'Cursed' Horse Loses 1987 Kentucky Derby

Demons Begone #6
by
Anne Eberhardt: Source

Back in 1987, a three year old colt by the name of Demons Begone won the Arkansas Derby. The horse with the interesting name, owned by John Ed Anthony and trained by Phil Hauswald, had won all three of his previous races and was the clear favorite for winning the upcoming Kentucky Derby.  Unfortunately, fate would step in and rob the horse of its predicted victory.

Before the race was halfway through, it was apparent there was a major problem with Demons Begone. Walked off the track by jockey Pat Day, and inspected by veterinarian Gary Lavin, it was discovered that Demons Begone had begun bleeding from the nostrils. Another horse ended up in the winner's circle of the Kentucky Derby, but that didn't mean Demons Begone was out of the spotlight just yet.

The whole incident had caught the attention of C. Mitchell Bedford. Bedford was a self-proclaimed horse psychic and equine exorcist. He owned a horse farm just outside of Winchester, KY called the Rising Star Horse and Health Farm where he spiritually treated horses with the help of psychic healing, facilitated by former vets who were now in the spiritual realm themselves. And, by spiritually treating horses, I mean he was on record for having treated two horses, Sam and Rocky. 

C. Mitchell Bedford at Rising Star Farm
Lexington Herald-Leader
06 May 1987

Bedford was convinced that Demons Begone was, by some measure, possessed by actual demons. You see, his very name was a personal affront to the demon world. Demons be gone? Well, those demons would show humanity just how 'gone' they were by....well, I guess...causing a horse to lose the Kentucky Derby. 

Bedford offered to exorcise Demons Begone to really make the demons be gone, a process by which he apparently just sternly but politely asked them to leave. He stated in the local paper that the owners of the horse had nothing to lose and everything to gain by letting him have a shot at cleansing the equine's demons. However, it doesn't appear as if Anthony ever took him up on the offer. 

Luckily, Demons Begone was able to recover from his health problems. He lived to race again, but never quite achieved his former glory. In 1989, he was put out to stud at the Claiborne Farm near Paris, KY. In 1997 he was moved to El Dorado Farms in Washington state, where he spent his final days. He passes away on July 4, 2001 due to a ruptured aorta. 

It is unclear whether Demons Begone really ever bid his demons be gone. 

Sources and Further Reading:

Washington Stallion Demons Begone Dead. Blood Horse July 8, 2001

Demons Begone Wins Southwest Stakes. Blood Horse February 21, 2019

Ventura County Star
03 May 1987

Lexington Herald-Leader
06 May 1987

Synergize with Demons! A Friday Funny

If all exorcisms could be this easy...I hope this lil' demon got his fries for being so accommodating!  We're not always on the same side, but this little comic reminds us to at least be civil to each other and lend a helping hand. Happy Friday, everyone! 

This comic is the work of Mr. Lovenstein.  Check out the link and support awesome artists.

The Exorcist Staircase

Horror fans come in all forms...

On June 3 2018, Kimberly Suiters, a reporter with WJLA (an ABC News affiliate in D.C.) snapped this photo of two young priests recreating a famous scene from The Exorcist.  The Exorcist is a staple in demon-related pop culture, which makes this hilarious photo the perfect Friday Funny addition to Demon Week!  And, if you find yourself in the Georgetown area, feel free to visit the staircase for  yourself.  You're sure to get some cool photos---but probably not as cool as this one!  

See the ORIGINAL POST here.

Friday Funny: Exorcising Season!

We're just a few more days away from the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018! If you're already starting to make your list of New Year's Resolutions, perhaps you've included a goal of losing weight? Working out? Getting healthier?  If your 2018 includes plans on joining your local gym or breaking out your own treadmill, then let this Friday Funny serve as a spooky inspiration for you! I hope you had a great 2017 and that 2018 is a good one as well!

Book Review: The Demon of Brownsville Road

Title: The Demon of Brownsville Road: A Pittsburgh Family's Battle with Evil in Their Home
Authors: Bob Cranmer and Erica Manfred
Published: 2014 by The Berkley Publishing Group, New York
Amazon Info

When Bob Cranmer and his family moved into an older home in 1988, they were thrilled...until weird stuff started happening. This quick and easy read tells the story of the Cranmer Family and their trials and tribulations from living in a home with a sinister past. Things escalate for 12-18 years before the family finally goes through a long and laborious exorcism process. Ryan Buell and the PRS team make a brief appearance, as they are called in to help document the potential demonic activity for use in securing a church-sanctioned exorcism.

This book wasn't a terrible read, but it just wasn't for me. And...that's pretty much all I'm going to say about it. After I wrote a very thought-out  and honest review, I started looking around the web to see what other people thought of this book and was horrified to see both Bob and his wife, Lesa, harassing those that had anything bad to say about it. I'm trying to eliminate negativity in my personal life and ain't nobody got time for all that. So, proceed with caution. If you're a fan of Ryan Buell and/or Paranormal State, you might find this book interesting as it is said that this was a pivotal case for the team.  If you can get past a lot of personal information that has no bearing on the story whatsoever and pretend this is a work of fiction, then it can be a pretty interesting story. And, if you're still on the fence as to whether or not this book is for you, I'd recommend checking out the reviews on Goodreads, where people aren't afraid to express opinions openly!

Spoiler Alert! Check out this article for more info on the haunted reputation of the Brownsville Rd. home:
Former Residents of Brentwood 'Demon' House Dispute Book's Claims, by Sean D. Hamill (26 October 2014)

*MORE Book Reviews*

Minnesota Exorcism Church

You might have seen this image before.  It's a favorite on Pinterest as well as on many different Facebook pages.  A creepy, dilapidated church out in the middle of nowhere just HAS to have a suitably creepy back story, and this seems to do the trick.  Furthermore...unlike many of these images with accompanying outrageous text, this story sounds like it COULD be true.

It's no secret that throughout history, not much was known about mental illness. A favorite scapegoat was obviously that people suffering from such things as schizophrenia and other mental illnesses were, in fact, under demonic possession. And, its no secret that historically, the treatment for the mentally ill were sometimes worse than just living with the affliction itself! Many families, for a variety of reason, chose to keep mentally ill loved ones out of asylums.  However, if they were a risk to themselves or others, they sometimes had to be restrained or locked away.  Sometimes they were simply locked away from the outside world out of shame and embarrassment. In any event, its not too far of a stretch to believe that mentally ill persons who were assumed to have been possessed by demons would fail to be 'cured' from an exorcism, and thus locked away for safety's sake. I don't necessarily think it happened at this church, though...

From the Church's FB page

After an attempt to verify the information presented in this graphic, I learned that the church in question wasn't even IN Minnesota. This church is actually the Estonian Ev. Martin Luther in Lincoln County, Wisconsin! It was built in 1914 as the first Estonian church in the United States. The actual congregation dates back to 1897, however and by 1903 there were enough members to start looking to move church services from private homes into a new church.  Money for the project began to be collected in 1907, and the graveyard (which would only ever hold about 14 people) was established in 1909.

The church wouldn't be used all that much.  By the 1950s, the small Estonian population was moving into the cities, and 1964 marked a 50 year reunion celebration that effectively ended regular church services as the small church in the woods.  In 2011, the current owner, Bill Rebane, claimed that a group of about 20 still worshiped at the site, weather permitting, yet the small building was in an obvious state of disrepair.

However, recent posts to the church's Facebook page show that care is being taken not only to preserve the church, but to restore it to its former glory!  There Facebook page, along with a blog called Shunpiking to Heaven, have some awesome photos and history---just no mention of any failed exorcisms on the site!  Please check them out for more information.

Church Facebook Page

Shunpiking to Heavens Backroads Blog

Eskimo Exorcism

So, at first glance, this image is pretty frightening.  A creepy, wild haired creature with too many mouths filled with too many razor sharp teeth has captured a young child and is holding him with its oversized hands.  When you read the caption, it gets even more alarming!

The title of this image is "Working to Beat the Devil."  The caption states "Eskimo Medicine Man, Alaska, Exorcising Evil Spirits from a Sick Boy."

The original photograph was taken some time between 1900 and 1930 and was in a personal collection until Mrs. W. Chapin Huntington gifted it in 1951 to the Library of Congress' Frank and Frances Carpenter Collection.  Today, its considered to be in the public domain, and numerous dealers are selling postcard reprints of the image on eBay.

I've seen this photo pop up a few times on various websites and Facebook groups and was struck by the unique subject matter, but also by the fact that this image was so similar to another that I had featured awhile back called the Hami!  The Hami, or the Most Dangerous Thing, was a photograph featuring a member of the Koskimo tribe of British Columbia wearing the ceremonial costume depicting a spirit known for abducting young men. That photo was part of a very famous study by the photographer Edward S. Curtis around 1914.  I was positive that this photograph must also be a part of that series.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything to tie The Eskimo Exorcism to Curtis, nor any photographer for that matter....but I did find some fascinating information about the subject matter from the book, My Life with the Eskimo, by Vilhjalmur Stefansson.

According to Stefansson, the Mackenzie Eskimo tribe believed that disease was caused by one of two things; 1. The victim's soul was stolen, causing chills, shivering, and lassitude.  Or...2. A bad shaman has sent a spirit, or tuurngait, to possess the victim, making him ill in any number of ways.  Tuurngaits were neither naturally bad nor good, but simply did the bidding of those who summoned them.

Allegedly, sickness was quite easily remedied if it were just a simple soul stealing; all you needed to do was find the soul and reunite it with the body.  However, ridding a spirit from a person was a completely different matter, and the only thing that could offer relief was an exorcism.

To complete the exorcism, the shaman, or Angakuit, would engage in chanting, drum beating, ventriloquism, conjuring acts, and even the observance of taboos by family members of the victim or even complete strangers.  For example, a shaman would tell the mother of the victim that she was not allowed to change her socks until the sickness of the child was cured.  If she broke that rule, the child would remain ill.  And, apparently from the looks of this photograph, strange and frighteningly comical costumes also played a vital role in the practice until more and more tribes converted to Christianity and the old ways were slowly phased out, to be remembered through eBay and FB shares!