It’s Halloween – the day for watching spooky movies and dressing up in horrifying costumes – but real-life manifestations of the occult are anything but fun. Consider this letter we received this week:

Hello and God bless you! I just watched a Women of Grace episode on EWTN about ghosts. I am Catholic and I am a college student. I am wondering if the things I have personally experienced and heard about in our dormitory are demonic.

I used to have a roommate who had a “third eye” meaning she could see spirits and all that. It’s nothing intentional, it just happens. One time she was in the room and she saw me walk with my hair in front of my face, walk to the bathroom and slam the door. But it wasn’t really me. I was in school. A few minutes later I came into the room from school and she was shocked. Why did that happen? The “spirit” even wore my clothes. Was that a demon?

My roommate also claimed hearing my things move when I wasn’t there. First I thought they were just souls from purgatory trying to get attention but after watching the episode I’m not sure.

I heard a story about this girl that used to live in a room a few doors down from mine. She would get nightmares every night about an old man chasing her to rape her. This girl was afraid to sleep. She would cry and cry and finally moved out when, in the dream, the man was just about to rape her. Same man every dream. Never saw him in her life. Was this something demonic?

There are plenty of occasions where we hear from our ceiling heavy tables being dragged but no one from the top floor is causing these noises.

My roommate could also see faceless spirits. She also mentioned she could see her guardian angel occasionally(not fully but blurry like) but once saw a man very very tall like her angel but the robes were black. Hair was black, unlike her angel who was wearing bright white clothes and had golden brownish hair. Was this a demon?

Were all of the things I mentioned demonic activity? I do not fear these spirits/demons (if they are demons) because I know they fear God and our Blessed Mother. Right now I pray the Rosary and the St. Michael prayer. Please give me advice on things to do to ward off bad spirits. Should I use holy water? If I should, what prayers should I use while sprinkling? And how often should I sprinkle? I apologize for this very long e-mail. May God bless you always.”

Yes, everything described above is demonic, even the so-called guardian angel. As Scripture tells us, ” . . . for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2Corinthians 11:14). Remember, this is the same person who claims to have a “third eye” – a kind of psychic energy center that allegedly gives person sight beyond the natural – who is obviously consorting with powers other than those of the Almighty to see spirits.

Demons are preternatural beings like angels who are possessed of enormous powers (only theirs were corrupted in the fall) which give them the capability to do all of the above mentioned – from sliding furniture around to appearing in human and/or angelic form.

The souls in purgatory could not be involved in these manifestations because when they come, they do so to ask for prayer, not to move objects around. This kind of poltergeist activity is typical of a demonic infestation.

Judging from this and the other manifestations described in your letter, my suggestion would be to find a priest who is familiar with the occult to bless and or exorcise this premises. The person who is relying on her third eye (who could be serving as a conduit for these evil spirits) should be made to renounce her “abilities” and claim Jesus Christ as her Savior. If she’s Catholic, she needs to follow this up with sacramental Confession.

Because she has probably established a “bond” with these “powers”, she’ll need someone skilled in deliverance to help her break these bonds and any seals that might have been formed during this time. Whether she realizes it or not, she’s a slave right now, in bondage to dark forces that only appear to be helping her. Their aim is to destroy her and in the end, they will do so. Unless she has faith in the only power who makes Satan shudder, Jesus Christ, she is utterly powerless.

If I were you, I would use holy water freely and liberally, all the while invoking the authority of Jesus Christ while cleansing your room and other dorm rooms where these manifestations are occurring. While sprinkling the water, say something like “With the authority of Jesus Christ, I bind you unclean spirits and command you to go to the foot of the cross.” Follow this up with a prayer of praise to Jesus and ask for a new infilling of the Holy Spirit. Say something like, “Jesus, I praise your holy name and ask you to please fill me anew with your Spirit!”

In the meantime, we will all pray for your safety and ask Jesus to deliver you from all evil, that you may live your life in His blessed peace.