How many of us have sat wide-eyed as someone told us a scary story. Many of us delight in being scared, probably due to the adrenaline rush we get.  Still, there are others who avoid any type of scary stuff. It’s good for your heart, especially if it’s a weak one.

A few years back, I was a big fan of a local radio show out of St. Louis. They were incredibly entertaining. Every year, they would have a Halloween show, beginning at midnight on Oct. 31 and going into the wee hours of the morning. Diehard fans would stay up late and listen. I did once or twice, and I also woke up and hit the cassette recorder on my stereo, listening to it the next day, in the daylight.

The radio show usually sought out haunted houses, or families plagued by unexplained problems. Invariably, the topic would lead to demon possession and being oppressed by evil spirits.

One year, their plan sort of “fizzled out” and so they played recordings of a man from Texas who specializes in exorcisms.  The audio would make the hair on your head stand up. For days after listening, I was affected by the whole thing. It was some pretty strong, scary stuff. I believe these were actual recordings of demons speaking. If they weren’t, they were pretty convincing.

There was another time that they hung out overnight at the farm of a man, somewhere in a very remote part of southern Missouri, I believe. The man had been moving old, historic buildings to his property for years. I believe he had some old cabins, an old church building, and even a little schoolhouse.  From what I remember, the original intent had been to make a sort of bed and breakfast type atmosphere at his farm.

After experiencing several strange phenomenons, the man talked with the guys from the radio show. They agreed to do their show from that area, staying overnight and reporting what they saw.

Apparently, after saying prayers aloud and reading from the Bible, they began to see a large number of “orbs” floating around the property. At one point, the disc jockeys said the orbs appeared to be peeking at them around the steeple of the old church as if they were afraid of the spoken word of God. Eek.

Probably the scariest thing I remember about their show was the year they had people calling in to talk about strange occurrences. They had a pastor at the radio station who specialized in paranormal stuff, dealing with these things from a spiritual perspective. The guys on the show encouraged folks to call in with any issues they were having with unexplained or spooky goings on.

Two girls, roommates, called in and said their beloved landlord from across the street, a man who had recently passed away, often still came to see them. He would come in and stand next to the kitchen door and just stare blankly at them.  In fact, as they spoke to the radio show on their phone, the landlord showed up. The girls began to cry hysterically. The pastor asked them some questions.

“Had they ever spoken to the spirit or had he ever spoken to them?” The girls said no, and that they usually weren’t afraid of this man because he had been so kind to them when he was alive.  The pastor assured them that this was not their beloved landlord; for whatever reason, they were being visited by an evil spirit.  Yes, the hair on your neck stands up again.

At least three of my friends have had strange and scary experiences messing around with Ouija boards. You can go online and read stories people have written about them.  Again, not something to take lightly. The guys on the radio show had a Ouija board at one time, a medium who channeled spirits, and a white witch or two.

I have always battled my feelings about Halloween.  Having such great memories from my own childhood, I have wanted my kids to experience the same thing. However, we are still reminded of the awful things that go on around our world during this time. We are reminded of the real evil that is out there.

Even though this show was always a favorite of mine, and I’ll admit, I listened in order to be scared and get the same adrenaline rush everyone else does, I look back and think that they were only about the ratings. They read the Bible and used a religious slant, calling out and banishing evil spirits in the name of Jesus. Still, it was sensationalized and done on Halloween night. I still have mixed feelings, although I’d probably tune in again if they were still on the air.

I do believe in Satan and evil spirits, and I believe that a lot of unexplained, “spooky” things going on are the work of Satan and his demons.

I believe that such spirits cower at the name of Jesus, and I believe Satan wants to convince us he is more powerful than he really is. There is a lot of subtle manipulation going on when it comes to Satan.

We want to be very careful when it comes to Halloween.