Statement of Intent, Observations, Perspectives and Projections for the 

Demonology, Incorporated website.

 

by Carl L. Johnson

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

     Welcome again to Demonology, Incorporated. I believe Lana's said it first and best, with her own description what we intend this website to be. Herein, we seek to provide a forum for persons to share both their experiences and viewpoints on what, even in the realms of paranormal exploration and research, is a controversial subject: generally, demons, and in particular, demonology. We will examine the plausibility of demons, how and why they might have existed, perhaps having preceded the human race, certainly in antiquity, and in our present time. However, there is a wide array of subjects and topics we may discuss and sometimes debate, many which relate to demonology yet not exclusively so.

 

    Demonology means the study of lore and tradition associated with wicked spirits most commonly referred to as demons, plus what inscrutable truths might lie behind the old myths. Admittedly, the field is quite lacking in astute, clinical, scientific-sounding nomenclature, or terminology. It is at once anachronistic--most persons regard it as downright medieval--and relevant for this age. It is a study I have chosen to pursue, in fact as my life's work. (Or, let me say it s an interest which pervades my life.) For you see, demons are real. The interpretations may vary, but I am convinced they exist, largely apart from us but sometimes among us. 

 

    One fact of life which applies to every person, is that we cannot always obtain everything we desire, the way we want it. Realizing this, either a person will continue to pursue an objective, or abandon it. There is a goal, or vision I haven't yet achieved, but to which I still aspire. Why has this not yet happened? Well, because in each situation where I'd hoped it would manifest, a colleague in paranormal research grabbed the reins from me, so to speak, and so much said: "No, we (I) can do this differently! We need to focus our group's efforts exclusively on proving ghosts/rescuing people from demons/proclaiming Nostradamus's prophecies!" Needless to say, nothing further, not anything of significance, would be accomplished. I walked away. the groups dissolved. The first time this occurred was in 1973. I'd no idea at the time it was to become a trend that would continue over the ensuing forty years!

 

    Imagine an investigative team devoted to truly eclectic interests, one that would be willing to explore a variety of anomalies, not restricted to ghosts and spirits. Of course, we well might respond to a call alerting us to possible demonic, or poltergeist activity. However, should an anomalous sink hole in the ground occur, or inexplicable, thunderous sounds (that weren't caused by lightning) are heard reverberating through the atmosphere; if insidious cult activity in our vicinity is suspected, when a UFO is sighted, or perhaps even if we are alerted to a missing person report and we adjudge that our intervention (or interference) might be useful, our group becomes involved. One advantage to such an approach to the paranormal--here I mean paranormal in the overall sense of things apart from what is normally accepted or understood--would be that rarely would we be lacking in matters to explore! The merit, or viability of such a group would lie in its organization, and the dedication of its members. So much for idealism. It was not to be, anyway not in my scheme of things. I like to expand upon the X Files motto and say: "The Truth is out there"...but it's largely ignored." Perhaps we can achieve something akin to that aim here, though a site we title Demonology, Incorporated.

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    The subject of demons has always been of interest to me, mostly because I believe them to be real. Experience: mine and some accounts others have shared with me, cause me to believe this. It is an interest which seems to have called me. I didn't start off labeling myself as a demonologist. When I began hearing then reading that term being applied to me, I accepted it. Why not? I thought. 

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    The first residential case which I investigated was brought to the attention of a handful of my associates and me way back in July of 1973. This was at the Perrons' family farmhouse located in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The inexplicable activity I observed within their household evinced elements which were characteristic of demonic infestation, as in my then limited experience I presumed such to be. My twin brother Keith and I were then members of a group based at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI, called Parapsychological Investigative and Research Organization, or PIRO. (Catchy, huh? We thought so. Our logo incorporated the Greek letters Pi and Ro). It was decided that our team would contact and call in the assistance of the renowned paranormal investigating couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren, with whom some of us were acquainted. It was not that we felt we were in-over-our-heads; we simply assumed the participation of the Warrens would provide the Perrons with further assurance that we were in earnest about  assisting them. Before we knew it and without being notified, the Warrens had taken over the case, ultimately with less than satisfactory results. Precisely forty years later, that embellished case file became the subject of a major motion picture, titled The Conjuring.

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   Some years later, in the summer of 1980, I was alerted to a particularly urgent situation occurring in the West End, Armory District of Providence. A boy named Lucas Rosa, 14 years of age, was undergoing fits during which an invasive and hostile "personality" seemed to overtake him. I and others around this young fellow witness inexplicable, sometimes bizarre phenomena which could not be explained away solely as psychosis, or accelerated somatic motor performance. Unquestionably, there were manifestations of an other-worldly, and decidedly malevolent power. His situation worsened until an expulsion, which is a form of minor exorcism, not so formally structured and wordy as the well-known Ritualis Romanum, or Roman Ritual employed by the Catholic Church, but still very serious business. I actively participated. Well, it was an ordeal, to be sure, but ultimately it seem to have been effective. As for precisely how and why it worked, of course, we can only speculate.

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    So, what is the function of a demonologist, in the here-and-now? There is no precise job description for this, since a call for the expertise and sometimes the services of a demonologist depend on the occasion, if you will. It is perhaps easier to tell you what such a person is not.  Here is a statement that may fans who follow the paranormal-themed reality television shows who read this doubtlessly will deem heretical, possibly even offensive, but I stand by it. I've extracted this from the first book upon which Lana and I are collaborating, titled (we think, aptly), Shadow Realms. 

    Viewing those programs, however entertaining they may be and I can enjoy some segments of them, you are not watching paranormal investigators--and the mediums/psychics/sensitives who sometimes accompany them on their forays into haunted settings, communicating with dead people. Furthermore communication with ghosts, indeed the very existence of ghosts interpreted as conscious, responsive spirits of the departed, has never been adequately proven. "But, those guys prove it every week, on cable television, and it's the real deal!" Yes, real "ghosties." Yet, how can we be certain about this? Let us please remain mindful that those shows are predicated on their audience accepting what is presented to them as genuine, not merely entertainment. The success and continuation of such programs in the form of ratings depends on it.  We are viewing, on a rectangular flat screen, what a camera person and editor in the studio decide we are going to see, and most of the actual investigation procedure is filmed in night-scope camera, which is fairly useless for what the team members are attempting, but focuses a viewer's attention on the glowing, albino-like para-personnel, while obscuring the background. Consider: could it be the demons themselves deceiving us, by posing as earth-bound human spirits, or is someone among the living pulling the paranormal wool over our trusting eyes? 

    Ultimately, each must decide for him or herself, what they are going to embrace as true. Yes, folks, our heroes of haunt are showing us (in part) how it's done!Some of that has value for a paranormal investigator. Naturally, not everything paranormal we see televised on those pre-recorded shows has been contrived. I can attest, I personally never did so. With no disparagement to colleagues current of former intended, I can assure you, some of it is.

    We must think of what will remain of the grand scope of paranormal research, once the bubble bursts and perhaps such endeavors are regarded as a fading fad. It's not that I expect that will happen, or should it occur, it probably won't be not anytime soon. Yet concern with the paranormal still isn't a study which is taken all that seriously, certainly not by mainstream science. One reason is, often there's not much we can do with it, in a practical sense. The rampant trickery which has pervaded this field, once exposed, inflicts further damage on its sense of legitimacy. Yet there is sincerity among enthusiasts, I believe, sufficient to propel us forward, and to prepare for discoveries which await us. Innovations are steadily advancing these interests. 

    We can foresee a time when improved devices will more reliably enable us to detect spirit beings, and I hope that is a good thing! Certain cryptids, that is, critters suspected to be living but not yet classified by modern, scientific zoology, are being revealed as more substantial than most persons thought. Tissue and blood samples coming from the large, hirsute primate called Bigfoot, Sasquatch and many other names (not all of them complementary) have been analyzed in laboratories; not all can be dismissed. The Chupacabra, supposed to be a hairless canine resembling a cross between a jackal, coyote and...something else...has been filmed in motion, also body parts collected and preserved. Before being accepted as a viable species or subspecies It really needs a better moniker than "Goat Sucker" in Spanish; maybe a Latin nomen: Canus-...? Concerning the Jersey Devil, numerous reports suggest that people have been seeing something; plus, it's one more legend-myth that leaves tracks!

    Demons, apparently, are in a category by themselves: neither ghosts, nor angels, nor living creatures. We can continue to debate and speculate about their origins. Ignore them if you choose. Disbelieve in them; that might even be a better policy, at least for those who have the option. Defy them if you are being plagued, but do not do so recklessly. You may smirk derisively at the notion of their reality, but it's quite possible they are sneering back at you. (Should that be but a vague possibility, it's still worthwhile to exercise some discretion, when deigning to enteri their arena.)