Deliver Us From Evil
Deliver Us From Evil: From the Case Files of Ed & Lorraine Warren
By J.F. Sawyer
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
I had the pleasure, recently, of viewing “The Pope’s Exorcist”. Yes it is a movie and very dramatic in nature for entertainment value (It’s good you should see it). The Exorcist that this follows is Father Gabriele Amorth who was indeed and exorcist with the Catholic church for many years of his life. He was straight forward and honest about 98% of the cases he investigated were people that were in need of mental health intervention. It’s that left over 2% that he focused on, the true cases of evil infecting a person. He was a fascinating man, a good man, who knew about life outside the church as he was not always a priest. He was a soldier, a lawyer and a Journalist prior to joining the church. I mention him because He came into my mind while I was reading the introduction the Ed Warren wrote. The keeping of an open mind with an analytical attitude and a willingness to follow the evidence wherever it leads however improbable it may seem. This book was originally published in 1973.
The Accursed Inn
I’m not sure why people let these occurrences chase them out of their home. Especially when it is a place that they love living in. What happened to little Laura is a mystery for sure, even to Lorraine. It’s really too bad because her disappearance is the only thing that I would say is dangerous in this location. I feel like if you could find out what really happened (if she ran away, was kidnapped or if she was taken by something otherworldly) the house would be safe enough to inhabit.
Possessed
Okay I’m not even through the chapter and I already have sighed and put my head in my hands…a Ouija…really. Plus why the hell would you want to contact such a horrible bitch. She was an asshole in life, a bully who blamed everyone else for her failure, who gives a fuck if she was murdered, the person probably had good reason, shit maybe it was self-defense or in the defense of another. This woman (the cousin of the asshole) made a concise decision to bring this negativity back into her life. Why the fuck would you ever do that?
This is one of those stories that other reviewers have talked about. There is no mention of the Warren’s involvement, it is simply as tale about the progression of possession, how evil inserts itself into the life of the victim. The conclusion is left open as we only know that she was possessed completely by her bitch cousin. There is nothing of her seeking help or her husband seeking help. There is no resolution. Perhaps this is the case, that evil won the day here (man I hope not, that bitch needs to be fucking dealt with in the most painful way possible) but as the names and places have been changed to protect the families there is no way for me to gain any additional info on these stories. Oh and if the painting at the beginning is supposed to be Diane…hilarious (but not hilarious if you know what I mean)!
Unknown Visitor on a Winters Night
We have another Ouija user here folks. I feel like so many of these incidents occur because of the use of a Ouija. That is the invite. That is the portal that is used to allow these things to infect the lives of the living. The description of using the Ouija board as being fun is people’s first mistake. The Ouija is a tool, nothing more. And in order to be safe using that tool you have to be trained to use it. Understand the precautions needed to operate the tool and know the potential risks involved. Obviously, even though this subject was familiar with the occult she did not take it seriously and she suffered the consequences. Hell she still may be suffering the consequences. This book was only written in the 1970’s. This one is left open ended as well.
Satan’s Daughter
I’m just going to say it…this girl is a fucking moron! Praying to the Gods of love? Seriously bitch? And I really don’t understand why people say they have fallen in love with someone that they don’t even know. You are physically attracted to him NOT in love with him. Stop confusing love with lust and maybe you won’t do stupid shit like almost give your body and mind to a malevolent entity. Ed and Lorraine are bloody saints helping some of these people! It sounds to me like many of these people get themselves into these situations. They are not innocent victims. Just because they are ignorant does not make them innocent.
Demon in the House
As this book was originally published in 1973 and it was around that time that the Smurl haunting started, this is not that. I thought that perhaps it was although I currently don’t know a lot about that particular case (I have not yet read the book on that one). I will say I think they need to move. I know that this is easier said than done. So often people can’t get away from these situations because of financial reasons. And that may not even help as it seems the entity has latched itself onto their son (or so it seems, could still be the wife that it is interested in and breaking her down through her child). At the time of publication this was apparently an ongoing case so there is no conclusion to this. I’m wondering if this is that case for many of these.
You See, He Put a Curse on You
Why are some people so pathetic? A woman does not want to go out with you…so the fuck what? Find someone that wants to go out with you…the result will be much more to your advantage. You don’t fucking curse them you fucking pathetic egomaniac! If this dude pulled this shit with me he’d find himself in a position where he could have conversations with the entity he enslaved, face to face, because he’d be dead. People like him do not need to be here. We’ve got enough issues without losers placing curses on us because we don’t want to have dinner with them. Fucking pathetic! Shit if I were that entity I’d be pissed! Being controlled by a fucking loser like this guy…no thank you! It would be a sweet day, when the curse is reversed and I had access to him…delicious! Now let’s talk about the priests that turned her away and the psychiatrist (although psychology as a field was not anywhere close to serious during this time….in fact we are only just slightly out of lobotomy and hydrotherapy asylum type settings here in the 1970’s. Indeed some of them were probably still operating). They should be ashamed of themselves…even if she were mentally ill drugging her up and essentially calling her crazy is not the answer. The situation is obviously very real to her and that’s what matters.
To Dwell with a Devil
I hope eventually they got this poor kid some help because it seems to me that something mean has latched itself to her. This said the whole family seems to have had multiple experiences so it’s not like it’s just this kid acting out or suffering from a mental illness.
The Voodoo Doll
I’m just going to say it….why the hell would you buy anything that you felt you needed to keep locked up, due to a curse, as a precaution? Seems like sense has left the building on this one. Honestly she’s lucky that she came out the other side of this situation in one piece. As for the moron wife guest of the Warren’s…If you are told not to do something then don’t do it. I don’t care if she was “compelled” to touch the doll…keep your fucking hands to yourself! It does not matter what you do or do not believe, don’t touch or take that which does not belong to you. PERIOD!
Haunting in New Haven
For some reason I feel like I recognize the name of this family. Chances are that the author changed the name but still. It’s strange. I can’t nail it down though. Honestly I don’t understand why they kept staying in the house. It sounds to me like they had a lot of misfortune while being there. I mean multiple generations of this family had very bad luck and experienced violence at the hands of loved ones and all of it seemed to stem from living in this location. I don’t know. Just says to me that perhaps moving into the upstairs apartment or the attic is a bad idea.
The Incredible Case of Maria
The misfortunes that this lady has suffered sound like normal, life sucks, kind of situations. Not ones that are cause by a demon in her life. This is just my initial reaction to the beginning of the story but you can’t blame every bad thing that happens to you or the people around you on demons. Plus lets face it having a mother who essentially handed you over to a pedophile when you were seven is not gonna set you up for success as an adult. Luckily it seems that he never really was able to defile her. Thank goodness. That does not change that fact that her mother did that. Then when she was a bit older...still a child, her uncle took a shine to her and based on what I read her mother supported him trying to have a relationship with her. What the fuck is wrong with this woman (Maria’s mother). She’s the sickest fuck of them all. Honestly Maria’s problems stem from her family being fucked up (both in life and death). I mean there could have been dark forces at work some of the time (i.e. her incestuous pedophile uncle) but her formative years were messed up. She had abuse flung at her from all directions.
There are some continuity issues here because it says that her husband Roy bought a Ouija board for Maria but then in the next paragraph it says that she bought the board. So I think that there may be some issues with consistency in some of these stories.
The Ghost of West Point
We will revisit this case in an up and coming read but I will say this it had to have been bad if staunch military types are even broaching the subject of the possibility of the supernatural. To take it several steps further and actually call in aid for the situation is just mind boggling. I mean really you could take this in two different directions, complete disbelief that the hardcore, regimented, no nonsense powers that be in the military would ascertain the possibility of the supernatural…OR that they are well aware of the supernatural (I.E. area 51 and Monatuk Air Force Station ect) and the shit has hit the fan. We’ll probably never really know but it’s something to think about. Interesting thing is it seems that despite it being known that they (Ed and Lorraine) were called in, the military still covered up the investigation, making everyone involved agree not to release any of the collected data, especially the photographic proof. Of course things were leaked to the press…it always amuses me that they think they can keep shit like this under wraps. Especially considering that they piss people off on the regular, people in their employ who take these kinds of opportunities and run with them. In the end I suspect the military told the press that Ed and Lorraine were there to entertain the cadets. Why would they ever admit otherwise?
Just an FYI – Sawyer was involved with this investigation. He was there and talks about his own experience. Very interesting.
Deliver Us From Evil
I’m not sure that I believe there is any remorse on the part of this girl. These people enjoyed what they were doing. I don’t want to hear that it was the influence of evil. The only evil in these people’s lives were themselves. There are lots of people that enjoy learning about the occult, myself included, but never become ensnared by a malevolent entity. In fact I would say most people do not experience these things in their research. Making the decision to drink blood, pray to Satan, and kill innocent animals was all them. Not buying that an entity seduced her to do this. Unless there is more to this story.
Closing thoughts:
I love that there are pictures of Ed’s paintings at the start of each chapter. You can learn a lot about a person when looking at their art, their creative and secret mind. It’s an unexpected treat. I do wish I could see a bit more of their detail but ultimately you can get the general feel.
An interesting collection of stories. I wonder what research the author did to get these accounts. Did they do interviews? Have access to the case files? It seems that our author was involved with investigations and the Society. There are many criticisms in reviews that these stories are unfinished. Well they are unfinished because the cases were ongoing at the time this book was published. Conclusions were not yet to be had. Life is not like fiction, even if it seems so with these accounts. However I will say that there are places where there seems to be a gap in time and that there is the the possibility within that chunk of time there was info that would make these accounts flow a bit better.
It’s amusing to me that we hate open ends so very much. I am guilty of this myself but not when it comes to fact…and even though I get frustrated when it comes to fiction, I understand why story tellers leave things open ended. It gives us a sense of anticipation as well as a healthy dose of discomfort. I do hope that all of the people that were still in the clutches of their tormentors at the time that this book was published have since gotten the help that they needed to find peace…even if they were dumbasses that brought this shit on themselves.
There is an interesting epilogue to this book though. Written by another author who just happened to be a reporter doing a story about the exorcism that inspired the best selling book and the blockbuster movie “The Exorcist”. She came to see Ed Warren as he has been one of the only people privy to the documents that the church has on the exorcism that was performed. Interesting stuff.
