The Lumberjack

As a teen and into my early 20's I was in deep when it came to my religion as well as the supernatural. More than once I put myself in harms way to protect those who needed help. This is one of those times.

I had a friend I went to college with, she was married with two little ones at home, living in a small apartment in upstate NY. Her mother lived in the apartment across the hall from her for convenience. When we first met, she was all about staying out late and having fun, never asking me to visit her house. I just assumed she didn't want to bring the "fun" girl around her kids, which was totally understandable. However, one night when we were out at the local bar she confided in me about her mother's "issue".

Apparently her mom had been having problems with something scaring the crap out of her cat. When she would go to look for whatever had caused the problem, she would feel something push against her, as if stopping her from entering the room she wanted to go into. The previous evening had been particularly physical, with the entity leaving a red mark on her chest. I told her I would like to try to help, and asked her to call her mother and ask if she would meet with me somewhere outside of the apartment building. My friend agreed that it should be out of the building because apparently her daughter (who was 4 at the time) was having conversations with someone who she described as "a tall big man who is not nice". She felt it was the same entity and was getting scared.

Her mother met me across the street at a coffee shop the following evening and we talked for close to two hours. I asked her questions about the feeling in the home, the temperature, any shadows or lights that couldn't be explained. She described shadows that her cat would growl at as well as bright little lights in her bedroom and kitchen at night. She also was concerned about the fact that her kitchen was always colder than the rest of her house, regardless of when she had last cooked in it, as well as a perfume she would smell, very soft, like a lavender soap. I asked her if she would mind if I took a walk through her place without her there. Her daughter assured her I was there to help, so she agreed. Please keep in mind I had no idea what I was walking into. I was all "balls", no brains at this point in my life. J

Upon entering the front door of the building there was a staircase leading up to the second floor where their apartments were. It felt chilly however I put it down to some cranking A/C, as it was August. When I got to the top of the stairs, I felt what I could only describe as a pressure on my chest. It wasn't in the shape of a hand, just an even amount of pressure on my chest, basically on my cleavage (not on the prize, just above and between). I turned to my friend (who came up with me to unlock the door) and asked her if she could feel anything, staying calm so as not to scare her. She said the air felt thick preventing her from breathing properly, but she attributed it to the humidity. This confused me due to the fact that I had goose bumps however I said nothing and thanked her for opening the door. I asked her to remain by the door, keeping it open.

When walking in I immediately noticed an electric charge to the air. The living area was to my right and the rest of the apt was to the left. I then walked into the living room and shut off the A/C in case that was the source of the electrical anomaly. It didn't dissipate, but I left it off while I was there to keep the noise down. I then closed my eyes, reaching out to see if I could sense anything or if there was something trying to contact me. I could feel him IMMEDIATELY. He was BIG, like lumberjack big, with long arms and a dirty white button shirt and trousers that hung onto him under his big belly. Then I could feel him. He was on me like white on rice, as if he was growling in my ear, trying to frighten me. I stood there, waiting, looking for him to do something else, when I felt her.

There was a woman, faint and delicate, that I could sense in the other end of the house. She was frightened, but not of him. She was frightened FOR me. However, she was powerless to stop him, so she did nothing. Still, he lingered, trying to bully me out of the apt. I spoke to my friend, asked her to go outside and close the door, that he was here and not too thrilled at my presence. I didn't want her to get hurt because of anything I did. She refused, said she was not leaving me to him and closed the door behind her, shutting us both in the apt with him. He was not thrilled at this, and bum rushed her immediately. She screamed, because as he came at her, he had so much energy going (from his anger I assume) that he materialized, just for a brief second, and she saw him!

I rushed to her and put myself between them, telling him to get back, that I would do everything in my power to get rid of him if he didn't calm down. Then there was a strange sound, like a guttural growl from the thin air, and he was gone. I quickly tried to sense if the female was gone as well, and she was. To this day I believe it was her doing that he left when he did.

We then went through the rest of the house, stopping to try to sense anything, but no one was there. I did notice the cat was on edge, but I am pretty sure it was from the previous altercation. My friend asked me if I would come over to her place to see if he was there, as her daughter had been talking to someone. We then walked across the hall and opened the door. Her daughter was in the middle of the living area with her dolls, yelling at someone to "Stop being mean!" and she threw her doll across the room. Her husband came out of the kitchen with a tray of cookies and was surprised to see us, but asked why their daughter had yelled at us. Her daughter proclaimed she was talking to the mean man, not mommy. We all looked at each other in amazement. Not only could she see him, he was there.

My friend's son then hobbled out of his bedroom (he was 14 months at the time) crying, holding his teddy bear out to his mother. One of the eyes was partially ripped out. "Fi." he kept saying (he was having problems with the last letter of words except mommy, daddy and cookie lol) and my friend asked him if he did it. He kept shaking his head, asking her to fix it, so she took him to the other room to try to fix it. Being it was the first time I had met her husband, I introduced myself and we chatted for a bit, all the while I was trying to sense if the lumberjack was there. Then her daughter yelled, "Why won't you go AWAY?" looking at the wall separating the living area from her brother's bedroom. My friend's husband and I looked in that direction and we both gasped. The lumberjack was there, but in a shadow/cloud form, dark and thin. The husband ran like a chicken into the kitchen as I got between my friend's daughter and the thing. He realized he had left his daughter, came back in to get her and ran back out into the kitchen. That's when I got mad.

I can't remember my exact words, but it went something like: "I don't know who you are or what you want, but you have no right to harass these people. YOU are DEAD, no way around it. You need to either leave or stop trying to bully everyone and let them exist peacefully." Well, I basically got the same response as before, except this time he rushed up to me and gave me a good shove. Not expecting it, right on my butt I went. I tried to get up and he pushed me down again. So I sat there and yelled at him "Push me all you want, you don't scare me!" Then there was the growl, and then he was gone. I yelled for my friend to come in, that he was gone, and she helped me up. My next words I will remember for the rest of my life. "I need to make a call."

I then called another friend who is a spiritualist minister in the Leatherstocking Region of NY. We discussed the matter and she advised me she was calling a Shaman and to not engage him again until they came. We set up an appointment for the following evening and my friend and her family stayed at a hotel that night. I went home, smudging my room and my car before going to bed. The next day was going to be long.

I met my friends (the minister and the apt occupant) as well as the Shaman at the apt later the next evening. We got up the stairs with no incident and split up between the two apts. My friend and the minister went into her mom's place while the Shaman and I went into her place. He immediately lit a sage bundle and took out his ceremonial feather and bowl. Putting the bundle in the bowl he went around the apt chanting and smudging as I tried to corner the entity. I couldn't find him in her apt, so I assumed he was across the hall. I asked the Shaman to go next door, that he was probably there. After he left I was alone. Not for long.

I saw the same cloud come across the hall and into the living area I was standing in. It stopped right in front of me and hung in the air. I didn't move. For some reason, I felt I couldn't. I tried to yell to the others telling them he was there, but I couldn't. Somehow, my friend knew and came running into the room I was in shouting. She scared or startled the entity and it flew up to the ceiling, just spinning and swirling in one spot above our heads. The Shaman and minister came running in, asking where he was. As I tried to point him out, I felt pressure on both sides of my head and I fell to my knees, cringing with pain. They immediately started the ceremony to chase him out as they had him cornered. I don't know how long it lasted, maybe a few minutes, maybe more, but when I finally felt him release, I could almost watch him disappear. I couldn't help but feel vindicated.

After all that, the air in the room got lighter. The shadows in the corners were less dark and you could feel the tension melt away. We did a last sweep of the house, smudged a bit more, and then said our good byes. We thanked them both profusely and they told her if she needed anything more to let them know. She moved a few years later, having never had a problem like that again in that apartment.