Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one? I have a bit of family history involving the sighting of a recently departed “ghost.” It fit the dictionary definition of “an apparition of a dead person, which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image.”
In such a case, we’re not talking about something appearing in a white sheet. Or a nondescript “Casper” who has a friendly disposition. But these apparitions can seemingly be people from the past, whether known or unknown.
In the case of my family, my maternal grandmother would swear that someone who died in the house in which she worked “appeared” in a garden. I think more than once. She was, if you’ll excuse the expression, quite “spooked” by the appearances. My own mother wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’ve always remained skeptical and have avoided sharing my Nana’s stories with any of my children or grandchildren.
I certainly leave an open mind to the possibility of such appearances. Personally, I think these “spirits” are demonic. And very unlike angelic appearances we read about in the Bible.
While living in Pittsburgh, I developed a friendship with a former Army officer who became one of three County supervisors. This man, Bob Cranmer, would later purchase a home that had, um, “issues.” Ghostly issues.
Bob eventually would write a book about the total weirdness of all this including exorcisms that took place at his home. The story is captured in his telling of The Demon of Brownsville Road. A series of television documentaries and dramatizations about this home were released between 2011 and 2016. The large home was opened as a bed and breakfast on Halloween in 2019.
Exactly what kind of supernatural phenomena did the Cranmer family witness? How about furniture that moved on its own. Blood-like substances coming out of the walls. Bent crucifixes. Even destroyed rosary beads. Seriously!
Halloween does one of two things with “ghosts.” We either make them out to be silly forms hung from trees in yards or fear-based characters in haunted houses. In neither case, do we give credence to a more serious concern.
I think an appropriate perspective is provided from a Christianity Today article titled, “Don’t Worry, There are More Demons than You Think.” It is written by Dr. Chris Pappalardo, PhD, a researcher, editor, and writer at The Summit Church.
In his summation of Halloween, Chris writes, “Many believers today don’t approach Halloween like our 9th-century Christian forebears. But in one sense, I think we should. Those believers recognized a pressing question, ‘Are there spirits among us today?’ and did their best to answer it. Halloween raises the same question for us today, but we Westerners tend to dodge it. We make spirits and ghosts into silly games, because—obviously—only the ignorant people of the past believed in stuff like that.”
He then cites several biblical references to the “spirits” of Bible times. You can find such stories in 1 Samuel 28:8-19, Matthew 14:26, and Luke 24:37. These were men who thought they were seeing ghosts! If the presence of evil surrounding Halloween can offer a “portal to the other side,” Dr. Pappalardo is convinced one night a year of recognition is too little. As he says, “That portal is never closed.”
As the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)
We must be careful where we dabble. You might believe that of your own strength you can handle the demonic. Frankly, I don’t think you stand a ghost of a chance.
Just ask Bob Cranmer!
That’s Forward Thinking.
You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?
For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com
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