Phantoms & Specters. Lisa Yorio
Violent and harmful spiritual attacks.
Spirits doppelganging as other human spirits to gain the trust of the living.
Sudden changes in the attitude of the residents and or children.
Markings and scratches on the body of residents.
It is important to note that these hauntings may require the help of religious leaders and other trained demonologists. Do not provoke or invoke demons and certainly never invite.
I had a friend confide in me that she had been experiencing paranormal activity in her home. She claimed that on a few nights she had seen her son's toy truck move around the living room on its' own. Nobody had pushed the buttons on the remote and there wasn't anyone around when this happened. The first time she saw this it was at night and everyone had gone to bed. She was on her way to the kitchen to get a drink of water, when she noticed something wasn't right. She had heard a sound and glanced over into the living room and saw this unbelievable spectacle. She walked closer to it but then it just stopped. When she walked away it turned back on. She had to remove the batteries so it would turn off. This happened for several nights. Some other electronic toys in the living room would also turn on and off by themselves.
Another incident that occurred was when her husband was taking a shower. He heard something, so he looked over at the corner of his eye and he saw what appeared to be Julie walk past the door very quickly. He called out to her. She didn't answer. A few minutes later she appeared near the doorway of the bathroom. He said "Didn't you hear me calling you? Julie replied, "No I was in the garage, I didn't hear you". He was startled because he knew he had seen something or somebody pass by the bathroom that looked exactly like her. He was perplexed but soon forgot about it until one night when Julie had an experience.
Julie was suddenly woken up by what appeared to be her son standing in her bedroom doorway. She asked him what he wanted but he didn't answer. He then vanished into thin air. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she must have been dreaming. She got up and went to his bedroom. He was sound asleep. The next morning she asked if he got up in the middle of the night and he said that he didn't. She felt a little uneasy remembering the night before. She was positive the boy standing in her doorway looked exactly like her son.
Julie and her husband have heard strange knocking sounds in the middle of the night waking them up on several occasions. She has seen shadows in the hallway. Another weird incident that happened to her husband was when he went down into the basement. He was putting clothes in the dryer. He glanced over to the corner of the room because he thought he saw something run by. It looked like a shadow figure move very quickly then it dissipated into the air. Then he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his back. He described it as the sensation of having tape adhere to your skin and then get ripped off. When he examined his back there were welt marks. He couldn't figure out how this happened. There was nothing nearby that could have caused this. He looked around but he didn't see anything that he could have scraped against or bumped into. He thought this was a little creepy but soon forgot about the incident.
Things in the house seemed to ease after Julie's grandmother Raffeala passed away at the age of 97. A few days later, Julie decided to take something special from her house to remember her by. She acquired her mailbox and stand. She took it down to the basement and left it there, not knowing where she could put this large item. This mailbox was significant because her grandma had a daily routine. She would walk down the long driveway every day at the same time to go retrieve the mail. This was a way she could get a little exercise and leave the house for a few minutes.
Shortly after the mailbox was placed in the house some paranormal activity started up again. The main focus of the activity was concentrated in the living room. This time the activity seemed different. There wasn't anything scary or threatening going on. There just seemed to be a strong, warm presence in the living room. It felt more like a guardian watching over Julie and her family. The previous negative paranormal activity ceased. It just seemed to stop abruptly.
One of Raffeala's wishes was that she would live long enough to attend her granddaughter's 16 birthday party. Unfortunately, she passed away before this could happen. Julie took some pictures at the sweet 16th birthday party of her niece and cousins sitting on the couch in the living room. When Julie reviewed the pictures she noticed a very prominent orb hovering above her niece. It had a bluish hue to it. I believe this orb was actually her grandma's spirit in energy form coming to visit her on her special day. Raffeala was still able to visit her granddaughter even in the afterlife. She was determined to be there for her granddaughter's 16th birthday.
As I stated previously, sometimes there can be more than one type of haunting going on at the time. In this case, Julie's house has an intelligent haunting which I believe is her grandmother watching over the family, protecting them, as well as characteristics of a possible demonic haunting.
I don't believe it is a true demonic haunting because it isn't as extreme as a typical demonic haunting where people are getting attacked or there is heavy furniture or objects being moved or thrown around. What was going on in Julie's house was scary but it didn't have all the characteristics of a demonic haunting; only some, which alarmed me. This is why I was reluctant to go to her home to investigate. The haunting first started off with subtle things like the toys moving around by themselves, knocking sounds, and shadows. Sometimes, this could be and indicator of a regular, intelligent type of haunting. This is where a spirit is just trying to get your attention to let you know it is there. However, from what she told me, the haunting took on a more sinister feel. It could have been just coincidence that her husband felt a scratch on his back in the basement, but it was right after he saw a shadow figure. Scratches and markings on the body are typical of demonic hauntings. What bothered me the most about the activity is when she said something appeared as her son, and her husband said something appeared as Julie.This is called doppleganging and is very rare in a human type of haunting. I have never heard of a ghost appearing as another human. They usually appear as themselves in order for someone to see them and convey a message or they may have some unfinished business. They appear in the same form as when they died. There would be no reason for them to appear as another person. Unless there was some kind of intent to deceive.
In a demonic haunting, a spirit sometimes makes itself look like someone else, like a family member. It tries to trick you into believing this so that you will trust it. Once you trust that the spirit is non-threatening, it will make its move. Usually, it has an ulterior motive, and is malevolent and its primary purpose is to instill fear, cause harm, and eventually possess the person being haunted. After Julie's grandmother passed away, I believe her spirit was the presence in her home.
My theory is that her grandmother's spirit pushed the negative spirits away. Her overwhelming positive, good, and kind presence scared away any negative spirits that may have resided in her house.I believe Julie's grandmother came back to visit and protect Julie and her family against the evil spirits that were haunting them. She had some unfinished business to take care of before she moved on to the afterlife. I believe her grandma is a traveling ghost. She can will herself where she wants to go. This is how she is able to go back and forth and check on them.
I spoke to Julie, shortly after her grandmother passed away. She said she no longer feels anything negative inside the house. There has been less paranormal activity in the house. Almost a year later there wasn't any activity in the house at all. The spirit of her grandmother scared away the bad, evil spirit and then she moved on to the next plane of existence.
If you want to learn more about a true demonic haunting, then read my story about the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas. It goes into much more detail. This is one of the scariest locations I have ever visited. I still felt scared months later after I returned home.
Shirley's Trip Back in Time
Bradford, Illinois
10/1969
Residual Haunting / Time