Exorcism
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From the Case Files of Steven LaChance It was years after I left the Screaming House when I encountered one of the most intense cases outside of my own personal experiences. It was autumn, and I was called to a home in Southeast Missouri. Through conversations with the homeowner, I suspected it was most likely…
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Some legends refuse to stay buried. There are places in this world where history and legend become so intertwined that separating fact from fiction is nearly impossible. Cartagena, Spain, is one of those places. Hidden among its centuries of history is a disturbing tale involving a mysterious coffin, unexplained deaths, a Serbian aristocrat, and a…
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You know what aggravates me? I mean, can I talk openly with you all without someone going off the deep end because they accidentally recognize themselves in what I’m about to say? I hope so because you know me. I’m going to say it anyway, and preferably before my coffee gets cold. I’m tired of…
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The 1949 St. Louis exorcism is one of the most documented and debated cases of possession in American history. It is the case that inspired The Exorcist, but most of what people think they know comes from film, not from the actual accounts. When you go back to Father Bishop’s diary and read what was…
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“He turns; I can see his frontal torso in the light. It’s covered in blood. Is he looking at me? The room begins to spin. The sound of his desperation matches the tempo of his hands scrubbing his body. The room keeps spinning and spinning. I still feel his eyes on me. I can’t breathe.…
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I heard a quote once that described a haunted house as one that had gone insane. That made a strange kind of sense to me. The idea that a house could harbor something hidden inside it, a kind of internal system that carries something through its walls and floors like a disease. That is what…
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Twenty five years ago I stepped into a haunted house. Back then it was just my home. My family and I were living there and trying to figure out what was happening around us. Those were frightening months. Anyone who has lived through something like that knows how it gets into your head. Even when…
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Every once in a while I stop and look at two books sitting on my shelf. The Uninvited and The Architecture of Shadows. They were written many years apart, but in a strange way they belong to the same story. The Uninvited was the beginning of everything for me. It tells the story of what…
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When I wrote The Uninvited about the Screaming House, I wanted to reach the people who might be living through something similar. I wanted them to know they were not alone. I have been doing this work for a long time. But I have never gathered what I have learned into one place before. For…
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A question that comes up often is how to protect yourself from negative paranormal energy. This deserves a thoughtful answer, not a dramatic one. I do not start from the assumption that something is “negative paranormal energy.” That does not mean I dismiss people’s experiences. It means I begin with discernment instead of fear. A…
