Article October 29, 2012 Issue

Love casts out demons

Nate Frederick

This story starts like any Halloween tale: on a dark, rainy night in a far-off place. But, this account—unlike the usual Halloween narrative—will warm your insides. It’s also true.

It was dusk in the foothills of Darjeeling, India when I schlepped through misty streets and entered a dilapidated hospital. I was met with gnarly images of sickness and deformity. I bear-hugged my hiking guide in the lobby, then we walked through the dingy hallways to visit a patient, my friend from the nearby foothills. We opened the old, creaky door and stepped into the room.

Our friend’s eyes were rolled back. He spoke unintelligible madness as he twitched in his fold-out bed. His family notified us that a demon had pushed him while he was chopping wood. He fell on a half-cut tree. They said when they found him he was possessed by the very demon that had apparently attacked him.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

'Think globally act locally' moments