The Exorcist Files - S2- "Ghost Stories"

Episode Date: May 11, 2025

The Exorcist Files tackles the subject of Ghosts. Are Ghosts real? And if so, what do we do about them? Is there a common theme that seems to accompany their appearances? Father Martins shares several accounts from his friends who have seen Ghosts firsthand. Thank you to Lumen for sponsoring this episode! Head to Lumen.me/exfiles for 20% off. Check out the new podcast documenting crazy answers to prayer and miracles- Heaven Meets Earth. Wherever you get your podcasts. Or visit heavenmeetsearth.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No, he's like limping out the door. And then she just, she just disappears on me. You're making this off. Last, I hurt she was in Queens. That's some Kaiser Soz-Shay shit. I don't know if I believe that. Who the hell is Kaiser Soze? Really?

Whoa, wait. Someone hasn't seen the usual suspects. Come on. Sorry, Gramps. I haven't heard of that movie. No. Oh, wait. Is this one of those ones you call a talkie?

Oh. She's really not nice, is she? Nice at all. I'm really sweet. Seriously, Nicole, it's an amazing film. It really is. You got to watch. Yeah, I think I remember my dad being a fan of that movie. Okay, now, come on.

Youth is wasted on the young, Phil. Yes, it is. All right, people. Let's close it out. It's past midnight, and I, for one, want to go to bed. Yep. Sapphire room clear? Yep, us cleaned and prepped for tomorrow, boss, man.

Excellent. Okay. We check in the rich guys' sunglasses are in the Lost and Found, and we are out of... Huh. Phil, who the hell are all those people? What? What people?

Who the hell is in the dining road? There's like 80 people in there. It's full. I thought he said it was clear. Why are all these people still here? Will, there's no one in the dining room. It's clear and prep for tomorrow. Oh, really?

Then who the hell are all these people? What? No, I... What the hell? You're losing it, Will. No, I... Shit. Look.

The candles? You said you prepped the room, right, Phil? Cleared the tables, blew out the candles, and put on new linens. Yeah, I did. Yeah. Well, then, what's going on? I am... Somebody did this.

Welcome back to the Exorcist Files. Today, we're going ghost protocol. That is, we're talking about ghosts. Claims of ghost sightings or interactions with the dead had been around since humans began telling each other's stories. Scripture speaks of angels and demons. But what are we to make of claims of other apparitions, such as the accounts of being visited by a dead relative? What does the church say regarding such claims?

In this episode, we present several accounts from individuals who claim to have been visited by the dead. Are such apparitions invitations to pray for the dead? Are they figments of our imagination? Are they simply residual energy of a life that once lived? Or are they deceptions designed to lead us astray? As always, you be the judge. Here to Shepherdess on our own supernatural journey is the Exorcist Files co-host we love most, Father Carlos Martens.

Claims of ghost sightings are a universal human phenomenon spanning cultures, continents, and time periods. From the oral traditions of ancient times to modern literature and film, accounts of encountering the spirits of those who have passed on from this life are a consistent theme in human. human storytelling. And the themes within that theme are remarkably similar. In ancient Mesopotamia, texts like the epic of Gilgamesh reference certain persons who have died as restless spirits. Greek and Roman mythology are filled with stories of shades, communicating information from beyond the grave or being summoned to do so. Indigenous cultures worldwide, including those in Australia, Africa, and the Americas, passed down legends of deceased ancestors communicating with the living. In some Asian countries, communicating with the dead has a set place on the

calendar. China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore hold an annual Hungry Ghost Festival in which the spirits of the dead emerge from the underworld and move among the living, receiving copious amounts of food and other gifts that have been prepared for them. In Japan, stories of souls barred from a peaceful afterlife abound, called Yudu. They keep haunting the living until they are placated with the assistance they require to fulfill their need. In modern times, there is no shortage of paranormal accounts and sightings. They fill the pages of internet forums and make campfires interesting.

While the details of individual stories differ as to whether ghosts are vengeful, benevolent, or simply lost, the core idea is the same. Certain spirits seem to return from the dead to communicate their presence. In this episode, four guests will share their ghost encounters. While each account is different, a common thread runs through each one. See if you can spot it. But don't worry if you can't. I'll address it at the end. Our first guest is Will, a part owner of an upscale restaurant in Toronto.

I met him years ago when I was the Catholic priest on campus at York University in the city of Toronto. The intro dialogue that you heard at the start of this episode is from his story. My name is Will, and I've been part owner of a fine dining restaurant in Toronto for, man, almost 25 years. The restaurant has been very successful, and we think a great measure that comes from the attention my staff and I give to even the smallest details. What I want to share happened 10 years ago on a Saturday night at about midnight. The restaurant had been closed for two hours, and the three remaining staff were preparing

the leaf. The cleaning crew had been in, finished, and had left. The place was prepped for the next day, meaning a lot of work was. done. Our restaurant has 20 tables and we are known for our multi-course offerings. Each place setting consists of four different plates, eight pieces

of cutlery, two wine glasses, a champagne glass, and a water goblin. At the end of the night, all the stuff is cleared and cleaned. We leave them on drying racks in the kitchen overnight and put them out at each setting the next day before we open. Each table

also has a decorative candle with flowers and while it's left on the table at the end of the night, the tablecloth beneath it has changed. I say this because with 20 tables, assembly and disassembly takes a lot of time. I mean, we were looking forward to going home for the night. Besides myself, only Phil, the general manager, and Nicole, the assistant manager, were still left. Both the bar and the dining room were ready for the next day, and they were in the back getting their personal belongings to leave.

I guess they'd left a message on the restaurant line that he had left his sunglasses behind, so I was heading to check the lost and found at the front desk to see if they were there. I should have known something was off because the drying racks in the kitchen that held the plates and cutlery were empty. I just failed to notice it at the time. But when I walked out of the kitchen and the dining room, what I saw shocked me. The restaurant was loaded with people. I mean, freaking loaded. Every table was full of patrons enjoying themselves.

The centerpiece candles were lit, and all the plates and covered. cutlery were in place. It looked like a regular Saturday night. I was in disbelief, wondering how so many people could be around without my noticing them. I'd walk through the restaurant an hour earlier at 11 p.m. It was empty. I saw the floor crew vacuuming the place. I went back to ask Phil and Nicole why all these people were here, but they just looked at me like I had just spoken in German. So I went to check the dining room altogether, but it was empty. Look, not a soul in sight. And when I say it was full 30 seconds earlier, I mean the place was hopping.

But there was something mysterious and inexplicable that even Phil and Nicole saw, and they'll back me up on this, each table's centerpiece was lit, and all 80 place settings were set with all of its relevant plates and cutlery. I never set those tables. And given everything else they were doing, it was impossible that Phil and Nicole did. Add one more weird thing. No glasses. No champagne, no wine, no water goblets were on any table.

Each setting had plates and utensils but nothing to drink from. It's just bizarre. Whoever or whatever set that table, why go through all that trouble, put out all those things and not have anything to drink from? While Exorcists primarily deal with demons, they are often called upon to address haunted house, or poltergeist phenomena, within buildings and other locations. The phenomena may include figures appearing out of nowhere,

hearing disembodied voices, the presence of unsettling and disturbing sounds, like rattles, bangs, moans, crying, etc. And otherwise general, mischievous occurrences. Dealing with ghosts is very different than dealing with demons. Therefore, an exorcist must diagnose whether the phenomenon are caused by one or the other. Making a proper diagnosis is crucial as either entity can produce the disturbances, and prayers addressing one type will not affect the other. Demons are fallen angels

who, because of their nature, repentance is impossible. Their eternal sin fills them with a demented wrath, which they are eager to meet out upon humans. Misery loves company, and they spend their energy inflicting as much pain and torture on humans as they can. Ghosts, on the other hand, are those humans who have died, but whose spirits wander the earth and are occasionally permitted to be seen. Far from being just the subject of scary movies or fictional books, ghosts are real. While the Catholic Church has no defined dogma on ghosts, highly respected theologians, such as Pope St. Gregory the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas, have held that spirits who wander the earth and are occasionally permitted to be seen

are souls of deceased humans experiencing their purgatory. In the case of St. Thomas, he shared how, on two occasions, the souls of the dead appeared to him. The first was his deceased sister, who appeared to him while she was in the state of purgatory to request prayers and masses for her release. After honoring her request, she reappeared to confirm her passage to glory. On another occasion, while Thomas was at prayer in the chapel, Brother Romanus, the theologian who succeeded him as theology professor at the University of Paris, suddenly appeared at his side. Romanois, Thomas said, when did you get here? I thought you were in Paris. I was, he said, but I died. I spent 15 days in purgatory, but am now enjoying eternal life.

Romanus revealed that he had permission to visit Thomas due to Thomas's merits. The idea of the dead being seen wandering the earth once again should not be regarded as impossible by the Christian. The New Testament acknowledges that at Christ's death, this very thing occurred, with the dead appearing to both Christians and non-Christians alike. In Matthew chapter 27, verse 50, we hear, Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus, Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, truly, this was the Son of God. But the Bible references ghosts in numerous other places. Desperate for guidance, King Saul consulted a medium at Endor, who conjures the spirit of the prophet Samuel Samuel appears and rebukes Saul, prophesying his defeat and death. This passage suggests that God allowed Samuel to appear, despite the practice of necromancy being strictly condemned. At the Lord's transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared alongside him.

Their presence shows that the dead can be seen with divine permission. Finally, perhaps the most interesting occurrence is in Luke's Gospel, where the 11 apostles and some disciples were gathered in Jerusalem. Jesus suddenly appears to them, and they were terrified because they thought they were seeing a ghost. His response to them is epic. Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet. That is myself. Touch and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have. This passage clearly suggests that the first century Jews believed in ghosts. In fact, it is Jesus himself who mentions the word. Not only does Jesus not deny the existence of ghosts,

but he contrasts them with his physical resurrected body. In fact, just a few verses later, he further reinforces the contrast by eating food in their presence. Now let's hear from Enzo. Enzo is a close friend who, managed a restaurant in Ohio during the mid-1990s. One night, the mother of all storms made landfall and started pelting the building. But when Enzo braced himself to face it, there was nothing there.

My name's Enzo. I've been a restaurateur my whole adult life. I've known Father Martins for about 15 years now. He did one of his relic expositions at my parish, and I've always always. volunteer to cook him dinner that night. We've been great friends ever since. We both love cigars, scotch, and good food. Well, the food is always going to be good. I cook it. Once over cigar, Father Martens told me about a time he had been called into exercise a building because of voices and footsteps within it. And it turned out that it was not caused by demons, but by ghosts. That story prompted me to tell him about two events I had at a restaurant I

managed in Ohio in the mid-90s. It was late one night, and the restaurant was already closed. We'd cleaned up for the night, and our bartender Nancy was doing some last-minute tidying up before leaving. I was in the office playing a baseball game on the computer while finishing a drink when Nancy came in to tell me she was leaving. Hey, close enough shot, pal. Sounds good, Nancy.

Hey, tell that husband of yours to call me. He's hiding after I took his money in poker last week. Yeah, he's hiding for me too. You sticking around or you out? I'm going to show for a bit. You go ahead. See you tomorrow. Okay. Night, Inzo. I'll give Steve the message. Night, Nancy. Here, I'll lock the door behind you.

Nancy left, and I locked the restaurant door behind her. I sat in my office, finishing the game and my drink. It was dark, except for the light the computer screen gave off. I took another sip of my drink, and then maybe two minutes later. A massive lightning bolt flashed across the sky. It was so bright that it lit up the whole office. It was immediately followed by an enormous thunder clap that rocked the walls. Just then, I heard the heaviest rain pelt the building.

Okay, I'm going to have to make a run for it. Where's the rain? To my utter and complete shock, everything was dry. Not a drop of rain had fallen. Everything was bone dry, and the sky was as clear as I've ever seen it. A million stars were on display across the sky. I locked up, got in my car, and began driving home. The whole time, I thought, it's impossible, I imagined that.

I saw the lightning. I heard the rain. It pounded the roof so hard. I mean, a dead man would have heard it. Amen. Father Martin's here. I want to do a quick plug for one. of the most powerful tools I've seen for breaking free and growing closer to Christ. Exodus 90.

The Exodus 90 challenge begins this year on January 20th, but this isn't just a 90-day program. Exodus 90 is a spirituality for modern men that is built on three ancient pillars, prayer, self-sacrifice, and fraternity. We all long for something more. We long long, to be the men God created us to be, sons of a loving father. It's time to turn away from our idols. It's time to break free from the pharaohs that hold us in bondage. If you're ready to make a fresh start and embark on a journey to uncommon freedom in Jesus Christ, then download the Exodus 90 app today. This is your chance to break free, refocus, and rediscover who God is calling you to be in the new year. It starts January 20th. So go to Exodus 90.com slash X-Files to learn more about Exodus 90.

That's Exodus 90.com slash X-Files to join tens of thousands of men from all over the world for Exodus 90. Again, it begins Monday, January 20th. you. Around two months later, I was again closing the restaurant. Nancy, our bartender, was the only other one around and was cleaning up the bar area. The other staff had left for the night. I went in my office to count the day's cash and lock it up in the safe. The restaurant, it had a simple layout. There was a large rectangular dining hall. Then there was a bar across the back. Behind that was the kitchen. Behind the kitchen, a small corridor. Less than 10 feet long. And at the end of the corridor was my office to the left, and a tiny employee change room to the right.

The backdoor that exited to the parking lot was straight ahead. My office was a really small, 10 feet by 10 feet room. It had a large safe against the back wall opposite the entry door. I was finishing counting the cash and recording it when I heard a knock at my office door. Hang on just a minute. For security, I always kept the office door locked when counting money. And, before unlocking it, I locked the money in the safe. I took the cash to the safe and started turning the dial to unlock it.

When I got to the third and final number, there was another knock on my door. Okay, just one more second. I pulled the safe door open, put the money train inside, close the door, turn the dial, and began turning towards my office door. As I did that, there was another, but this time much more impatient, knock. Nancy, you're being a real pain in the ass right now. I reached the door in three steps and opened it. No one was there. To the left was the exit door, but it was slide bolted from the inside. No one could have used it to leave. Straight ahead was the change room. I peered inside, empty. It was

even smaller than my office and had no internal way out. I turned right and walked the tenter foot corridor, which opened into the kitchen, giving me a 40-foot unobstructed view. No one was in sight. It was a typical restaurant kitchen, stoves, ovens, grills, cupboards, coolers, and a freezer towards the end that led to the dining area. An island of prep tables was in the middle of the kitchen. There was just nowhere for someone to hide. As I was standing there, dumbfounded, Nancy walked into the kitchen. kitchen from the dining area. Yo, Nancy, what is it?

What? It's too late for this. The knock on my door. I didn't knock on your door. Well, who else could it have been? No idea. Everyone else left about 15 minutes ago. It's just us, pal.

Okay, what is going on? Oh, I know what happened. Enzo, I... I think you just met Leo. Wait. Who's Leo? Leo was a long-time bar patron of the restaurant until he passed the year before I came on board. He was in so often, almost daily, that he became friendly with all the staff.

He knew their birthdays, how many siblings each had, what was happening in their lives, etc. He always stayed until close, and everyone loved him. It was kind of like cheers. He had a place where everyone knew his name. He often remarked that the restaurant staff was his family, and sometimes he said that he hoped that one day he'd die in the restaurant, because that's who everyone he loved was. Nancy predated me at the restaurant by about 10 years, so she knew him well.

Good old Leo, she'd call him. And, true to his wishes, Leo did die at the restaurant. He had a heart attack and was dead by the time the paramedics arrived. After his passing, strange things occasionally happened. For example, you might pull two bags of meat from the freezer to thaw. Later in the day, you notice three bags are thawing, but no one added the extra bag, and you know you pulled only two. Or here's another example. You go to the supply shelves for wine and liquor to stock the bar.

You put three bottles in the box and look for another two bottles you need. You grab them, but when you go back to the box, you would already put the three bottles in. There are only two. You look everywhere for the missing one, but it's nowhere to be seen. like someone is gaslighting you. In the kitchen, a waitress might arrange several entrees on a tray to bring to a table. When she arrives at the table, an entree or a side dish might be missing. Yet she remembers loading it on the tray, and the chef recalls giving it to her.

It is never seen again. Nancy handed me her cash tray from the bar and told me she was almost done cleaning up. I went inside my office to count it and put it in the safe. As I recorded the daily total, my desk phones line two lit up. Also, for the younger listeners out there, yes, we had what we call landlines. You had an actual phone you put in a cradle that sat on a desk permanently. The restaurant had two landlines in case one was in use when you needed to make a call. When you pick up the receiver, either to make a call or answer one,

the light for that line would light up on the three other phones in the restaurant. I figured Nancy was using the phone at the bar and didn't think much of it. Besides the phone of my office and the one at the bar, one hung on the wall in the kitchen and one sat at the hostess's desk. I locked the money in the safe, locked my office, and went to the bar to see if Nancy needed help. As I walked past the kitchen phone, I saw Line 2 was still in use. However, when I reached the bar, Nancy was just wiping the counter. She was not on the phone.

Hey, what are you just on the phone? No. Why? Line 2 was just in use. Actually, look, it still is. She looked down at the phone behind the bar, and the line 2 light was on. Maybe the receiver's not set down properly? Just pick it up. Set it down again. Okay. Hmm.

Didn't change anything. Maybe it's the phone of the front desk. Let me check it. Bingo, that was it. The lights are. off. Well, I'm finished up here. I think I'm just going to head out. Sure thing. You headed out back? Uh, no, it's all good. I'm parked up front, so I'll leave here. Sure thing, Nancy. Hey, drive safe, rest well, and we'll see you on Monday. For sure. See you Monday. Good night. Good night. I was ready to go too. I just needed my jacket and it was in my office, so I headed there. Walking past the bar, I looked to ensure everything was in order. Everything looked fine and all the lights on the phones

were off. However, when I made my way through the kitchen, the phone hanging on the wall had its line one light on. What the hell? I'm the only one here. I walked past the prep tables towards my office and got out my key. The receiver was off the cradle and just lying on my desk, which was absolutely impossible. I mean, even if someone else was in the building, and there wasn't, I was the only staff member with a key to my office. No one else could have been. gone in and done this. I put the phone back on the cradle, grabbed my jacket, locked the door, went through the place, turned off all the lights, being super careful not to look at the lights on the phones. And then I let myself out, got in my car, and basically fled. Was it Leo? Look, I don't know

who else it could have been, but to this day, it was one of the creepiest things I've ever experienced in my whole life. Now I know for some of our listeners, the spookiest thing about the story is that Enzo had what our ancestors call a landline. To our Gen Z listeners, there was a time long before people communicated via text and Instagram that you actually had to call someone's phone that was wired into their house. Strange times. We'll cover that in cassette tapes in our ancient mysteries episode later. But this account brought up a very important question for me. Phones off the hook, knocks on the door. This all sounds a lot like some of the demonic manifestations that many victims have experienced. So how do we know this wasn't a demon? And if it was Leo the patron,

Then, what was he saying? Before commenting on Enzo's account, I want to first explain the Catholic Church's position on purgatory. It is a dogmatic teaching of the church that upon death a soul is immediately judged by God. Those who die in God's grace are saved and eternally destined for heaven. Those who die without it are condemned to hell.

However, for the saved, entrance into heaven is not always immediate upon death. It depends on the state of one's soul, specifically whether it has reached perfection. Someone might ask, if a soul has been forgiven for his sins, as everyone who is saved certainly has, isn't that the only thing that matters?

Well, for salvation, yes. But for entrance into heaven, no. To stand before Almighty God, perfection of soul is necessary. As Pope St. John Paul II explains, in his August 4th, 1999 general audience, The encounter with God requires absolute purity. Every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and indeed this is perceived. precisely what is meant by the Church's teaching on purgatory. The term does not indicate a place,

but a condition of existence. The image many have of purgatory is of a place, but it is rather a state of purification where souls are reformed into the image and likeness of God. When we sin, two things happen. We incur guilt and our soul undergoes deformity. Sacramental confession removes the guilt, but the deformity remains. A deformed soul must be reformed in God's image and likeness before it can ever enter into heaven. And if this process is not completed by the time one dies, it is accomplished in the state of purgatory. All of us have known people who have died, but think for a second now. Among those, how many are you 100% certain that they died in the state of perfection?

If you're like me, you haven't known very many. And that is why the vast majority of those who are saved will undergo a good stint of time in purgation after death. The Council of Trent in its 25th session in the year 1563, affirmed this reality. The Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has taught that there is a purgatory and that the souls there detained are helped

by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar. In short, purgatory is God's mercy extended into the next life. We're forming human souls, so that they may experience the glory of heaven. While the concept of purgatory is debated among Christians, with Orthodox and Protestants generally rejecting it,

there are intriguing scriptural references that fuel the conversation. In the book of Acts, Paul speaks of a man caught up to the third heaven, suggesting there might be multiple levels of heaven. Additionally, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 15, speaks of a refining fire, which some interpret as a form of post-death purification, though its exact meaning remains a topic of scholarly debate. In fact, Paul never uses the word purgatory. The most direct reference supporting the idea of prayers for the dead comes from the book

2nd Maccabees, chapter 12 verse 46, which states, it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins. Catholics and Orthodox include this book in their Bibles, largely because it was part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures, widely used during Jesus' time. The Council of Trent in 1546 affirmed this canonicity. However, Protestants exclude Second Maccabees, viewing it as part of the Apocrypha. The book was not included in the Jewish canon recognized at councils like Jammnia, 90 AD, and was rejected by reformers like Martin Luther,

who emphasized texts from the original Hebrew canon. Protestants often respect Second Maccabees for its historical value, but they do question its authority for establishing doctrine, as it was not part of the Jewish canon. And yet, just to muddy the waters a little more when you think, okay, not part of the canon, consider this. It is the book from which we get the Jewish feast of Hanukkah.

In short, I don't know what Leo was saying, but I have no doubt that he wanted prayer, even if it is not obvious from his actions that he did. The inability to communicate clearly, at least early on, and one's purgation appears to be part of that very purgation. Part of the purgatorial soul's suffering is that it cannot communicate the extent of his suffering. And that, friends, is why prayer should be our immediate response when someone dies,

and especially when we suspect a deceased soul is revealing itself to us. prayer costs us very little but the benefit to the deceased soul is so great I would like to introduce to you another friend of mine Tina Tina and I have known each other for many years and she graciously agreed to share a story that I have no doubt will give you pause I work at a textile store and twice a year

we close the store for a day to inventory the stock we have on hand because everything gets pulled out of the shelves to be counted, we can't serve customers on those days. It would just be way too chaotic. So we just close. But the week before each inventory day, we have our biggest sale of the year to get rid of as much as possible and don't have to count it. About four years ago, four years ago, I worked a ton during a sale week. Oh my goodness. It was nine to nine Monday through Friday, nine to noon on Saturday.

and I was about to buy a car, so I wanted as much money to put down on the down payment as possible, why I'm working so much. When my shift was over at noon on Saturday, I was beat. I still live with my parents and my little brother, who's six years younger than me. No one was home when I arrived, so I went to my room to take a nap, and I woke up after an hour to the smell of heaven. Oh, this smells so good. Both my parents are good cooks, but no one can top my grandma's cooking. She lives about 45 minutes from us, but she comes over all the time to make something magnificent. Seafood, lamb chops, steaks on the grill, roast duck, and she always makes at least five-side dishes.

to accompany everything. I could smell roast beef and potatoes and bread baking. Grandma is in the house. Hello, Grandma. Because I skipped breakfast and lunch that day, I was really hungry and was ready to munch on some of that amazing food. I left my room and started making my way down to the kitchen. kitchen. The smell was stronger as I got nearer to the kitchen, and I walked in, preparing myself to see the feast we would have that evening. Okay, this smells amazing. But my excitement

turned into complete shock. What? Where is everything? There was no grandma. No cooking, no food. Nothing. In fact, there was no smell of food at all. That was the bizarre part. As soon as I walked into the kitchen, the smell vanished. I walked around in disbelief and thought, but if the smell was not coming from the kitchen, where was it coming from?

I retraced my steps back through the house to my room. there was no smell at all and the rest of the house anymore. It was gone. Like, I mean, absolutely gone. About a half hour later, my mom called. She and my dad stopped it. Grandma's that afternoon. And sadly, my grandmother passed away.

They hadn't been able to reach her. And she had passed away piece. in her chair with her Bible in her hands just a couple hours earlier. Obviously, what Tina received was a sign. But what sign? Obviously, Grandma wanted Tina to know that she's in the house. That even though she's dead, which Tina as yet didn't know, Grandma wanted to communicate that she was there.

Well, at least, sort of. She wasn't physically there, nor was the food there that Tina could smell being prepared. But to the extent that Grandma was able to, and in a manner that would leave no doubt in Tina's mind who was doing it, Grandma stopped in to say goodbye. It was a gift specifically for Tina, one last, I love you, before Grandma departed from the earth. Our final account comes from another friend of mine, Charles Null. I met Charles in Fremont, Nebraska, in September of 2023, while touring with the major relics of St. Jude the Apostle.

He's one of the mighty maintenance men at St. Patrick Catholic Church, and he graciously repaired a piece of my tour equipment that needed extensive maintenance. Later in the day, as we were having lunch together, he told me a fact. fascinating story. As a teenager, Charles got into the occasional trouble, a playground fight here, skipping a day of school there, the typical trouble a teenage boy might get into. But when his parents discovered a bag of marijuana in his possession, that was it. They freaked out. Unfortunately, due to an extended booking at the only recording studio in Fremont, we were unable to record Charles in time before assembling this episode. So I'm going to relay his story in his own words.

My name is Charles Null. During the 1980s, if you got caught with marijuana, it was pretty close to being the end of the world as far as your parents were concerned. There was an addiction clinic in town that offered various treatment programs, and my parents signed me up for one, a four-month intensive wilderness survival track in the Arizona desert. It was hardcore. You were given a backpack, a sleeping bag, and two changes of clothes. You were not given a tent.

You were given a six-by-six tarp and 20 feet of paracord that you could use to make a kind of shelter, but it was far from being a tent. You also needed to take good care of the paracord as it was what you used to make your fire. You used it to make a bow drill that you'd use to light kindling. Every night, one kid had the task of making the fire for the entire group. If that kid didn't succeed, you didn't have a fire.

No one could bail him out. Every night one guy made supper. If he ruined it, or you didn't like what he made, too bad. No one bailed him or you out. You ate what he gave you, and if he gave you nothing, you ate nothing. We hiked eight miles a day, and someone was in charge of reading the map. If he went off course, the group went off course. But he had to be the one to figure out he was off course.

and then get back on course. This was how the organizers helped you overcome selfishness and instill a sense of responsibility and cooperation. It made everyone do his share, but it also prevented dominant guise from taking over. Dominant personalities prevent others from growing. Your over-functioning enables someone to under-function. and the leaders wanted to make sure that didn't happen.

There was a water drop every night, and that water had to last you until the following night. Every Sunday, there was a food drop. Each man got a satchel of food that he had to make last until the following Sunday. If you ate it all by Friday noon, then you had nothing to eat for the next two days. This was to establish planning and discipline.

If you didn't plan, you ran out, and no one was allowed to bail you out. Like it or not, you experience the consequences of your choices. Looking back on the experience, I realize it was exactly what I needed. It was very hard, but I loved it. It was the right challenge to break me open and make me grow. I'd do it again today if I could. Each night we camped no more than 50 yards from one another. This was so that, if anything went wrong, we wouldn't have to go far to find someone to help.

We didn't huddle too close to one another because no one wanted to smell anyone else. We were in the desert, and finding water to wash with was a rarity. One night, I woke up and had to relieve myself. I reached for my glasses, put them on, and started making my way out of the sleeping bag. I look, and a native Indian is sitting on my backpack, maybe 12 feet for me. He wasn't wearing a headdress, but had on a loincloth and moccasins, and looked just like an Anasazi Indian in the book drawings. We were hiking and camping in what had been Anasazi territory

and even found some of their ruins and cave drawings. Just a quick refresher for those who don't remember the Anasazi. The Anasazi, also known as the ancestral Pueblins, where an ancient Native American civilization have thrived in the territory covering modern-day Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, from roughly 100 AD to around 1,300 AD. They're best known for their remarkable architectural achievements, particularly the cliff dwellings and multi-story buildings such as those found today at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde.

In addition to hunting and gathering, the Anasazi were skilled farmers who cultivated corn, beans, and squash, and overcame the aridity of their environment through sophisticated irrigation and terracing techniques. They also traded extensively and developed a fairly complex society. By the late 13th century, they largely abandoned their big settlements. There are different theories about why, but examining tree rings from that time reveals a long and brutal dry spell, so it appears they didn't disappear, but migrated and blended into other native communities.

He's sitting on my backpack carving a piece of wood. we made eye contact. I looked at him and he looked at me. But then he looked away and kept carving. His being there scared the hell out of me. I thought, I don't have to whiz that badly. And I got back into my bag and just listened for any movement on his part as my heart felt like it was in my throat and my pulse pounded in my ears. I somehow fell back asleep. being only aware of it when the sun broke over the horizon. I knew what I saw wasn't a dream, but I had no idea what to make of it.

Why would someone in the night, with a weapon, come so close to us, way too close for comfort, but not harmless? I got up and made my way to my backpack. Sitting on top of it was a freshly carved spoon made of cottonwood. The dude left me his head. carving. The spoon was beautiful, but I actually never kept it. I was working on a cookbook that I could pass on to the participants after me. By that point in my journey, I had learned how to be

extremely efficient with what we were given, and I wanted to pass that on to those who came after me. The book provided instructions on how to eat well every day and still have enough food to last until Sunday. Following what I wrote would make the trek much more comfortable for someone food-wise. When I left the program, I gave that cookbook and the cottonwood spoon to a newbie who took my place. Of all the things the Anasazi Indian carved, he chose a spoon. Why? Well, it has to do with the common thread that runs through all four of our accounts? Did you catch what it is? The element all four stories have in common. If, like Ryan, you're thinking food, you're right. In each of the accounts, the dead have manifested themselves

to the living, and the common thread through which they have done so is food. Enzo and Will's encounters took place within restaurants where many are fed daily. Tina's story unfolded in a kitchen where, evidently, a robust meal was being prepared, and Charles' experience involved a ghost, carving a utensil meant for eating. These are not mere coincidences, but reveal a profound truth. In my experience, very often, not always,

but very often, the manifestation of ghosts exhibit a connection to food or eating. Ghosts often appear in restaurants, for example. As a young priest, I was surprised how often I was asked by restaurant owners to bless their restaurants because, quote-unquote, they have ghosts. Within homes, ghostly phenomena often occur in the kitchen or dining room, and the ghost himself may appear to be looking for food, cooking food, or sitting down at a table about to consume food.

Why? Throughout scripture, heaven is repeatedly described as a banquet, a place of communion, joy, and fulfillment where every appetite is fulfilled. In Matthew chapter 8 verse 11, Jesus speaks of many coming from the east and west to dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. In Luke 1329, he reiterates the same image, describing people reclining at the heavenly table. The final book of the Bible, Revelation, culminates with the marriage supper of the Lamb, a feast for all the redeemed. Even the Old Testament within Isaiah 256, for example,

the coming kingdom is portrayed as a rich feast prepared by God himself. Banquets, after all, symbolize fellowship, celebration, love, and the complete satisfaction of every appetite. Everything that heaven promises. Put simply, we are created for the heavenly banquet. So it makes sense that upon a soul's separation from its body, that inner instinct kicks in and it begins looking for that banquet. Instincts are wonderfully peculiar things. An instinct is a type of knowledge, but a knowledge that we don't acquire.

We possess it from birth. But it is not a head knowledge. Rather, it is a knowledge that impels us to perform a certain action for our own good. When a nipple is placed in the mouth of a newborn, for example, he begins suckling. No one taught the child to do so. He instinctively knows what to do.

If heaven is the ultimate banquet, then it makes sense that souls who are in transition towards heaven will often manifest in places where food is present as a sign of the instinct propelling them to look for the heavenly table for which they were created. I want to be clear, not all ghosts, have a connection with food and eating. However, the fact that so many do, I believe, is evidence they are looking for the banquet. And I say looking for the banquet because all

four of our accounts demonstrate that the souls in question are clearly not yet at the banquet. Something they deeply desire is absent. In Enzo's account, count, Leo's presence manifests through mischief. Food items are added or they go missing. Leo knocks on the manager's door. He calls in a food order, so to speak, by leaving the phone off the hook. None of his actions are evil per se, but they are all mischievous. They might be equivalent, one could say, to stealing food from a window.

In Charles' case, the Anasazi Indian carves himself an eating utensil, but there is no food on which to use it. So he leaves it behind where he had been sitting. Tina's grandmother prepares a fine meal, a glorious feast. Or does she? In an instant, it is gone, leaving behind an appetite that has been awoken by its fragrant aroma, but remains unfulfilled. Finally, in Will's case, the departed souls carefully arrange the restaurant tables themselves,

laying out each tablecloth, lighting each table's centerpiece, and arranging all the utensils and plates. And when they were seen, they all appear to be thoroughly enjoying their meal. After their departure, however, the missing element comes into full focus. each setting is bereft of cups and glasses. There is nothing from which to drink. In each ghost account, something is missing, and that missing element is a sign, one that reveals that each separated soul is not yet at the banquet,

but is in the waiting room, if you will, before it. A waiting room that, in Catholic theology, is called purgatory. Each of the souls knows it needs to be somewhere, and it is looking for it. Until it reaches that place, the looking continues. So, friends,

genuine hauntings are not random disturbances, but signs that separated souls are seeking their place at the eternal table. In these encounters, we're reminded of something profound. These souls are aided by our prayers to a level that in this life we cannot imagine. Each soul's deepest desire is to be at the heavenly banquet for which God made it, and until it is there, dining at his table, it seeks it relentlessly. Let us make it our work.

to help one another get there. Now, as we wrap up, I'm curious whether science can somehow account for these stories and sightings. Even in the world of science, some speculate that so-called ghosts may not be mere folklore. Some physicists have pointed to theories in quantum mechanics, like the idea of quantum entanglement or the observer effect, as the frameworks that could, in theory, explain residual energy or anomalies in time and perception. There's also the idea, popular in parapsychology, that traumatic events may somehow imprint intense emotional or energetic signatures onto a space.

Think of it like a spiritual scar. And in thermodynamics, energy doesn't just disappear, right? It transforms. Could these ghosts be something akin to that? Of course, none of this is proven, but even Einstein himself left the door cracked wide open when he said, The distinction between past, present and future, is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. In the end, the two may not be mutually exclusive. We hate to ghost you now, but we gotta go.

So to keep in touch with us and get some of our anointed merchandise, you can visit our website at exorcistfiles.tv. And of course, you can email us the inevitably absurd and overly specific criticisms at exorcistfiles at gmail.com. All cases are recounted by Father Carlos Martins from his personal archives. And hey, follow us on the gram. At Exorcist Files. All right, we really appreciate it.

We want to thank Kevin Orton, Joe Coffey, Stevie Potter, Justin Cowden, Nicole Douglas, and Lexi Mulder for loaning us their towns today to help make this episode possible. Music and scoring by James Cavell and Tom Straeli. Mixing, mastering, engineering, and all that amazing sound design by Dan Blesinger and Michelle Martinez. Executive producers are Ryan Bethay and Father Carlos Martins. Stay demon free, y'all.