Here's one of the many ghostly occurrences I have experienced. Though many have sent chills along my spine, none has ever frightened me the way this one has. It is the only time I have actually been attacked by an unseen presence.

My best friend, Angie, and her family lived in an old farmhouse far out in the country, several miles from my home. The valley where their home was situated was a beautiful, scenic area. Trouble was, from the very first time I entered the roadway that led through this valley, I was overtaken by a chilled, uneasy feeling. It was as if there were some type of dark cloud that hung over the valley, though this was more an inward feeling than an actual physicalmanifestation. There was an uncomfortable feel to the area, as though one were constantly being watched, and the feeling that you were trespassing on forbidden ground. A large portion of the land in this valley belonged to Angie's family, and there were constant struggles among the family with the uncle who maintained control of the land. There were at least four houses, and a church, controlled by Angie's uncle, which either remained empty and unused, or were only rented for short periods of time. People rarely stayed long in this valley, and were usually the victims of one type of bad luck or the other while living there. Angie's husband was at the time unemployed, and so the family was forced to stay in this valley, since they were able to live there rent free for several years. Bad luck seemed to plague her family. Accidents, sickness and money woes were common.

One weekend, I went for an overnight visit. I was to sleep in the living room on the couch. We sat talking till about one in the morning, and then everyone retired to their respective rooms. Being prone to insomnia, I sat quietly, reclining on the couch, reading a magazine, and waiting to feel sleepy enough to turn out the lamp situated by the couch. Over a period of time, I became increasingly aware of a rustling noise coming from the corner of the room, opposite the couch. I could clearly see into the corner from where I was sitting, and nothing was visible. At first, I thought that the noise might be created by a wandering mouse in the old farmhouse. But then, I realized that the sound was coming from about a foot and a half off the floor, and as I listened, became louder and more active. I could consciously feel a presence in that corner, growing stronger by the minute. It was a very unpleasant sensation, with a sense of evil permeating the area around the noise. Suddenly, as I sat there, this presence, sensed though unseen, seemed to rise out of the corner, spread out, and settle over me. I felt smothered, pinned to the couch. I could not move, and could barely breathe. I struggled to sit upright, and call out, but was held totally immobile and speechless by the enveloping presence. Realizing that this attack was somehow evil or Demonic, I began, in my mind, to pray, calling on the name of Jesus, and binding the power of the entity. For a short time, the presence became even heavier. Then, as I prayed, it seemed to loose some strength. Finally, I was able to speak aloud, and began to whisper my prayer out loud. As I did this, the presence seemed to struggle, and then, suddenly abated. It was gone.

Needless to say, the remainder of the night was sleepless, as I sat there praying, and awaiting the family to rise. When the family finally stirred, I caught Angie in the kitchen fixing coffee, and making sure her two children were not around (I didn't want to frighten them) I began to tell her of the attack. In the middle of my story, Angie interrupted me with the exclamation, “You've felt it too!” She went on to tell me that her husband Ed had been awakened on several prior nights, sensing an evil presence in the corner of their bedroom. Though it had not attacked him physically, he had suffered hours of terror, awaiting daybreak, frozen with fear in his bed. On two occasions, they had been awakened suddenly, to witness their toy poodle, Sassy, being attacked by some unseen force. The poor dog had been lifted from her spot on the bed, gasping and choking, suspended in mid air, as though being strangled by an invisible hand.

This was not the only manifestations in this particular valley of this unknown evil. Angie's aunt, who lived in the same valley, had been disturbed in the night by unexplained sounds, and by the vision of an Old Hag, face coated grotesquely in war paint, telling her that death was approaching for both Angie's aunt, and her family. These manifestations drove Angie's aunt and her family from their home.

Later, a group from a local church were contacted to come and bless the house they had vacated. It was a newly built house, and the family had hopes of returning there.

Starting in the basement, the group began praying, binding the evil spirit and anointing the house with oil. As they traveled through the house, members of the group encountered cold spots, and could feel the entity retreating upward, floor by floor, until they reached the attic. There, the presence was “cornered” in a dark area of the room. The group, praying in earnest, closed in on the presence, and, just as the leader of the group entered the dark corner, taking authority over the spirit, and demanding that it go, a loud “POP” was heard, and tinkling glass. The spirit was gone. But there in the corner of the darkened attic, a huge, full length mirror, stored there, had shattered as the entity escaped.

Angie and her family moved soon after these occurrences, and thankfully, they have not been followed by whatever was present in the valley. Unfortunately, her aunt has not been so lucky. Though the family returned to their house after the exorcism”, within months, the entity had returned. The aunt, terrorized by the strange happenings there, suffered a nervous breakdown, and as a result the family has moved permanently from the valley.

© Paulette Boyd

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