This Halloween tree story is a narration of a true incident which started on the evening of Halloween Day about ten years ago. I will not mention the place and names of the persons involved, to protect their privacy.

It was the 1st Sunday of November, around 1:30 pm. We had just finished with our choir duty for the just concluded noon mass, and we were packing up our things as the people started leaving the church.

A loud male voice, and a commotion at the farthest pew near the church's main door, caught our attention. We saw a group of  five males carry a young girl from the pew to the altar. We would hear the girl growl in a male voice while her companions fought to keep her levitating body on her back.

We realized then, that the poor girl had been possesed by a male spirit. I thought these things happen only in the movies. I was reminded instantly of the scenes from the "Exorcist".... the young girl speaking with an intimidating male voice, and the levitating body! And now what we were witnessing was the real McCoy. Together, we all knelt on the first pew facing the altar and the group, and prayed for the possessed girl.

The parish priest came out as we were continuously praying. The spirit groaned angrily as the priest sprinkled holy water on the girl, and placed the cross on her forehead.

Later, they carried the girl to the adoration chapel just at the right side of the church. She was brought home later that afternoon, still possessed.

But one of my choirmates followed up on her case. He contacted a priest from an adjacent city who has official sanction from the Church to conduct  the exorcism rites. One evening that week, they went to the girl's house to conduct the rite. After sprinkling the house and the surroundings with holy water, he requested everyone to step out of the house, as he had experienced being kicked so badly during an exorcism by a spirit which fought back. Nothing of that sort happened though. We don't know how the rite was conducted, which succeeded in driving out the spirit. All the priest told my choirmate was that the spirit was from another place, far from our location. Yes, readers, obviously he was able to communicate with the spirit, and probably was able to convince him to leave the girl's body peacefully since no violent actions took place, like in the movie.

So, what has the Halloween tree got to do with this story? The priest learned from the girl, who was 16 at that time, how she got the spirit. On the evening of October 31, she and her friends wanted to have some fun, and thus decided to play the game of ghost hunting. So they went around the area and spotted the large tree trunk, which has long been dead, near the basketball court. And they approached their Halloween tree and implored a spirit, if there was one living there, to manifest its presence. The priest admonished us never ever to beseech anything from spirits.

So, when the girl got home later that evening, the spirit was already in her, and started manifesting its presence to the horror of her family. After the exorcism, the girl was brought by her family to live with relatives far from the place, for her to get over with the traumatic experience. She's now back with her family, living a normal life.

The Halloween tree, which by the way, was also exorcised  by the priest on his way home, is still standing there, a familiar sight in the place.