The Battle Between Good and Evil

I have carried out multifarious exorcisms of demonic contamination down the years; some undoubtedly vampiric and I am still consulted by priests in other denominations due to the unique sub-category of vampirology within demonology being no longer part of their training and syllabus. More often I am contacted by clergy and laity where a suspected contagion arises. Whilst demonic interference is frequently unearthed, classical vampirism less often rears its head. Forms of vampirism can occur without the manifestation having an apparent corporeal presence. When it does have a tangible form it would be regarded by vampirologists as a traditional or classical case.

There are obvious reasons why I would not want to reveal just how many have been encountered by me and my colleagues. It is, of course, more than the recorded encounters and exorcisms in the published account of the Highgate investigation. The scourge of this unearthly phenomenon is by no means vanquished. It presents itself as a manifestation of that demonic legion referred to in Ephesians 6: 12 which we are required to resist in every way we can. This is the struggle that ensued at Highgate all those years ago. It is a permanent struggle for those of us called to cast out such evil.

Avoiding wherever possible the media in all its forms to ensure confidentiality to those who need help and whose help and co-operation is sought has allowed the ministry for dealing with such demonic molestation to become increasingly effective over the decades. Suffice that a world famous case was written about over the last four and a half decades where media intrusion was impossible to prevent. Countless film documentaries have been made about it and there have been televised dramatisations. There would have been no justification in repeating the unavoidable process of media co-operation applicable in the Highgate case over and again. By not discussing subsequent cases and by not exposing private people to a limelight they would certainly not welcome, my colleagues and I have been able to continue to operate with a reputation which precedes us for keeping confidences and not compromising people and places. Decades after that first case was both reported and sensationalised by the media, I am still being asked to discuss it. While remaining open to debating the topic privately, I avoid the particular when it comes to unpublicised incidents and cases; having resolved not to allow investigations in the wake of Highgate to become similarly blighted.

Father David C. Trosch states: "Only Catholic priests who are both legally and morally ordained and are faithful to the teachings of Sacred Scripture, as validly understood through the legitimate moral authority of the Church, and who remain spiritually sound should attempt an exorcism."

In Mark 16: 17, Jesus Christ states: "Believers will drive out demons in My name."

Our Lord confronted Satan in the wilderness. He also cast out demons during His ministry on Earth. Indeed, these comprise the majority of His miracles in the Synoptic Gospels.

How can a Christian, therefore, not recognise the real existence of the Devil and his legion of demons if Christ did and, moreover, instructed us to cast out demons in His name?

The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in its traditional manifestation fully accepts such existence and consequently the requirement of exorcism. This embraces the traditional wing of such denominations as Anglo-Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Old Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism, Western and Eastern Orthodoxy.

To exorcise means to deliver a person from the presence or influence of evil spirits. That the Devil, within the limits allowed by God, has retained a certain power over men even after the coming of Christ is clearly testified by Holy Scripture and the history of the Church. Jesus drove out demons from the possessed and He bestowed this power upon His apostles and disciples. In the early times of the Christian era many lay persons possessed this power as a charism.

It is in harmony with reason and faith to assume that the Devil has greater power over the unbaptised in consequence of original sin. For this reason, at a very early date, exorcisms were performed repeatedly over the catechumens in preparation for baptism. To perform these exorcisms and, in general, to exorcise persons possessed by or under the influence of evil spirits exorcists were ordained.

The rite speaks of exorcists as spiritual physicians endowed with the power of healing. This may also refer to bodily afflictions caused by the Devil; once the influence of the Devil is broken by the exorcism, the affliction ceases. 

The other duties of the exorcist stood in close relation to this principal function of the Order of the Exorcistate. According to the usual interpretation of the instruction read to the ordinands, he was to direct persons under exorcism, and for that reason barred from Holy Communion, when to withdraw. Furthermore, it was his duty at sacred functions to administer the water for the washing of hands to the officiating priest. The latter ceremony symbolises purification from sin, hence a banishing of the influence of the evil spirits; it was fitting, therefore, to assign this duty to the exorcist.

A a solemn and effective exorcism can be found in the Rituale Romanum.

Unless you are familiar and comfortable with Latin, I would recommend the vernacular for exorcism prayers and rituals.

I am of an opinion founded on experience that vampires (demonic predatory entities) are a real and present danger. The best defence against such supernatural evil is one's Faith. Vampires absorb blood (the abode of the soul) in a way that enables the wraith to manifest in tangible form, thereby appearing as an accursed body which issues forth from within the confines of its earthly grave by supernatural means to drain the essence of life from the living whereby the corporeal aspect is seemingly nourished and preserved with new vitality and fresh energy. This corporeal form can nevertheless metamorphose; that is to say shape-shift. There are antidotes and repellents to guard against vampiric interference or attack. These I identify in my concise vampirological guide The Vampire Hunter's Handbook, which is only available in the English language. However, I would suggest the presence of a crucifix, holy water and the burning of incense.

Innocent III (Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216) sanctioned the publication of a treatise on how to make the discovery of vampires and thus elimate them. The authorative teaching of the Fourth Lateran Council under Innocent III in 1215 dogmatically lays down: "Diabolus enim et alii daemones a Deo quidem natura creati sunt boni, sed ipsi per se facti mali." A massive gathering of fifteen hundred prelates listened to his decrees and passed them. Innocent III ruled the world in tranquil majesty for close on twenty years. 

Copies of the treatise held in the Vampire Research Society archive are in Latin. I am unaware of an English translation. Though extracts might possibly be found in some academic works on the topic by other authors.

Bear in mind that the Slavic word "vampire" was not in use until a much later century, so reports referred to incubi, succubi, revenants and such creatures of the night that nevertheless meet with vampire criteria.

There is no biblical support to the idea that demons can attach themselves to physical objects. This belief is part of occultic systems found in animistic cultures and, of course, among those who practice magic.

Some say that verses such as Acts 19: 19, where former magicians burned their magic books, prove that objects can have demons. But the passage does not say that. It is more likely that these new believers were burning their magic books to prevent the spread of lies and to show that they had now become believers in Jesus.

The Bible records stories of demons afflicting or possessing unbelieving people. But they are no stories of demons being in or attached to objects, and the Bible does not warn us about demons attaching themselves to objects. Occult practices may attract evil spirits, and, since certain objects are used in those practices, it might seem that the demons are attracted to the objects; however, this does not mean the demons are in the objects. It is the occult activity itself that attracts them. When people who have been involved in sorcery come to Christ, they are often advised to get rid of their magic/occult books and objects, not because the objects have demons in them, but because the books and objects would be a source for future temptation.

Believers in Christ are not to fear demons, although we are to be vigilant and alert for their temptations (1 Peter 5: 8). The key is submission to God and walking in the truth of Christ daily: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4: 7). Those who have put their faith in Christ have nothing to fear, as the apostle John explained, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome [Satan and his false prophets], because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4: 4)

Consecrated and/or blessed objects such as crucifixes and holy relics especially cannot be contaminated by demons and indeed repel them as an antidote.