FANFARE June 2014 | Page 26

I Devil may care Exorcism can be a painful and frightening experience, as Karen George discovered 26•FANFA R E JUNE 2 0 1 4 t was like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie – only far more disturbing than The Exorcist. The young girl of 13, maybe 14 was seated, her head hung low, and she was grunting almost like an animal, when Fr Gerard Brown walked into the room. The cleric had said a short prayer for the absolution of sins before entering the girl’s room, not knowing what to expect. He was accompanied for spiritual support by a trusted parishioner Justin who Father Brown had warned not look into the eyes of the afflicted girl they’d come to help. The girl’s family had contacted the priest, after the girl had started behaving strangely. Justin recalled his feelings: “The windows and doors were shuddering just a little from the gusts outside - not like what you see in horror movies, but enough to make you get goose bumps. I didn’t know what I was getting into. I went in anyway, with my faith.” Fr Brown then started to pray over the girl as Justin said his own prayers, both with their eyes closed. But for some unaccountable reason, Justin decided to glance at the girl in the middle of his prayer, said Fr Brown. Justin’s fear had been immense when he suddenly saw her not on the chair, but pinned to the corner of the ceiling. She had defied gravity and her body was concaved to fit the corner of that ceiling. He was rooted in fear and tapped Fr Brown’s arm. He still had his eyes closed in prayer as he muttered to the priest: “Father, she’s not on the chair.” Though in shock, Fr. Brown yelled at the girl for her to get down from up there and she fell with a sickening thud. The girl had apparently been a victim of “demonic possession” something with