Does the devil exist – or is the concept simply a way of making excuses for dark and sinister actions. {source: ParanormalTV}

It looks as though my buds may have been correct when mercilessly picking on my fear of the 1973 film The Exorcist. As many of you might have already figured out from older posts that The Exorcist scared about almost every possible bodily fluid out of me. I kid you not, while viewing the re-release a few years ago I broke out in a sweat and almost filled my popcorn bucket. It was another case of “based on a true story” that seemed to always get me. While my sympathetic buds would laugh and point, they would claim it’s a all fake, phoney-baloney if you will. And they might’ve been on to something. After reading The Real Story Behind the Exorcist: A Study of the Haunted Boy and other True-Life Horror Legends from Around the Nation’s Capital by Mark Opsasnick, my opinion about the infamous case has changed…dramatically.

The Real Exorcist

Opsasnick tracks down friends of the boy as well as clergy involved with the case for some pretty interesting insight. When asked about the boy speaking languages other than English, the late Father Walter Halloran who had assisted in the exorcism stated, “Just Latin,” and “I think he mimicked us.” Well I thought that was interesting since that’s often one of the many so-called signs of possession. Opsasnick also inquired about the change in the boys voice which Father Halloran responded with a “Not really.” So no demonic voice speaking ancient languages. Hmmm.

And if you’re wondering what happened to that demon boy, he is still on this planet living among us. Opsasnick does get to him, but things don’t go too well.

My only problem with the book is the length. I was expecting a bit more detail on The Exorcist story. The actual Exorcist chapter is only a little over forty pages. The rest of the book includes the investigations into the Tom Monteleone Contactee case, the Luzo-Brazilian Black Magic Cult, The Ghost of Crybaby Bridge, and the Goatman of Prince George’s County. And by no means are these stories filler, each is a very interesting study on how some of these urban legends are blown out of proportion.

Satan's Holy Water?

Now here’s something new to me. Satanists using holy water for satanic rituals. How the heck does that work?

Rome, 12 June (AKI) – An Italian church outside Rome has stopped offering ‘holy water’ to worshippers because the parish priest fears it is being stolen for satanic rituals. Walter Palombi, the parish priest at the Santa Maria Stella Maris church at Fiumicino, on the outskirts of the capital, said the water is no longer provided for people to bless themselves.

“We fear that the water is being stolen for satanic rites. So we decided to remove it,” said Walter Palombi, quoted by Italian daily Il Messaggero.

Instead the church is placing flowers in the basins where the water was held and many worshippers think the move is “extravagant”.

Read complete article here. {via adnkronos.com}

The ReaL Deal

It’s not a sequel or a prequel or a reboot or a remake, but a film based on Mark Opsasnick’s book The Real Story Behind The Exorcist is on the cards from Vertigo Entertainment (The Ring, Quarantine). 

The Exorcist story, The Haunted Boy, is a single chapter (serialised in full here) in Opsasnick’s tome of supernatural investigations, subtitled A Study of The Haunted Boy and Other True Life Horror Legends. In it, the author tracks down and speaks to the priests involved in the 1940s exorcism, local residents from the time, and the actual “Rob Doe” who became Regan in the novel and William Friedkin’s film. Hmm: sounds like a similar approach to Requiem, the German film that told a close-to-the-truth version of the story of the exorcism and death of Anneliese Michel, which also inspired the Hollywoodised The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Read the complete article here. {via empireonline.com}

The Devil's Toilet!

I was going to wait and write this tomorrow but if I can keep even one person from spending their hard earned dough on this fraud of a movie, well I’ve done my good deed for the week. The Devil’s Tomb is the story of an “elite” group of soldiers sent on a rescue mission in some unknown dessert. They soon find out that the mission isn’t really what it’s all cracked up to be, more like a search and destroy in an ancient tomb. But with the Nephilim, you know, the offspring of some hard up fallen angels and human ladies. This is where it gets good. Actually, wait a minute this is where I got duped into purchasing this DVD. Yes, I was a bit over ambitious and in need of some good demonic cinema. I mean come on, the title is “The Devil’s Tomb.” And it stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ron Perlman, and even Ray Winstone for cripe’s sake. Boy, did I whiff on this one.

So Cuba and his buddies head on down into the tomb where they encounter scientists and priests possessed by the Nephilim. The Nephilim are trying to get to the surface so the elite soldiers attempt to eliminate them. Doesn’t work out too good because these possessed things like to vomit black stuff in your mouth and give you boils and basically turn you to the dark side. And this is about all I could get out of the story, the plot was so convoluted I wonder how these actors were convinced to do the movie. Oh yeah, it was directed by Jason Connery. Maybe Bond, James Bond pulled some strings for junior on this one. I almost switched it off because the acting was horrendous as well. I’d need an extra set of thumbs to properly rate this disaster. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

Watch the trailer here if you still feel the need.

Girls pose with ghost. photo: El Nuevo Dia

Three teenage girls from a Tolima town saw a ghost standing behind them in a photo taken after having played improvised satanic rituals, local media reported Wednesday.

The incident happened last week in the town of Purificacion when the girls, between 15 and 17 years old, decided to dress up as witches and to try satanic rituals and spells – just for fun.

One of the teenagers asked her younger brother to take a photo of the girls to remember the evening. They had the shock of their lives when they discovered the clear image of a man standing behind them.

Read complete article here. {via Colombia Reports} ]]> http://paranormalspy.com/news/ghost-poses-with-girls-for-post-satanic-fun-pic.html/feed 1 http://paranormalspy.com/reviews/review-begone-satan-a-true-account-of-a-23-day-exorcism-in-earling-iowa-in-1928-by-fr-carl-vogl.html http://paranormalspy.com/reviews/review-begone-satan-a-true-account-of-a-23-day-exorcism-in-earling-iowa-in-1928-by-fr-carl-vogl.html#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 19:32:52 +0000 Brody Maddox http://paranormalspy.com/?p=1781

WARNING: Anyone with a major gag reflex or fear of excessive vomiting should stop reading now.

I didn’t think it was possible that I would find another exorcism account that could freak me out more than the half a dozen I’ve read about already. But boy, was I wrong. And again, as the title claims, it’s true. Break out the rosaries and get your rain gear on people. Begone Satan is the account of a a forty year old woman’s twenty-three day battle with Beelzebub in the little town of Earling, Iowa.

The story actually begins way before the exorcism, back when the victim was just a teenager. She had been raised in a religious family and attended church regularly. But at the age of fourteen something sinister began to take hold of her. This unseen force would not allow her to receive communion and eventually got her banned from entering the church. Things only got worse, as she began to hear voices telling her to do some pretty unpleasant things. Her parents took her to doctors and specialists for years, yet nothing would help. It wouldn’t be until twenty-six years later, and numerous religious rituals, that the church finally decided that all efforts had been exhausted and it was time for an exorcism.

A sixty year old Father Theophilus Riesinger, who had already performed many successful demonic battles, was brought in to conduct the exorcism. And from day one the problems began, starting with a brand new car running so oddly that the priest assigned to pick up Riesinger didn’t think he would even survive the drive. 

The exorcism was to be performed at a Franciscan convent to try and keep the lid on things and help protect the woman. Plus, there would be an army of nuns to help the priest. And he would need them. As Father Riesinger began, the woman shot cat-like through the air and clung to a wall over the door. The nuns had to pull her down and restrain her as they started over. This is where I would’ve very quietly excused myself and stepped out. But they carried on and it got really disconcerting. For days the shrieks, screams, and voices, human and un-human filled the convent and beyond. It became so disturbing and exhausting the nuns had to rotate in and out just to get a break and get some strength back. Especially since these voices were coming from an unconscious woman. The only time this woman’s mouth would open, was when the projectile vomiting, and lots of it, began. Remember I mentioned rain gear. In an effort to deface the Lord’s prayer, she would yak all over the place. This is where I start to dry heave a bit. They said that it was common for her to vomit between twenty to thirty times a day, and it was enough to fill buckets. The stench was reportedly unbearable. And I’m not even going to tell you what they said it looked like.

After many long and frustrating conversations, father Reisinger finally got the demon to identify itself. It wasn’t the devil, but it was one of his captains, a.k.a. Beelzebub. This is where we learn just how the daughter becomes possessed. And it ain’t pretty. Beelzebub also reveals an interesting tid bit about the Antichrist. So if you think you can deal with the buckets of body fluids, definitely check this book account. It’s nasty and terrifying.

While doing my Sunday morning house work (yes it’s hard to believe but even paranormal spies must vacuum) I was searching through many of the paranormal radio shows that I try to catch up on. I came across a fantastic interview with an author of a book I read a few years ago that practically scared the living you know what out of me. The author was Gerald Daniel Brittle who wrote The Demonologist and the website was planetparanormal.com. What’s nice about this website is they have a  great selection of radio shows geared towards all sorts of paranormal subjects. The interview with Brittle was done on the Demonology Today show.

The Demonologist

Okay, so here’s the rundown. Brittle discusses how he became involved with Ed Warren shortly after the investigation into the Amityville horror. He also touches on subjects such as  possession, the process of writing the book, why demons hate us, modern day Catholicism practices versus old school Catholicism, protection from the devil and demons, and paranormal shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State. When asked about what he thought about Paranormal States’ dead time seances, Brittle responded, “It’s like high noon of the demonic at three am in the morning.” I didn’t get the feeling he thought it was too smart calling on these entities. But this is coming from someone who says the last thing he would like to do is go chasing ghosts, which makes this interview even more absorbing.

Listen here:

Living on the north shore of Massachusetts gives you access to a ton of alleged paranormal sites and one of my all-time favorites would have to be Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. This place for some reason has drawn me back year after year and it continues to fascinate me. It’s one of those places that’s completely beautiful but at the same time creepy as hell.

One of the things that I’ve always found really interesting is the lack of information on the history of the place. Maybe I haven’t dug enough but it seems as though I can never get the real story which is why it’s probably intrigued me this long. Even Newburyport locals have a tough time filling you in on the details. But what you will find is, the park is the site of what use to be the estate of Frederick Strong Moseley which spans over 400 acres and runs along the Merrimack River. The estate was called “Maudesleigh” and had been built over a 19th century farm.

In 1985 the property was acquired by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management where it became Maudslay State Park. Today the park is full of ruins, bridges, maze-like gardens, a pet cemetery, and endless woods. You can spend hours in this place and still not see everything.

But what brought me here originally years ago was the story of “The Gates of Hell”. The original entrance into the estate is an old rod iron gate that leads back to the foundation of one of the homes on the estate. Why it got this name? Who knows? But this is where all the stories begin. Just some of the stories are goblin sightings under the bridges, satan worshippers conducting black celebrations, hell hounds, an old guy called Mr. Jingles, a murdered police officer, a ballroom full of guests dying in a fire, and the list goes on.

Now I know a lot of this sounds like urban legend and you know what, it probably is, but Maudslay can still deliver a chill right when you least expect it. For instance I’ve been there at night, which really isn’t recommended or allowed, so don’t get caught, but it’s freakin’ scary. You just always have a very strange feeling of being watched. Again this could’ve been my imagination but when you’re standing in a moon-lit maze at midnight you’re brain starts to spin some loopy thoughts. Can you say “Shining?” Yeah, you know exactly what I mean. I’ve also had a very strange experience in the rhododendrons which is on one of the main walking paths. It was late afternoon, very sunny and warm, birds chirping away and as soon as I walked into this section of rhododendrons everything went completely silent and the temperature felt like it dropped 10 degrees. I stood there waiting for the birds to start again figuring I had just startled them but nothing. There wasn’t even a sound of wind or the trees moving. It was almost like someone flipped a switch and just turned everything off. Again, weird.

Recently I had the urge again to go visit the strangeness of Maudslay. But what made this trip extra interesting was the unexpected snow storm. So I shot some quick photos of the different locations. I think I captured some interesting stuff but see what you think. I’m interested if anyone finds anything in them. And if you’re ever in the Newburyport area make sure you swing through Maudslay State Park, you won’t be disappointed. Oh and say hi to Mr. Jingles.

Wow, what a shocking surprise! We just started posting consistently at the beginning of February, 2009, and were really only posting about once a month since November, 2008 (we need to make real moneys so we do have day jobs). So today we checked to see how our traffic was and surprise, surprise, we were up 666%.

Now we don’t know about you but this number has always given us a bit of a shudder. We know it’s satanic significance but we’ve always believed there’s a lot more to it than just evil. Is it a sign from some unknown source warning us to stop posting?

Who knows. But if you haven’t been scared off running for your bible, please remember that as much as some of the content is of a serious nature, we’re really here to have fun and exchange paranormal information. And we invite you to be part of it. If you have any good ideas or just a scary story please let us know.