Drug Dealers Now Practicing Sorcery

As if illegal narcotics aren’t bad enough in and of themselves, some occult investigators in New York City are claiming the drugs are becoming stronger and more addictive due to evil spells being cast upon them before they hit the streets.

New York state chaplain and occult authority Marcos Quinones recently said in an interview, “Many drug traffickers practice forms of the occult. They incorporate voodoo or black magic that gives them the power to succeed. It makes the product more powerful and creates a stronger addict. In essence, they’re doubling the curse the drugs cause anyway.”

It might be doubling more than just the drug’s effects.

Many exorcists believe that drug use, in addition to other vices, can act as a gateway for demonic activity. Father Vincent Lambert, an exorcist in Indianapolis who recently chased a demon out of a parishioner who was cursed by his girlfriend’s mother, is adamant about this: “We’re in a fight with drugs, the occult, pornography. This is an entry point for evil and we need to take these souls back.”

Quinones feels the same way, noting that he has seen an increase in demonic activity in New York’s five boroughs and attributes it directly to the black magic and voodoo the drug dealers and other criminals are practicing. Some are followers of the death idol Santa Muerte and ask for the robed skeleton’s “blessing” on their products as they recite incantations over the soon-to-be-released drugs.

Dangerous stuff indeed. Once more, kind readers, I remind you to keep yourselves safe in this new year and always -- in body, mind, and spirit.


(Photo: Creative Commons, author: Amait053)

Urgent: The World Needs More Exorcists!

Okay, I know this isn't exactly the most uplifting headline for a New Year's Day post, but it could lead to a slew of resolutions for some of us. (Note to self: Try not to get possessed.)

Word on the street about a shortage of qualified exorcists has been spreading for quite some time. Ask any exorcist (if you can find one) if they’re busy, and they’ll no doubt tell you they’re swamped. It might not just be full-blown cases of possession they’re dealing with, but hundreds of other devil-and-ghost-related concerns like hauntings, infestations, oppressions, and, of course, mental illness and addictions.

Last October at the International Association of Exorcists conference, 400 Catholic professionals met to strategize about this very topic: how to recruit and train more exorcists. The Rev. Vincent Lampert, the pastor at St. Malachy’s in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a diocesan exorcist, was one of the attendees. Lampert says the situation is more dire than ever because rampant Internet pornography, illegal drug use, and growing interest in the occult have made it easier for Satan to cast his net.

“Exorcism is like triage. We’re the emergency crew — but there aren’t enough of us,” Lampert said in a recent interview with the New York Post.

Things are even more out of control across the sea. The Rev. Vincenzo Taraborelli is a 79-year-old priest in Rome who says he is too afraid to retire.

“I told the bishop that I can’t find anyone willing to do this. Many of them are scared. Even priests can be scared. It’s a difficult life,” says Fr. Taraborelli, who says he treats up to 30 people a day in the back of his church.

Board-certified psychiatrist, and believer in diabolical possession, Dr. Richard Gallagher has also been in the news of late for calling on religious practitioners to be alert for what he calls “a rapidly growing worldwide phenomenon.”

Evil is out there, folks. Be safe in 2017. Take care of yourselves in body, mind, and spirit.

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COMING UP: Cursed drugs hitting the streets of New York.

Possessed Dolls Get Their Own Airplane Seats

Here’s one more thing fearful flyers can now worry about: sitting next to a possessed doll. Okay, so it’s something that really just patrons of Thai Smile Airways have to deal with. But still . . .

According to an internal memo issued by the airline, as long as a ticket was purchased for the doll by its owner, the doll is entitled not only to its own seat, but snacks and drinks as well. The dolls must also buckle up during take-offs and landings. Well, duh.

So why is this even a thing? It seems that life-like dolls known as Luk Thep, or Child Angels, have become wildly popular in Thailand after several celebrities raved about the benefits of owning one of these darlings. Said to possess the soul of an actual child via a “spiritualization” process, a Luk Thep doll will supposedly bring good fortune to an owner who treats it well – like buying it fashionable clothes and feeding it tasty treats. And apparently taking it on airplane rides.

It might sound creepy at first, but when you think about it, sitting next to a well-behaved, quiet-and-minding-its-own-business possessed doll can’t be worse than sitting next to a crying baby or the guy who’s coughing and sneezing all over the place. Maybe it’ll even share its peanuts with you.



 Photo credit: "Where's My Seat" by Suedehead, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Pun Time

Image by Michelle De Aizpurua, licensed under CC BY 4.0

It’s Probably Just a Coincidence

Jaqueline Sanchez, 22, from Belize, Central America, reportedly died  late last year from cardiac arrest after undergoing an exorcism at the Pentecostal Church of San Ignacio de Velasco. Family members say that in the months prior to her death, Sanchez stopped eating and displayed strange behaviors, including fits of hysteria, convulsions, and a number of unexplained illnesses. Believed to be possessed, she was taken to the aforementioned church where witnesses described seeing her float up in the air and hearing her talk in a deep male voice. At the conclusion of the exorcism, she went into cardio respiratory arrest and never recovered. Not that one thing necessarily leads to another, but it's worth noting that Sanchez had been playing with a Ouija board before all of this started.

“Esprit, es tu là??” by dayjee Soon, licensed under CC BY 2.0