Travis Weir: I couldn't wrap my mind around it fully.
It was something that you only hear in the movies.
Melissa Overton: I never really thought
something like that would happen to me.
I was pretty terrified.
...in the name of the Father and of the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
By the power of God, I anoint thee.
Ohh!
...name of the Lord, Jesus Christ,
you shall leave this child now.
Travis, voice-over: I started shaking and couldn't control it,
and my skin started to burn.
Get out!
My name is Travis Weir.
You shall leave this child now.
My name's Melissa Overton.
Evil one, going by that name,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I command you, you will leave Travis
and go to the place that God commands you, to the pit.
Be gone, unclean thing.
Leave this child now, never to return.
Leave him now.
Leave him now, unclean thing, leave.
Tell him to leave, in Jesus' name.
Get out!
My name is Travis Weir.
I am 20 years old.
I've lived in Friendship
for two and a half years.
The thing I like most
about Friendship is the peace and quiet.
Travis, voice-over: In the summer of 2013,
I turned 18.
I was living on the street.
Couldn't find a job anywhere,
and I was just horribly down on my luck.
Amy, voice-over: How would I describe Travis?
I would have to say he's shy,
very helpful.
He's a very trusting, caring kid.
Travis: If it wouldn't have been for her,
I probably wouldn't be here right now.
Amy: When I met Travis,
he was going through a really rough patch,
and he needed a place to stay until
he had enough money to get his own place.
Amy, voice-over: When we first moved in, it was a disaster.
There was tons of garbage and clothes
all over the place,
holes in the wall, holes in the floors.
Travis, voice-over: The walls was covered in crayon
and little drawings and
strange things.
There was melted candle wax on the hardwood floors.
I was a little annoyed because I had to go through it
and clean it all.
I'd found this little piece
of, like, corkboard wood
with some strange little drawings scrawled on it.
It was odd.
It wasn't something I had seen before.
I originally didn't know what it was,
so I just tossed it in my room.
I figured, hey, I could use this to cover a window or something.
Amy, voice-over: I would say it took us probably a good month
before it started feeling like home.
Travis, voice-over: I started a new job.
I would come home from work,
turn on the TV, and make dinner
or we would fix up some of the house.
Amy, voice-over: The house was getting better as time went on,
but, mmm, there were a few things that were
happening that were kind of strange.
Travis, voice-over: There were strange noises all of a sudden.
We'd hear scraping noises,
something scraping the wood upstairs.
It would be like somebody was dragging something
across the ground up there.
I had just thought, "It's an old house,
Give it a break. It'll work itself out."
Amy: Basement doors were opening and closing.
And sometimes, when you were in the bathroom,
the door would open up by itself.
Travis: Every now and then, you would hear the scratching
or a loud thud.
At nighttime, you would hear footsteps.
We had tried patching up the windows
so that the wind wasn't coming through
Slid things around so that they were closer to walls,
so that they'd be less prone to fall.
It was just a once-over, top to bottom,
but nothing changed.
I just brushed it off.
It's an old house.
Amy, voice-over: I would say, about 3 weeks
after we moved in, things started to move around.
Travis, voice-over: Just little things that when you notice
they're gone, they get on your nerves.
Amy, voice-over: One day I had my coat sitting on the back
of a chair, and all of a sudden, it's on the seat of the chair.
At that point, I knew something was going on here
that I wasn't OK with.
Travis, voice-over: My mom-- I'll be honest with you.
She believes in ghosts and stuff,
and she suggested that, hey, it might not be the house.
It's a necklace. It'll ward off...
Travis, voice-over: And she just showed up
with a little necklace and said,
"This is supposed to protect you."
It was a small steel swirl
with a greenish rock in it.
Travis, voice-over: I'm not gonna lie.
It seemed completely ridiculous.
I was the kind of person that didn't believe in it
unless I seen it.
But I wore it just so that I didn't have to hear
her complaining because I wasn't wearing it.
Travis, voice-over: The things that were happening
around the house started to affect me directly.
One night, I felt something kind of bat
at the necklace on my neck.
And then I got a really hard pull.
Travis, voice-over: One night, I felt something
kind of bat at the necklace on my neck.
I couldn't breathe, and I was starting to panic.
There was this massive amount of pressure
constricting around my neck,
and I could feel my lungs burning.
My ears were ringing, and my head was getting really light
because I was running out of air...
and then it stopped.
I looked around and was just like,
"What the hell was that?"
I honestly could not explain it.
Travis, voice-over: For the next few weeks,
I was afraid that it was gonna come back.
Travis, voice-over: I wouldn't go to sleep until 1:00, 2:00
in the morning, just in case this happens to me again.
From that point on,
the activity seemed to be higher than it was before.
The banging upstairs became a little louder.
Footsteps were just everywhere at all times of the day.
One morning, I looked like I had got the crap kicked out of me.
There were bruises, some scratches all over my body.
I've never had anything like that happen.
I exhausted my brain trying to find logical reasons,
and there wasn't nothing.
Amy, voice-over: Travis began to change.
He wanted to stay in his room.
He didn't want to be on the computer.
He didn't want to be on his phone.
He didn't want to just go out and do anything anymore.
He just started withdrawing.
Travis, voice-over: I was more irritated.
I would go to work, come home, go right up to my room.
And if anybody came in my room, they got an earful.
Amy, voice-over: I was scared for Travis.
He just seemed so depressed.
I was afraid he was gonna hurt himself.
Travis: There would be times where I'd be perfectly normal,
and then all of a sudden just, "You don't get it,
get out of my face, go away."
Just completely different.
Amy: Scared me, seeing him like that.
I--I felt that there was something I had to do.
My name is Keith Bylewski.
I've been working as a paranormal investigator
since 1978.
Amy: I emailed Keith
February 26th
and told him about the noises, about the shadows,
about the scratches on Travis' sides
and the mark from the necklace.
I could look into his eyes and I could see that...
that's just not that little kid I know.
Keith: A lot of people will tell you that things are happening,
but in fact, there's something wrong
with them in their mind.
But based on the questions I received from Amy,
I thought it'd be necessary to go up to Travis' place
and just kind of mosey around
and do an investigation.
Travis, voice-over: I didn't believe in ghosts
or the paranormal or any of that.
I honestly didn't think he was gonna find anything at all,
but I figured it would get everybody calmed down
about the whole ghost thing.
Amy, voice-over: We walked around the house so Keith
could see where the most activity was.
Keith, voice-over: We got into Travis' room,
and it was a little heavy in there.
There was drawings up in his room.
To my understanding, the drawing was there
when they moved into that house.
Travis, voice-over: He said it was a necromancy circle,
something that was supposed to bring back the dead
or mess with the dead.
Keith, voice-over: It made me suspect that we were
actually dealing with something that's evil.
Keith: Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Travis, voice-over: He started reading the first few passages
and I got this kind of weird feeling up my spine.
Keith: Are you cold?
Burning.
You're burning hot?
Yeah.
Can you put that cross by your heart?
He didn't like that.
No, I didn't think he would like that.
Keith, voice-over: As I was pushing him
and saying the prayers more and more,
he was starting to scream now.
Aah!
Keith, voice-over: At that point, I knew
a demonic entity was involved,
and it had managed to get inside of Travis.
Keith: You OK?
No.
Keith, voice-over: The only way that it can be resolved is
by having the minister up here who can perform an exorcism.
Keith, voice-over: We sat Travis down
so we could start the provoking prayers.
Aah!
Travis, voice-over: My skin started to burn.
It was unbearable.
Aah!
Keith, voice-over: At that point, I knew he was possessed.
Travis, voice-over: That I was being terrorized by a demon,
I...I couldn't wrap my mind around it fully.
It was something that you only hear in the movies.
But at the same time,
I knew what I felt and I didn't like it.
Michael: In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I bind the evil one and any unclean spirit that they
not be allowed to interfere in this process...
Michael, voice-over: When I first walked into Travis' house,
I could tell that there was a heaviness about the house
and that my presence bothered Travis.
Michael: Evil one, unclean spirits...
Michael, voice-over: That's quiet common when there's
something demonic that I'll be dealing with.
Michael: In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
there only be one-way traffic
from Travis' presence to the place where God
commands you, to the pit.
Michael, voice-over: When I'm going into an exorcism,
we go in with the idea that we're gonna go up
against the demon and evict it from the person.
Michael: We ask our Lord that the evil one's presence
be known and that its exit be even more obvious.
Travis, voice-over: When the exorcism started,
I just got this uncomfortable feeling.
Michael: What's going on?
Just a lot of pounding.
Travis, voice-over: I wanted to leap off the couch
and make a dash for the door.
Michael: By the power of blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, I command the spirit holding
the highest authority working against Travis
to step forward now, give me your name.
Oh.
Travis, voice-over: As he started to read more and more,
it started to hurt.
I felt my stomach and stuff starting to twist and turn.
Michael: What is it, Travis?
A scream. Ugh! In my ears.
Did it give you a name?
No, just a scream.
By the authority of our blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command the spirit
holding the highest authority working
against Travis to step forward now,
give me your name.
He says get.
You tell me who has commissioned you
and the work you're doing against Travis.
None of your damn business, he says.
Answer me now or feel the burning power
of the Holy Spirit.
Michael: What lies do you tell Travis
on an ongoing basis?
Leave this child now,
never to return.
Aah!
Michael, voice-over: Physical pain during an exorcism
is seen quite often.
It's the demon trying to fight back
against the exorcist.
Please!
...and go to the place that God commands you,
to the pit now.
Travis, voice-over: It was like having one of those
giant drums in your head and just pounding on it constantly.
Aah!
Just thump, thump, thump, thump thump.
Fight him, Travis.
Tell him to leave, Travis.
Travis, voice-over: I heard the Reverend say, "Fight it."
Say, "I evict you, by Christ my Lord."
I evict you,
by Christ my Lord!
Tell him to leave.
Tell him to leave in Jesus' name.
Travis, voice-over: I felt more in control as he kept going.
Get out!
Tell him to leave in Jesus' name.
In Jesus' name, get out!
That's when I felt like it was working.
In name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit...
I command you
to leave this child of God now
with all of your works and your associates,
their works and effects.
Be gone, unclean one. Be gone, unclean...
Travis, voice-over: I've gotten sick before in my life,
but I don't think I've ever felt a sickly feeling like that.
I felt like everything
on the inside of my body was just gonna come out.
In the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit, so shall it be.
Michael, voice-over: When a person starts coughing
or gets nauseous, starts vomiting,
that's a sign that the demon is most likely leaving.
It's a way of showing that it's expelling.
Here's some--here's some paper towels.
How you doing?
Did it leave?
I think so.
Do you feel lighter?
Yeah.
Do you feel at peace?
Ha! Yeah.
Yeah.
Ha ha ha ha!
Travis, voice-over: I just had this huge wave of relief.
It was like getting out of prison,
like a weight is taken off of your shoulders.
Praise God.
Michael, voice-over: Travis is lucky to have gotten
the help that he did when he did
because his possession would have only gotten worse.
He could have gotten to the point where
it could have killed him.
Come here.
Amy, voice-over: I don't know why,
but the exorcism made Travis stronger.
He was no longer the shy little boy.
It made him stand up for himself.
Amy, voice-over: It feels good that he's back
to being a friend.
Travis, voice-over: This experience
has made me a believer.
It's an eye-opener.
I think that's the easiest way of saying it.
In the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
by the power of God, I anoint thee.
By the power of God, I anoint thee.
By the name of Jesus, by the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, your neck is broke now.
Voice-over: My name's Melissa Overton.
I grew up in Elkton, Maryland, and I lived with my parents and
spent a good bit of time with my grandmother and grandfather.
I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house
'cause my parents worked a lot.
My grandmother, she'd read to me a lot
and we'd play games together.
I always looked forward to it.
Man on TV: Hi, everybody.
We got a great show for you today.
We're going to be getting a visit
from my friend, Mr. Hand.
That must be him right now.
Hi, Mr. Hand!
Melissa, voice-over: One day, I was at my grandparents' house
and I started getting chills.
And all of a sudden, I felt a tug on my hair...
but when I looked behind me, there was nothing there.
It was pretty scary,
but I just kind of shrugged it off like nothing happened.
After I had that experience, I always felt like
someone was watching me at my grandmother's house.
And it didn't matter if I was outside playing or not.
I always had that eerie feeling.
One night at my own house,
all of a sudden, I felt chilly.
I started smelling this musty, mildew kind of smell.
It was really strange.
I'd never smelled it in my room before.
And then I seen these red, glowing eyes staring at me.
Melissa, voice-over: One night I seen these red,
glowing eyes staring at me.
I was scared for my life.
I wasn't sure if what was going on at my grandmother's house
had followed me home to my own house.
And I knew my parents wouldn't really believe me,
so I just kept it all to myself.
As time started passing by,
I just started ignoring what was going on.
Here you are.
Melissa, voice-over: After a while, I just kind of got
used to it and told myself that it wasn't trying to harm me.
I moved to Florida for about 5 years,
then I moved back to Maryland
and met Craig.
Craig: I began seeing Melissa regularly.
She was very easy to get along with;
soft-spoken, very quiet,
very reserved individual,
and she told me very little about her past.
Melissa: I didn't share any of my experiences with Craig
because I wasn't sure if he'd believe me.
Melissa, voice-over: I was in the kitchen one night,
and out the corner of my eye, I see something.
And then it dawned on me
that it was one of these shadow figures
that I seen throughout my life.
Knowing that these things followed me
from my grandmother's house to my parents' house
to my own home now was really scary.
I didn't know why these things were following me
or why they were only showing themselves to me,
but I still kind of kept the whole thing to myself.
Melissa, voice-over: I felt like Craig would question everything
and probably not believe what I was telling him.
Cara, voice-over: I've known Melissa for about 8 years.
She's been a great friend.
She told me some things about her past,
how she's always felt like somebody was watching her.
I think she was a little bit scared,
and I know she wouldn't make something like that up.
Are you ready?
Cara, voice-over: Melissa had been suggesting
that we use the Ouija board.
I was like, "OK, Well, I guess we could
just kind of see what happens."
Melissa, voice-over: I was asking it questions
like "Who's here?" and "Why are they here?"
We never got any answers out of the board...
so that was really the first and the last time
we ever played with it.
Melissa, voice-over: About a month or so after using
the Ouija Board, scary things started happening.
One night I started feeling the cold chills again.
All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe.
Felt like something was sitting on top of me.
I tried to fight it off, but I couldn't escape it.
All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe.
Felt like something was sitting on top of me,
but I wasn't able to escape it.
I felt a cold hand reach around my ankle
and yank me out of bed.
I felt a painful burning sensation on my back.
I went into the bathroom and seen red claw marks on my back.
It scared me to death because I felt
like I was being threatened.
I wasn't sure if we'd brought something in
from using the Ouija Board.
I wanted to tell Craig about it, but
I wasn't sure if he'd believe me.
Craig: I was never aware that
she was finding herself inflicted
with scratches and claw marks,
welts on her back.
She knew that I wasn't going to quickly accept
that there was some mysterious, dark force,
be it a ghost, a spirit, or whatever else.
Melissa: After not being able to sleep for several nights,
I had finally dozed off.
I woke up downstairs in my basement.
I had no clue how I got there.
Craig: There were some things that were strange
about Melissa's behavior.
She wasn't eating.
She was much more reserved,
and it very much worried me.
Melissa: I was pretty worried that the attacks and stuff
were gonna keep getting worse and worse.
I felt like my life was in danger
and was about time for me to get help.
Melissa, voice-over: I explained to Reverend Brad
what was going on.
He told me we'd need to get together.
There's something going on in my house.
Craig: Melissa told me she was going to visit
high school friends, and I--I found it very peculiar.
I figured that she wasn't telling me the full story.
Cara: When Melissa first asked me to go to Ohio,
we weren't really sure what was all gonna happen.
I was more concerned about Melissa,
just trying to be there for her as a friend.
Melissa: It was an 8-hour drive,
and the whole time, I had a heavy feeling over me.
We weren't really sure what was all gonna happen,
but we were definitely worried about what might happen.
Melissa, voice-over: When Reverend Brad got to the room,
I started feeling this anger streak build inside me.
Brad, voice-over: Melissa started trembling.
And I asked Melissa, "Are you OK?"
And she goes, "I'm fine, but whatever you're doing,
they don't like."
Melissa, voice-over: After Reverend Brad put his robe
and stuff on, the anger got worse,
like I could get up and run across the room
and pounce on him at any given minute.
It was pretty much game-on from there.
I command you by the very name of Jesus,
by the--by the word made flesh.
I command you by the name of Jesus now,
the word made flesh.
You are commanded to obey, for we have
authority over you now, for the word
of God is in you, and I command you
face me, fallen spirit. I command...
Brad, voice-over: It was like two boxers
in a ring going at each other--
the demonic versus a man of God.
...and of the Father and of the Son...
Brad, voice-over: And it's a very psychological battle.
...and the Holy Spirit.
By the power of God, I anoint thee.
I anoint thee in the name of
the Father...
I anoint thee in the name of
the Son, and I anoint thee
in the name of the Holy Spirit.
Now, witch, I have to take
and I have to anoint your neck.
I have to anoint your neck.
I have to anoint the neck because
that's where the power of the witch comes from,
and I anoint it now by the name of Jesus.
By the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
your neck is broke now.
Cara, voice-over: Seeing her trying to fight off the cross
and the Bible and fighting his assistance was kind of scary.
There was something else controlling her body.
Brad: Say it, Lucifer.
Come on, you got to go.
Brad, voice-over: An exorcist is taught to get
the name of the demon because once you acquire the name,
you now have full power over that demonic force.
Say it.
Brad, voice-over: They will tell their name eventually.
They want to test you to see your strength.
Heavenly Father,
I ask you now to split the skull of Lucifer
open, put the word of God into his head now
and reseal it back up so the word of God
is always in his head, now.
Brad, voice-over: Melissa had Lucifer. She had Jezebel.
She had anger, she had pain,
she had the demon of sickness infirmity.
Brad, voice-over: And they start to respond,
and then you ask them point blank,
"Is this truthful to the name of Lord Jesus Christ?"
and they'll answer.
Then you bind that name.
I bind you and all your legions in the name
of Christ now!
Brad, voice-over: And that's when Lucifer got mad.
Brad: And I pierce all of you now
in the name of Christ,
and I put the chains upon you now
that are set forth for Lucifer...
Brad, voice-over: So we knew at that point in time
that the battle was almost over
and Lucifer finally admitting defeat.
Melissa, voice-over: Once the exorcism was over,
I felt like there was a weight lifted off my chest,
like everything around me was brighter.
I'm much happier.
I'm going to church every week, and I won't have to worry
about these demons possessing me anymore
and doing any harm.
Craig: Despite my prolonged skepticism,
it's been a complete turnaround.
I don't know how I could conclude anything
other than what Melissa and Reverend Brad
have been explaining is very much the truth.
Melissa is starting a new chapter,
a new adventure in her life.