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by Chad Koons

Do you believe in the supernatural? Though often fictionalized in Hollywood, the supernatural is very real indeed. Here’s my firsthand experience with a real-life exorcism.

My friend Billy and I had been invited to minister at a rather large senior high youth conference in Erie, PA. It was a weekend gathering, and hundreds of youth came from churches all over the region. There was an altar call on Saturday night and probably two-thirds of the students had poured to the altar for prayer. The youth ministers worked the altar, praying for the students who had come forward. About 50 of the students had remained in their chairs, so I had stayed back to monitor them. I felt strangely compelled by the Lord to survey the altar area, my gaze falling upon one of the adults, a volunteer youth worker named Dave. Dave was a very likeable man in his late 30’s or early 40’s. He was very tall and thin, balding on top, with a mustache arching over his ready smile. Everyone seemed to love him.

Unexpectedly, I heard the Lord speak clearly in my heart: “That man has demons.” WHAT??? The Lord had never said anything to me like that before, and besides, Dave surely looked normal to me. He was silently kneeling beside a female student at the altar, his hand was upon her shoulder and his head was bowed. If anything, it was the very picture of peace and serenity! “If Dave really does have demons, please give me a sign,” I had quietly prayed, turning around to attend to the seated students.

“UUUUUGHNT” came the loud moan from the altar behind me. A cold shot ran down my spine as I whirled about to see what was going on. But nothing had changed. Dave, just as before, remained silently beside the same student, though she now eyed him strangely. Still not seeing evidence of a demon (whatever that looked like), I had turned back around, again praying for a clear sign.

“…uuuuhhhAHHHH!” wailed a tormented voice from behind me, immediately followed by a loud, hollow THUD! I spun around to find a horrifying scene: there was Dave, struggling to maintain his balance, pressing his forearms into the plastered church wall at the left end of the altar. His head was hanging almost lifeless between his two upraised arms, drool falling freely from his open mouth, eyes wide and perplexed, mucus beginning to bubble from his nostrils. One of his long arms pulled back and viciously slammed the church wall, sending a second hollow THUD echoing throughout the length of the church building. The voice came into my heart again: “I told you that this man has demons,” affirmed the Lord.

This was like a Bible story coming to pass before my very eyes. “Dave?!” came a sheepish and frightened voice from one of the students at the altar, “Dave, are you okay?!” She wasn’t the only one worried. All eyes had become fixed upon the tall man. Seeming to be at odds with his own body, Dave snorted, coughed, wretched, convulsed, and let loose a series of terrifying moans and screams before spinning about to confront the crowd of stunned onlookers. Chaos erupted as the first of many students unleashed a horrified scream. There was panic at the altar.

The youth frantically began climbing over one another in attempts to escape the danger zone. Adult chaperones did their best to corral the fleeing teens, beckoning the students to the rear of the building and then taking them to their respective lodgings for the night.

Eight youth workers, Billy, and myself were now left with Dave. He began lumbering towards us. One of the men approached Dave, but he simply flung out an arm and hurled the man aside with alarming ease. The man, knocked to the floor, just stared at Dave in disbelief, his eyes filling with terror.

“What should I do?” I prayed. The Lord had already prepared me for this. I felt completely full of the Holy Spirit, as if empowered to do anything in that moment. “Cast them out,” the Lord instructed me.

Cries of “Jesus!” and “Help us Lord” were mixed with more earthly pleadings of “Dave, what are you doing?!” and “STOP!” Jerking and tormented, Dave knocked another man to the ground. Someone jumped on Dave in an effort to contain him. Others followed suit, and soon Dave had three men upon him, dragging him down to the floor. Billy also joined in on the action, jumping on his back while Dave lay pinned down on the carpet. That was my opportunity. I moved in towards Dave and laid my hand upon his back, feeling the tremendous heat emanating from the demon-possessed man. “Father, I thank you for power over demons…” was all that I had managed to say before Dave wrestled free from his captors and regaining his feet. Three men were flung off of him as he emerged upright.

Billy somehow managed to stay on, however, now hanging precariously from Dave’s back. “A little help, here!” Billy called out to me. I moved forward to assist, on a mission to cast out the demons and set the man free. Dave swung his twisted face towards me, and I stared back defiantly into those demon filled eyes.

Wild-eyed and foaming at the mouth, Dave (with Billy still on his back) was now trying to flee the church building. As soon as someone would grab ahold of him, they would be wildly attacked or effortlessly hurled aside. He was like a wild animal, impossible to tame. The strength that resided within Dave was simply incredible, far beyond what his physical stature should naturally possess. He had become an absolute powerhouse, which reminded me of the demon-possessed man of Gadara.

The men were again successful in wrestling Dave to the floor. He was now being held face down, with every part of his body was being pressed into the carpet by a separate man. The men were crying out in prayer while tears streamed down their cheeks. I knelt by Dave’s side. Touching the small of his back, I prayed aloud, “Father, I thank you for power over demons.” Dave’s body began ferociously thrashing. He screamed and twisted but the men held him securely. “Any demon inside of this body, I command you to come out now in Jesus’ name,” I firmly demanded. His body jerked violently, his eyes went shut, and his body laid completely still. A hush fell upon us all; was it over? “There are more,” the Lord spoke clearly into my heart. I immediately looked upon Dave’s face, just in time to see his eyes shoot open, locking on me with a hate-filled glare. He screamed again, beginning to convulse more fiercely than before. “In the name of Jesus, come out of him!” I insisted sternly. His body jerked again and then relaxed, his eyes lazily closing halfway this time. The men continued praying, calling his name in hopes to illicit an intelligent response. Suddenly Dave’s eyes shot back open as he initiated a hellishly strong twist, nearly upsetting the unsuspecting men from his back. The demonic force inside of him was howling in outrage, his horrid gaze fixing upon me once more. Surprising indignance rose up within me. “Any more demons inside of him, come out now in Jesus’ name!” I strongly commanded, feeling as if I had become the very mouthpiece of the Lord. Dave convulsed one final time and went completely limp.

We checked for his pulse, rolled him over, yelled his name, patted his back, and even gently slapped his cheek in efforts to revive him. Slowly, Dave came around. After some time, he had regained his legs and managed to stand. Wiping the thick mucus and foam away from his face, his faculties began to come back. He stood there gawking puzzled at the ring of men standing around him. “What happened?” Dave said, finally able to speak again. “I feel like I’ve gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson!” A hint of a smile returned to his good-natured face. That smile faded away when he realized the scene before him. We were battered and bloodied, our clothes had been torn, our cheeks were tear stained, and we were visibly exhausted. We tried to explain what had happened, but we didn’t quite know what to say. “What do you remember?” I had asked him. “The last thing I remember was praying for that girl,” Dave replied, “I said, ‘Whatever is bothering her, please come into me instead,’ and that’s the last thing I remember.” That was the wrong thing to say; it was an open door to the demons.

The rest of the weekend consisted of counseling the students and helping them to make sense of it all. This event caused huge waves throughout the denomination, even reaching the Bishop’s attention. It caused the Bishop to write a letter, denouncing the demonic possession and stating that it must have been an epileptic fit of some sort, demanding that it be spoken of no more. It seemed the Bishop didn’t want to deal with the mess. I had spoken with Dave about his life and beliefs. Apparently, Dave had been deeply interested in the supernatural – ghosts and demons – and he even reported seeing “spirits” in his church and speaking with them. Play with fire, and you will get burned. Have nothing to do with darkness, Child of God. You will always reap what you sow.

Do not be afraid; I do not share this to scare but rather to educate you on what is real. Most of us will never encounter a demonic possession, but no matter what manner of darkness you witness or that might attack your life, Scripture is clear: you must hold your ground. We are commanded to resist the devil and he will flee from you. Use the name of Jesus and demons must leave. Remember that the authority you have as a believer comes from both God and His Word, not from yourself. Whenever discussing this subject, I cannot help but remember the words of Jesus in Luke 10… all eyes on Him.

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