 |
| Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal (+ 1708) |
...continued from part eight.
15. Cases of Possession by Evil Spirits
a) "Twenty-six years ago, in the village of Novovasilevsk, Berdyansk district, Taurida province, there lived Ekaterina Lavrentyevna Mazaeva, my grandmother, my mother’s biological mother," reports a certain G. Mamontov.
"I happened to visit her very often, and sometimes stay for a week or longer. Grandmother had a servant girl named Dunya. This Dunya is the heroine of my story.
Dunya was possessed by an evil spirit. I call it an evil spirit, as all the eyewitnesses called this someone else who was inside Dunya, because the voice was heard against her will; she did not open her mouth, no movement of her face or throat was noticeable, the voice came out as if from the inner parts of her body, and the pronunciation was Mordvin, while Dunya spoke purely Russian. The evil spirit called himself 'Svirid Stepanovich' and liked to talk to everyone. Svirid Stepanovich demanded that Dunya feed him what he liked, but Dunya was distinguished by her honesty and never took anything without asking my grandmother and constantly refused Svirid Stepanovich. Then he would start to worry, Dunya would fall, writhing in strong convulsions, screaming, groaning.
Those present asked: 'What’s wrong, Dunya? What’s wrong with you?'
'I’m not Dunya, I’m Svirid Stepanovich.'
I myself asked him: 'Who are you, Svirid Stepanovich?' He answered: 'I am from the Mordvins, I was going to Kiev to pray and quarreled with my traveling companion. At the same time, having no water to drink, I became angry with my life and committed suicide - I hanged myself on a pine tree. After death, I had to wander for many years; I was not accepted into any society of spirits, and then one benefactor put me in Dunya, and she offends me, does not give me what I want; her grandmother does not forbid her to feed me what I like, but she is ashamed to take it. So I will give it to her!' (I convey how he said it). Then the convulsions, screams, groans began.
Sometimes there were also prophecies. Dunya would speak of what was happening at great distances. I remember how once, when Svirid Stepanovich was rebelling and shouting, my grandmother came up and asked: 'Why are you shouting, Svirid Stepanovich? Shut up!' He answered: 'How can I keep quiet when your brother died today, who lives in Novogolka, which is not far from Alexandropol beyond the Caucasus, he was ill for three weeks. During a trip to Tiflis he caught a cold, and today they wrote you a letter about his death, which you will receive in two weeks.' And indeed, two weeks later my grandmother received a letter informing her of the death of her brother and that, having traveled to Tiflis, he caught a cold, fell ill and died.
There were many similar cases, which I cannot now describe in detail, not remembering the persons to whom he spoke. Later, Svirid Stepanovich did not speak, saying that one person forbade him, but who exactly – he did not explain." (see "Rebus Magazine", 1896, No. 12).
b) The village of Syrak in the canton of Réalmont was recently the scene of some very interesting phenomena that took place in the family of a poor peasant. The main character in this strange story is a young twelve-year-old girl who became the object of an invisible spiritual force. Here is what eyewitnesses worthy of complete trust have said about it.
The phenomena first appeared about the middle of January, 1890. One day, during dinner, a young girl, sickly from birth, addressed her parents with the following words: "Do you see this man who is trying to throw our dish on the floor? Please order him to come out." The parents, who saw nothing, naturally assumed that the girl was delirious. From that day on, her illness began to increase, and an invisible force began to torment her in various ways. At one time the poor girl was going to tear out her own eye (and this idea left her only after she had actually become blind in that eye), at another she beat herself; in a word, her health became worse and worse, as the invisible force took possession of her.
At the same time, various knocks began to be heard in the walls, furniture, and other objects in the house; bottles and dishes in the cupboards rattled and seemed ready to fly into pieces. All this attracted a multitude of curious people to the house, who wanted to look at the strange, unseen phenomena. One of the curious, a bourgeois from a neighboring town, who had recently visited the Paris exhibition, witnessed the following incident. The girl, as if waking up from lethargy, said: "Oh, what a long journey we have made. We have returned from Paris, where we visited the Eiffel Tower; how beautiful it is." And she began to describe in detail the structure of the tower and other objects she had seen on her imaginary journey. The bourgeois was extremely surprised that the girl, who, as he knew, had never left her village, could so accurately describe the Eiffel Tower, Paris, and other cities through which he had passed. He was even more surprised and even frightened when she told him: "Yesterday you were riding in a carriage, and the horse almost knocked you over; we were not far from this place and broke a poplar growing there." In fact, the bourgeois had been riding in his carriage the day before, and the horse had almost knocked him over into the abyss, frightened by the fall of a tree broken by a storm.
On August 6, the day of the fair in the neighboring town of Grole, a strong wind that arose around 2 o'clock in the afternoon overturned a cart on the fairground and destroyed several traders' barracks. That same evening, the girl told people who came to her: "We were also at the fair, we overturned a cart there and destroyed several barracks." However, no one had told the girl about this incident before.
Another time, while she was sitting on a chair, an invisible force suddenly lifted her to the very ceiling and from there threw her onto the back of the chair, where she remained for some time in a horizontal position. At the same time, while all this was happening, the girl grew thinner and thinner and finally became so weak that she was forced to stay in bed all the time. Every evening a crowd of curious people besieged the sick woman, wanting to verify the unusual phenomena about which so many rumors were circulating. The visitors were especially surprised that the candles standing in the sick woman's room would go out and light up again by themselves.
All these extraordinary phenomena led to the fact that they decided to put an end to them by subjecting the girl to an exorcism. Seven persons authorized for this purpose gathered for this ceremony. When on the appointed day one of these persons began the exorcism, the girl cried out: "You want to drive me out? But you are not able to do this! You know very well that last year you stole grapes from your neighbor's garden."
"Yes, it is true," replied the exorcist, "I took the grapes without asking, but I put money there equal to their value." The girl reproached another authorized person for his behavior, calling it shameless. In short, out of seven people, only one was found who could not be reproached. This last was left to perform the rite of the exorcism, during which the girl writhed and tore herself violently; at last she cried out loudly: "You will make me go out for a while, but I will still return again," after which she calmed down. And indeed, after several days of calm, the same phenomena returned again, and the unfortunate girl again took to her bed. ("Revue Spirite" 1891, No. 3; see "Rebus Magazine" 1891, No. 35).
c) "The Madras Times" reports the following incident from India, titled: "A Haunted Young Lady at Ooty."
Madame Floralina, a young girl, lives in a house near the General Market. Some time ago, she went with a friend of hers (now married and named G. X.) to a Catholic cemetery. Three days before this visit, a man had been buried in this cemetery who had committed suicide. Being of a cheerful and easy-going nature, the girls chose the cemetery as the place of their promenade, and, carried away by their frolic, began to skip and dance on the suicide's grave, and went so far as to dig up the mound over the grave and overturn the cross erected over the ashes of the unfortunate suicide. Returning home, they suddenly felt unwell; and soon a rumor spread that the young girls were possessed by an evil spirit.
They became terribly rowdy, looked at everyone with wild eyes, and became so restless that they were forced to be locked in a room for safety.
They tore their clothes, and if any woman tried to restrain them from their madness, they fell upon her and threw her to the ground; if men tried to do this, they partly yielded to their threats. Days passed, and the unfortunate girls continued to rage: they went about with their hair loose and disheveled, and their appearance became so terrible that even men were afraid to approach them.
This possession was, however, removed from them by a native woman, after the performance of certain rites. After this they became cheerful and healthy. The second of the girls, Miss Grazia F., soon married and left home. On Sunday evening, April 25th, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Miss Floralina. She seemed calm and healthy.
The following evening I was again called to her, and Miss Floralina, together with Mrs. F., with whom, I believe, Miss Floralina and her brother are boarding, told me things which I refused to believe until I witnessed them myself. Mrs. F. told me how the two girls above mentioned came to be possessed by the evil spirit, their subsequent conduct, and all that has been related above. She added that, beginning on or about the 20th of April, between seven o'clock in the evening and midnight, stones were thrown from outside at the windows; these stones broke the windows with great violence, but did no harm to anyone.
On the 27th of April I was returning home about seven o'clock in the evening, when I suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass. After going a few steps further I thought I heard a sound as of many stones striking the walls of the house, and the sound of breaking glass; then I heard the voices of the inhabitants of the house calling for help. I hurried home as quickly as possible, in order to take with me Mr. H. G. L., whom I know well, and a police constable. The police post was between our two houses, only a few yards away. The three of us went to Miss Floralina's house, and to our great astonishment we saw the glass shattered to pieces by stones thrown with great force. What particularly astonished us was that even the glass that was out of reach of stones thrown from any side of the house was broken. While the stones continued to fall, Miss Floralina Burbalina told us that a large stone had fallen from the ceiling, lightly hitting her head, while she was in her boudoir at about 2 p.m. She also told us that the throwing of stones and breaking of glass had begun at about noon.
Believing that all this was the work of some malicious persons, we took several more constables to our aid, searched all the adjacent ditches and bushes, and continued these observations until 11 o'clock, as during the whole time of our observation stones continued to fall in abundance on the unfortunate house from outside. On Wednesday, the 28th of April, several constables with two senior constables, Mr. H. G. L. and myself went to the house about 7 o'clock in the evening. During this we noticed several times how stones struck the panes, and sometimes the panes broke of their own accord, without any blow from a stone. This circumstance aroused our suspicions. After a short conversation with us about these occurrences, Miss Floralina told us that she would go to her room, as she felt very tired. At the time when she went to her room, a piece of granite of medium size broke the pane with great force very close to her. Soon after she retired to her room, her brother informed us that she was lying senseless on her bed. On entering her room, we found her lying on the bed, without breathing, as if dead. With great difficulty we succeeded in bringing her to her senses. A few minutes later, she again fainted, and we succeeded in bringing her to her senses again with even greater difficulty than the first time. On Thursday, the 29th, Mr. H. G. L. and I had heard the sound of breaking glass since midday. In the evening we went to Miss Floralina's house, and found there a number of police constables with two chiefs. We asked the young lady how she felt, to which she replied: "As soon as evening comes, I feel a sensation of coldness all over my body, my hair stands on end, and I am not myself."
On the 30th, the destructive action of the stones continued from 5 to 7 o'clock in the evening.
Floralina was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, and was modestly conversing with us with her usual natural cheerfulness, when suddenly she fainted, became restless, and began to toss and turn with such violence that five people were unable to restrain her. And the remarkable thing is that during the time when she was unconscious, not a single pane of glass was broken. A few minutes later, she suddenly rose from her chair with such force that some of those who were holding her were knocked down. She rose to her feet and almost lifted those who were holding her. With great difficulty, straining all our strength, we succeeded in getting her back on the chair. At last we took her into the room and laid her on the bed. A few minutes later, the large glass door fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. It should be noted that this glass was inaccessible to a stone thrown from the yard. On someone's advice, the constables decided to send for a Malayali who was engaged in exorcism by means of spells.
While we were waiting for this man to arrive, still holding Miss Floralina, suddenly Floralina's prayer book, which was in a chest of drawers in the next room, was thrown through the broken glass of the door into our room and fell near Floralina's right hand. We were all very much astonished at this fact, and asked where Floralina's prayer book was; and she assured us that it was in the chest of drawers in the next room.
At last the Malayali we had been waiting for arrived, and scarcely had he come near when the young girl, who had been lying with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them, looked at the newcomer with a strange look, and at the same time made an effort to rush at him. The Malayali began to say something sternly to her in Malayalam, and the girl could not take her eyes off him all this time. The Malayali then began to write something on a long strip of paper, after which he rolled it up into a cigar and stuck it into Miss Floralina's hair, who began to resist and even spit on him, but the Malayali extended a Malayali cane towards her, which, according to him, possessed magical powers, and she resigned herself. After this he lit the rolled-up paper, gave it to her to smell, and soon she completely came to her senses and became almost normal. Finally, at about 11 o'clock, the Malayali left, and soon we also dispersed.
During the following days, although the stones continued to fall and the dishes to break, they were much less frequent, and the patient became considerably calmer. Soon the girl's father, who lived in Goodalur, 130 miles from Ooty, arrived, having been telegraphed about his daughter's illness, and yesterday evening they both left our town. As a result of all the incidents described, the house was so completely ruined that Mrs. F. and the children had to move to another apartment.
In my story I have adhered strictly to the truth and, without exaggerating anything, have related the facts as they actually were. ("Annales Des Sciences Psychiques" 1897, No. 5; see "Rebus Magazine" 1898, No. 8).
d) A case of mysterious phenomena in ancient Russia, in the 17th century.
During the reign of the most pious Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the autocrat of all Russia, the following thing happened in that same royal city of Moscow. In the patriarchal almshouse at Kulichki, which is behind the Varvarskie gates near the Ivanovsky Monastery, by the action of a certain sorcerer a demon entered and did various dirty tricks to those living there, about which Abba Mark narrates, saying that at that time he himself was with the monk in those almshouses and was an eyewitness to this. And that demon did not allow anyone to sleep at night or during the day, dragging people from their beds and benches, and screaming absurdly aloud to everyone, knocking and rattling on the stove and on the sleeping platforms in the corners, shouting absurd voices, frightening everyone. The pious Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered the clergy to pray to drive out that demon; however, they had no success, but the devil, like a lion, was more ferocious than all, and clearly exposed and shamed their sins, and drove them out with great fear and beating. Many people were thus forced to drive out that demon, but they had no success."
Then someone close to the Tsar announced about the Venerable Hilarion, that he had been granted by God the power over unclean spirits, to drive them away from people by prayer. The pious Tsar ordered the Venerable Hilarion to be summoned before him, for the Venerable One was in Moscow at that time. The messengers found the Venerable One walking along the road, and informed him that the pious Tsar was asking him to deign to go with them immediately. The Venerable One, not knowing what to answer them, only said: "Lord, have mercy!" For he was afraid, because I had some slander against him to the Tsar. However, he went with them. The clothing on the monk at that time was a sheepskin coat, belted with a bast braid, and over the coat a worn-out cloth cassock. And having brought the monk, they placed him before the king. And the monk, thinking that some anger would come from the king, prayed according to custom to the Lord God before the holy icons, and bowed down to the ground before the king, saying nothing. And the pious king said to him: "Fear not, venerable father; for it was not out of fear that I called you here, but for good advice." And he began to speak to him thus: "Strive, for God's sake, and do not disregard our request; for I have heard of you, that you live well before God." And the monk said: "I am a sinful man, being dust and ashes." The pious king said: "However, do not disregard our request: go to that women's almshouse, and pray to the Lord God with your diligent prayer, and drive out the demon from there, for he causes many mischief and troubles to those living there." But the monk, answering in the opposite direction, said: "O pious king! How do you command me to do this beyond our power; for this is not our work, but the work of the great holy fathers, who shone in virtues, and received such power and strength from God over unclean spirits. But I am dust and ashes, and very much the first of sinners. Truly this deed exceeds our measure, however, pious king, have mercy on me, a poor thing, let me go to weep for my sins and bring repentance, for I am unclean before God." The pious king answered him: "Do not refuse, holy father, to do a good deed, as the Scripture says: 'For with all your good deeds have holy obedience.' For it is more than fasting and prayer and is very valuable before God, for He Himself says: 'I want mercy, and not sacrifice.' For God does not look at faces, but does the will of those who fear Him, and mercifully hears them." The monk, having answered, said: "Even if I am not heard, O pious king! However, for obedience I will go, a sinner, against my strength, for I can no longer speak against your royal will, or be contrary to it.” And so, having bowed to the king, he went.
At that time the Ecumenical Patriarch came to Moscow. The Venerable One, by order of the Tsar, went to those almshouses, having surrounded himself with deep humility. And when he and the monk Mark and the monk Joseph, called Ryabik, arrived at those almshouses already towards evening, they began, according to their custom, to perform the evening chant, as well as the small compline, and three canons: to the Sweetest Jesus, to the Most Holy Theotokos and the Guardian Angel, and among the canons - the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos and the Prayers Before Sleep and all the services in order, which they were accustomed to perform in the desert. The devil, not enduring to hear such singing, began to knock loudly on the shelves and shout in absurd voices, reproaching the monk with shameless words, saying: "Is it you, monk , who came here to drive me out? Come to me, let us have our talk with me." The monk looked around in no direction, and the devil alone shouted: "Come, monk, let us have our talk with me." When the time came to read the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, he looked up to heaven, raised his hands high and struck his chest hard; Tears flowed from his eyes like hail, and he fell face down on the ground from great pity, and again rose from the ground and began to read the Akathist in a loud voice, according to his custom. But the devil, through the prayers of the saint, like a scorcher with fire, jumped back from there, like a swift arrow, and remained silent for a time, until the Saint read the Akathist. When he finished, then the devil again began to cry out in absurd voices, saying: “Oh, you crybaby! You have begun to cry again; come to me, I will deal with you.” When the Saint and those monks, according to their custom, completed the church rule and extinguished the fire at night, then the Saint and those monks began to correct the cell rule. And the monk began to weep inconsolably before God against the devil, that he might drive him out of there. The devil cried out in a loud voice: "Oh, oh, monks, you have begun to weep in the darkness;" and he began to knock very loudly on the bed, saying: "I am coming to you," and fell silent.
The monk Mark said: I wanted to run away from the cell out of fear, but the monk confirmed them in prayer to stand firm and make diligent prayers to God, and not to be afraid of anything at all, saying that the devil has no power over pigs without God's command. The devil turned into a black cat and began to jump up under the monk's knees. When the monk began to do a prostration, he did this to hinder him: to somehow make the monk angry and turn him away from prayer. But he, being kind, when the devil jumped up under his knees, then he threw him away with his hand, and made the prostration. And having made his cell rule, he commanded, crossing himself, having no fear of sleeping. Abba Mark says: I hid deep under my fur coat out of fear. When the night passed and the day drew near, then the monk rose from his sleep and, according to custom, performed the morning hymn, and after the matins service, went about his monastic business. At that time the devil told the almshouse women about the monk, saying: "How well this monk lives before God: when he began to weep before Jesus and Mary in the akathist, he greatly frightened me, and as if with fire at that time he burned me, and, unable to bear it, I fled; and when he began to pray in the darkness, I knocked loudly, but he was not at all afraid, and assured his disciples not to be afraid; I, like a black cat, jumped up under his knees and bothered him a lot, wanting to bring him to anger and turn him away from prayer, but I could not." The accursed one spoke this to them, he himself was invisible.
At that time the woman put the child in the cradle; but the devil, snatching the child and taking the woman herself invisibly, put her in the cradle, began to shake her, saying: 'Lyuli, woman; lyuli, stupid!' And when the saint was going again to the almshouse and was already approaching, then the devil, leaving the woman in the cradle, said: "Here comes that bastard again; but I will feel sick from him;" he disappeared and remained silent. The monk, having come to the almshouse, commanded that a table be prepared, a shroud be laid out, and a cup filled with pure water, and he himself put on his vestments and, taking up the cross, began to bless the water. The devil began to shout in absurd voices and to throw large white stones, so that the whole almshouse table and cup shook from the sound; but the stones did not harm the monk, only at his feet, and in front, and behind, and from the sides, those stones fell. The monk was in no way afraid, nor did he look around, but performed the usual blessing of the water with many tears, and the devil alone cried out absurdly, saying: “Are you weeping again, my friend? Come to me, and I will deal with you.” When the Saint had blessed the water, then taking the cross in his left hand, the sprinkler in his right, immediately having sprinkled the holy icons first, he turned and went where the devil cried out absurdly, saying: “Where are you, enemy of all righteousness? I am the servant of my Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered crucifixion on the cross for us sinners! In His name I come to fraternize with you! Go away, wretched and unclean!” And he began to sprinkle holy water everywhere, on the stove and on the sleeping platforms, on the benches and under the benches, and did not leave a single place where he would not sprinkle. Then the devil kept silent, and hid himself in fear, and did not come there for three days. After three days he appeared again, and began to cry out to the almshouse women there: “How well does this monk live before God, but it is impossible for me to approach him, for he burns with fire.” Then the Saint came from nowhere, and the devil again began to cry out and shout, but not as boldly as before; for he began to grow weak, and spoke unutterably. The Saint said to him: “Are you alone shameless, wretched one? I adjure you in the name of God, tell me where you have been these past three days? And when I sprinkled with holy water, where have you been hiding?” The devil answered: "When you sprinkled the water, I was sitting on a pole under my robe at the time; and when I could not sit there, I jumped up onto the pole, and you forgot to sprinkle there too, and have been resting there until now, sitting." The monk asked him again: "Where do you get the white stone?" The devil answered: "I take it from the white city." The monk asked again: "What is your name?" The devil said: "My name is Ignatius, of princely birth, but I am of the flesh. My mother sent me to the demons, and the demons immediately took me." The monk swore at him by the name of God, commanding him to leave there. The devil said: "I cannot leave here; for I was sent here, and did not come of my own accord." The Saint said: “I have to pray to God for you; get out, you cursed one!” But the devil did not speak as boldly as before, for he spoke very dumbly and without boldness, and had already begun to disappear.
The monk struggled with that devil for five weeks, praying diligently to God, and blessing water and sprinkling it everywhere; then that demon gradually disappeared from there, and never returned there again, by the grace of God and the prayers of the Venerable Father Hilarion. And the monk lived in those almshouses for ten weeks, and thus returned to his monastery in spiritual strength, like a brave warrior of the Tsar and a strong conqueror in battles, and by no means defeated by the enemy, he appeared terrible to the unclean spirit, and to the whole world an obvious and wondrous miracle worker. ("Life of Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal; see "Rebus Magazine" 1895, No. 12).
PART TEN
15. Cases of Possession by Evil Spirits
a) "Twenty-six years ago, in the village of Novovasilevsk, Berdyansk district, Taurida province, there lived Ekaterina Lavrentyevna Mazaeva, my grandmother, my mother’s biological mother," reports a certain G. Mamontov.
"I happened to visit her very often, and sometimes stay for a week or longer. Grandmother had a servant girl named Dunya. This Dunya is the heroine of my story.
Dunya was possessed by an evil spirit. I call it an evil spirit, as all the eyewitnesses called this someone else who was inside Dunya, because the voice was heard against her will; she did not open her mouth, no movement of her face or throat was noticeable, the voice came out as if from the inner parts of her body, and the pronunciation was Mordvin, while Dunya spoke purely Russian. The evil spirit called himself 'Svirid Stepanovich' and liked to talk to everyone. Svirid Stepanovich demanded that Dunya feed him what he liked, but Dunya was distinguished by her honesty and never took anything without asking my grandmother and constantly refused Svirid Stepanovich. Then he would start to worry, Dunya would fall, writhing in strong convulsions, screaming, groaning.
Those present asked: 'What’s wrong, Dunya? What’s wrong with you?'
'I’m not Dunya, I’m Svirid Stepanovich.'
I myself asked him: 'Who are you, Svirid Stepanovich?' He answered: 'I am from the Mordvins, I was going to Kiev to pray and quarreled with my traveling companion. At the same time, having no water to drink, I became angry with my life and committed suicide - I hanged myself on a pine tree. After death, I had to wander for many years; I was not accepted into any society of spirits, and then one benefactor put me in Dunya, and she offends me, does not give me what I want; her grandmother does not forbid her to feed me what I like, but she is ashamed to take it. So I will give it to her!' (I convey how he said it). Then the convulsions, screams, groans began.
Sometimes there were also prophecies. Dunya would speak of what was happening at great distances. I remember how once, when Svirid Stepanovich was rebelling and shouting, my grandmother came up and asked: 'Why are you shouting, Svirid Stepanovich? Shut up!' He answered: 'How can I keep quiet when your brother died today, who lives in Novogolka, which is not far from Alexandropol beyond the Caucasus, he was ill for three weeks. During a trip to Tiflis he caught a cold, and today they wrote you a letter about his death, which you will receive in two weeks.' And indeed, two weeks later my grandmother received a letter informing her of the death of her brother and that, having traveled to Tiflis, he caught a cold, fell ill and died.
There were many similar cases, which I cannot now describe in detail, not remembering the persons to whom he spoke. Later, Svirid Stepanovich did not speak, saying that one person forbade him, but who exactly – he did not explain." (see "Rebus Magazine", 1896, No. 12).
b) The village of Syrak in the canton of Réalmont was recently the scene of some very interesting phenomena that took place in the family of a poor peasant. The main character in this strange story is a young twelve-year-old girl who became the object of an invisible spiritual force. Here is what eyewitnesses worthy of complete trust have said about it.
The phenomena first appeared about the middle of January, 1890. One day, during dinner, a young girl, sickly from birth, addressed her parents with the following words: "Do you see this man who is trying to throw our dish on the floor? Please order him to come out." The parents, who saw nothing, naturally assumed that the girl was delirious. From that day on, her illness began to increase, and an invisible force began to torment her in various ways. At one time the poor girl was going to tear out her own eye (and this idea left her only after she had actually become blind in that eye), at another she beat herself; in a word, her health became worse and worse, as the invisible force took possession of her.
At the same time, various knocks began to be heard in the walls, furniture, and other objects in the house; bottles and dishes in the cupboards rattled and seemed ready to fly into pieces. All this attracted a multitude of curious people to the house, who wanted to look at the strange, unseen phenomena. One of the curious, a bourgeois from a neighboring town, who had recently visited the Paris exhibition, witnessed the following incident. The girl, as if waking up from lethargy, said: "Oh, what a long journey we have made. We have returned from Paris, where we visited the Eiffel Tower; how beautiful it is." And she began to describe in detail the structure of the tower and other objects she had seen on her imaginary journey. The bourgeois was extremely surprised that the girl, who, as he knew, had never left her village, could so accurately describe the Eiffel Tower, Paris, and other cities through which he had passed. He was even more surprised and even frightened when she told him: "Yesterday you were riding in a carriage, and the horse almost knocked you over; we were not far from this place and broke a poplar growing there." In fact, the bourgeois had been riding in his carriage the day before, and the horse had almost knocked him over into the abyss, frightened by the fall of a tree broken by a storm.
On August 6, the day of the fair in the neighboring town of Grole, a strong wind that arose around 2 o'clock in the afternoon overturned a cart on the fairground and destroyed several traders' barracks. That same evening, the girl told people who came to her: "We were also at the fair, we overturned a cart there and destroyed several barracks." However, no one had told the girl about this incident before.
Another time, while she was sitting on a chair, an invisible force suddenly lifted her to the very ceiling and from there threw her onto the back of the chair, where she remained for some time in a horizontal position. At the same time, while all this was happening, the girl grew thinner and thinner and finally became so weak that she was forced to stay in bed all the time. Every evening a crowd of curious people besieged the sick woman, wanting to verify the unusual phenomena about which so many rumors were circulating. The visitors were especially surprised that the candles standing in the sick woman's room would go out and light up again by themselves.
All these extraordinary phenomena led to the fact that they decided to put an end to them by subjecting the girl to an exorcism. Seven persons authorized for this purpose gathered for this ceremony. When on the appointed day one of these persons began the exorcism, the girl cried out: "You want to drive me out? But you are not able to do this! You know very well that last year you stole grapes from your neighbor's garden."
"Yes, it is true," replied the exorcist, "I took the grapes without asking, but I put money there equal to their value." The girl reproached another authorized person for his behavior, calling it shameless. In short, out of seven people, only one was found who could not be reproached. This last was left to perform the rite of the exorcism, during which the girl writhed and tore herself violently; at last she cried out loudly: "You will make me go out for a while, but I will still return again," after which she calmed down. And indeed, after several days of calm, the same phenomena returned again, and the unfortunate girl again took to her bed. ("Revue Spirite" 1891, No. 3; see "Rebus Magazine" 1891, No. 35).
c) "The Madras Times" reports the following incident from India, titled: "A Haunted Young Lady at Ooty."
Madame Floralina, a young girl, lives in a house near the General Market. Some time ago, she went with a friend of hers (now married and named G. X.) to a Catholic cemetery. Three days before this visit, a man had been buried in this cemetery who had committed suicide. Being of a cheerful and easy-going nature, the girls chose the cemetery as the place of their promenade, and, carried away by their frolic, began to skip and dance on the suicide's grave, and went so far as to dig up the mound over the grave and overturn the cross erected over the ashes of the unfortunate suicide. Returning home, they suddenly felt unwell; and soon a rumor spread that the young girls were possessed by an evil spirit.
They became terribly rowdy, looked at everyone with wild eyes, and became so restless that they were forced to be locked in a room for safety.
They tore their clothes, and if any woman tried to restrain them from their madness, they fell upon her and threw her to the ground; if men tried to do this, they partly yielded to their threats. Days passed, and the unfortunate girls continued to rage: they went about with their hair loose and disheveled, and their appearance became so terrible that even men were afraid to approach them.
This possession was, however, removed from them by a native woman, after the performance of certain rites. After this they became cheerful and healthy. The second of the girls, Miss Grazia F., soon married and left home. On Sunday evening, April 25th, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Miss Floralina. She seemed calm and healthy.
The following evening I was again called to her, and Miss Floralina, together with Mrs. F., with whom, I believe, Miss Floralina and her brother are boarding, told me things which I refused to believe until I witnessed them myself. Mrs. F. told me how the two girls above mentioned came to be possessed by the evil spirit, their subsequent conduct, and all that has been related above. She added that, beginning on or about the 20th of April, between seven o'clock in the evening and midnight, stones were thrown from outside at the windows; these stones broke the windows with great violence, but did no harm to anyone.
On the 27th of April I was returning home about seven o'clock in the evening, when I suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass. After going a few steps further I thought I heard a sound as of many stones striking the walls of the house, and the sound of breaking glass; then I heard the voices of the inhabitants of the house calling for help. I hurried home as quickly as possible, in order to take with me Mr. H. G. L., whom I know well, and a police constable. The police post was between our two houses, only a few yards away. The three of us went to Miss Floralina's house, and to our great astonishment we saw the glass shattered to pieces by stones thrown with great force. What particularly astonished us was that even the glass that was out of reach of stones thrown from any side of the house was broken. While the stones continued to fall, Miss Floralina Burbalina told us that a large stone had fallen from the ceiling, lightly hitting her head, while she was in her boudoir at about 2 p.m. She also told us that the throwing of stones and breaking of glass had begun at about noon.
Believing that all this was the work of some malicious persons, we took several more constables to our aid, searched all the adjacent ditches and bushes, and continued these observations until 11 o'clock, as during the whole time of our observation stones continued to fall in abundance on the unfortunate house from outside. On Wednesday, the 28th of April, several constables with two senior constables, Mr. H. G. L. and myself went to the house about 7 o'clock in the evening. During this we noticed several times how stones struck the panes, and sometimes the panes broke of their own accord, without any blow from a stone. This circumstance aroused our suspicions. After a short conversation with us about these occurrences, Miss Floralina told us that she would go to her room, as she felt very tired. At the time when she went to her room, a piece of granite of medium size broke the pane with great force very close to her. Soon after she retired to her room, her brother informed us that she was lying senseless on her bed. On entering her room, we found her lying on the bed, without breathing, as if dead. With great difficulty we succeeded in bringing her to her senses. A few minutes later, she again fainted, and we succeeded in bringing her to her senses again with even greater difficulty than the first time. On Thursday, the 29th, Mr. H. G. L. and I had heard the sound of breaking glass since midday. In the evening we went to Miss Floralina's house, and found there a number of police constables with two chiefs. We asked the young lady how she felt, to which she replied: "As soon as evening comes, I feel a sensation of coldness all over my body, my hair stands on end, and I am not myself."
On the 30th, the destructive action of the stones continued from 5 to 7 o'clock in the evening.
Floralina was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, and was modestly conversing with us with her usual natural cheerfulness, when suddenly she fainted, became restless, and began to toss and turn with such violence that five people were unable to restrain her. And the remarkable thing is that during the time when she was unconscious, not a single pane of glass was broken. A few minutes later, she suddenly rose from her chair with such force that some of those who were holding her were knocked down. She rose to her feet and almost lifted those who were holding her. With great difficulty, straining all our strength, we succeeded in getting her back on the chair. At last we took her into the room and laid her on the bed. A few minutes later, the large glass door fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. It should be noted that this glass was inaccessible to a stone thrown from the yard. On someone's advice, the constables decided to send for a Malayali who was engaged in exorcism by means of spells.
While we were waiting for this man to arrive, still holding Miss Floralina, suddenly Floralina's prayer book, which was in a chest of drawers in the next room, was thrown through the broken glass of the door into our room and fell near Floralina's right hand. We were all very much astonished at this fact, and asked where Floralina's prayer book was; and she assured us that it was in the chest of drawers in the next room.
At last the Malayali we had been waiting for arrived, and scarcely had he come near when the young girl, who had been lying with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them, looked at the newcomer with a strange look, and at the same time made an effort to rush at him. The Malayali began to say something sternly to her in Malayalam, and the girl could not take her eyes off him all this time. The Malayali then began to write something on a long strip of paper, after which he rolled it up into a cigar and stuck it into Miss Floralina's hair, who began to resist and even spit on him, but the Malayali extended a Malayali cane towards her, which, according to him, possessed magical powers, and she resigned herself. After this he lit the rolled-up paper, gave it to her to smell, and soon she completely came to her senses and became almost normal. Finally, at about 11 o'clock, the Malayali left, and soon we also dispersed.
During the following days, although the stones continued to fall and the dishes to break, they were much less frequent, and the patient became considerably calmer. Soon the girl's father, who lived in Goodalur, 130 miles from Ooty, arrived, having been telegraphed about his daughter's illness, and yesterday evening they both left our town. As a result of all the incidents described, the house was so completely ruined that Mrs. F. and the children had to move to another apartment.
In my story I have adhered strictly to the truth and, without exaggerating anything, have related the facts as they actually were. ("Annales Des Sciences Psychiques" 1897, No. 5; see "Rebus Magazine" 1898, No. 8).
d) A case of mysterious phenomena in ancient Russia, in the 17th century.
During the reign of the most pious Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the autocrat of all Russia, the following thing happened in that same royal city of Moscow. In the patriarchal almshouse at Kulichki, which is behind the Varvarskie gates near the Ivanovsky Monastery, by the action of a certain sorcerer a demon entered and did various dirty tricks to those living there, about which Abba Mark narrates, saying that at that time he himself was with the monk in those almshouses and was an eyewitness to this. And that demon did not allow anyone to sleep at night or during the day, dragging people from their beds and benches, and screaming absurdly aloud to everyone, knocking and rattling on the stove and on the sleeping platforms in the corners, shouting absurd voices, frightening everyone. The pious Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered the clergy to pray to drive out that demon; however, they had no success, but the devil, like a lion, was more ferocious than all, and clearly exposed and shamed their sins, and drove them out with great fear and beating. Many people were thus forced to drive out that demon, but they had no success."
Then someone close to the Tsar announced about the Venerable Hilarion, that he had been granted by God the power over unclean spirits, to drive them away from people by prayer. The pious Tsar ordered the Venerable Hilarion to be summoned before him, for the Venerable One was in Moscow at that time. The messengers found the Venerable One walking along the road, and informed him that the pious Tsar was asking him to deign to go with them immediately. The Venerable One, not knowing what to answer them, only said: "Lord, have mercy!" For he was afraid, because I had some slander against him to the Tsar. However, he went with them. The clothing on the monk at that time was a sheepskin coat, belted with a bast braid, and over the coat a worn-out cloth cassock. And having brought the monk, they placed him before the king. And the monk, thinking that some anger would come from the king, prayed according to custom to the Lord God before the holy icons, and bowed down to the ground before the king, saying nothing. And the pious king said to him: "Fear not, venerable father; for it was not out of fear that I called you here, but for good advice." And he began to speak to him thus: "Strive, for God's sake, and do not disregard our request; for I have heard of you, that you live well before God." And the monk said: "I am a sinful man, being dust and ashes." The pious king said: "However, do not disregard our request: go to that women's almshouse, and pray to the Lord God with your diligent prayer, and drive out the demon from there, for he causes many mischief and troubles to those living there." But the monk, answering in the opposite direction, said: "O pious king! How do you command me to do this beyond our power; for this is not our work, but the work of the great holy fathers, who shone in virtues, and received such power and strength from God over unclean spirits. But I am dust and ashes, and very much the first of sinners. Truly this deed exceeds our measure, however, pious king, have mercy on me, a poor thing, let me go to weep for my sins and bring repentance, for I am unclean before God." The pious king answered him: "Do not refuse, holy father, to do a good deed, as the Scripture says: 'For with all your good deeds have holy obedience.' For it is more than fasting and prayer and is very valuable before God, for He Himself says: 'I want mercy, and not sacrifice.' For God does not look at faces, but does the will of those who fear Him, and mercifully hears them." The monk, having answered, said: "Even if I am not heard, O pious king! However, for obedience I will go, a sinner, against my strength, for I can no longer speak against your royal will, or be contrary to it.” And so, having bowed to the king, he went.
At that time the Ecumenical Patriarch came to Moscow. The Venerable One, by order of the Tsar, went to those almshouses, having surrounded himself with deep humility. And when he and the monk Mark and the monk Joseph, called Ryabik, arrived at those almshouses already towards evening, they began, according to their custom, to perform the evening chant, as well as the small compline, and three canons: to the Sweetest Jesus, to the Most Holy Theotokos and the Guardian Angel, and among the canons - the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos and the Prayers Before Sleep and all the services in order, which they were accustomed to perform in the desert. The devil, not enduring to hear such singing, began to knock loudly on the shelves and shout in absurd voices, reproaching the monk with shameless words, saying: "Is it you, monk , who came here to drive me out? Come to me, let us have our talk with me." The monk looked around in no direction, and the devil alone shouted: "Come, monk, let us have our talk with me." When the time came to read the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, he looked up to heaven, raised his hands high and struck his chest hard; Tears flowed from his eyes like hail, and he fell face down on the ground from great pity, and again rose from the ground and began to read the Akathist in a loud voice, according to his custom. But the devil, through the prayers of the saint, like a scorcher with fire, jumped back from there, like a swift arrow, and remained silent for a time, until the Saint read the Akathist. When he finished, then the devil again began to cry out in absurd voices, saying: “Oh, you crybaby! You have begun to cry again; come to me, I will deal with you.” When the Saint and those monks, according to their custom, completed the church rule and extinguished the fire at night, then the Saint and those monks began to correct the cell rule. And the monk began to weep inconsolably before God against the devil, that he might drive him out of there. The devil cried out in a loud voice: "Oh, oh, monks, you have begun to weep in the darkness;" and he began to knock very loudly on the bed, saying: "I am coming to you," and fell silent.
The monk Mark said: I wanted to run away from the cell out of fear, but the monk confirmed them in prayer to stand firm and make diligent prayers to God, and not to be afraid of anything at all, saying that the devil has no power over pigs without God's command. The devil turned into a black cat and began to jump up under the monk's knees. When the monk began to do a prostration, he did this to hinder him: to somehow make the monk angry and turn him away from prayer. But he, being kind, when the devil jumped up under his knees, then he threw him away with his hand, and made the prostration. And having made his cell rule, he commanded, crossing himself, having no fear of sleeping. Abba Mark says: I hid deep under my fur coat out of fear. When the night passed and the day drew near, then the monk rose from his sleep and, according to custom, performed the morning hymn, and after the matins service, went about his monastic business. At that time the devil told the almshouse women about the monk, saying: "How well this monk lives before God: when he began to weep before Jesus and Mary in the akathist, he greatly frightened me, and as if with fire at that time he burned me, and, unable to bear it, I fled; and when he began to pray in the darkness, I knocked loudly, but he was not at all afraid, and assured his disciples not to be afraid; I, like a black cat, jumped up under his knees and bothered him a lot, wanting to bring him to anger and turn him away from prayer, but I could not." The accursed one spoke this to them, he himself was invisible.
At that time the woman put the child in the cradle; but the devil, snatching the child and taking the woman herself invisibly, put her in the cradle, began to shake her, saying: 'Lyuli, woman; lyuli, stupid!' And when the saint was going again to the almshouse and was already approaching, then the devil, leaving the woman in the cradle, said: "Here comes that bastard again; but I will feel sick from him;" he disappeared and remained silent. The monk, having come to the almshouse, commanded that a table be prepared, a shroud be laid out, and a cup filled with pure water, and he himself put on his vestments and, taking up the cross, began to bless the water. The devil began to shout in absurd voices and to throw large white stones, so that the whole almshouse table and cup shook from the sound; but the stones did not harm the monk, only at his feet, and in front, and behind, and from the sides, those stones fell. The monk was in no way afraid, nor did he look around, but performed the usual blessing of the water with many tears, and the devil alone cried out absurdly, saying: “Are you weeping again, my friend? Come to me, and I will deal with you.” When the Saint had blessed the water, then taking the cross in his left hand, the sprinkler in his right, immediately having sprinkled the holy icons first, he turned and went where the devil cried out absurdly, saying: “Where are you, enemy of all righteousness? I am the servant of my Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered crucifixion on the cross for us sinners! In His name I come to fraternize with you! Go away, wretched and unclean!” And he began to sprinkle holy water everywhere, on the stove and on the sleeping platforms, on the benches and under the benches, and did not leave a single place where he would not sprinkle. Then the devil kept silent, and hid himself in fear, and did not come there for three days. After three days he appeared again, and began to cry out to the almshouse women there: “How well does this monk live before God, but it is impossible for me to approach him, for he burns with fire.” Then the Saint came from nowhere, and the devil again began to cry out and shout, but not as boldly as before; for he began to grow weak, and spoke unutterably. The Saint said to him: “Are you alone shameless, wretched one? I adjure you in the name of God, tell me where you have been these past three days? And when I sprinkled with holy water, where have you been hiding?” The devil answered: "When you sprinkled the water, I was sitting on a pole under my robe at the time; and when I could not sit there, I jumped up onto the pole, and you forgot to sprinkle there too, and have been resting there until now, sitting." The monk asked him again: "Where do you get the white stone?" The devil answered: "I take it from the white city." The monk asked again: "What is your name?" The devil said: "My name is Ignatius, of princely birth, but I am of the flesh. My mother sent me to the demons, and the demons immediately took me." The monk swore at him by the name of God, commanding him to leave there. The devil said: "I cannot leave here; for I was sent here, and did not come of my own accord." The Saint said: “I have to pray to God for you; get out, you cursed one!” But the devil did not speak as boldly as before, for he spoke very dumbly and without boldness, and had already begun to disappear.
The monk struggled with that devil for five weeks, praying diligently to God, and blessing water and sprinkling it everywhere; then that demon gradually disappeared from there, and never returned there again, by the grace of God and the prayers of the Venerable Father Hilarion. And the monk lived in those almshouses for ten weeks, and thus returned to his monastery in spiritual strength, like a brave warrior of the Tsar and a strong conqueror in battles, and by no means defeated by the enemy, he appeared terrible to the unclean spirit, and to the whole world an obvious and wondrous miracle worker. ("Life of Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal; see "Rebus Magazine" 1895, No. 12).
PART TEN
