The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren (33 page)

Once these questions have been answered and all the other information is gathered together, it is then submitted to church authorities. If, after studious contemplation of all the data, a judgment is returned that major exorcism is called for, then an exorcist will be assigned to the case.

“Every major religion has its own ritual of exorcism,” Ed comments, “not as a vestige from the past, but as an everyday necessity. It’s a popular misconception that exorcism is an obsolete medieval ritual that is no longer performed. Exorcism is still needed
and
performed in this century as it has been in every century before it. Though the exact number is probably the best kept secret in the world, I can tell you that well over six hundred major exorcisms have had to be performed between 1970 and 1980 in North America alone.”

Ultimately, people are not supposed to be possessed by any other spirit than their own—least of all by inhuman demonic spirits. Therefore, positive supernatural power is required to undo the spiritual catastrophe of possession. The devil “respects no man,” therefore this disruption of the natural order can be rectified only by a properly ordained clergyman who functions as a direct representative of God. This singularly difficult task requires an especially pious individual who alone would be able to confront the decidedly vile entities that engage in the possession of human beings. “In most non-Christian religions, the ritual tends to be conducted by specialist clergy,” says Ed, “In other words, the exorcist has a specialized function the other clergy of his religion do not have. This is especially true with Oriental religions. In the Jewish faith, exorcism is conducted by an exorcist reading from the Holy Torah while customarily being assisted by a minyan of ten pious men from the temple. In the Christian denominations there are specialist clergy too; although every ordained Christian clergyman is a
potential
exorcist, because Christ was an exorcist. In fact, Jesus Christ was the greatest exorcist who ever lived. He not only exorcised the possessed, he brought the dead back to life!” Moreover, Scriptures indicate Jesus passed on this power to exorcise the demonic from the body of man to the Disciples, using these words recorded in Chapter 10 of the gospel of Saint Luke:

He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me.... Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the might of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. But do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; rejoice rather in this, that your names are written in heaven.

Though one might expect the higher clergy to be the ones called upon to actually conduct a major exorcism, this is rarely the case. “I’ve worked with exorcists from almost every major religion,” says Ed Warren. “I’ve found them to be older men, usually between forty and eighty. They tend to be very saintly, humble men who care deeply about people and their welfare. Usually they have no other title than monk, priest, rabbi, minister, or yogi, but they all seem to embody a combination of wisdom, kindness, and compassion that you don’t see in ordinary people.”

But piety, wisdom, devotion, and humility are not enough. As a person, the exorcist must embody the virtues of goodness and morality that represent the very best aspects of man. And no less important, the exorcist must be strong enough to withstand the mental and physical torments that frequently occur in the struggle to win back a human soul from the clutches of the demonic. “At some time in his life, without exception, the demonic attacks the exorcist for being the good man that he is. The exorcist’s task is the most thankless job on earth. Although he may be a man of enormous personal stature,” Ed asserts, “he is often chastised and ridiculed by those too ignorant to recognize his worth.”

When a major exorcism is to be conducted, the date, time, and location of the ritual is usually fixed beforehand, whenever, possible. “Preference is given to holy days or the feast days of saints,” Ed notes. “The ritual is normally scheduled for the morning hours to avoid the assaults the devil—the Prince of Darkness—is capable of launching during the psychic hours of night. The exorcism may take place in the home of the possessed individual, but more likely it will be conducted in some religious dwelling. Potentially violent exorcisms involving extremely vicious or powerful entities are usually carried out in a religiously-affiliated hospital where doctors and life-support equipment are on hand.”

Meanwhile, in the days preceding a major exorcism, the exorcist will subject himself to rigorous preparation. He will abstain from food and take blessed water only as necessary. This is called the Black Fast. Spiritually, the exorcist will cloister himself in prayer for a minimum of three days in order to be emboldened with the three Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and charity: faith in what he is doing; hope that he will be successful; and charity in giving freely of himself in the interest of another. Finally, having put himself in a state of grace, the exorcist will implore Divine assistance, insofar as man has no inherent power over these negative angels of perdition.

On the day of the exorcism, assistants who have also prepared themselves for the ritual by prayer and fasting will assemble. If the potential for violence exists during the exorcism, the possessed will be laid out on a bed in loose-fitting clothing. “Anything that can move, burn, or be thrown will be removed from the room,” Ed reveals. “If you give the demonic a club, it’ll beat you with it. This is why the only thing that will remain in the room is a table where candles, holy oils, and the Sacrament are placed. All other furniture and objects will have to be taken away for the safety of the exorcist and his assistants.”

With that, the incredible ordeal begins.

“Exorcism,” noted Father John Nicola in his book
Diabolical Possession and Exorcism,
“is not a battle, but a war.” This war is won only when the demonic abandons the possession of the individual because it can no longer endure exposure to all that is opposite to itself, the Holy. Therefore, the exorcist reads:

I cast thee out, thou unclean spirit, along with the least encroachment of the wicked enemy, and every phantom and diabolical legion. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, depart and vanish from this creature of God. For it is He Who commands thee. He Who ordered thee cast down from the heights of heaven into the nethermost pit of the earth....Quake and fly afar, as we call upon the name of the Lord, before Whom hell trembles, to Whom the heavenly Virtues and Powers and Dominions are subject, Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim praise with unending voice as they sing: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!

Although the
Rituale Romanum
exorcism amounts to no more than an approximately twenty-five-page ceremonial document (of which half the pages are psalms), many times the possessing spirit(s) will depart only after a long, excruciating ordeal—as was the case in the West German exorcism. Without interference, the Roman Ritual exorcism takes about two hours to recite. However, what occurs
during
the reading of the text becomes the ordeal. The phrasing of the document is so strong and challenging to the demonic that the possessing entities’ resistance to the statements can hold up the ritual for hours, days, weeks, even months on end.

What transpires during the course of major exorcisms is not publicly available information: an exorcism is not a performance. As a demonologist, however, Ed Warren works closely with exorcists, and has assisted at some forty-three different exorcisms in both America and England. He has witnessed the bizarre phenomena and he has also been subject to the terrible attacks and persecutions that are frequently part of the ordeal.

“First understand,” says Ed, “that my task is always to
assist
the exorcist. I don’t march around like some kind of Holy Joe and play priest; I’m there to help. I know the danger signs, so when problems arise, I can lend knowledgeable assistance. The exorcist, on the other hand, is the one who takes on the really dangerous burden of expelling the demonic, and it’s against the exorcist that the demonic ultimately focuses its vengeance.

“As for what goes on during an exorcism, let me first say that in approximately six out of ten cases, the spirit obeys the commands of the exorcist and leaves on the first reading of the ritual. It’s apparent that the spirits have left the body of the possessed because of the peace and tranquility in the room. Usually in those cases, the possessed himself will say ‘It’s over,’ or “The possession is finished.’ Of course, the exorcist has got to be leery of this. The most effective exorcists have what’s called the ‘gift of discernment’: they know with certainty whether the spirit is still possessing the individual or not.

“But four out of ten times, there is trouble. Phenomena occur in the room, and the possessing entities put up resistance. In such cases, no sooner does the exorcist begin reading the ritual than the spirits reply with a counterassault, designed to stop the exorcism from going on. Usually it’s a matter of wild screaming, or hooting, or shouting by the entities in the person. The whinnying of horses, the barking of dogs, the snorting of pigs are typical stuff put out by the demonic to interrupt the ritual. Interruptions, in fact, are the name of the game during a major exorcism. The unworldly howling and baying and caterwauling is liable to go on for hours on end. To the exorcist, though, these bestial sounds are no more than a disturbing nuisance.

“As the exorcism progresses,” continues Ed, “the possessing entities usually pour forth vulgar, blasphemous language—crude, filthy, gutter talk. Speaking in a gross, inhuman voice, these things will also challenge the Scriptures being read, and sometimes even ‘correct’ the exorcist should he happen to omit a phrase or mispronounce some word—Latin or English—in the ritual. These insults and slanderings will later change into a demoralizing personal assault directed against all those present. These spirits, you see, not only know the Scriptures, they also know the life of everyone in the room. They'll try to drive the exorcist and his assistants away by bringing up hurtful incidents in these people's lives, recounting their personal tragedies with perverse delight They'll reveal personal things that a person may feel terribly guilty about, or dredge up events that provoke great pain and sorrow. When that doesn't work, they'll humiliate each and every person present by reciting all their mortal sins in front of everyone, dwelling on those sins that are likely to be the most embarrassing to a particular person. For Catholics, this latter problem is avoided through confession: strangely enough, the demonic has no knowledge of sins that have been confessed!

“When the personal attacks on the exorcist and his assistants prove to be insufficient to stop the exorcism, then incredible, frightening phenomena are liable to occur in cases where very powerful entities are involved. In these cases, I have seen what
ought not
to be; I have seen what
could not
be. In one exorcism, for instance, the demonic materialized something like six or seven bucketloads of a substance that looked like a combination of spaghetti and hair. And the smell of excrement intermingled with it was so intense it made the stomach retch. But really, the worst phenomena is inflicted on the possessed.

“In at least six cases, I have seen the possessed levitate off the bed. I have seen the victim’s hair yanked out of the scalp by invisible hands. I have seen the possessed individual throw up
gallons
of putrid, disgusting substances, usually smelling of excrement I have seen psychic burns and slashes show up all over the body of the possessed, causing frantic, painful screaming when the individual is not unconscious during the ritual.

“In the case of a thirteen-year-old girl who was possessed by an Incubus, we saw teeth marks appear on the girl’s arm. From the best we could determine, they were animal bites with wet saliva surrounding them. The marks broke the flesh and caused bleeding. I have also seen the demonic bloat up the body of the possessed individual to twice its normal size. The head, the torso, the arms, the fingers, the legs, the whole body was so bloated and disfigured that the skin began to split open and ooze blood; we actually thought the individual was going to explode! Yet all these physical burns, marks, and changes to the body disappear immediately when the possessing entities have been exorcised, which is what I meant by ‘peace and tranquility’ in the room at the end of a successful exorcism.

“These are things I have personally experienced. But let me remind you,” Ed goes on, “that this kind of gross phenomena is definitely reported in other exorcisms, ones in which I have had no part. In 1977, for example, about a year before Pope Paul VI died, an unaccountable spate of possessions apparently occurred to a number of Vatican nuns and priests. In those cases, the possessed not only took on grotesque forms, they regurgitated nails, broken glass, bile, and live animals.” Ed flips open a book entitled
Begone Satan.
“And here's what happened to the woman in Earling, Iowa, during a twenty-three-day exorcism in 1928.”

Countless brats of devils also interrupted the process of exorcism by their disagreeable and almost unbearable interferences. As a result of these disturbances, the woman's face became so distorted that no one could recognize her features. Then, too, her whole body became so horribly disfigured that the regular contour of her body vanished. Her pale, deathlike and emaciated head, often assuming the size of an inverted water pitcher, became as red as glowing embers. Her eyes protruded out of their sockets, her lips swelled up to proportions equalling the size of hands, and her thin emaciated body was bloated to such enormous size that the pastor and some of the Sisters drew back out of fright, thinking the woman would be torn to pieces and burst asunder. At times her abdominal region and extremities became as hard as iron and stone. In such instances the weight of her body pressed into the iron bedstead so that the iron rods of the bed bent to the floor.

“This is what our friend the devil does to people,” Ed says in obvious contempt. “Still, no matter how intense and irrational the phenomena might become, it is unthinkable that the exorcist would ever break during the process. Working in the interest of good, the exorcist and those around him must contend with repulsive physical phenomena that would make even the most hardened individual recoil in shock and disgust But yet the exorcist endures, and keeps on repeating the ritual over and over again, sometimes to the point of near-death, until finally the possessing entities identify themselves and leave in the name of God.