The Demonic House in Gary, Indiana
In January 2016, a house located in Gary, Indiana, and alleged to be infested with demons was torn down.
GARY, INDIANA — Zak Bagans the host of Ghost Adventures bought the house in 2014, and during 2015 filmed a documentary in the home about the events that transpired within its walls. He claimed something powerful, dark and intelligent haunted the small structure.
The experiences of the family living there attracted attention from all over the world. Personnel from different agencies who came in contact with the family offered testimony to support the family's claims of paranormal experiences. Social services employees described objects levitating and the sound of loud footsteps which actually left behind an imprint.
Two hospital personnel said they saw one of the boys walking backwards up a wall, flip into the air and land on his feet. This occurred inside the hospital prior to being examined.
In a separate event, the Department of Child Services report described where employees at a doctor’s office witnessed one of the boys lift up into the air and get thrown into a wall.
In an email interview Bagans, who is Catholic said he is convinced there was an evil presence in the home.
“I do believe the dark forces in the house were aware of my presence and did interfere with the production in many different ways — some serious,” he said. Bagans added that, immediately after his investigation, he developed an unexplained physical illness from which he continues to suffer.
Father Michael Maginot conducted a series of exorcisms in 2013, even though he was not the exorcist serving the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. However he was the pastor of St. Stephen Martyr Church in Merrillville, Indiana, and the person the family reached out to originally. Due to this, Bishop Dale Melczek allowed Father Maginot to handle the case under supervision of Father Vincent Lampert, pastor of St. Malachy Church and the exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis,
Father Maginot was contracted as an adviser to Bagan's film, however he requested a written clause in the agreement specifying the retelling would be truthful.
“The truth makes it fascinating,” he said in an interview with The Register. “The devil looks bad in this. He loses a lot of mystique.”
During the winter of 2014, when the film crew went into the home, they found a hole in the roof which damaged the interior a bit. Father Maginot explained, “It looked like an animal had scratched through the roof and ceiling, but we could not find it anywhere in the house, and there were no animal droppings around.”
Another mysterious discovery was an odd-looking hand mark made into a dusty table in the living room. “It was a long hand that did not seem human; it had no palm and was around 12-15 inches long,” Father Maginot said.
They also found a weird-looking hand mark on a table in the living room that was coated in dust. “It was a long hand that did not seem human; it had no palm and was around 12-15 inches long,” Father Maginot said.
“Hollywood makes them [demons] like monsters, but, actually, they are very manipulative in how they work,” he explained. “For instance, there was a lot of tension between Zak and me in the beginning, until we realized what was going on.”
Father Maginot suspected the devil was behind many of the delays they encountered, with the aim of stopping the documentary from being completed.
“Sometimes, demons cause scary things to happen, but usually only when they are pushed and shoved do they go that way,” Father Maginot said. “The normal way that demons work is through temptation. I think it’s God’s purpose to show evil at times so that we can see what we are truly dealing with.”
Father Maginot was quick to point out that the devil is not God, and is not all-powerful. He cannot take a human's free will or end their life however he is still very dangerous.
After the filming was complete, Father Maginot blessed the house. “I did the biggest blessing I could,” he said. “I used holy water and incense, and I prayed it in Latin.”
Father Maginot explained that houses can be blessed to drive out evil spirits, since spirits don’t live in a location like people do.
“Evil spirits can choose to act at a location, and evil activities might have brought that about, but spirits don’t occupy time and space like we do,” he explained. “Something happened to bring on the evil.”
The disadvantage of the attention the house has garnered is that many were hoping to use it before it was demolished.
“People were going to the house and doing séances,” he said. “Any continuation of evil could have been caused by people bringing it on by their actions,” he said.
Father Lampert warned that a fascination with evil can create serious danger. “There are a lot of people that watch those ghost-hunter shows that don’t have a connection with God,” he said. “Evil plays on a person’s mind and memories. If a person does not have a faith life to deal with evil, then his life can be destroyed by it.” According to him, without God in one’s life, there is no protection from such evil.
