; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Thursday, June 21, 2018

The Devil Was Waiting


Cheyenne from Arizona wrote in to tell of her paranormal experience:

“I was 6 years old when I had my first paranormal experience that I could remember. My parents were out for the evening and my older sister, Mary, was 9 at the time and I had a babysitter. We lived in this tiny two-story apartment in this not-so-great neighborhood that only had one bathroom upstairs. I had to use the toilet and, I didn't know why, but I was really scared. I don't remember having a reason at that time to be frightened to go alone. I begged my sister, 'Please, please, come with me!' So I wouldn’t have to go alone. Every time I asked her, she said no. Finally the babysitter yelled at me to go to the bathroom by myself and to quite asking my sister to go with me.

I started ascending the stairs and reached the bathroom door that was right at the top of the stairs. As I stood in the doorway and flipped the light switch, the lights in the bathroom consisted of only fluorescent light-bulbs, you know, the kind that dimly flicker before they fully turn on. As I stood in the doorway with the light-bulbs dimly flickering, straight ahead of me sat what I can only describe as a typical looking demon with horns, sitting straight up on the rim of the bathtub with his hands on his thighs, just staring straight back at me. We sat there, eye-locked as the fluorescent bulbs continued to flicker for what seemed like an eternity but was probably no more than one or two minutes. I remember the dim flickering lasting longer than usual. I was absolutely terrified. Once the bulbs finally turned on, the Devil was gone. In all honesty, I was so terrified, I didn't even know what happened right after that. Not sure if I peed myself or if I held it and ran back down the stairs. I don't know. My mind right after the encounter just went blank. I do however remember telling my dad later that night after he and my mom were home and he told me in a very serious tone that he believed me. I was comforted that he didn't think I was making it up. I don't think that experience came up ever again and I don't remember telling anyone else about it for many years.

After I got back from filming 'Haunted Hospitals in Canada' I was telling my older sister Mary about my experience filming there and that they were using my 6-year-old Devil encounter for the show. I was rehashing it for her and told her I honestly can't remember what happened right after I saw the Devil. She said that she remembers me coming downstairs and telling her what happened and she booked it upstairs to the bathroom to see if she could find out what scared me. She said she was moving the shower curtain around to see if the Devil was hiding in it and obviously never found nothing. I never saw the devil again, thankfully, and I don't really know or understand what the whole experience meant or was for except to maybe scare the living crap out of me.”

Source: Beyond The Darkness – May 26, 2018

Beyond Creepy


NOTE: Some people are able to sense malevolence; though, I'm not sure if that's the case here. It's not the most unique account, but does underscore the fact that some children do seem to observe or sense unusual activity.

"The eyes and the brain can work in tandem to manifest our fears." - Lon Strickler


The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil

The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

Defense Against the Dark: A Field Guide to Protecting Yourself from Predatory Spirits, Energy Vampires and Malevolent Magic

The Lesser Key of Solomon: Goetia: The Book of Evil Spirits

Lon's Suggested Reading List - Books & Films / DVDs