Jamaican Boy's Haunting Caught on Tape?

This story was originally reported in 2010, but it is nevertheless, startling and intriguing. An 11 year old Jamaican boy was being tormented by ghost or a Duppy as it is called in Jamaica and some disturbances were caught on video. Unlike some videos claiming paranormal activity that typically appear on a television show, this video was actually reported by the area’s local news.

The boy is claiming that he is being tormented by a classmate who passed away. Some are claiming that it is an evil spirit or even djinn that may be responsible. Viewing the news footage, as you can see below, it is quite unsettling what is happening to the boy. In one portion of the video, the young man is sitting on a chair being interviewed by the news crew when the chair suddenly is pulled back. The open doorway behind the chair makes this event questionable. Is it possible that something was rigged behind him?

On this Day - A Demented Deadly Dance

June 24, 1374 – A sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance breaks out in Aachen, Germany.

 

St. John’s dance was a sudden affliction which caused people to dance, jump, and twitch uncontrollably. Foaming at the mouth and epileptic convulsions were also signs of the illness, in addition to seeing hallucinations. Some people claimed to see spirits and would yell out the spirit’s name.  Many who have seen people experiencing St. John’s Dance compare it to seeing a person who is possessed by a demon.

There were three ways a person could be cured of the infirmity. A person could simply collapse from exhaustion, a “friend” would thump and hit you in the place that was most afflicted, or the most popular method of ceasing the dance was putting a cloth around your wait and pulling tightly. Priests even performed exorcisms. The cures for St. John’s Dance would cause the ill person to drop to the ground in exhaustion and agony.

This mysterious illness was not only confined Aachen. It spread from throughout the whole of Germanyand to the North West neighboring countries. Was St. John’s Dance a demon epidemic running wild? Or was it possible that a toxin was making these people act strangely?

Kerri L. Schultz

On this Day - A Possessed Girl is Born

June 22, 1959 – Linda Blair born. Linda Blair is the actress who played the demonically possessed girl Regan in the 1973 movie The Exorcist.

The originally book The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty was based on the true story of Robbie Mannheim who experienced an exorcism in 1949. While Robbie Mannheim is the young man’s real named, the Catholic Church used the pseudonym Roland Doe.

Examining Robbie’s early childhood, the clergy found that Robbie was an only child and spent much of his time around adults. He frequently spent time with his Aunt Harriet who was a spiritualist and introduced him to the Ouija board. When Robbie turned 13 his Aunt Harriet passed away and it is speculated that Robbie tried to contact his aunt using the Ouija board which eventually led to his demon possession.

Poltergeist activity ensued following Aunt Harriet’s death but specifically centered around Robbie. Several clergy members attempted to help Robbie but it was ultimately Rev. Walter Halloran and Rev. William S. Bolden who successfully exorcised the demon. Overall, it took 30 tries over a two month period, but when it left, the priests claim there was a large thunderclap sound within the room.

It is not surprisingly that much of what occurred during the exorcisms is disputed. Some question the details or the plausibility of some of the events. Regardless of the dissention surrounding details, a psychiatric illness cannot be ruled out.

What did you think of the movie The Exorcist? Did it scare you?

Kerri Schultz