Real Nightmares (Book 3)

Brad Steiger

Description

Demon possession, men in black, the devil baby, ethereal abduction, what's under the bed?!?—and you thought you couldn't sleep!!

Paranormal researcher extraordinaire Brad Steiger, an author of thousands of books and articles on the mysterious and unknown, gathers more of his favorite and scariest stories of the unexplained in this compilation.

These tales will creep into your dreams, spook your consciousness, and leave you grasping for the light switch.

Bolt the doors when you read Real Nightmares: Things that Go Bump in the Night.

Sujets

• Unexplained Phenomena
• Body (disambiguation)
• Spirituality
• Supernatural
• Brad Steiger

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578594078
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

REAL NIGHTMARES

Things that Go Bump in the Night

B r a d S t e i g e r

3

C O N T E N T S

From the Author, Brad Steiger . . . . . . . . 6 Possessed by Spirits for 26 Years . . . . 11 Black-Eyed Beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Men in Black (MIB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 The Devil Baby of Bourbon Street . . . 39 Fox Maidens of Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Martha Learned Not to Put Her Hand Under Another’s Bed . . . . . . . 54 A Series of Abductions Seemed to Begin with an Ethereal Visitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Real Nightmares: 3

2

F R O M T H E A U T H O R , B R A D S T E I G E R

real nightmare occurs when you experience a fright A ening encounter with something strange and un known, and you know without question that you are not asleep, that you are not dreaming. You know with every ounce of your being that the chilling encounter is real. I first experienced real nightmares when I was a child. Today, my sister and I attribute our insomnia to the ghostly visitors that walked through our bedrooms nearly every night and kept us awake. Our farmhouse was built on the site of the old stagecoach stop, and it seemed that some otherworldly passengers were still trying to catch the last stage out of this dimension. It didn’t help when our parents tore the old house down and built a new home on the same site. Our spirit com panions still appeared as shadows moving about the house and amused themselves by knocking on the walls, stomping about with heavy feet, and opening and clos ing doors. Growing up with real nightmares on a regu lar basis prepared me for the nights in my adulthood when I would investigate haunted houses with a team of paranormal researchers and encounter a wide variety of otherworldly beings. [Continued on p. 59]

Real Nightmares: 3

3

Possessed by Spirits

for 26 Years hortly before the two priests were to begin the exor S cism in the convent, Father Theophilus Riesinger, the exorcist, complimented Father Joseph Steiger for having the bravery to allow him to perform the rites in his parish. “The devil does not deal softly with those who attempt to interfere in his work,” Father Riesinger said solemnly.

The two men had been friends for many years, and since the woman afflicted by demonic possession lived near Father Steiger’s parish, Father Riesinger had pre vailed on him to allow the convent in his Earling, Iowa, parish to be used as the place in which to conduct the exorcism. According to Father Riesinger, Anna, the woman who lay quietly in a room awaiting the holy rites, had been the victim of violent and loathsome de Real Nightmares: 3 4

Possessed by Spirits for 26 Years

monic attentions since she was 14 years old. On several occasions, she had tried to commit suicide in order to rid herself of the terrible voices that screamed in her ears. Now the poor creature was 40 years old. Marriage hadn’t helped her; dozens of doctors hadn’t helped her; someonehadto help her. Yet Father Steiger had to admit to his friend that it seemed strange that, in 1928, two priests were about to begin the ancient rites of exorcism in an attempt to cast out a devil in, of all places, Earling, Iowa. Although he believed the case to be genuine and he had deep faith that Father Riesinger would in some manner be able to give the poor woman some peace, he still couldn’t help thinking that the whole process seemed so medieval. But what else could be done? Here was a woman who could not receive the sacraments because of taunt ing voices in her head that mocked her; a oncepious young girl who could not even go to confession without attempting to strangle the confessor; a woman who never got past the eighth grade but could give a literal translation of Latin prayers and correct her priest when he mispronounced a word. The bishop had been study ing this case since 1902, 26 years prior, so no one could accuse him of having made a hasty decision when he de clared Anna’s affliction to be, unmistakably, one of dia bolic possession. That was why Father Riesinger had been sent to Iowa to conduct a rite almost forgotten by clergy and laity alike; a rite that could not be conducted without the full approval of church superiors. Father Riesinger was a cleric who had long since been convinced that the world was very different from what most people be lieved, and that the modern age had not succeeded in Real Nightmares: 3 5

Possessed by Spirits for 26 Years

altering the basic truths and balances that were pre sented in the scriptural texts. In his view of reality, the struggle of Good versus Evil was still very much a part of contemporary existence. With God’s good help, he be lieved they could rid the woman of the demons that pos sessed her. On September 1 the exorcism began. Father Steiger stepped aside to allow Father Riesinger to enter the room at the end of the hall, where the possessed woman lay afflicted. The exorcist swept past him in the austere hooded robe he wore as a member of the Order of Fri ars Minor Capuchin. His long white beard and the over sized crucifix that rested in the cincture of his robe, like a broadsword ready for diabolic fray, made him seem otherworldly. Although he was nearly 60 years old, Fa ther Riesinger was still a strong, muscular man, with a body that had been kept in good physical condition by a regimen of disciplined monastic living. A special mass had been said that morning, and the mother superior stood by the possessed woman’s bed with a number of sisters. To begin the rites, Father Riesinger made the sign of the cross, and all present joined in the opening prayer of exorcism, the Litany of All Saints. The woman began to tremble, then a dread ful growl filled the room. Father Steiger was amazed to note that in spite of the rising chorus of animal howls that were ostensibly coming from the woman, neither her tongue nor her lips moved. The exorcist raised his voice in an invocation, but he had only uttered a few words when an incredible phenomenon occurred. Be fore the nuns who surrounded Anna could intervene, the trembling woman on the bed was suddenly carried through the air to the doorway of the highceilinged Real Nightmares: 3 6