home as I tried to explain it to my wife, Kirsty. Small things happened in my house after I’d been to see Neil, or when things were very active. Kirsty hated it, and did not want to talk about it. My two daughters were very frightened of it all. Once, when we visited Neil’s house something growled in my youngest daughter’s ear. It left her in tears and she hasn’t been back there since. She wasn’t imagining it as her grandfather took me to the side and said he heard it too. Another time they received calls on their mobile phones with weird noises in the background. I remember them screaming at me, ‘Why are you bringing this thing into our house?’

  Sometimes I stayed over for a vigil with Mike and the others. I hated the feeling of walking towards a room and not knowing what was inside. I’d hear banging noises inside when I knew there was no one in there. I remember my heart pounding as I walked towards the door. Once I’d opened it and turned on the light, it would be OK. It was just the obstacle of the door that was frightening, not knowing what was behind it. I also remember one night we all walked up the stairs to investigate, holding on to each other’s shirts, one in front of the other, in case something bad happened. I could not put into words just how loud those bangs and crashes were, and how it made us feel. We never knew what to expect next.

 
My friends have also been affected. One of my friends was fascinated by the case and used to ask me about it all the time. He stopped asking me after he found his toilet completely blocked by clothes, which he later found in his U-bend.

  We have only received a tiny taste of what Neil has been through. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and it’s been amazing. When things started happening down the pub it seemed jokey, and acted like one of his mates. I warned Neil he was not their friend, and was just luring them into a false sense of security until the next big thing happened. They were becoming too complacent, and I was very worried about him. When he got attacked in the car I told him enough was enough, and brought him to the priest. You could really see how it was affecting his health; it was taking over his life.

  I don’t think the priests wanted me present at the exorcism, and I found them to be very judgmental. They were very guarded about the ritual, but I had to be there for Neil in case anything bad happened. I remember feeling like the air had been sucked out of the room, and I was relieved when it was over. We’ve had some weird things happen since then, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was. Neil seems to be coping well with it now, but I’m always wary, I don’t think you can ever fully relax.

  Tracey Greenwood

  I’ve known Caroline for several years in my capacity as a police officer. I had noticed that she was not herself long before she told me about the problems in her home. We began working together full time when she mentioned things happening in the pub. I found it fascinating and told her I would be delighted to attend.

  At first everything was quiet, but we were having a nice night so it didn’t bother me if nothing happened. Neil and Caroline were there, along with Lee and his new girlfriend.

  I could not believe my eyes when the pub table began to move by itself. It was small movements first, like vibrations, and then it grew stronger, which was frightening at times. I felt a coldness come over me, although I tried not to get too carried away. I always checked that everyone’s hands and feet were away from the table when it moved, and could not see any other explanation for the activity, other than paranormal. At times, it felt as if someone was hitting the top of the table with their fists. We drew a lot of attention as I noticed even the landlord was watching us through his indoor CCTV.