Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), Basilique Assise, Legend of St Francis, Exorcism of the Demons at Arezzo (commons.wikimedia.org)

Most of you, even those not too familiar with hauntings or paranormal investigation, are probably aware of one of the most famous inhuman hauntings ever recorded. The people involved tell stories of a family moving their son halfway across the country, a sealed-off room in a hospital that tried to avoid demolition, and a secret diary written by a Catholic priest. Of course, due to various confidentiality agreements, most of these juicy tidbits were left out of the book and movie portraying the events of 1949. It was much better storytelling, anyway, for the victim of a violent demon possession to be a girl and for all the strange events up to and included in an exorcism to take place right in the girl's own bed. At least William Peter Blatty thought so when he penned "The Exorcist."

Inhuman hauntings, while often severe in their interactions with people, thankfully are rare. Not all of them lead to possession or are even necessarily demonic.

This type of haunting actually has several things in common with intelligent human hauntings. They interact with the living, move things, are aware of their environment, etc. However, inhuman hauntings are entities that were never living, breathing people with homes and families. But they may often disguise themself as such to gain people's trust. This, to me, is one of the scariest ideas about inhuman entities.

Knowing what to look for

There are ways to distinguish whether you are dealing with an inhuman entity. These spirits tend to be very strong and powerful, having the ability to lift people and heavy furniture. They also have been known to destroy or show anger toward religious objects. Their presence is often accompanied by a foul odor, such as the smell of rotting flesh or sulfur. The air temperature in the affected area often will rise by several degrees; occasionally a light fog can even collect.

If and when they appear, it's usually in half human/half animal form. For example, they can have the head of an animal, the torso of a human, and the legs of an animal. If they are approached by investigators who they feel may be out to get rid of them, they can take on fully human form to try to fool them so as to stop religious steps from being taken, such as blessing the house.

Inhuman entities are out to take over people's free will. In an attempt to do so, they may even bite, push, or scratch the person who's attention they are trying to get.

"Well, what's he doing in MY ice box?"

So the inhuman entity in your home was never a person, therefore it never lived in your home. So it wasn't there to make a psychic impression and become a residual haunt, nor was it there to grow attached to the house or something in it. So... How and why is it there now?

It is often revealed that the entity causing havoc was invited in, whether intentionally or accidentally, by someone in the home, like kids playing with a Ouija board or people holding seances.

OK, I know you're thinking "Oh, Ouija boards are just a game. They're made by Parker Brothers in a factory somewhere. They're not evil." And you're absolutely right: The boards themselves are not evil.

Here's the problem. People use a Ouija board by putting their hands on the planchette and asking the spirits questions of great importance, like "Does the guy who sits behind me in algebra think I'm cute?" and "Will the Phillies win the series?" But in order for the spirits to move that planchette, they have to use your hands, which means they have to get inside your head. You are basically giving some unknown thing permission to control part of you, and that's just downright dangerous. An entity can tell you what you want to hear so that you trust it, thereby opening yourself up more to it. I snuck a Ouija board to camp one summer when I was about 11. My mom found out and had an absolute fit. At the time I didn't get it, but the more I've grown and learned what can happen, the more thankful I am that nothing was lurking at that camp that could have come home with me.

Sure, it's fun to communicate with spirits. But there are safer ways to do it, ways that don't involve inviting the entity to use your body and mind as tools. (I sort of feel like I'm breaking a fourth wall here, but just FYI, I do plan on touching on spirit communication in an upcoming entry, so stay tuned!) If people could resist the urge to play with things they don't fully understand, a lot of grief would likely be avoided.

Further reading

More on intelligent human vs. inhuman hauntings

Ouija experiences

Excerpt from Troy Taylor's "The Devil Came to St. Louis: The True Story of the 1949 Exorcism"