By Tim Binnall
A priest in Oregon who has performed hundreds of exorcisms says that the incidents are "getting darker." The unsettling observation was made by Archibishop James Cloud during an enlightening profile piece from a local television station. Revealing that the tasks of helping those who are believed to be possessed "was pretty much thrust on me because I've had the sight since I was four," the somewhat colorful cigar-smoking exorcist mused that "if I hadn't seen half the stuff I've seen in life, I wouldn’t believe it, either. Until it actually happens."
Remarkably, the TV segment features Cloud performing an exorcism on a man named Brent Goodrich, who claims that he has been tormented by demons for the past two years. "They're there constantly, constantly making noise," he chillingly explained beforehand, "the ones around me just hiss and hiss at me." Goodrich subsequently sat down at a pew in an abandoned church as Cloud proceeded to attempt to drive the demons out of his by reciting the exorcism rites. Eerily, at one point, Goodrich notes that he can feel the sinister spirits jumping from one side of his head to the other and attempting to "get back in" to his mind.
At the conclusion of the exorcism, which is said to have lasted for around 30 minutes, Goodrich appears relieved and Cloud indicates that the demons have departed for now. "I heard a crack and it was almost a vibration when they slid off," he said. For his part, Goodrich echoed that pronouncement, reporting that he got the impression that the evil forces that had attached themselves to him had been "fighting, yelling, not wanting to obey" Cloud's commands, but they eventually released their hold over him.
While Goodrich may have found some solace from the demons, Cloud cautioned that they are still within his proverbial orbit and, as such, he'd have to be diligent in his way to prevent being attacked again. Reflecting on the many exorcisms he has conducted throughout his career, the priest made the unnerving observation that "as the years go by, the cases are getting darker." Why, exactly, that is the case is up for debate, but Cloud seemed to suggest that the Internet, the occult, and the prevalence of drugs in our modern society could be contributing factors for what he sees as a more potent form of possession in recent times.