Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown (28 page)

“No. Does that have great significance to you or something?”

“Yes.”

At first, the name startled me, but suddenly the rational part of the brain kicked in.
This has to be a trick
, I thought, still believing Jodi had been coached, that someone had told Chip the name.

“I think we should take a break,” I announced.

The producers were in the garage, so I stormed out and yanked open the door so suddenly that everyone inside looked like deer caught in the headlights. I told the director I had to speak to him immediately.

“Did you give Chip that name?”

I don’t remember the exact phrasing of the conversations that followed, but he said something like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know what was on the paper. It wasn’t on-camera.”

“You didn’t tell him about next week’s case?”

“How could I? I’m a director. I don’t know anything about a case until a day or two before we get there. I’m not involved in those conversations.”

I found one of the producers. “What did you tell Chip about next week’s case?”

“Nothing. I’m not even involved in it. Segment producers alternate. Autumn’s handling the next one.”

They were adamant, but I simply did not believe them. I remember saying loudly, to anyone who was listening, “If I find out anyone is lying to me, so help me God!” They all looked at me as if they thought I lost my mind.

I went back to Chip. He looked very confused as I dragged him into the bathroom to talk. “Did the producers tell you
anything
about next week’s case? Did Autumn talk to you?”

He was pretty shaken, looking at me like I was about to snap. “No, Ryan. I know nothing about any other case. I don’t know who Autumn is. All I got was this name in my head. Are you angry with me? What did I do wrong?”

I was sure it
had
to be a setup. I realized Autumn did know about the Syracuse case, so I called her. It was one in the morning, but I kept calling and calling until she answered.

“Did you tell anyone about next week’s case?”

“What?”

“The name. Did you tell anyone about the name?”

“What name?”

“You didn’t talk to Chip?”

“Who’s Chip?”

I started to pace the bathroom, not even realizing one of the camera guys was filming me through a crack in the doorway. It had to be a trick, I thought. But then I started to analyze it in detail. It came down to two possible scenarios—1) the film crew had set this up and people were lying to me or 2) Chip was either very crazily lucky or was truly psychic. I remember being terrified of both possibilities. If production was lying, then it meant I couldn’t trust anyone. After all, this would be one intricate and elaborate setup. The question appeared in my mind:
How far would they go? Have I been manipulated this entire time? Is Jodi even really
having
any experiences, or was she hired?
Looking back, my feelings at that moment were probably similar to what Jim Carrey’s character went through in
The Truman Show
felt when he realized everything around him was a stage.

Paranoia set in. The fear became overwhelming. I leaned up against the sink and tried to take another crack at analyzing this logically. As I took emotion out of it, the possibility of production setting this up just didn’t make any sense.

Then I finally realized something—they
couldn’t
have given Chip the name. Teena had only discussed the name with me over the phone. It wasn’t in her e-mails and I’d kept our conversations private. I hadn’t even told the team. Then I thought about the way production was reacting to things. They were hoping that my team and I would feel that the Kreider murders had something to do with Jodi’s haunting and were pretty bummed when we felt it wasn’t a strong enough connection. If they were hoping it was the Kreiders, why suddenly throw out a demonic name?

It was like a dream, and not a good one. I was rattled. I’d been shouting at people. Now I knew that things had gone way beyond coincidence. Why had that name been bugging me? Was the promise from that old case that the demonic would find me again coming true? It felt as if this thing was announcing itself to me. I had the sick feeling I’d walked into a trap.

I had to talk to someone. I called a priest I’d been working with, and left a message. I started pacing, not knowing what to do. I thought of Eilfie and asked where she was. Everyone could see I was freaking out, so they scattered to find her.

At first she figured it wasn’t a big deal. “Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“No, he needs to see you
right away.
”

She came rushing back and we took a walk outside. I told her everything I knew about Syracuse.

“It sounds demonic,” I said. “And there’s a name associated with it that’s been popping up.” I handed her the paper Chip gave me. “Do you recognize the name?”

“Possibly. So you think we’ve got something tagging along?”

It was freezing out, so we headed back in. Everyone sat around confused. On every case before this, I’d been pretty calm. Now I was raising my voice, short with everyone, glaring.

Eilfie and I went to Jodi’s bedroom to talk some more.

“I knew this was going to happen,” I told her.

She’d been part of those earlier cases, so she knew what I was talking about. I’d hoped that if there were going to be another demonic case that at least I’d have time to prepare for it. I was half-expecting a confrontation in Syracuse, but not here.

Whether or not you believe in demons, those cases in 2005 really hurt my team, to the point where some still have trouble coping. Serg and Eilfie were both affected, but theirs isn’t my story to tell. I also knew they could make their own decisions about staying with this case. I did become concerned about our trainees, Heather and Katrina.

“You know, Ryan,” Eilfie said, “we don’t know what’s going on. We need to think about what we’re getting into. Send them home.”

PRS has a term, “friendly evacuation,” where unnecessary people are removed if the activity gets out of hand. That’s what I did here. I asked Heather and Katrina to head back to the hotel. They asked how soon I wanted them to go. “Right now. Right this second.”

They hopped into the car and left.

If I hadn’t confused production earlier, it seemed I had now. “What’s going on? Are you going to investigate more?”

“No. I need time to think about this,” I told everyone. “We’re shutting down for now.”

I tried to calm myself down, then, of course, attempted to do the same for Jodi. “Were going to stay and keep watch,” I told her. “Please, try to go to sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.” She’d seen how upset I was when I saw the name, but I tried to downplay it. “I’m thinking about another case that the paper reminded me of, that’s all.”

I doubt she believed me.

Serg, Eilfie, and I stayed awhile, chilling. Nothing happened. There was no crazy paranormal stuff. At 3:00 A.M. we tried communication. Nothing. So we called it a night.

The next day was kind of a “we don’t know what to do” day. I woke up and got a call from one of our producers, who wasn’t at the shoot due to a family emergency. He’d heard shooting had ground to a halt and was concerned.

We’d talked about demonic cases before, so I tried to explain. Understanding the difficulty, he suggested I go back and focus on the murders instead, but I refused.

”I can’t shift gears. This is real. I have to do what I have to, to help the family.”

Had we all known about the demonic aspect from the beginning, I’m sure production would’ve been open to it, but having it show up in the middle was as much a curveball to them as it was to me.

It was during these conversations, though, that I became truly convinced they
hadn’t
given Chip the name. If they had, they’d expect me to see the significance and follow it. Instead, they were advising I shift the focus away from it. They were saying it was too complicated a subject.

After the phone calls, I sat down with Heather and Katrina at the hotel and tried to explain what was going on and discussed the 2005 cases. When Heather asked about that name, I cautioned her not to mention it. “Never mention the name unless you want to go into full confrontation with it.”

For the sake of the show, the team, and our client, I pushed aside my personal issues and tried to focus on doing what I could for now. That day, I went on to interview Robert Greiner, whose grandmother was Eva Kreider, who’d survived the murders, and he recounted the story of the killings.

Production understood we’d be coming back, but still wanted some sort of closure before we left, just in case. I felt a house blessing would be a good idea, so I contacted some parishes and a local priest invited me in. Since I was talking with him about some sensitive issues, the film crew waited outside.

I gave the priest my background, the details of the case, and explained my reasons for believing the problems at Jodi’s house were demonic. He heard me out, then said, “If you hadn’t told me about the demonic aspect, I could’ve done a house blessing. But for an exorcism, you have to petition to the bishop. This family needs help, but if what you’re saying is real, they need the
right
kind of help. Unfortunately, you’ll have to be patient.”

Frustrated, I called Lorraine Warren for advice. She agreed with the priest. I remember her saying, “I know you want to give them help, honey, but you have to take the proper steps.”

While the father wouldn’t do a blessing himself, he’d given me some signs to hang in the house as part of a more informal blessing. It wasn’t a solution, but I agreed to do it.

I went back to Jodi and told her what I thought was happening. Again I pointedly asked her if there was anything she hadn’t told me, anything at all. She opened up a little, and admitted to me that she felt not just touched, but physically attacked by the presence. But I still sensed she was holding back. I decided that it could wait. I remember telling her, “I know there’s probably more to the story, and that you’re reluctant to tell me some things, maybe because it’s humiliating, and that’s okay. I understand. I hope you know that it’s crucial for us to know these things so we can help you. You don’t need to tell us on camera if you’re not comfortable. It can be a private matter. Let’s just talk about it when we return. I promise we will.”

Before she shared the information about the physical attack, I didn’t know if the demon had just appeared when we arrived with the team. Now I was certain we’d been on a demonic case the whole time. Jodi just hadn’t told us everything.

Then I conducted the house blessing. With that, we left for a few weeks, during which time I had my first encounter with the situation in Syracuse. Meanwhile, I’d been in contact with the diocese. Arranging an authentic exorcism isn’t the easiest thing. I also spoke to Lorraine again, and she agreed to consult on the case.

When we returned to Elizabethtown, the Syracuse case was far from resolved. Heather and Katrina stayed behind this time, but Serg and Eilfie came back. Lorraine brought her son-in-law, Tony Spera, who was personally trained by Ed Warren and was his favorite student. He’s been described as a demonologist, but he does not go by that title.

I shared what I knew and showed Lorraine the name. Though I didn’t know the name, she recognized it as that of a powerful demon. “But you have to understand. They’re all liars. This may not be its name, but it’s using it against you.”

As for Chip, ever since I’d become convinced production hadn’t given him that name, and that we were on a demonic case, I’d been more impressed with him. Now Lorraine, who I trusted, echoed a lot of what he’d said.

“You have to be so careful,” she said. “The anger in this house . . . There’s a lot going on here. I’m surprised the roof doesn’t blow off the place.”

Afterward the three of us sat down with Jodi. Lorraine confronted her with what she’d sensed about Nate. “His room is sad. He’s a very sad boy. Your son is a victim.”

Hearing that, Jodi became very choked up. Between everything that had happened and our efforts, it seemed as if we blew open a door for her, exposing things, letting them air out. “I know he does not have a male figure in his life, and I tried so hard to be everything for him,” she said.

She’d kept quiet about much more, revealing some things I vowed we would not repeat, including a violent assault from the entity which paralleled what was going on in Syracuse. Jodi was also, in her words, very angry with God for the problems in her life.

“There are so many underlying causes here,” Lorraine said afterward. “Through the law of attraction, she’s brought a great deal of phenomena to this home that’s manifesting in all different types of ways.”

Demons, I knew, feed on shame and secrecy. Their victims often believe they can’t talk about certain things because they feel inside that they’re bad people.

Lorraine and I petitioned the diocese again, flexing what political influence we had, promising we wouldn’t stop calling. At last we got through. They heard us out and agreed to allow an exorcism, provided it would not be filmed. I was fine with that. “Please, just help these people,” I said.