The Devil Within, Part One

        It starts with a frantic call from a friend. You doubt that it is anything serious, but you grab your Bible just in case. You rush to be with her. As you pull up into the drive way, there is a heaviness in the air that makes all the hairs on your neck stand up. You say a quick prayer, and open the car door. In the back of your mind, there is doubt. This kind of stuff only happens in movies, right? As you approach the house, the air around you grows heavier and heavier, and the need to turn tail and run grows stronger. Instead, up the stairs and to the porch you go, one stair after another. Your feet seem to grow heavier, as if they were slowly turning into concrete. You get to the front door, and peer through the front window. You can see that there is a circle of people gathered around a dear friend. You also hear what sounds like chanting. Maybe they were serious, could this really be happening?

         You knock on the front door, and the echo startles you, and you mentally chastise yourself for getting so worked up. A man you barely know opens the door, and lets you in. The scene would be absolutely silly, if the air wasn't so oppressive. The friend who called is crying and praying aloud, which is odd because she never cries, and you have never seen her pray which is unnerving. There are more people sitting around in the circle with Bibles, crosses, and all of them are praying and crying. The reason why they're praying, the woman in the middle, is rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her face. Her skin is shiny with perspiration and the expression on her face is desperate and sad. As you watch, she vomits into a bucket, her back arching with the severity of her heaving. 

          The room smells of sweat and fear, you begin to believe that something you don't understand is going on. You approach the young woman and put a hand on her shoulder. She snaps her eyes toward you and gives you a look that makes your skin crawl. In the second that you meet her eyes, you begin to realize that you aren't looking at your friend anymore.  There is someone, something, looking back at you. It chills the blood to look at her. The only thing you can think to do is to pull out your Bible, and start reading. 

          No, this isn't a scene from a low budget horror movie, this is a scene from real life. It may seem crazy to you, but things like this happen all the time. The real question is whether or not this is a possession, or a psychological disorder. 

           Modern cinema is ripe with movies of haunting and possessions. Many claim to be true stories, but does this claim hold any weight? Due to recent experiences, we have decided that there are things out there that we do not understand, and perhaps we never really will. 

Sara: "I don"t believe in ghosts, unlike some people. I believe in demons. I interpret scripture from the Bible to mean that people's souls usually don't hang out on Earth after they die."

Allie: "I am in agreement with Sara on the spirit thing. I don't believe in spirit possession, but I do believe that there are demons among us. I realize that this might make me absolutely insane. There are demons in this world, but if there are such beings, wouldn't that also mean that there are angels and God in this world as well?"