With the spooky Halloween season upon us, many expect to have frightful amounts of fun, but an exorcist has warned against a popular activity over the festive period.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, exorcist, Fr. Dan Reehil warned against using Ouija boards or risk the dangerous consequences.
He insisted that doing so could be a way of inviting ‘demons’ into your life, a most frightful friend to round off ‘Spooktober’.
“We too often forget that there is much more to this world than meets the eye,” Reehil told the publication in a genuine warning for this Halloween.
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"Angels, demons, spirits and souls do exist and they can have an impact on our life."
Now, in case you haven’t seen 1973’s The Exorcist or Paranormal Activity, a Ouija board is a device used primarily to contact the deceased or spirits.
The board was first developed in the late 19th century as a parlor game, and consists of letters of the alphabet, the words ‘yes’, ‘no’, 'goodbye' and the numbers zero through to nine.
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To use the board, a person (or persons) place their hands on a planchette, which is then meant to be moved to form a word by the spirits - or anyone crafty enough to play a cheeky prank on their friends.
Now, even if you are a doubter, Rehill is most certainly qualified to comment on the topic as he is a priest of the Dioecese of Nashville and received specific exorcism training at Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum in Rome in 2018. That same year, he was installed as the exorcist of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee.
Reehil also clarified the lesser known details surrounding exorcism.
“A major exorcism is performed only for one, who is demonstrably possessed by a demon or demons, and may only be performed by a priest the bishop has specifically permitted to do so.
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“Demonologists distinguish three levels of demonic incursion.”
He explained that the first level is temptation and is experienced by all people. The second level is obsession, also known as oppression, and is when demons torment people. This torment can come in physical, spiritual, mental or emotional forms.
Possession, the most well-known type - thanks to scores of horror movies - is when a demon or demons 'take physical possession of a person's body and make use of its faculties.'
“When asking a board for information about a deceased person, or a life decision, they are all too happy to embed themselves into your life. Using an Ouija board is inviting a demon into your life, whether the person has that intention or not,” Reehill said.
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Well, however you celebrate Halloween, try and keep the demon mixing to a minimum.
Gerrard Kaonga