The True Story of How I Met “The Amityville Horror” Investigators
Ed and Lorraine Warren, the famous ghost hunters and demonologists.
In case you haven’t heard of Ed and Lorraine Warren, they became America’s most famous ghost hunters and demonologists following their involvement in the investigation of the 1970s haunting known as “The Amityville Horror,” which became the basis of a sensational book and movie.
Over time, their further investigations have become the stuff of paranormal legend.
Years before movie-going audiences were terrified by recent films based on them like “The Conjuring” and “Annabelle,” I met the Warrens. It’s a fun story I’ve been meaning to tell for a long time.
Here’s how it happened.
In 1999, I moved into an apartment on the third floor of an old house in the Boston area, not far from Harvard Square.
I never saw objects floating in mid-air or heard creepy voices telling me to get out, but shortly after moving in, I began to notice something that made me wonder if the place might be haunted.
As a lifelong New Englander who was raised Irish Catholic, I’m automatically prone to superstition, but I had never experienced anything like this before and haven’t since.
The living room was connected to the rest of the apartment by two doorways, one led to the dining room, the other led to the main hallway. At some point, I began to notice that when I was sitting in the living room and not paying attention, it seemed like someone was standing in the doorway to the hall. The effect would cause me to turn and look at the doorway once I noticed it, only to find it empty.
Despite the fact that this happened repeatedly, I ignored it. Until other people who visited, and who had no prior knowledge of what I had experienced, started saying the same thing.
It was not scary or threatening, it just seemed like an effect of light and peripheral vision. I started referring to it as “the ghost at the door.”
Eventually, someone in my social circle suggested that I should try to contact Ed and Lorraine Warren, and I did.
Back then, the Warrens had a very basic website that included a generic contact email address. I sent a brief message which was short on details, asking if I could get their thoughts on a possible haunting.
Within a day, I got a response from the guy who managed their website. He emailed their phone number and said, “Mike, Call the Warrens.”
I called them that night.
Lorraine answered the phone, and after a quick explanation of who I was, how I got their phone number and why I was calling, she passed the phone to Ed. He asked me a few questions about the figure that seemed to appear in my doorway and said, “Oh, that’s just someone who’s hanging around.”
He went on to explain his belief that there are two types of hauntings. One is the ghost of a human being, which lingers in a place for any number of reasons and is harmless. The other is a non-human spiritual entity, which is demonic and therefore malevolent and dangerous.
After I thanked Ed for hearing my story and offering his opinion, he handed the phone back to Lorraine. She said that they were holding a meeting in a few days at their house in Connecticut with some of their associates, and invited me to attend.
The following weekend, I drove down to Connecticut and met Ed and Lorraine Warren at their home.
The thing I found most striking about them upon meeting them in person was how, for lack of a better word, “normal” they seemed. They looked, dressed, and behaved like a sweet older couple who could be your neighbors. They just happened to make their living investigating and lecturing about demonic hauntings. The normalcy with which they treated the subject matter somehow made it even creepier.
Back then, if you wanted to learn about the Warrens and their investigations, you were better off reading books. Today, there are countless articles and videos on the internet and not all of them are positive.
The Warrens have been accused of being fakes, charlatans, and hoaxers. I’m not in a position to verify any of these claims or to disprove them, but I will tell you this. The Warrens believed it. Ghosts, hauntings, demons, possessions, they believed it all.
Their casual attitude on the subject only made them seem more in earnest.
At the end of my visit, I was given a chance to walk through their museum, which was located in a large shed behind the house that contained artifacts they collected over the years. The most notable display was the real “Annabelle” doll, which supposedly terrorized three nursing students and has become the basis for another series of horror films.
Unlike the one presented in movies, the real Annabelle is a “Raggedy Ann” doll. The Warrens kept it locked in a glass case. True story or not, Annabelle is pure nightmare fuel.
Paranormal Investigator Lorraine Warren holding the real Annabelle doll pic.twitter.com/EdPrqk3Zim
— 41 Strange (@41Strange) October 5, 2019
This, seriously, is the “real” Annabelle doll pic.twitter.com/la4Y5Go8NI
— Michael Clear (@MichaelClear) October 17, 2019
I thanked the Warrens and headed home. I found them to be very friendly, gracious and honest people. I came to them asking questions and they took me seriously without ever asking for anything in return. I should note that they made their living by giving lectures and never charged anyone for their investigations.
I met them one more time, a year or two later, when I attended a lecture they gave at a college in the Boston area. I never saw them or spoke to them after that, but I do think of them sometimes. Ed Warren died in 2006 and Lorraine Warren died in April of 2019.
They were a fascinating couple and I am thankful that I had an opportunity to meet them.
Maybe that was the purpose of “the ghost at the door” all along.
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
Uhhhhhhhhhhh…
Anyways, cool story!
Oh, it’s almost Halloween. I was expecting a debunking of a couple of frauds.
*goes somewhere else*
You don’t find it interesting that guests at Mike’s apartment noticed the same strange effect?
It could’ve been light reflecting into a room from outside and bouncing down the hallway and reflecting off the hallway door – but subtle enough to not be immediately obvious. But that doesn’t account for the fleeting feeling of being observed.
Or it is possible the shared response to subtle changes in lighting is human-archetypal. Or it could be a ghost. Whatever it was – our universe contains wonders beyond our imagination.
Toasts Michael; Here’s to discovery!
I mentioned in the comment thread about Trump’s alleged cut off of military aid to Ukraine that in fact he did not do so but Obama in fact did. He promised to transfer two decommissioned USCG island-class cutters (patrol boats, really) in 2014. But then refused to transfer them for the remainder of his presidency. His administration claimed that “details” that needed to be sorted out “delayed” the transfer. I pointed out that transferring decommissioned USN and USCG vessels to foreign naval and coast guard/security forces is routine and has been since shortly after WWII when we had a massive number of ships we no longer needed. In other words all the “details” had been worked out decades ago.
I mentioned the USS Phoenix which served with distinction from Pearl Harbor through VJ day, only to be transferred to the Argentine Navy and sunk in 1982 during the Falklands War as the ARA General Belgrano. I also mentioned that that we are smack dab in the middle of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The battle actually consists of five separate naval engagements but since it resulted from a single Japanese operation, Sho-Go 1, in USN circles and among American historians it’s considered one large extended battle that took place from 23-26 October 1944.
Since this post concerns historical events I’d like to make further comments on the Battle of Leyte gulf.
A good basic write-up of the five distinct naval engagements that comprised the battle of Leyte Gulf can be found here:
combinedfleet.com/battles/Leyte_Campaign
As I mentioned it provides the basics but lacks many of the details to understand the complete picture. I intend to provide some of that detail.
1. The Ambush in the Palawan passage.
As noted in the combined fleet article the Gato class submarines Darter and Dace had shadowed Kurita’s battleship-based Center Force throughout the night before they attacked on 23 October.
In fact Kurita’s Center Force as well as the other, smaller battleship-based Southern Force commanded by VADM Nishimura had been kept under almost continuous surveillance by allied aircraft and submarines since they departed Borneo after filling their fuel tanks.
Sho-Go 1 greatly depended on two things to succeed; achieving complete surprise and air cover provided by land-based naval aircraft stationed on Formosa. The fact that allied forces had tracked the Center and Southern forces from the start, as well as Ozawa’s carrier-based Northern Force since it departed Japanese home waters meant the IJN naval forces couldn’t achieve complete surprise (although thanks to Halsey’s near fatal blunder Kurita did regain the element of surprise). And USN fleet carrier airwings had demolished the aircraft based on Formosa, which meant that the Japanese would have no air cover. The Japanese army of course had substantial numbers of aircraft in the Philippines but the Japanese Army and Navy hated each other with a passion they rarely directed toward the opposing forces they were nominally fighting together. So the IJN well knew it could expect no help from Japanese army aircraft; they never even considered the possibility.
“Admiral Kurita was fished out of the water and transferred his flag to Yamato, but it is speculated that his morale was negatively affected by the incident.”
Being forced to swim for your life after an opposing force sinks your flagship never does anything positive for a naval commander’s outlook on life. But there’s no need to speculate about the state of Kurita’s morale. He survived the war and lived until 1977. During the post-war years he freely cooperated with USN interrogators, American historians, and gave numerous press interviews.
His morale was low before his flagship was sunk. He was bitterly opposed to the assignment that had been forced on him, and he told his senior commanders exactly what he thought. In fact he bitterly resented those commanders, safe in their fortified in and near Tokyo and in even more remote locations inland coming up with ever more absurd plans. They hadn’t ever seen combat. In fact the senior IJN commanders such as ADM Toyoda, the chief of naval staff, and his staff officers had never even put to sea throughout the entire war. Kurita, on the other hand, was one of the most heavily employed (which doesn’t add up to one of the best) commanders at sea in the IJN.
Actually Toyoda privately agreed with Kurita. He considered Sho-Go 1 a risky gamble that was probably destined to fail. But he also realized that Japan was doomed if they lost the Philippines. Without forces based in the Philippines Japan had no hope of defending the vital supply lines between South East Asia and Japan. From an IJN perspective, should the USN and allied forces cut those lines the fleet remaining in home waters would be cut off from their fuel supply in the Dutch East Indies. The substantial surface forces stationed at Singapore and Borneo would have plenty of fuel but would be cut off from arms, ammunition, and other vital supplies from Japan. Which is why, he wrote, that it was “pointless” to try and preserve a fleet that would soon be rendered useless in any case. But he didn’t tell Kurita that he too thought it was almost certainly going to be a waste of ships and lives when Kurita objected.
Kurita was ordered to arrive at Leyte Gulf on the 25th of October, five days after American ground forces had begun their amphibious landing. Kurita was largely but not entirely correct when he concluded that he’d be wasting his valuable battleships and cruisers on sinking empty troop transports and cargo vessels before he and his command were wiped out. In any event he was correct that he couldn’t isolate and starve the US and allied ground forces for long. But then he never expected to get there. No experienced Japanese surface commander expected to remain undetected anywhere in the western Pacific for long after departing port. Only submarines could operate relatively freely although they operated timidly. US and allied anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tactics, weapons, and sensors had been systematically improved during the war so after the first couple of years commanders and crews considered it suicide to attempt an attack. Meanwhile Japanese ASW capabilities remained as dismal throughout the war as they had been at the start (Japanese surface ship sonars were useless if the ship exceeded 13 knots while IJN ASW doctrine dictated that Japanese destroyers make their depth charge runs at 25 knots so they would could escape the blast from their own weapons; you can see the problem). This is why Darter and Dace could maul Kurita’s force so thoroughly. The two subs also put an exclamation point on what Kurita already assumed; the USN and allied forces knew exactly where he was.
Barely surviving his sinking was another element that contributed to his sinking morale. He had lost three heavy cruisers (Takao wasn’t sunk but sat out the rest of the war in Singapore where there were no repair facilities capable of putting her back in action) plus the fact he had to detach destroyers to escort the crippled cruiser as it withdrew severely depleted his force. And although Kurita survived Atago’s sinking nearly all his flag staff officers did not. So he already knew he’d be without his most capable and trusted advisors for the remainder of his mission. Oh, by the way, Kurita had only just recovered from a severe bout of Dengue fever before sortying. Yes, his morale started low and after he was ambushed it kept sinking until it was lower than whale s*** at the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
I suppose technically Arminius hijacked this thread, but as someone who enjoys military history, thanks for the hard work in typing all that up. I greatly enjoyed the read.
Great Story, Mike!
I cast a demon out of a house once, through prayer.
I cast a one out of my house once…through prayer and divorce.
Lol, great comment
DouglasJBender: Me too.
Gremlin1974: Me three.
Not making light of that but American voters cast the embodiment of the Witch of Endor out of entering the White House in 2016.
There is a real battle being fought as you experienced.
I wouldn’t compare the woman of En Dor to Hillary Clinton. The woman of En Dor did no significant harm to anybody, and (whether she had planned to or not) she provided her king with a valuable service. That doesn’t sound at all like the Wicked Witch of Westchester.
2.Battle of the Sibuyan Sea.
Not much to add to Parshall and Tully’s write-up at combined fleet. The carrier airwings of Halsey’s Third Fleet mauled Kurita’s Center Force as it entered the Sibuyan Sea in the middle of the Philippine archipelago east of the islands of Samar and Leyte. Unfortunately, as often happened in the war the Naval aviators became fixated on one target almost to the exclusion of other available targets. Halsey’s Helldivers and Avengers put 17 bombs (including devastating 1000 pounders) and 20 torpedo’s into the super battleship Musashi. There were 18 near misses, which through the shock of explosions further damaged Musashi and sprayed shrapnel across her decks and into her crews. They didn’t exactly ignore the other ships. Musashi’s sister ship Yamato absorbed two hits forward and emerged from the battle down at the bow with her speed reduced after taking on several thousand tons of seawater. Other ships had been damaged as well but all emerged with their combat power intact.
Kurita’s brief withdrawal to the west convinced Halsey that the IJN force was much more severely damaged than they actually were. He was convinced they were retreating permanently. How he arrived at this conclusion is a complete mystery since by 1700 hours that same afternoon he knew that Kurita had turned his force back east and was heading for the San Bernardino strait between Samar and Leyte. Halsey was supposed to guard that strait. Again, the IJN forces had been under surveillance almost continuously and not only did American and allied commanders know their locations they also had discerned their intentions.
Equally inexplicable is what Halsey wrote in his after-action report to Nimitz.
“To statically guard SAN BERNARDINO STRAITS until enemy surface and carrier air attacks could be coordinated would have been childish to three carrier groups were concentrated during the night and started north for a surprise dawn attack on the enemy carrier fleet. I considered that the enemy force in SIBUYAN SEA had been so badly damaged that they constituted no serious threat to Kinkaid and that estimate has been borne out by the events of the 25th off SURIGAO.”
This is completely false. Naval forces remaining in or over the Sibuyan Sea had provided Halsey with enough information to give him an accurate picture of the situation. He knew what ships Kurita had remaining, their condition more o“To statically guard SAN BERNARDINO STRAITS until enemy surface and carrier air attacks could be coordinated would have been childish to three carrier groups were concentrated during the night and started north for a surprise dawn attack on the enemy carrier fleet. I considered that the enemy force in SIBUYAN SEA had been so badly damaged that they constituted no serious threat to Kinkaid and that estimate has been borne out by the events of the 25th off SURIGAO.”
This is patently false. Naval forces remaining in and over the Sibuyan Sea had provided Halsey with enough information for him to accurately evaluate the situation. He knew that Kurita had turned east to continue the transit toward Leyte Gulf. He knew the composition of Kurita’s remaining force and their condition more or less, their course, and their speed. But for some reason Halsey stubbornly refused to admit that his force had not damaged Kurita’s force as severely as he imagined. His reference to the events off Surigao is particularly mendacious. The commander of Seventh
…Fleet, ADM Kinkaid, sent his Bombardment and Fire Support Group, consisting of six WWI era battleships (although modernized to one degree or another) south to deal with Nishimura’s Southern Force which was attempting to force the Surigao Strait. Halsey is offering this as proof that Kinkaid also, like Halsey, didn’t consider Kurita’s force a serious threat and therefore had no qualms about sending the bulk of his firepower south and away from the landing beaches.
This is not true and Halsey knew it wasn’t true when he composed his message. Kinkaid sent his battleship force south because he (and Nimitz) were convinced that Halsey was still covering the San Bernardino Strait. He had earlier sent a message to Nimitz (3rd Fleet reported to Nimitz, 7th Fleet to MacArthur, and all communications between 3rd and 7th Fleet had to go through Pearl Harbor) Halsey offered to detach his fast battleship force with escorting cruisers and destroyers of Task Force 34 to guard the strait while he took his carrier force north to attack Ozawa’s carriers.
Nimitz and Kinkaid did not understand from Halsey’s message that he was offering to do so. The them Halsey’s message was that he already had done so. I do not understand what kind of gall it took for Halsey to send that after action report to Nimitz when Nimitz already knew exactly what had happened it didn’t remotely resemble Halsey’s fantasy.
“Hunt For Red October (1990):
“I know this book. Your conclusions were all wrong, Ryan. Halsey acted stupidly.”
Marko Ramius, commander of the Red October, evaluating Jack Ryan’s work on Admiral Halsey at Leyte Gulf.
Halsey did act stupidly. Ozawa’s carrier force was that in name only. His carriers were a decoy with practically no aircraft embarked, only enough to appear as realistic bait to draw Halsey’s force north so that Kurita could transit the strait unopposed. It worked. The IJN completely suckered Halsey so he went all in on the carriers.
WEST of Samar and Leyte.
Thanks Mike. I grew up in Connecticut and loved reading about Ed and Lorraine. They were braver than I would have been. I would have loved to have attended some of their meetings, or lectures. How interesting!!
I have direct knowledge of the Amityville house. The grandfather of the son who murdered his family, well as his aunt lived across the street from me growing up. The son had worked for my dad a few years prior to the murder. (My dad was a home Improvement contractor). My dad also testified at his trial, as he claimed he always fought with my dad, to bolster his insanity plea. He didn’t.
I helped my dad finished the basement at the “house”. The “gateway to hell” under the basement stairs I/we built. I’m sorry if that doesn’t match the book exactly, but I refused to read the book as we were close to the family across the street.
What really happened was the grandson, after being arrested for the murder, started claiming from jail that it was a mafia hit, and he was going to name names. The grandfathers brother was connected, and informed him to shut the grandson up or they’d have to. He (the grandson) soon started to claim he was insane and heard voices telling him to kill his family. This was enough to attract the crazies, and the next owners wrote the book soon after they purchased the house
Cool.
He went on to explain his belief that there are two types of hauntings. One is the ghost of a human being, which lingers in a place for any number of reasons and is harmless. The other is a non-human spiritual entity, which is demonic and therefore malevolent and dangerous.
This is a conventional classification, the first being ghosts, revenants, most apparitions, dopplegangers, dybbukim, etc, and the second being elementals, jinn, and of course angels and demons. However there is classically no assumption that the non-human ones are harmless, particularly demons, who are—pretty much by definition—bad news.
It’s all very interesting even if it’s a load of rubbish.
3. The Battle of Surigao Strait.
Several important details are unmentioned in the article at combined fleet. This battle is notable for one historic first, and two historic lasts. And the IJN fetish for ridiculously complicated battle plans, which had doomed the Japanese carriers at Midway, was also demonstrated at this battle and ultimately was a significant factor in the IJN’s crushing defeat.
Oldendorf, commanding the Bombardment and Fire Support Group, had 39 PT Boats, 28 Destroyers, 4 Heavy Cruisers, and 4 Light Cruisers at his disposal. He deployed his PT Boats along both sides of the southern end of the strait, where they were supposed to report sighting the Nishimura’s and then attack. Which they did, their attack achieving exactly nothing.
The destroyers were deployed toward the center of the strait, again on both sides. They were far more effective. Attacking only with torpedoes as their puny 5″ guns would be useless against the heavy Japanese vessels that would be their primary target. They succeeded in sinking the Japanese destroyers and Yumagumo and Michishio. They succeeded in crippling the destroyer Asashio, blowing off her bow and forcing her to withdraw, and the heavy cruiser Mogami which also had to withdraw, and damaging the old battleship Yamashiro, reducing her speed to 5 knots. The Yamashiro continued north and picked up speed eventually able to make 15 knots. Spectacularly, the USS Melvin put one, possibly two torpedoes into the old Japanese battleship Fuso, setting her ablaze. The Japanese sailors were unable to contain the fire which soon reached one of the Fuso’s main magazines. The resulting explosion blew the ship apart. The bow and stern sections remained afloat for several hours before sinking.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/pix1/0568008.jpg
The Melvin thus became the first destroyer in history to sink a battleship alone. It is also the last destroyer in history that will ever have an opportunity to sink a battleship. It will never happen again.
Another historic last is that this battle marks the last battleship v. battleship action in history. Further out in the gulf than the cruiser battle line also crossing the T at the northern end of the strait, the heart of Oldendorf’s battle group were the USS West Virginia, USS California, and USS Tennessee. With their Mark 37 fire control system (FCS), which had been continuously improved during the war, the only advantage the Iowa-class battleships then entering the fleet was speed. In terms of fire control and firepower they were essentially equal.
The Mark 37 FCS consisted of the Mark 37 gun director, microwave Mark 8 Fire Control Radar (FCR), four Mark 1 electromechanical fire control computers and four Mark 6 stable elements (so named because they contained a vertical-seeking gyroscope that told the rest of the system which way was up no matter how the ship pitched and rolled) in four separate plotting rooms in the armored citadel of the ship.
The Mark 1 had entered service in 1935 and underwent 92 modifications during the war. These three ships had the most advanced version which would automatically determine the fire control solution for the main battery and had Remote Power Control which would automatically train and point the main guns without any human interface needed.
The USS Maryland, USS Mississippi (which had been protecting shipping in Iceland waters as part of the Atlantic Fleet), and USS Pennsylvania were not as thoroughly modernized. The Maryland and Pennsylvania along with the three more thoroughly modernized ships had not merely been present at Pearl Harbor but heavily damaged if not actually sunk at there moorings. They were also permanently repaired and modernized in west coast shipyards but they didn’t get all the upgrades in subsequent refits.
They were equipped with the older Mark 33 fire control system, which consisted of the Mark 33 gun director, Mark 3 medium wave FCR, more primitive versions of the Mark 1 fire control computer which required some manual inputs, no remote power control, and I’m not sure what version of stable element (although the last piece of equipment wouldn’t have contributed to the Mark 33’s inadequacies compared to the Mark 37.
The lower resolution Mark 3 FCR could range 16″ shell splashes out to 20,000 yards, or what is considered intermediate range for battleship guns. The much improved Mark 8 FCR could range 14″ and 16″ inch shell splashes out to at least 35,000 yards which was considered extreme range.
So the Mark 37 equipped vessels fired first and fired the most. West Virginia fired 93 rounds of armor piercing ammunition, Tennessee fired 69, and California 63. Surprisingly the Maryland got off 48 rounds despite it’s less effective FCS. That was due to the fact that her gun crew was the most experienced of the less moderni
… modernized battle ships and the Maryland was physically located in the battle line where it could locate the Yamashiro by ranging the West Virginia’s shell splashes. The Mississippi got off one salvo. And entered the history books as the last battleship to fire at another battleship. The Pennsylvania never got off a round.
The official USN historian Samuel Elliot Morrison called the battleship on battleship action a funeral salute to a bygone era. There will never be another battle between battleships. And never again will surface ships form a battle line as they would be devastated by carrier or land-based aircraft.
In addition to Nishimura’s force the IJN hastily assembled a force of light cruisers under ADM Shima. Called the Second Striking Force it was nominally attached to Nishimura’s command. But Nishimura was unable to coordinate with Shima or for that matter with Kurita whose force was supposed to be part of a coordinated pincer maneuver with the Southern Force at the landing beaches on Leyte. The Southern and Central Forces were operating under strict radio silence. Ozawa wasn’t as his Northern Force was supposed to be detected.
Again this mirrored the IJN’s defeat at Midway. 200 ships got underway but they were in five separate forces spread all across the Pacific in what amounted to 2% of the earth’s surface. None were in position to support each other. Yamamoto in battleship Yamato commanded the optimistically named main force. It was hopelessly out of position to be of any use. But he alone transmitted in the blind to the other forces which could receive but not transmit.
Similarly the forces at Leyte also received messages from commands that were not involved in operation Sho-Go 1 but could not transmit and communicate with each other. Shima had no idea where Nishimura was as he approached the strait or what was happening. As he entered the strait the PT Boats had better luck, damaging the light cruiser Abukuma which had to withdraw. As he entered the strait he encountered the sunken Fuso and other flaming wrecks drifting south with the current. Showing more common sense than Nishimura he turned his force around and left the strait. Amusingly as he departed the battle area he did send off a message to Navy HQ in Tokyo. He said he had completed his attack and was heading south to reform his forces. Really he just fled the scene without attacking, but he wasn’t about to rat himself out.
I got to meet the Warrens in Rhode Island back in the 70’s when I was a teen. I didn’t believe in ghosts and the like – I was brought up in a fairly conservative math & science oriented household. I found the Warrens to be regular people and didn’t try to force their beliefs on anyone. They were matter of fact and not flashy. And though they didn’t know me from Adam I have felt a lifelong connection to them as a result of attending a few small venue talks.
One of the finest military accounts regarding the battle that hardly anyone is aware: James Hornfisher’s “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.”
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin-Sailors-Extraordinary/dp/0553381482/ref=asc_df_0553381482/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343276534991&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12520795904649366064&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009690&hvtargid=pla-428243740299&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=66484626702&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343276534991&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12520795904649366064&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009690&hvtargid=pla-428243740299
This is the battle that Arminius writes so eloquently. My favorite is the story of the American Indian naval commander who turned the tide of the Japanese assault, causing the Japanese battle group to ultimately withdraw.
Hornfischer’s book is outstanding. There’s also a couple of nice documentaries based on the book, including an episode of “Dogfights’ given the aviation element.
Thanks for sharing that Mike.
With what’s going on in US politics and culture right now, I take it as good reminder that the battle we face is to be fought in the spiritual realm by prayer and fasting (as the Father leads us).
Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the Devil. For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world–the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. (Eph 6:11-12 Weymouth)
I don’t know whether I believe such spirits are those of departed humans – as the NT paints the picture of departed souls either in a place of torment or Abraham’s bosom with a wide gap between them. What gives me pause is in Acts I believe, deceased loved ones were seen walking among the living faithful. There’s just the one mention with no recurrence after Jesus’ ascension that I’ve ever read in the NT. That’s typically explained by the scripture “and He led captives in His train” which suggests they passed through the earth for their loved ones to see en route from Abraham’s Bosom to the Kingdom of Heaven. That I’ve ever read of Jesus and spirits, all that He dealt with were of the demonic sort.
That you might know where I’m coming from, I am a Holy Spirit baptized believer – my wife and I both have experienced personal Pentecost. Once in awhile the Father has used me to deliver a word of encouragement or correction to someone; often another believer, sometimes a clergyman, occasionally a non believer. As you might suspect, that can put me at odds with the evil forces in this world which operate in darkness, often unopposed. Consequently, I’ve had some unnerving confrontations with evil spirits. Thankfully the Father knows I am of gentle soul and has never thrust me into anything truly ugly and scarring. Rather He pulls back the veil just enough for me to catch a glimpse or hear an unearthly growl. He instructs me what to do / say and His power through my trusting obedience prevails.
By experience, I recommend prayer – invite the Father, Son and Holy Spirit into your home – give it to Him – He owns it already anyway (Psalm 24:1). With prayer, anoint your home with oil – above the doors and windows is typical (like they did with the lamb’s blood before Passover). My wife and I have done that and have asked the Father in prayer to make His home wherever we are and to prevent any unclean thing from entering. The important thing is to listen to His Spirit and do what the Spirit leads you to do. Where religious rituals fail, following the leading of the Spirit prevails.
I have confronted demons and demon-possessed (or at least demon-influenced) people on a handful of occasions. It was never “Exorcist-like”, although one time, around 1990, while I was riding in the backseat of my father’s car, as he drove and my stepmother rode in the front passenger-side, something strange happened that has stayed with me all these years.
Now, I had only become a Christian a few months before, and I had been sharing about God and Jesus, and the Bible, just about any chance I got. But my family and step-family were at best very lukewarm about such things. Though no one outwardly rebuked me for talking about God and Jesus (and the Bible), I had gotten the clear impression that such talk was an irritant to them and frowned upon. My father and his wife (and her children, who were young adults at the time, as was I) identified as “Christian” (United Merhodist), but they were (and have pretty much remained) very worldly, loving money and the things of this world, and never reading the Bible of their own accord.
So, this particular afternoon as I was riding in my father’s car, with my father driving and my stepmother riding in the front passenger-side, I was thinking to myself about the negative reactions I had been receiving for being vocal about God and Jesus, and for some reason I said out loud (fairly quietly, and mostly to and for myself), “Maybe I should be a silent witness” (and by that I meant I should let my actions and attitude be so Christ-like that I could reach others for Jesus without having to say anything). Upon my having said that, immediately and in unison both my father and my step-mother turned their heads to look directly at me and they said, in complete unison, “YES!! Be a silent witness!!” And I sure I am not exaggerating, but their heads (particularly my father’s since I was sitting behind him) were turned in such a way, with their bodies seemingly not having turned at all, that it shocked and frightened me a bit. My father’s head was turned so drastically (to look at me over his right shoulder) that the first thing it made me think of was the head-turning of the possessed girl in the movie, “The Exorcist”.
The experience really felt kind of “unreal”, in the sense that it was hard to register that it had actually happened. But it had. We then continued on our way (somewhere, for some reason), and they never mentioned it, and I never brought it up since I was in such shock.
I have had three other, similar, experiences with my family, but no other that had such a dramatic and “unnatural” physical dimension to it.
Your own father! I can’t imagine how that must have felt to you then. Even if you were silent, the Spirit of Christ was still present in you and more than able to reveal Himself to your parents. Your words were no doubt Spirit directed and the prophetic Truth (Revelation 19:10 last line). I hope they came around eventually.
They haven’t yet, but they are softening at least a bit with age.
I have confronted demons and demon-possessed (or at least demon-influenced) people on a handful of occasions. It was never “Exorcist-like”, although one time, around 1990, while I was riding in the backseat of my father’s car, as he drove and my stepmother rode in the front passenger-side, something strange happened that has stayed with me all these years.
Now, I had only become a Christian a few months before, and I had been sharing about God and Jesus, and the Bible, just about any chance I got. But my family and step-family were at best very lukewarm about such things. Though no one outwardly rebuked me for talking about God and Jesus (and the Bible), I had gotten the clear impression that such talk was an irritant to them and frowned upon. My father and his wife (and her children, who were young adults at the time, as was I) identified as “Christian” (United Merhodist), but they were (and have pretty much remained) very worldly, loving money and the things of this world, and never reading the Bible of their own accord.
So, this particular afternoon as I was riding in my father’s car, with my father driving and my stepmother riding in the front passenger-side, I was thinking to myself about the negative reactions I had been receiving for being vocal about God and Jesus, and for some reason I said out loud (fairly quietly, and mostly to and for myself), “Maybe I should be a silent witness” (and by that I meant I should let my actions and attitude be so Christ-like that I could reach others for Jesus without having to say anything). Upon my having said that, immediately and in unison both my father and my step-mother turned their heads to look directly at me and they said, in complete unison, “YES!! Be a silent witness!!” And I am sure I am not exaggerating, but their heads (particularly my father’s since I was sitting behind him) were turned in such a way, with their bodies seemingly not having turned at all, that it shocked and frightened me a bit. My father’s head was turned so drastically (to look at me over his right shoulder) that the first thing it made me think of was the head-turning of the possessed girl in the movie, “The Exorcist”.
The experience really felt kind of “unreal”, in the sense that it was hard to register that it had actually happened. But it had. We then continued on our way (somewhere, for some reason), and they never mentioned it, and I never brought it up since I was in such shock.
I have had three other, similar, experiences with my family, but no other that had such a dramatic and “unnatural” physical dimension to it.
I haven’t experienced any ghosts or paranormalities, but I do believe in the Bible and that leads to dealings with evil spirits, the devil and his worshippers. That being the case, I think if you go looking for trouble, evil, and worship of the devil, don’t be surprised what you find at the end of that road. So yeah, I’m sure that evil spirits exist today – don’t think they’ve disappeared off the face of the earth since Christ walked on it.
Can you ban this Arminius account?
It’s some kind of bizarre bot info dump.
Someone, +1, send this Arminius mutt packing.
If you think “science” disproves the existence of the spirit world, then I suggest you read the book “Flatland” by Edwin Abbott. It’s available free on the Internet.
Maybe the good professor can have an open thread every once in a while. I don’t mean to hijack a thread but sometimes I see things as so important that I try to work them in.
healthguyfsu, valegorge, thank you for your endorsement. I mention these things at every opportunity because we have a deep rot in our society. I can only conclude you approve of this rot. But I don’t. Attention to citation:
“Gunner’s Mate Third Class
PAUL HENRY CARR
U.S. Naval Reserve
USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE 413)
SILVER STAR
Posthumously
‘For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Gun Captain of a 5″/38 Mount on the USS Samuel B. ROBERTS, in action against enemy Japanese forces off Samar Island during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, October 25, 1944. With the power of the rammer lost and mechanical failures in the ammunition hoist, CARR manned his station steadfastly in the face of continuous close-range fire of enemy guns during an attack by a numerically superior Japanese surface force on the Samuel B. Roberts. By his outstanding technical skill and courageous initiative, CARR was instrumental in causing rapid and heavy fire from the gun to inflict damage upon an enemy heavy cruiser. Although mortally wounded by the premature detonation of a powder charge, fired by hand, CARR tried unassisted to load and ram the only projectile available to that mount after order to abandon ship had been given. His aggressive determination of duty reflected the highest credit upon CARR and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.’
For the President,
/s/ James Forrestal
Secretary of the Navy”
GM3 Carr was only twenty years old when he gave his life in the defense of the United States of America. Pajama boy is 26 and worried about his supply of onesies, hot cocaa, and somebody else paying his health insurance premium.
R U kidding me? A rescue party of Sammy B. Sailors looking for survivors after the captain gave the order to abandon ship found him in his turret. Ripped open from throat to crotch he was trying to load one more 5″ round to fire at the Japanese before he died. He begged for help to get one last shot off. After completing their rounds the party went back and Carr wasn’t there. He was back in the gun turret, trying ot get one more shot off. There are still twenty year olds who still will do this. But they are fewer and far between.
I’m no Spartan; with your shield or on it. But the USN used to have a similar ethic. Or, as the saying went in Naval aviation went, “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. If you can reuse the plane again that’s a bonus.”
But if I wussed out in the face of the enemy my family would disown me me. My family is familiar with the concept if not every word behind article II of the code of conduct.
“I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.”
The idea that this country isn’t special, that it isn’t worth fighting for, is far more dangerous than any threat from the occult. I can laugh off poltergeist.
“valegorge | October 25, 2019 at 1:59 pm
Someone, +1, send this Arminius mutt packing.”
BTW, my nose is cold and wet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXjqTyQuq4w
“We’re Mutants – Stripes (7/8) Movie CLIP (1981) HD”
Which means I’m at least a healthy mutt.
I will not hijack the thread further.
4. The Battle off Samar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=4AdcvDiA3lE
You couldn’t do it.
Aside: There was a ground battle on the Island of Samar at roughly the same time as the Naval battle. So U.S. records tend to differ id the battle was off or with.
Well, OK.
4 The Battle off Samar.
The light forces defending Taffy Three were maniacally brave. Kurita, the Japanese admiral was convinced that that forces opposing him must have been cruisers or battleships. Because mere destroyers or destroyer escorts wouldn’t have attempted it. And couldn’t have accomplished what they did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=4AdcvDiA3lE
That’s what depriving someone of sleep and shooting the ships out from under someone will do to anyone.
5. Battle of Cape Engano.
Are you kidding me? The US had already won.
Hi Jack.