If there is one thing you guys should know about me by now, it's that I'm not the easiest to convince. Of course, I'll give anyone the benefit of the doubt when talking about their personal paranormal experiences. After all, I've shared plenty of my own stories that admittedly may seem a bit too outrageous to believe. But in the grand scheme of things, I don't think that paranormal activity is as common as the Internet makes it out to be. I mean,
think about it. Nowadays, it seems like every content creator, YouTuber, or podcaster lives in their own haunted house or has some sort of inhuman attachment. Hayes. Even I fit into that description, though somewhat begrudgingly. Now this online interest in the paranormal has, of course, made for some pretty viral videos. Not to mention that it's never been more possible to have a career as a paranormal investigator.
But at the same time, it's those very viral videos that have led the masses to question, is everyone haunted or is no one? To be honest, the reality isn't so cut and dry. I mean, with parapsychology, dating all the way back to 18/89, it must be that some claims of paranormal encounters are real, bona fide experiences, while other ghost stories are simply just stories. Which means that it's nearly impossible
to separate out what is real and what is fake. Although, I don't think that will keep us from trying, will it? I'm Courtney Hayes, and you're listening to haunts. Stay tuned. Doctor Richard Gallagher is a board certified psychologist, a professor of clinical psychology at the New York Medical College. Oh, and at least at the start of his career, he was a self proclaimed skeptic. Of course, that shouldn't come as a shock. I mean, Gallagher is a man of science.
A doctor. One who treats the human mind. He had no reason to believe in ghost stories. No business entertaining the notion of otherworldly possession. When he knew all too well that our brains can mimic the symptoms of demonic infestation almost to a tee. Well, that is until a rather curious file made its way into doctor Gallagher's caseload.
Now to be honest, there isn't much information publicly available when it comes to the identity of this particular patient Outside of what is shared in doctor Gallagher's book, demonic foes, which I'll have linked down in the show notes, as well as a few subsequent interviews, the accounts surrounding this case file rarely see the light
of day. What we do know about this patient, whom doctor Gallagher simply refers to as Julia, is that she was a bright, middle aged woman with no history of severe mental illness. And is, somehow, it was Julia's story that turned doctor Gallagher from die hard skeptic to firm believer. Perhaps it was due to her involvement with the satanic cult. Maybe it was her heavily painted eyeliner and box dyed jet black hair. But for one reason or another, father Jacques was
convinced that Julia had been possessed. So much so, that he had contacted doctor Gallagher and asked for him to meet with the woman as soon as possible. Of course Gallagher agreed to evaluate Julia's symptoms. After all, he and the priest had a friendly working relationship, and he knew that it was rare for anyone who claimed to have a demonic attachment to actually agree
to a meeting with a psychiatrist. If she wants help, let's go ahead and strike while the iron's hot, was the exact mentality. Although I'm sure that doctor Gallagher didn't think much of is, until the night before he was set to meet with his new patient. It was an otherwise ordinary evening when doctor Gallagher and his wife were jolted awake by the sound of wailing. The couple had 2 cats, who ordinarily slept soundly at the foot of
their bed. But on that night in particular, they were out in the hall, going at it like a pair of MMA fighters. Of course, it wasn't easy. But eventually, the Gallaghers were able to pull the cats apart, separating them into 2 different rooms before heading back to bed. There, they wrote the whole thing off as a strange, but likely isolated incident. It was probably just a bad can of cat food or too much catnip.
It was a logical explanation. I mean, as a cat owner myself, I know firsthand that sometimes even the cuddliest of felines can get a bit spicy. Although by the time that father Jacques was ringing his doorbell the following morning, doctor Gallagher wasn't so sure that the incident was isolated or even coincidental for that matter. You see the priest was accompanied by a woman dressed in dark clothes. She was leering up at him with a devilish grin
on her face. As if she had just heard the punch line of a private joke made at Gallagher's expense. It was unsettling. But at least at first, her strange demeanor hadn't been what bothered doctor Gallagher. Instead, what troubled him was the fact that father Jacques had brought Julia to his home at all. Typically, he would meet
with the priest referrals by appointment only. So for him to arrive with Julia, unannounced is the early hours of the morning, Well, Julia's case must have been a pressing matter. This is Julia, the priest told Gallagher. She has something to confess. That's when the doctor turned his attention back to the woman, who is now all but glaring in his direction. And honestly, her confession made his blood run cold. How'd you like those cats last night?
Is doctor Gallagher's own words, that moment on his front doorstep was the first time he had questioned his working relationship with father Jacques. And if we're being honest, it was also the first time. He found himself considering the possibility. Of otherworldly forces having been at work. I mean, how else would you explain why? Julia knew about the
previous night's disturbances. Not to mention that, at least in doctor Gallagher's professional opinion, it didn't seem like Julia was suffering from any sort of psychological distress. Meaning that, whatever she was going through, hadn't been an affliction of the mind. Perhaps it was for that reason that the church ultimately approved
Julia's exorcism. So on an unexpectedly warm afternoon in June, after months of preparation, blessings, and a few minor rites, doctor Gallagher, father Jacques, and a number of other clergymen met to rid Julia of her demons once and for all. Despite the summer heat, the room was rather cool as they began preparing for the exorcism. It was a temperature that doctor Gallagher described as distinctly frigid.
Now, as a quick aside here, it's worth mentioning that ambient temperature does often play a role when it comes to paranormal activity. With the idea being that the drastic changes in energy will cause the temperature of a room to shift ever so slightly in the presence of a spirit. So they say temperatures will drop when a positive entity is present, whereas temperatures rise upon the arrival of a negative one. Which of course brings us back to the afternoon of Julia's exorcism.
Like I said, it was painstakingly cold in the room, prior to the rites being administered. But over the course of the next several hours, during which Julia thrashed about under the confines of her restraints is the scrutiny of the clergy's prayer, a curious thing happened. The temperature in the room began to rise to a sweltering heat. Almost as if someone or something was trying to force the exorcist from the room.
Is bewildering as it was, the aggressive heat wasn't the only threat to doctor Gallagher and the rest of the team. In fact, throughout the course of this months long ordeal, Gallagher, Jacques and various other members of the team experienced inexplicably menacing phenomena. On one occasion, for instance, the priest and doctor Gallagher had been discussing Julia's upcoming exorcism over the phone, when seemingly out of nowhere a third voice came onto the line.
It was threatening and vile, even going as far as to curse at Jacques, telling him that Julia belonged to them. A similar incident unfolded sometime later. During one of the team's many attempts to exorcise Julia's demons. Once again, a foul voice echoed through the room, to the amazed fright of the entire team. Although, what was even stranger, was that this voice seemed to fall from Julia's mouth. As it continued, the group was horrified to find that this puppeteer had Julia
speaking in tongues. Between Spanish and Latin, Julia had seemingly become fluent in various languages within a matter of minutes. And all the while, she referred to herself in the 3rd person. Beyond that, Julia seemed to display inhuman, if even telekinetic abilities throughout each of these rites. For example, it was customary for Julia's limbs to be restrained during the rite of exorcism. And yet, on a few occasions,
she escaped the grasp of several fully grown men. While an array of items, books, wall hangings, and other trinkets, flew about the room of their own accord. Oh, and if that wasn't chilling enough, then I should tell you that, at least in one instance, Julia did the impossible. Even in spite of the will of man, and the laws of physics, Julia actually managed to levitate from the ground right before doctor Gallagher's eyes. I can imagine that would have been the point when any of doctor
Gallagher's remaining reservations would have been deserted. I mean, how else could you argue, anything other than demonic possession, when your patient was floating clear above your head? But then again, the story itself is a little hard to believe. Especially considering that none of us were there to witness such fantastically frightening feats. So is we bring this episode to a close, I think it's only right to present the skeptic side of the argument.
If you've been listening closely, you might have noted that some, if not many, of Julia's symptoms mimicked that of extreme psychiatric distress. One of my sources for instance, presented the idea that Julia had actually been suffering from dissociative identity disorder Being that she referred to herself in the 3rd person throughout each of her exorcisms, coupled with the fact that she was speaking in a variety of tones and voices. Well, you have to admit
that this theory does sort of make sense. Although, that doesn't explain how the woman was speaking in languages she didn't know. Nor did it take into account the fact that Julia seemed to know things about people whom she had never met. In fact, on several occasions, Julia made somewhat threatening references to the family members of those present for
her exorcism. Making mention of personal milestones, terminal illnesses, even one individual's death, Julia just understood things that she couldn't have been aware of on her own. It was bizarre, frightening, dare I say is, impossible. But what really gets me about this entire story, once again, brings us back to a pair of cats. You see, a team member, who had traveled from his home out of state, received a rather threatening message from Julia is he assisted with
these rights. Evidently, she had told him that his pets, 2 house cats is it just so happened, had gotten into a scuffle at the man's home miles away. At least in that moment, I'm sure that the man had written off the warning. Just as Gallagher himself had done a few weeks prior. Although by the time he had returned home the following day, he discovered that his cats had in fact been in a bit of a brawl. The news came as a bit of a shock to the rest of the team.
Especially for our dear old friend, doctor Richard Gallagher. I mean, after all, if that isn't enough to take a skeptic and make him a believer, then I don't know if anything could. This episode of Haunts was written and produced by me, Courtney Hayes. If you've been enjoying the show so far, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave us a 5 star review. A lot of work goes into each episode, and reviewing the show really helps us reach
more listeners each week. Also, if you're interested in learning more about this week's topic, I greatly encourage you to check out the show notes section at hauntscast.com. This is the location where I share my sources and provide any visual aid that may be referenced during the show. While you're there, make sure to follow us on social media at Hauntscast. And don't forget to stick around to the end of the episode for this week's podcast recommendations. Thank
you again for listening, and until next time. Happy haunting. As the moonlight pierces through the dark, paranormal enthusiast and best friends, Farrah and Courtney venture deep into the woods, armed with flashlights and a sense of adventure. Farrah, are you sure this is a good idea? Sure. I'm sure. We're paranormal investigators. We're not scared of any ghosts. What was that? Probably some animals. My god. My flashlight is going out. Following the chilling sounds, the 2 stumble
upon an abandoned and haunted building. Is dark silhouette looming over them. Look. There it is. The abandoned radio station it's supposed to be mad haunted. Let's be careful. We don't know what's inside. Wow. Look at this place. A long growl is heard coming from behind the girls. They turn around slowly, and to their surprise, a zombie is standing in front of them dressed to the nines, wearing a seventies bell bottom hot pink and purple leisure suit. Who
are you pasty looking females and what the heck are you doing in here? Who are you calling pasty? Nice suit. Did you raid Barry Manilow's wardrobe or did John Travolta have a yard sale? Sorry about that. We didn't mean any harm. We're just curious about this place. Curious, Well, come with me. I got something to show you. And as they wander deeper into the building, they uncover vintage studio equipment covered in dust and decay. Farrah, you were
looking for a new place to set up your podcast. Right? And this is it. Woah. Woah there, sweet cheeks. No. No. No. Don't worry. We'll make it worth your while. We love the strange and unexplained phenomena, true crime, macabre, and The Simpsons. And, hey, you'd be a great touch to the show. Maybe be an announcer for us as well. That does sound stellar. I'm in. A few minutes later. 12 seconds later. 3 weeks later. Many months later. Okay. We're rolling.
Welcome to Studio Sinister Podcast where we explore stories that haunt us all. And then we'll go make a fresh kill to celebrate. Dawn. Just kidding. Join Pharah, Courtney, and Don the zombie on the first, 10th, and 20th of every month for some rad chilling stories. And if you piss your pants, that's your problem. To come embrace the Haunts, see you soon sinister seekers. Have you ever wondered what it's like to hang out with 3 siblings in a
barn? 3 siblings that like to tell true crime and paranormal stories and are also hilarious? I'm Tashay, the oldest sibling. I'm Sage, the middle sibling. And I'm Storm, the youngest sibling. So come hang out with us every Monday for a new episode of 3 siblings walk into a bar available on wherever you listen to your podcast.