If You've Been Saved - Can You be Affected by Demons?

This has been a tough topic for me - the idea that if you've been Saved, or Baptized or Christened, can you be affected by demons? More to the point, can you be possessed by demons? If you've been saved - that is.

My personal take on this situation is a bit different than many religious leaders would have you believe, and this might be a short post because I'm a bit afraid of angering anyone. So, let me say this before anything else: We've discussed my religious standing. We've also discussed my spiritual standing. I do not belong to any organized religion, but I was married Lutheran, and that was where our Pastor felt that I was just fine to take communion - even though I have never been baptized. In his eyes, I had come as close to being saved as a person can come, and it was good enough for him.

Meet Anneliese Michel - pretty girl, right?
Photo cred: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneliese_Michel

The Nightmare Before Christmas Ghost - Yeah, He's Been Here

I've been gone forever - but in fairness - I am extremely superstitious so October was a bit scary to be talking about these things for me - and, well... Work (the paying kind) calls. I really don't want this to be just another creepy ghost story website - because it's not. It's life. Real life - and it's not just real life for me. Lots of people deal with this stuff all the time. But we'll talk about that another day. For now... Let's talk about the Nightmare Before Christmas Ghost that I encountered.

Is All this Demon Stuff for Real?

So, I've been writing all this stuff about our real demon haunting. I've been discussing all the things that have happened to us, and you know - it's not really all that scary movie stuff. In fact, from what I understand, lots of scary, real demon stuff isn't really as jump out of your seat scary as you think. In short - life is not a scary movie.

Found it on Pinterest and it comes from:
 http://paranormalcannock.blogspot.com/2013/06/demonic-black-eyed-children.html

Which brings me to the question: is this demon stuff for real? What is all this stuff about anyway? And, why is it that you can only get rid of them if you're a Christian? Or, rather, why do demons not seem to affect anyone but Christians of some kind? Is it just me? So, these are the questions that I've been searching for the answers to - and - this makes me sound like a horrible researcher, but I didn't save my sources. So - I'm winging it and telling it from memory.

The idea is to give a bit of a background, though, because a lot of this is based on faith, opinion and The Bible. I've mostly taken a bunch of information and averaged out the most common answers to gain my information. 

So, before I get into this, I feel like I need to provide some background on my personal and my family beliefs. I grew up in Northern IL. My dad and mom both grew up in Indiana. She was raised Protestant, he was Catholic. As with many Northern Midwesterners of the time, lapsed was the religion of choice, and it suited them perfectly fine.

My sister and I were going to be Baptized Catholic, but since my parents didn't want to commit to raising us Catholic exclusively, the Priest said he couldn't Baptize it. My parents simply said, "Fair enough - we'll leave it to the girls." And so it's been left.

That is not to say that my parents never introduced us to religion or God, we have spent plenty of time in church, done some time in Sunday School, and even learned the Lord's Prayer. Hey - even heathens need to fit in, right?

The point is, we're not non-believers. I am not a non-believer. I am probably one of the most spiritual people you will ever meet. I haven't read the Bible from cover to cover, but it hasn't diminished my personal belief. I would say that I'm Christian - but I'm not part of any religion. I don't like when people come knock on my door to ask me about my personal relationship with Jesus. Um... if it's PERSONAL - why would I tell a stranger about it anyway?

I do not like having bible verses shoved down my throat as an answer to a spiritual question. I want to know the why. I want to know the what. I'm faithful, but I am also a huge fan of history. I watch all the History Channel shows about biblical history. I believe that it's not inconceivable that Jesus was married. I mean, according to texts and biblical scholars, his name wasn't even Jesus, but that's not my point. 

Not sure how real this is but it is intriguing...
Found on Pinterest - here's the site:  crazyhorsesghost.hubpages.com

I'm not all about arguing. I'm about loving, and living. And letting others live. I believe that everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and that no one should ever be persecuted for being a peaceful person - no matter what they believe in. If it's not hurtful to others, leave it be.

So - you can imagine how I struggle with the whole demon thing. I used to sit there and say, "It's so stupid. Like what's the point? To make someone so sad they kill themselves?" I used to imagine a delighted little evil thing sitting there with a horrible grin. But here's the thing - they DON'T grin. Smiles of any kind indicate joy. JOY. Demons are a non-hope, non-faith, straight up despair kind of thing. There is no JOY with them. Of any kind. This is why it is their goal to overcome people.

This brings me to my next question: is it that demons only exist to Christian based religions? What do others do? Well - here's the thing... Demons don't only affect Christians, they affect other types of religions, too. Maybe Pagan religions feel that the demon is more of an out of control, misdirected elemental. Maybe Native Americans feel something similar. Maybe Jewish people believe in them, too. The point is that all religions - and even non religions struggle with demonic energy of some kind. What you call it doesn't matter; it's the fact that it is there. 

Now, here's where things get a little bit tricky. I am not a scholar of any kind. I'm a writer. I can make things up like crazy. This is all honest, though, and it's what I've managed to gather. I'm not saying I'm right. I don't know if anyone is right. I won't claim to have answers, I can only share what I have gotten from the research that I have done.

Almost all of the ways of getting rid of demons require some sort of prayer, or chant. Call it what you want; you're essentially calling on your God, or Gods or the Powers That Be to protect you. You're asking that they guide you with love. You're requesting that they surround you with the protection and guidance of their love. When I pray, I thank God for the beautiful blessings that he has given me. I ask that he surround our home and all of us with the white light of his love. 

When I bless my house, I use a prayer that I found online. My daughter does it with me, and we anoint the windows with a lovely fragranced oil that has been prayed over and blessed. I ask that nothing evil or negative be allowed to enter the sanctuary of my home.

So far it's been working. But - here's what I'm getting at: demons hate love. They cannot thrive in a world filled with love. All of the blessings I have found from any religion have to do with love. Even when you're talking about elemental spirits, the driving force for turning their will is love. 

So - is all this demon stuff real? Yes, I totally believe it is. It's complete despair. Lack of hope. When you're living love, when you're surrounding yourself with goodness and happiness, you're less likely to experience it than others with a life full of stress and negative things. 

Okay, so I started wondering, though... What about Atheists? Do they get tortured by demons? What about people that don't believe? Do they get targeted by demons? Henry (my lapsed but beautifully devout Catholic husband) says that there really is no point in demons trying to affect Atheists because they don't have the "light of God" in their lives. In short, there is no spiritual light to snuff out.

Non-believers in ghosts and the supernatural, however, may be subject to demon attacks if they believe in a higher power. 

Okay, so - here's the question - am I talking out of my butt? Lots of people think so. In fact, there was a time that I really hesitated to say anything because frankly, I know it sounds a little crazy. But, the more I talked about it - at first with those who know I'm already a little nuts - the more people believed me. 

However, if I'm nuts I guess there are a lot of others out there that are too. 

So, keep hunting - it's October afterall! Stay scared, but don't call on things you can't control. There is enough out there without bringing more here.

Thank you for reading! More soon :)

The Night I Tried to "Talk" to the "Woman in White"

So, I know that I've mentioned the notorious "Woman in White" that our house was haunted with. She had a thing for my husband, and wanted my life... Horrible you-know-what.. Turned out to be a demon. Uuugh. Who would have thought?

Not mine - but this one is courtesy of Darkdorset.co.uk

However, before I knew that, I knew that she wanted to be "friends." I knew that she followed me a lot and I thought she was protective of me. It was probably scary to most people, but to me - I don't know - it was... flattering I guess.

Some of the Scariest Moments We've Had

So, I've talked a lot about how a demonic haunting has affected me and my family, but I haven't talked so much about some of our scariest moments in this house. Sometimes, I forget that we didn't always think that we had something evil. In fact, for a long time I thought of our resident ghost as just that, a ghost. Well, okay - maybe a FEW ghosts.Since we did have ghosts of children, I wasn't totally wrong, but anyway... There were times when life got a little bit scary in the house - and guess what folks - it wasn't just at night.

So, here's a creepy. This is a lot how I used to feel. Like it was RIGHT THERE
all the time! This came off of Pinterest, so thank you to the owner!

How A Supernatural Haunting has Changed Me - And My Outlook on Life

Hi all - 

I'm going to be a little boring for this post, but I feel like it's really necessary because all the spooky stuff is a part of my haunting, but there is more to it than all that. See, having a supernatural haunting changes you on some very basic - almost primal level. It takes everything you ever thought was important and kind of flips it the cosmic middle finger. It leaves you thinking you see things in every corner everywhere. Every weird sound is suspect, and taking in the soothing peace of our home is really almost a challenge now.

I'm Irish, so this appeals to me. This was found on heavenlydivinecustomrosary.com via Pinterest

I have had people say "why don't you just move? Um... Well - I don't know about you, but I don't just have an extra $200 thousand lying around to go buy a new house. And then - we run the risk of being followed. Yeah, I'd rather skip the packing and keep battling this thing on familiar territory.

Was it All the One Bad Entity?

I have been so negligent in posting lately and I'm so sorry! I've been busy, which is an amazing turn of luck - and I believe it happened because of the cleansing. I believe that the demon - yes, I'll say it now. I'll call it what it was - the demon- was blocking our best efforts.

So, now that I've got this beautiful new stroke of luck - and lots of work - I'm still doing my thing, but I'm also going to do work. Anyway, so that was your first sidebar of the night :) I'm sure I'll have plenty more for you.

So let's get a little creepy...  I've been thinking about the demon. Okay, so first of all, IT was never a she. IT didn't know what it was like to be a SHE. However, IT was nasty - and since this is a family program, all I will say is that it had it's ways with my husband (which really scares him, so he doesn't like to talk about it). The only thing is that it wasn't like the poor guy knew - I mean the THING liked to pretend it was me.

I'm telling you, there is nothing like realizing that there is a ghost (when I thought it was a ghost) that has a thing for your husband. I remember telling people - like how do I even fight that? 

I found this one on Pinterest, and it comes from mostlyghosts.com - look closely! Kind of creepy right?

The "Lady in White"

Hi all - 

I promised I would write more about the lady in white - and the cleansing of our home, so here we go. I'm going to try to stay organized and give you this one from the beginning. Let's see how it works:

When it all started with her - IT

Now, I've mentioned what the "Lady in White" turned out to be. Most of the time lately I try not to think about it. Like I've said before - it is so, so scary. But, this particular entity had been around for more than a few years. It started after we had been living here for about two years.

One night, Henry came to bed late. I'm a big wimpo, so I'd been sleeping for at least two hours. The light on his side of the bed was on, but I distinctly remember hearing him walk into our room and get ready to go to bed. I opened my eyes and noticed a woman close to him. It was like...  Like if you're a couple, standing close. They weren't touching, but they were close. 

Intelligent Hauntings - Are they More than They Seem?

By now I've jumped all over the grid when it comes to my haunted house. You've read a lot of it, and it might seem kind of... What am I looking for? Banal? Maybe. A lot of it has been. You know, little things here and there, but for the past almost six years, there has been a general theme to our lives: bad luck, more bad luck, and more bad luck on top of it.

In fact, for most of the time we've lived here, we have had nothing but bad luck. Job loss, money issues, drug problems with a kid, flooding that resulting in reduced income... The list goes on and on.

Not mine, but so creepy close...
Courtesy of http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f22/real-ghost-picture-145921/   via Pinterest

Evil Intent - Evil Entity

I've been busy, and since the ghosts have been relatively quiet for a while, I haven't really talked much about them. My last post talked about how our wonderful Empath friend (I call her a friend - I hope she would say the same!) was coming to visit last Saturday. Unfortunately, she was not able to make it then, but she was able to come on Saturday night.

I talked about the "Woman in white," in our home a little bit during the last post, and worried that she might actually be having a negative influence on our lives. When I emailed Tammie about it, she felt that she needed to come see us. I am so glad she did, because without getting too into detail, let me just say that my greatest fears were confirmed. 

I am going to write an entire post on the "Woman in white" - and the rest of our spirits, but the long and the short of it is that last night we did a cleansing on our home. Our "Lady in White" turned out not to be a lady at all.

No Answers Yet...

So, in my last post, I talked about the possibility of something negative in our home. Something that maybe isn't quite bad, but that isn't exactly bringing good positive energy into our lives. It really worries me. 

Look at it this way - it's like when you're cursed. So, you don't think about it most of the time - until it seems like you might be cursed. Maybe you stub your toe. Then later that day you trip and fall, then you get stuck in a traffic jam and are late for that big meeting. Well, with the run in your stockings, the bleeding knee and the broken heel you're sporting - it's already been a pretty horrible day. Losing that big account just sealed the deal.

Not mine - but I think I need to start taking more pictures of my house!

As a Sidebar... What if it's Negative?

I've been telling the story of my "haunted" house. Going slowly and trying to recount everything for readers that I can, but I have a sidebar post. Something that is a current concern to me. Lately, I've started to worry that maybe - just maybe - there is something that is not so great hanging out. Maybe it's creating a cloud over our heads that we can't even sense. 

The reason I'm saying this is because one thing that always occurs to me when you watch those shows about hauntings is that they don't talk much about many of the other issues that are going on in families lives.

Let's Talk Ghosts

As I've said, our ghosts say that they aren't ghosts, but when we started discovering that they might be around, we didn't know that. In fact, we weren't even sure that they were here. All we knew was that strange things were beginning to happen. For my part, I didn't get scared, really. Okay, well... not much.

I tend to have a strange reaction to them, though. When one particular (this is where I get into their names - which I think they choose) ghost who calls herself Diana comes around, I cry. It's not bawling, but it's something like she wraps her arms around me and tears pour from my eyes. There is a sadness with her, but she's not bad. She is simply sad. 

The First Indications that We Might Not be Alone

When you're living with spirits, you might think that you would know it. Maybe they would do something to let you know that you're sharing your space with them, but the thing with ghosts, especially if they are intelligent, is that they might not really want you to know that they are there.

I'm not a genius, and I'm not a paranormal expert, but I'm guessing that it goes a little like this: ghosts were once human. They likely have some of the remnants of human emotions - you know sadness, happiness, anger, fear, worry...  So, if you have ghosts in your house, chances are that if you have an intelligent (meaning interactive) haunting, they will be able to decide whether you know they are there or not.

They Say They Aren't Ghosts...

Seriously, the spirits in my house say that they aren't ghosts. They like to be called spirits. This is the blog about how my family "met" the spirits in the house, the experiences we have had, and the paranormal investigators that have come to visit. 

If I can figure out how, I will include some of the EVP's that were captured, and if I get really good, I'll include some video that the team caught, as well.

So, let's go back - to the beginning. To the first time we saw the house, and how we knew that we would wind up here - in our haunted house.