Chapter 6

The Haunted Place

I dreamed this on Halloween night, 2016. Nightmares are very rare for me. When I awoke, I felt the need to pray and spiritually cleanse my abode.

The dream began with me meeting with a fellowship group that I was a part of back in 2000. I don’t think that they were prophetically significant in the dream, only role players. What they may represent are Christians who think they are shining examples of spiritual wisdom, when in fact they are babes in Christ. From what I have heard, almost two decades later, some members of that group have drifted away from the Lord. If you have read items that some of them have posted on Facebook, it would be very clear that they have been blinded and no longer follow the clear teachings of scripture.

We were caravanning on a trip to visit a fellowship that was meeting in a distant state. The leader of the group, we will call him Tommy, was elderly, obese, and disabled, but very articulate and musically gifted.

We stopped to eat at a buffet. During the meal, a tall blond man with Coke-bottle glasses and carpenter’s hands, suggested that we stop and spend the night at a haunted house that was on our route. We’ll call him Chase.

To my surprise, Tommy said that he would consider the possibility. When I told them that such an endeavor would be unwise, they began lecturing me that I was a fearful Christian and did not trust the power of the shed blood of Christ.

My response was that they would be testing the Lord if they decided to visit the haunted house. One of the children added that the place had been featured on a ghost hunting TV show. When I told them that the actors in these shows are often followed home by the entities that dwell there and are tormented by them, they laughed at me. Chase interjected, “Even if what you are saying is true, Wayne, the actors probably weren’t Christians. We, being Christians, are automatically protected from such things.”

We traded scriptures and testimonials back and forth for several minutes. Finally, Tommy cleared his throat, to get everyone’s attention, and then he announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, and uhhm, ahh, Wayne, if you will allow me to exercise my authority as the lead elder of this group, may I suggest that we test his theory. Wayne is saying that willfully entering this property, called ‘the haunted place,’ without Jesus actually sending us there, will limit the power of Jesus to protect us.”

Chase whooped and exclaimed, “Yeah, you betcha!”

Several young people yelled, “Yes, let’s go!”

One lady, her name was Judy, said, “I don’t know about this. It sounds scary.” I heard Chase whisper, “Judy is just a scaredy-cat like Wayne.”

“That’s not exactly the way I said it, Tommy. Christ’s power is not limited, but we of our free will may go, as the saying goes, ‘where angels fear to tread.’” I added, “I want to go alone and pray for a few minutes, and then I will decide. Then I will know how I will answer.”

Chase’s wife, Hermione, exclaimed, “Here we go again, Lone Ranger Wayne! Can’t follow the wisdom of the group!” She added, saying each word very slowly, “This is why we say that the children of our group have more spiritual knowledge and maturity than you do!”

Ignoring the comment, I said, “I am going for a walk outside; I will be back in about ten or fifteen minutes.”

Chase yelled, “Don’t let the door smack your donkey (he imitated the braying of an ass) on the way out!”

When I returned, Tommy wryly intoned, “So, did you receive your exclusive personal epiphany from God?”

Ignoring his sarcasm, I replied, “I did. This is what I feel I heard. It is not His will that you go to the haunted house, and certainly you should not spend the night there.”

One of the children exclaimed, “How did Mr. O’Conner know that we decided to spend the night there?”

Chase replied, “Lucky guess!”

“And wait! There’s more!” exclaimed Tommy sarcastically.

“Actually, there is more,” I replied. “You need to have hotel rooms for the women and children, and they should go there. If they go at all to the site, they should not stay long. After the children are in bed, the ladies should stay in vigil, read Scripture, and sing songs while interceding for those that are spending the night. The Lord will give you a sign when you arrive that it is not considered wise to be there, especially at night. Many have been injured and even died on that property. I am only supposed to go with you for one reason: To be in constant prayer for the group’s protection and to see that none of you die because of your lack of wisdom. I feel like people have been shot and beaten and young children have had broken arms and legs when visiting that devil’s playground.”

Angela, Tommy’s wife, scowled and snapped, “Why do you always think you speak the oracles of God, Wayne! You may not be a young man, but you need to show more respect to your elders!”

“You don’t have much trust in the power of Jesus to protect His servants, do you Wayne?” added Hermione.

Her husband, Chase, added, “It’s like I’ve said, time and time again. Wayne says he’s a Christian, but he’s not even saved!”

Tommy raised his arms, “Okay now. That’s enough. Okay, Wayne, I’ll pretend that you in point of fact heard something from the Lord but may not have interpreted it quite right. It is probably a good idea if the women and children stay at the hotel tonight. The men need a special time-out fellowship during the trip anyway. That said, I think your fear and ignorance have added a great deal to your ‘word from the Lord’ than is merited.”

Later in the afternoon, more towards evening, we arrived at the haunted house. It was on the outskirts of town. The moment I stepped on the property I could feel an evil presence. When I mentioned this fact, I was reminded of having an overly active imagination and was warned not to scare the children.

Judy shuddered and exclaimed, “I don’t like this. I am going back to the van.” She went back to the vehicles. While the main house was a small, run-down, Victorian style two and a half-story dwelling, the grounds were a large expanse of scruffy, unmown grass.

Several blocks to the back and right was an old, one-floor dwelling of white that looked like a guest house.

There were no trees. To the left was an unpaved parking lot with some scrub oaks, lots of scattered garbage, and five parked semitrucks, lights on and diesel engines humming, all parked facing toward the haunted house, as if waiting for the show to begin. Only one truck had people visible in the front seat. An old man hunkered over the wheel, and a young man in the passenger seat shared coffee from a thermos and ate fast food chicken from a bucket. They were watching us as we walked up the driveway.

Not too far up the driveway, there was a large, weathered sign. On the sign was printed an ordinance number with a town law that said if law enforcement or medical personnel were called to the property, fines would be issued. A message followed saying that if you entered the property, you entered at your own risk and that the fine for overnight visits was far costlier than the town’s average hotel rate.

“Well, there’s your sign!” I commented.

Chase snorted and didn’t say anything. I watched several people scowl, but nothing was said. Finally, Mary Kay, a short brunette lady said, “I think my husband is lucky he couldn’t get off work for this trip. I think Judy was right. I’m going to take a peek in the house, but then, I am going back to the van.”

One of the children asked, “Are you still scared, Mr. O’Conner?”

I replied, “Yes. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t.” I added, “The feeling I get is that the devils are like bees that have been smoked. Right now, they are just becoming aware of our presence. They are angry, but until the sun goes down, which probably won’t be for an hour or so, they won’t get active. Something bad happened here a long time ago. There is a curse on this place. It needs to be dealt with, but we are not the ones who have been given that task. Just like Jesus, following His temptation, did not dispute Satan’s authority, I feel that I cannot dispute that devils own this place now. We have a certain amount of protection right now as Christians, but our authority here is very limited.”

“That’s your opinion, Wayne,” said Tommy, “and one not everyone present agrees with it.”

We entered the house. The contrast was stark. While the outside of the house was all rotted boards and peeling paint, the inside was spotless. No dust anywhere that I could see, although the floors had mysterious dark stains. Doors to the upstairs were nailed shut. Angela opened the fridge. Both the freezers and cold storage areas were full of food. Several bottles of beer and jugs of water helped fill the unit.

Hermione said, “Well, whoever stays the night won’t go hungry!”

“I wouldn’t eat it! It may look good, but my feeling is that the food is toxic. For real, spiritually, or both.” I added, “Why does the light go on? I don’t think there is even supposed to be electricity in this place. It’s too clean. This feels like an esthetically appealing trap.”

Angela flicked a light switch. When the light came on, she said, “Obviously, the light works. If you weren’t full of fear and pride, you would admit that you are wrong. Wrong about everything. And everyone knows that in addition to an overactive imagination, you have this unmerited feeling of sagacious spiritual wisdom and the misguided belief that you possess an untainted, uninterrupted, dedicated communications cable into the very throne room of God Himself.”

I ignored her comment. Meanwhile, I started feeling uncomfortable for a new reason as I discovered that I needed to use a bathroom. I asked if anyone had seen a bathroom. One of the ladies pointed to a side room. I started to enter it. Very strongly I heard one word, and I knew it was the Lord. It was a simple emphatic, “No.” Ignoring the urge I had to both urinate and defecate, I exited the bathroom.

“Too scared to use the bathroom, Wayne?” asked Chase.

“The Lord said, ‘No.’”

“Yeah. Right,” smirked Chase. He looked at his wife, and they both laughed.

I walked over to Tommy. I asked if him if he had made the reservations for the hotel. Strangely, his dress shirt and slacks had become bib overhauls. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, flipped it open and said, “Yes, Wayne. It’s at…” mumble, “…number…” mumble, mumble, “…Circle Place Plaza.”

“Well, it is getting to be time, Tommy. The darkness is about to get worse. We should all go. But if not, it is time for the women and children to go. I feel this very strongly.”

Tommy replied, “You are taking things way too seriously, Wayne. But yeah, in a few minutes, I’ll see if any of the women and children are ready to go to the hotel.”

Mary Kay chimed in, “I am ready to go now. I have had my peek. I’m going to sit in the van with Judy.

We followed Mary Kay outside. The sun was still up, but in the process of entering the late stages of dusk. Suddenly, I could feel a tangible dark and chaotic pressure surrounding me.

“I am starting to feel the oppression now,” I warned.

Chase exclaimed, “You feel a lot of things that are just your imagination!”

“Like Sister Mary Kay’s husband always says, chimed in Hermione, ‘It’s just WAAAYYYNNNE!’”

Tommy’s son Rolly, exclaimed to his brother, “Hey, Marty! Where did that volleyball come from?”

Marty yelled back, “I don’t know. Let’s go kick it!”

Suddenly and urgently, I prayed for protection for the group. I began to hear buzzing, disembodied voices in my ears.

Marty and Rolly began kicking the ball around the yard. Rolly kicked it against the picket fence that separated the truck park from the haunted house property. Marty dashed in to steal the ball from his brother, slipped and rolled into the fence, which busted. Marty moaned but got up slowly and said, “Don’t worry. I’m okay. My leg is not broken or anything.”

One of the young girls shouted, “Wow! That is weird. Don’t you remember the TV show? A boy broke his leg while playing kickball here with his little brother! And they were exploring the haunted house just like us!”

“It was just a coincidence!” shouted Tommy. Several others angrily voiced their agreement with Tommy.

Mary Kay thanked the Lord for Marty being safe and asked, “Anyone else coming?” She added, “I am going to sit with Judy.”

“You go ahead,” said Hermione, “and wait in the van. Angela or I will drive one of the vans to the hotel. We aren’t sure yet which one of us is going back yet.”

I looked over at the truckers who had been eating chicken. The old man threw the empty red and white cardboard chicken bucket out the window. In another semitruck, a driver exited the sleeper section, sat in the front seat, and popped open a can of liquid refreshment. Whether it was beer or soda, I could not tell.

The group followed Mary Kay to the gravel road. I heard a door slam behind me. When I looked back, I saw a tall, thin, old man wearing a heavily soiled and torn flannel shirt and wool pants. His wild white hair whipped around in a sudden gust of wind as he stepped out from the guest house. I could smell roses and damp moldy leaves on the breeze which seemed totally nonsensical. The ghostly old man quickly lifted his rifle and shot at the group.

I yelled a warning at the group. Mary Kay and a few of the children ran towards the van. Marty was limping but valiantly tried to keep up with the others who had separated from the group to run to the van.

When the others looked where I was pointing, the old man with the rifle was gone. Only the guest house with the peeling white paint was there. The old man with the gun had vanished.

Chase yelled, “You are just imagining things!”

Hermione screamed, “Wayne! We already told you to stop scaring the children!”

“Didn’t you hear the gunshot?” I fired back.

“It was probably just a car backfiring!” offered Tommy.

“We need to leave. The sun is going to be down soon,” I said.

Tommy replied, “Yes, now would probably be a good time to decide who wants to go and who wants to stay. So far, I think we are all in one piece. I guess it is time to see if Wayne’s theory is just a theory.” End of dream.

Spiritual Lessons

As Christians, we need to be very careful about being careless in our everyday lives when it comes to the reality of the spiritual world. While the group in the dream had many strange and distinctive comments, they were indeed exact or close paraphrases of comments made by that group to me while I was in their fellowship. That and the eerie backdrop of the dream made the nightmare so real for me, that even after I had awakened, the dream’s dark pall seemed to cling like a greasy mist.

Christians, as well as non-Christians, are just as apt to be skeptical of the reality of the demonic realm that exists both within and without in our world. We seem to err in two directions. Either we totally dismiss the reality of demoniacal activity or focus too much on it. Along the same lines, we either disregard it or do not trust Jesus to protect us. I have read that actors who are in the paranormal ghost shows, really do have entities follow them around off the set, like my character in the dream warned. While we need to have faith in Jesus to protect us from the dark supernatural realm, we also need to exercise wisdom in not seeking after things of the dark, including the television shows we watch or places we go. Fallen angels and evil spirits are very real, and we do have authority in Jesus’ name.

Revelation 12:9

 

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

 

Matthew 10:1

 

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.

 

However, we must keep two things in mind. First, when Satan tempted Jesus and offered Him all authority, Jesus did not dispute that authority. Second, we don’t have a blanket mandate to wield the authority Jesus delegates to us. We are responsible for staying submitted to Jesus and learn the right way to walk in that gift, especially if we are deliverance ministry workers. If we aren’t careful and wise in how we operate in that delegated authority, we may end up in a “seven sons of Sceva” (see Acts 19:11-20) situation.  Or we may become careless in our walk, leaving doors open that dark kingdom entities may exploit to diminish our power in prayer or ensnare us into dark kingdom bondages.

 

 

 

 

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Excerpted from my soon to be published book Kingdom Lessons Three: Flowers from Jesus.