Green Demon - Classic

Spooked

Austin Francis recounts a harrowing supernatural encounter in Durban, South Africa, where he confronted a physical demon terrorizing his fat

Key takeaways

The demon was described as having green scaly skin, pointy ears, and a gold bracelet on its arm.
Austin used a pocket Bible to physically touch the creature, causing it to singe and yelp in pain.

Main topics

Supernatural encounters
Night terrances and sleep disturbances

Notable quotes

Every night, there's this green guy that's sitting on my chest and squeezing my throat.

Conclusion

A deeply personal and haunting reflection on the thin line between the

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:02) When the demons named their king, the angels all rebelled to sing, and all the dark they bathed in light. So half is day and half is night. You're listening to Spooked. Stay tuned. You've Speaker 3 (0:34) crossed over to Speaker 1 (0:35) Spooked. Speaker 3 (0:36) So Speaker 1 (0:44) back in the day. For a few years, I just kind of wandered all over the world, doing part-time jobs, sleeping on friends' couches. I didn't know what I was looking for. Didn't have a lot of money for lunch or the train fare or whatever. But still, I always allowed myself one splurge. Speaker 1 (1:09) I love books. I do. The smell, the bindings, the stories, the knowledge. I've purchased Buddhist texts in Korea, books on flower arranging, stacks, stacks of classic science fiction and fantasy. I bought books in Braille, and I can see just fine. I just like touching them. New books, old books, whole collections from a Japanese flea market. A secret, forbidden book chronicling the political history of Malaysia. collected notes of Charles Darwin's slave journals. In Taiwan, I find an Egypt Chinese volume detailing the acupuncture meridians of the body in extraordinary detail. It was last printed over a hundred years ago. And because I don't have a home or whatever, I pack these treasures away. I send them to my mama's place in Grand Rapids, Michigan for safekeeping. Hundreds of books, each one with their own story of how they were bought, bartered, bet or traded for. And they're packed away as gifts. To an older me, because I have a vision where I am content, happy, gray haired, wandering through a library of my own creation. Reading sometimes by myself, sometimes out loud to my loved ones. And I see this place. I see this clearly as I see my own hands. I know that someday I want my children, my children's children, their children in turn to know they can walk through many worlds. They can press through time and space if they learn to love these books as much as I do. And one day I'm sitting eating an apple, minding my own business when I get a call from my mama. She's a deeply religious woman. Speaker 3 (2:59) Son, me and the ladies, we got Speaker 2 (3:02) to divine it. Speaker 1 (3:04) And the church ladies, I hear them in the background clapping and praying. Divine it. That's right. He sent the devil, the devil up my house. Speaker 3 (3:16) The Speaker 1 (3:16) devil, huh? Really? That's right. The devil in my home, walking around on my clean kitchen floor. We followed his cloven hooves right through the house, over the rug, down the stairs, to see from which the evil sprang. Mm-hmm. And you know what we discovered right on top of your pile of paper? Mama? Mother. Speaker 1 (3:44) Satanic verses. Satanic verses. How are you going to bring the verses of the devil into my Christian home? Mom, um, Satanic Verses is not what you think it is. It's a book by Simon Rushdie. I know what the verses of Satan are, boy. And your Satanic Verses are going to burn just like the rest of these books. Mama, Mama, Mama, leave the books alone. You can have Satanic Verses. Take it. I don't even like that book. But just leave everything else alone. It's got the Speaker 3 (4:14) same tank. Speaker 1 (4:15) It's going to burn the same holy fire. I just thought I'd let you know. Mama. Leave my books alone. Goodbye, son. Mother! Speaker 3 (4:23) Mother! Speaker 1 (4:24) Mama! I call back. I call back again and again. And then it's like I'm standing. I'm standing in the middle of this vision of my beautiful library as it bursts into flame. I feel the heat on my skin. The smoke burns my eyes. I don't call her anymore. I don't wonder if she did it. I could almost hear her Satan laughing. And then, good long while, I started laughing too. Spook stuff. It comes to us from the other side of the world, Durban, South Africa. Austin Francis and his dad, they're close, they're tight. And Austin's dad, he's the real adventurous type. Not afraid of anything. Austin wants to be just like him. But he's about to learn how much there is to be scared of in this world. Speaker 2 (6:42) Spooked. My dad was basically a very strong man. He was an oak. He was the strength of our family. Speaker 2 (7:06) He loved birds. He loved wild birds of South Africa. And he used to go out collecting birds. In a sense, trapping them, swapping them out with his friends in the bird club. That was his passion, his birds. He built himself a massive aviary. It was in the backyard, a massive walk-through aviary. Speaker 2 (7:48) And he used to go out like 4am just to catch the first flock of birds that's coming in to feed on a grassland or on a farmer's patch.