01x04 - Demonic Pact

[bunniefuu]

[woman screaming]

[grunting]

[screaming]

[grunting]

[Eli Roth]

Evil is on the rise.

Demons battle

to possess our souls

and drag us one step closer

to hell.

But now, there is a gathering

of spiritual warriors

who defend us

against the devil's minions

Go back to hell!

[Minister Scott Johnson]

Saint Michael the archangel,

defend us in battle.

[growl]

[Eli]and unite to banish

the demons in our midst.

These are the true stories

ofThe Legion of Exorcists.

A deal with the devil,

it's more than

a figure of speech.

As exorcists will attest,

the devil really does

send his demons to Earth

to make bargains with the

grieving and the hopeless.

It's known as a demonic pact.

A demonic pact can be entered

into knowingly or unknowingly.

In the ongoing battle for souls,

it's often the young and the

vulnerable that the devil will seek out

because those are the people that

are more likely to be manipulated

into doing what the devil

wants them to do.

I don't take every case

but in my decade

serving as an exorcist,

the cases that really

get to me the most

are those involving children

or teenagers.

Those really chill me to the

core and call me to action

because I am a father of a

wonderful daughter and son.

So when I got a call

from a distraught mother,

I knew this was gonna be

one of those cases.

So, I get a call from a mom.

She is obviously

at a last resort.

She needs help

because the family

is enduring torment

after experiencing the

traumatic loss of their father.

Thought you would like this.

That was the last day I saw Dad.

It was a good day.

[Tina] The best.

[breathes deeply]

[exhales]

I just miss him so much.

[Alice] I know, babe.

I'll give you a minute.

I'll be downstairs

if you need me, okay?

Thanks, Mom.

[sighs]

[Minister Johnson] Tina was

a daddy's girl,

and she loved

to go fishing with him.

Losing him was absolutely

devastating to her.

This 17-year-old girl

was so distraught

that she would do anything to

talk to her dad one more time.

Just one more.

That grief and that vulnerability

all put Tina at risk.

And then something happened

that changed her behavior

from distraught

to disturbing.

And it all really

clicked with mom

that there was something bigger

than just grief going on

when she had an encounter

with her daughter

that shook her to the core.

Tina, come help.

What?

[Alice] I'm making your

favorite, chicken marsala.

Come help your mom.

I don't like that anymore.

Since when?

Come on.

Stop. Just leave me alone.

Tina.

Leave me [echoing] alone!

[glass shatters]

[breathes deeply]

But mom had witnessed some crazy

phenomenon surrounding her daughter

that intensified every time

her daughter got angry,

um, which became more frequent.

And she became

almost despondent.

She began to stop eating.

She was extremely aggressive.

She no longer slept.

She actually made them put

blackout shades in her room

because the light hurt her.

Oh, wow.

One day, mom made

a very terrifying discovery

when she went into her bedroom.

[muttered whispering]

[Alice] Tina.

It's after noon.

You need to get up.

[Tina] No.

Tina, we need to talk.

[Tina groans]

[Alice] Let's get

some light in here.

[Tina yells]

Tina.

[Tina screams]

[Alice] Tina,

who did this to you?

Tina?

They did.

Who's they?

It was the classic three-stripe

scratch mocking the Trinity.

But also, the skeptical side

of me is, like,

"I'm literally not there

to see this.

This can be faked."

Very easy.

Happens all the time.

I thought this could be

mental illness

due to the grief

of losing her father.

But that theory was shattered

by what happened next.

As the daughter's emotional and physical

condition continued to deteriorate

she had been losing weight,

wasting away, refusing to eat.

When the mother finally

got her to eat something,

it led to a manifestation,

that to this day,

I still cannot explain.

[Alice] You have to eat.

It's too much.

[Alice] Tina, eat.

If I take a bite,

will you leave me alone?

[groaning]

Oh. [retching]

It's a fish hook.

And her bowl of cereal

is filled with dozens more.

The connection here

is that her father

was an extremely

avid fishermen.

That was very

disturbing to them.

I really am out of

out of options

as far as mental health goes

when things begin to materialize.

You can't explain that away

with mental health, and grief,

and loss that kids go through.

And so, I am beginning

to understand

that there is something

very sinister happening here.

[screaming]

I knew I had to act now.

The only problem was

I was 300 miles away,

and this family needs help now.

We have to formulate a strategy.

I would have liked

to have done it in person,

but everything

in this battle plan

that we're

we have to develop,

has to be via video calls.

And so we begin to set up

this daily routine

to see if we can't somehow

weaken this entity

Right. - [Minister Johnson]

that's tormenting this family.

The next time

I talked to the mother

the daughter was present

on the video call.

What I saw was an emaciated,

tormented child,

and it absolutely

broke my heart.

And with my own eyes,

I saw something

that I will never forget

as long as I live.

[Alice] We just can't

thank you enough, pastor.

This has been a nightmare.

[Minister Johnson] I don't

want you to worry, Tina.

I'm gonna be here with you

until we figure this out.

I promise you,

we are gonna find the source of this,

and with God's help,

purge you of this torment. - Tina.

Tina, what's wrong?

[Tina breathing heavily]

[Alice] Tina!

Tina. Tina!

- [Tina groans]

Tina!

[Tina's breathing quickens]

[groaning]

My God.

[groaning continues]

At that moment

[Tina groaning]

the dad in me

rose up and said,

"This has got to stop."

So I realized that things were going

to get much worse very quickly

and that we had to act.

And I told the mom to play

worship music through the house

and to pray over the daughter

every night.

I was, like, "I need you to go

collect a couple of things."

And they had been part

of the Catholic Church.

They had relations there.

I was, like,

"I need you to go get holy water,

to have on hand

so that we're prepared to

face whatever comes our way."

A few days later,

mom calls back, frantic.

We're on the video call,

she says, "It's getting worse.

My daughter is worse.

Things are happening here that

are absolutely unimaginable."

I just don't know what to do.

Tina's boyfriend came over

tonight to cheer her up.

Everything was fine.

And then a few minutes ago,

she attacked him.

Where are they now?

They're upstairs.

He went in He just went in

to say goodnight.

[Tina screaming]

[Minister Johnson] No, no, no,

no, no, no.

Come on, God, help me out here.

Come on, come on.

Come on, God, come on.

As I heard this ungodly shriek

come from this emaciated

17-year-old girl,

I felt a level of dread

and fear that I had never

experienced before.

This was something

absolutely evil.

It seemed like an eternity.

Finally, mom calls back.

And she says,

"There is something upstairs

that you've got to see."

And what I see

in that bedroom

is something that will send chills

down my spine for the rest of my life.

[Tina grunting]

[Minister Johnson] What I saw

in that room,

that was the moment

that I knew I had to act.

So I had to do

an exorcism on a video call.

[screams] No!

As we started

my first ever

video exorcism,

I felt completely blind.

I felt that I didn't have all the tools

in my toolbox that I would normally have.

I wasn't there.

I didn't have my senses.

I'm on the other side

of a screen 300 miles away.

And I'm worried,

"Am I gonna do more harm than good?"

Or even worse,

"Is this not going to help?"

But we have to do this.

We have no choice.

Okay, I have everything

that you said to get.

I just don't know

what I'm doing.

I'll be with you

every step of the way.

But you need

to prepare yourself.

This isn't gonna be easy.

[Tina yelling]

[grunting]

[Minister Johnson] I knew

this girl's soul

was deeply tormented

and now was the time

to act.

[Alice's breathing trembles]

[Minister Johnson] Alice,

I'm right here with you.

Go in there

and reclaim your daughter.

[Alice breathing heavily]

Okay. First,

splash the holy water

across the threshold

of the door!

Go on in.

[whispers] Okay.

[indistinct whispering]

You can do this.

Oh, heavenly Father,

come through your vessel, Alice.

Assist us in ridding this

family of this pestilence.

[Alice] Oh, my God.

Now, you need to sprinkle

a few drops on Tina.

[Tina screaming]

[Minister Johnson] Saint Michael the

Archangel - [screaming continues]

defend us in battle.

[screaming continues]

[Minister Johnson] And now,

O Prince of the heavenly host,

by the power of God,

thrust into hell Satan

[screaming continues]

[Minister Johnson]and all

evil spirits,

who wander the world

for the ruin of souls.

[screaming]

[sobbing]

Tina?

[breathing deeply]

Tina?

I'm here. I'm here, baby.

[sniffs]

It's okay.

Mom?

[Alice] Oh, my God,

Tina. [sniffs]

Tina. [sniffs]

Alice, no! Alice, no!

[Alice] It's okay.

[Minister Johnson] No, Alice,

listen to me.

[Alice] I think it worked.

This is the most

dangerous part of the process.

I don't understand.

She's right here.

Tina?

Where'd she go?

The demonic will do anything,

anything to trick us,

you understand?

Tina?

Tina?

[screaming]

[Scott distantly] Alice.

Alice, are you there?

I can't describe

the feeling of despair.

Everything good in the world

ceased to exist

from my perspective

at that moment.

Alice. Alice!

And it was just

the most hopeless thing.

Phones weren't working.

Oh, God, help me out here.

It seemed like an eternity.

So, finally, mom calls back.

Tina.

Alice, what happened?

[Alice] I don't know.

I just splashed her with holy water,

and the only thing

that came to mind

I just started saying

the Hail Mary.

[Minister Johnson]

That was good. That was good.

Listen to me.

Alice, I know

this is terrible

but let's finish this.

[Tina screaming]

I command you, demon,

leave the innocent

from your grip.

You hold no power here.

[Tina yelling]

Go back where you came from.

I command you,

in the name of the Father,

the Son

and the Holy Spirit,

Amen!

[gasping]

Mom?

Tina.

God.

[Minister Johnson] Exorcisms

are not simple.

We use our holy items and

prayer to wear down the demon.

During the battle,

sometimes there are moments

where the demonic entity will kind of

retreat to regroup, to regather its strength,

and those are the moments

that you can't let up

and you can't fall victim to

a false sense of completion.

But when the mom

waged w*r a second time,

you could see the demonic

energy leaving Tina.

You could see it in her eyes.

And then we knew

that Tina had been returned.

So, at the end of it all,

the excitement of seeing

that a video exorcism

actually worked was incredible.

And I hope I never have to do

a video exorcism ever again.

I applaud you because at least

you thought outside of the box.

I mean that's

that's what we do, right?

Like, we are

the last line of defense

[Reverend Rita Strugala] Yeah.

- for these people.

Did you ever figure out

how she got possessed?

I talked with the mother

and we realized that through

Tina's incredible grief

[Tina] I just miss him so much.

and this deep desire to speak

with her dad just one more time

that she used a spirit board to attempt

to make contact with her father.

She was asking for her dad to

appear to her or answer her.

And something did answer

but it wasn't her dad.

[Tina] Spirits hear my voice.

I'm trying to contact my father.

Dad, I just need to hear

your voice one last time.

[male voice echoing] Tina.

Dad, is that you?

[muffled] Tina.

I miss you.

[spirit speaking in tongues]

[otherworldly yelling]

You're not my father.

[spirit speaking in tongues]

Your soul is mine.

[spirit muttering]

Little did Tina know

that by using the spirit board

she had opened the door and

made contact with a demonic

to let that entity

into her life.

Sometimes people unknowingly

open doors,

and sometimes,

they're already there

and they didn't know

they existed.

But even if you reject that

devil coming through the door,

you can still find

yourself in trouble.

We claim this home

for spiritual safety

and protection against all evil.

We claim this home

for spiritual protection

and safety from all evil.

I see him.

A demonic pact,

a deal with the devil.

Most would say it's a chance

they'd never take.

But there are people who turn down

the deal and still pay the price

because you can't count

on the devil to play fair.

We've all been

tempted by the devil

and it's okay to admit that,

I mean even Christ was tempted.

But somehow, some way,

you've gotta dig deep

and you've gotta

pull into your faith,

take that strength,

and just say no.

But in my seven years

of being an exorcist,

I had one case where

strength just wasn't enough.

This story begins

on a beautiful horse ranch

with a woman named Joyce.

As beautiful

as this property was,

there seemed

to be a dark side to it

and Joyce was afraid that it

may have an infestation of evil.

She told me that years earlier,

they had suffered a tragedy

and she really thought that it

was brought on by the demonic.

And when I asked her what

happened and she told me

it literally

broke my heart.

[horse neighs]

[sobs]

No!

[crying] No!

[horses neighing]

Her whole barn

was engulfed in flames

with all of her horses inside.

The horses screaming, pawing,

trying to get out of there.

It was just horrific.

It was the sound

of death and destruction.

[horses neighing]

No, please, no!

[screaming]

She said, "Rita, I've never seen

such things coming out of that barn."

And I said,

"What do you mean?"

And she said, "The most demonic

figures you could ever see

coming out of those flames."

The barn burned

completely to the ground.

None of the horses survived.

It destroyed Joyce.

She had no idea how

that fire had started,

but seeing those figures coming out of

those flames was really traumatizing.

A week later, she awoke

to the smell of smoke.

Hey.

Do you smell something?

[gasping]

[growling]

[grunting]

[demon] Surrender.

[sobbing]

Surrender to me.

I will return your beasts

from the dead.

[horse neighs]

[demon] You need only surrender.

No!

Get out of my house

in the name of Jesus!

[sobs]

[demon] Then I will take

something you love more.

[crying]

The demon told her that if she

would just agree to follow him,

he would return

everything that she had lost.

And she refused.

When I heard that story

I I honestly could not fathom for

her to have the strength of character

and faith enough

to look it in the eye

and say, "You get out of my

house in the name of Jesus."

Get out of my house

in the name of Jesus!

She's addressing

this dragon entity,

that's very,

almost word for word,

reminiscent of Jesus'

temptation in the wilderness.

[Bishop James Long] Yup.

- You know I never thought of that.

I mean,

when Satan says to Jesus,

"If you will bow down

and worship me," - Yes.

"I will give you all the

kingdoms of the world." - Yup.

And that is what

this really was.

It's the typical

deal with the devil.

You surrender your soul

to the devil

and in return, he gives you

something of earthly good

for as long as you're here.

But he will come back

to collect.

Joyce is a woman of great faith

and she had been very strong,

turning that deal down.

But the devil does not

like rejection.

He said he would be back

and he would take something

from her that she loved

even more.

[horse neighs]

[horse neighs]

Harold?

There's something in the barn!

[horse neighs]

[horse neighs]

Jesus, Mom, it's late,

what are you doing out here anyway?

I saw something in the barn.

It spooked the horses.

Oh, really, Mom?

I thought we were

done with all that.

Go on home, get some rest.

I'll check the barn for the

evil spirits.

[exclaims]

Harold!

Harold!

Joyce, what's the matter?

What's the matter,

what happened, what's wrong?

He's back, Harold.

He came to collect.

He's back. [sobs]

[crying]

[Reverend Strugala] "It's back,"

that's what she said to her husband.

"It's back."

And that's when she called me to

come do a cleansing of the property.

In researching the property

I found that here were several

Civil w*r skirmishes in the area.

And we all know

that bloodshed and violence,

can be an open door

for the demonic.

We were gonna have to do a

complete cleansing of the property,

which was 40 acres.

I brought my A-team.

I brought my senior

sensitive, Colleen

and a father

from the church.

Knowing how strong

this demon was,

I decided we would start

our cleansing in the barn

where all of this began.

May we grow strong and mighty

within you as within this house.

[Joyce] May we grow strong and mighty

within you as within this house.

Harold, I want you to take

Father Ethan, and Colleen,

go to the northeast corner of the

property to start the cleansing.

I want you to use holy water,

salt, everything.

Absolutely.

- We got it.

[Reverend Strugala] Good luck.

Let's finish cleansing the barn.

They say the barn caught fire

because of a freak lightning strike,

but I've never seen lightning

without thunder.

Night, Mom.

My daughter thinks I'm crazy.

You're not crazy.

Do not believe that

for a second.

Let's begin.

We claim this home

for this family of God

as a place of spiritual

protection against all evil.

In that moment, the

the feeling was staticky, it was electric.

It was very powerful.

And I knew that something dark

was in that barn.

We claim this home for

spiritual safety and protection

against all evil.

We claim this home for spiritual

protection and safety from all evil.

Oh, my God.

[Reverend Strugala] Here.

[growling]

I told you before!

You're not welcome here!

Get out!

In the name of Jesus Christ,

I cast you out!

Is he gone?

I still feel him.

Where'd he go?

Who lives in that house?

My daughter.

Missy.

- Get everyone up there.

In that moment, I realized

this demon had come back

to collect on that pact.

He picked the most precious thing to

Joyce, her daughter.

Missy.

He was

It broke down the door

and came toward me.

It tried to grab me.

You were right.

I'm sorry.

He didn't come back for me,

he came for her.

It's gonna be okay.

You're okay.

What does it want with me?

[Joyce] I don't know, honey,

I don't know.

It's okay, it's okay.

We need to cleanse

this house too.

You two, follow my lead.

The situation was scary,

but I knew I needed

the family's help

to battle this demon.

While you can do

a cleansing of a house

without the family's

participation,

it's a lot stronger

if you have them.

It gives them the authority

to cast it out.

Dear Lord, who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name.

[mouthing prayer]

This is your house.

I can help you,

but you've gotta cast him out.

Okay.

Now take a pinch of salt

and repeat after us.

[together] In the name of Jesus

Christ, I cast you out.

In the name of Je-- [screams]

[screaming]

Oh, God!

Christ, make it stop, please.

I was trying so hard

to get Missy

to cast this out in Jesus' name.

[screaming]

And she just keeps screaming,

"She can't, she can't."

[screaming]

Worst nightmare

right in front of me.

[growling]

[snarling]

I felt like I was

really being tested

and I really didn't know if I had

the strength to go through this.

When I looked

to the front of Missy,

it was dark, it was evil

and it was warring

for her soul.

I actually thought that I was

experiencing a spiritual tug of w*r.

[screaming]

[demonic snarling]

[demon screaming]

[screaming]

In the name of Jesus Christ,

I cast you out!

[screaming]

And then it was incredible.

In that moment of truth,

Joyce found that same strength

that she had years before

to save her daughter.

You will not take my daughter!

[panting]

[whimpering]

He's gone, baby,

he won't hurt us anymore.

After all this,

it's finally gone.

[Reverend Strugala] Missy

was now a believer.

And through Joyce's strength

and love for her daughter

not to mention her faith and

her strength from the Lord

we were all able

to conquer.

[Bishop Long] It's beautiful.

[Minister Johnson]

It is, amen.

There are people making

deals with demons every day.

For fame.

- [Reverend Strugala] Yes.

[Minister Johnson] Money.

- [Bishop Long] For fortune.

For wealth, for popularity,

for retribution.

Yeah, that's true.

- [Bishop Long] It really does go to show

what demons will do,

the depravity.

I mean, the [stutters] the disgust

about how this demon had the audacity

to go to the woman

who owned these horses

[demon] Then I will take

something you love more.

and use that against her

to make that deal

with the devil.

"Just Just make a deal,

all you gotta say is yes."

Yeah. - And, like,

[stuttering] but it reminds us,

the devil promises

and then he lies.

[Reverend Strugala] Yup.

- And he takes and he never gives.

And, just, it's so disturbing

to me

how this demon made these lies

and used her emotion

by promising to bring back the

very horses that it k*lled.

So true.

The devil will exploit,

uh, vulnerability and grief

in order to get someone

to make that deal with him.

To say no to a demon, it takes love

it takes strength,

and it takes Jesus.

Lies and deception

are core tenants of the devil

and not just for demonic pacts.

In the w*r for souls,

the devil can even choose an animal

as an entry point to evil,

something exorcists call,

"A demonic familiar."

At the next gathering

ofThe Legion of Exorcists,

[Eli]d emonic familiars

living among us.

[priest] Thy will be done.

[demon snarling]