An ex-New York cop turned 'ghostbuster' performed an exorcism on a family plagued by evil spirits.
Chris DeFlorio retired from the police after 19 years of service when his side career started booming and now operates the non-profit organisation, New York Demonic Investigation.
The ghostbuster, whose tools are simply the Bible and prayer, claims his abilities stem from his Catholic faith, as well as his medical and police training.
A concerned couple contacted the former New York Police Department officer after several family members allegedly encountered dark supernatural entities in their home.
One of them, mum-of-two Ashley White, reported feeling a mysterious hand grab her leg in bed when she was just 11 years old.
A shadowy figure then leaned over and dragged her out of the room, pointing towards the attic and calling itself 'Max'.
The family called in a priest to cleanse their home, and although this seemed to alleviate the issue temporarily, Max continued to appear randomly throughout Ashley's life, often communicating things to her non-verbally.
Mother-of-two, Ashley White explained: “I felt a hand grab my leg in bed one night when I was an 11-year-old girl.
“A shadowy kind of entity leaned over and dragged me out of the room and pointed towards the attic, calling itself ‘Max’.
“A priest carried out a house cleaning and we were told there was something demonic in the house and in particular, that attic.
“Max reappeared throughout my life, popping up randomly, only to stare at me in silence.
“It was strange — the way I could sense Max was communicating things non-verbally as I got used to it over time.”
Several years later, Ashley and her husband discovered they were pregnant with their first child, but Max returned, pointing towards her stomach before Ashley suffered a tragic miscarriage.
Ashley couldn't help but wonder if Max knew something was wrong or had even caused it.
As Ashley grew older, she began to feel like Max was a kind of guide, and there were "many times when he came with a warning about something that was about to happen."
It wasn't until recently when she responded to a casting call for a film project about sleep paralysis and demonic encounters that she discovered that her children, Selena and Javier, were also experiencing strange occurrences.
She said: “A year ago, I responded to a casting call for victims of sleep paralysis/demonic encounters for a film project I stumbled across in an online casting brief.
“During filming, I learned that my kids, Selena, 13, and Javier, 7, had strange encounters, too.
“I already knew Selena was seeing some weird things, but was really surprised when Javier told Shannon, the filmmaker, about his haunting experiences of late.
“His description of one particular entity sounded much more morbid than I had ever imagined.”
She added: “We soon realised it was time to bring in some outside help so we enlisted religious demonologist Chris and his wife, Harmony.”
Desperate for help, the family enlisted the services of Chris and his wife, Harmony. During filming, Chris said director Shannon Alexander began to capture strange, paranormal activity in the house.
The family also heard voices and saw large, shadowy figures walking around their home.
Eventually, the entity started to target the couple's seven-year-old son, attempting to become friends at first at first as he played games, but progressing to where the child believed the black figure wanted to kill him, Chris said.
"When we walked into the apartment, I could feel a presence. It is something you can't explain in words, but a feeling you never forget after the first time you're exposed to it," Chris explained.
"As soon as we began investigating the apartment with our equipment, there was no delay in picking up outlines and mapping of a spirit."
Mr DeFlorio and Harmony began reading scripture and Catholic prayers, with Harmony feeling dizzy and nauseated in the presence of evil.
Mr DeFlorio experienced physical attacks, geared to attack his mind and cause confusion and distraction.
The words he was reading became difficult to pronounce, but he continued on until he finished the Rite.
The demonologist said: “We began the minor exorcism of the home by reading scripture.
“This can be the time that a demonic entity can tip its hand because one thing it hates is anything sacred and anything from God.
“This is where it lacks control and will expose itself.
“As I began to read the prayers, Harmony began to feel dizzy and nauseated, symptoms she always feels in the presence of evil.
“Also, I began to take on physical attacks — these are internal attacks geared to attack the mind and cause confusion and distraction.
“The very words I was reading became difficult to pronounce even though they were right there on the page.
“I took a pause which was noticeable to Harmony that I may be in trouble.”
He added: “I proceeded with the Catholic prayers and finished the Rite.”
The subsequent events are featured in Shannon Alexander’s upcoming documentary ‘It’s Coming’, which premieres at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival next week.
However, the demonologist said the story had a happy ending and the White family was overjoyed with the outcome.
The ghostbuster also pointed out that he doesn’t charge people for cases and that he took part in the documentary for free in order to help the family.
The aftermath of the exorcism is to be featured in Shannon Alexander's upcoming documentary, 'It's Coming,' which premieres at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival next week.
However, Mr DeFlorio assured the family that their nightmare was over, and he doesn't charge people for his services, taking part in the documentary for free to help the family.
