Eli Roth Presents: The Legion of Exorcists (2023) s01e04 Episode Script
Demonic Pact
[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 war 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 War 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 war.
[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 killed.
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 war 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]
[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 war 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 War 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 war.
[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 killed.
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 war 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]