Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist's Darkest Encounters by Samantha E. Harris Page B

in this world.
    Stephen was distant and uninterested in the cleansing and our intentions to help his mother, as if his mother’s terrors weren’t a concern of his. “It doesn’t ever bother me,” Stephen explained in a complacent manner when I asked him if he would like to have the entity removed from the home. Perhaps he enjoyed seeing his mother being tormented, or maybe he felt a connection with the entity and it was now manipulating him. I wasn’t sure. Regardless, it seemed as though he didn’t truly want the entity to leave. I was apprehensive of his objectives. Why wouldn’t you want something dark to leave your house and to stop tormenting your family?
    Carl, Mike, and I all perceived a certain darkness that surrounded Stephen and yet none of us could pinpoint exactly what it was. I felt that Stephen might be withholding information from us when discussing the entity in their home, as if he were avoiding the truth. Sometimes it felt as if he were trying to challenge the belief that this entity was negative. I was here to help the family, and I could not force Stephen to cooperate. But I also could not guarantee a successful cleansing with Stephen’s stance and opposing feelings about the entity.
    I had asked Whitney over the phone if she and her family believed in a Higher Power and she stated, “Yes we do.” I then heard her mumble something about Stephen “complying” when it came to saying a group prayer at the end of the cleansing. I found the statement to be odd and later realized what she was referring to. During our phone call, Whitney had given me the impression that Stephen wasn’t religious but he was just spiritual—which was completely fine with me. However, during our visit I was shocked to discover that Stephen was not spiritual, nor did he believe in a Higher Power at all. Stephen was a recent atheist and found it very difficult to agree to recite a nondenominational prayer at the end of the blessing. The group prayer at the end of a cleansing asks a Higher Power to remove any evil inside the home. I had hoped that Stephen would consider participating in the prayer for the sake of his mother’s well-being. I specifically brought and used that prayer because almost anyone from any belief can use it. I respect athiests but was unsure how to handle the situation. Stephen clearly believed in some sort of spiritual realm, having experienced the entity and knew of the harm it was doing to his mother, and yet he didn’t seem to want it to leave.
    I excused myself outside, saying that I had forgotten some supplies in the car, and had Mike and Carl come with me. We all agreed that we were not sure the cleansing would work if Stephen wasn’t in agreement with his parents and did not believe in a divine force, but we decided we would try our best to help the family. While we were outside, our digital voice recorder was unknowingly still recording inside the home. I later heard Stephen’s protest after reviewing the voice recorder at home. After Whitney begged him to “just go along with it and say the prayer,” Stephen replied: “I think it is bullshit that I have to pray and pretend in some God! I do not want to fucking do it!”
    As much as Whitney wanted to believe that Stephen was spiritual and that he would not affect the house blessing results, these things cannot be forced.
    Carl, Mike, and I returned back inside after gathering our thoughts and method for approaching this delicate case. We were ready to begin the house cleansing, but we had a few remaining questions. I would try to connect with Stephen to see if we were able to pinpoint what his exact beliefs were, and thus we could customize the blessing so we were not offensive or imposing.
    “Stephen, do you believe in a positive energy or a higher being that exists in this world?” I asked him, trying to be gentle about such a delicate subject.
    “I believe in energy, but I don’t think it’s good or evil. I think it is all