The Haunted Beans

No, I’m not talking about magic beans that morph into evil pumpkins. I’m writing here about a family that in 1970 moved into a fixer upper in Maryland. At that time, they were a normal family of five, a father with wonderful construction skills, an attractive, pleasant mother, two boys, Bill and Bobby, and a girl named Patti. The problem was that there was already a family of four living in the house, but you couldn’t see them, so for a few years the family lived in denial regarding the deleterious effects these entities were having on every member of the family.

The mother, Patricia Bean, was the first to recognize that the family ghost, nicknamed Henry, wasn’t just a pleasant old former owner. The poltergeist activity accelerated quickly from occasional strange noises to constant banging and racket every night. One night in 1971 sister Patti felt something grab her leg that actually left red marks. (You can read another story of a leg being grabbed here.)

The father’s construction projects were mysteriously sabotaged, but he persisted and eventually upgraded the home and property. Unfortunately, over time, there were more and more arguments between the parents, and William began to drink more and more heavily. Ultimately, his marriage, his business, and his health deteriorated. Since Patti was the oldest child, she had clear memories of better times when a wholesome atmosphere reigned in the former homestead. William developed into an alcoholic who abused and neglected his family. That eventually led to a permanent separation. Bill Bean, the author of Dark Force, went from adoring his father to hating him.

At first the plan was to “ignore it, and maybe it will leave us alone.” But in January, 1971, Bill saw a vision of a ring of fire coming down through the ceiling. When that receded, a mist appeared that became “the beautiful lady,” who seemed to Bill to be an angel. Later in the book, when the family realized that the house guests were not friendly to the family or the dogs, Bill became possessed by a fascination with fire. He writes, “I felt different, like I was being controlled by and outside force.” He actually came close to becoming a serial arsonist. However, when he almost killed his younger brother in one of his fires, his obsession came to a screeching halt. (For another story about entities clearly encouraging a dangerous obsession with fire, read about Earthquake Kelly)

The house ghosts did not get along well with dogs because they had a special capacity to sense them and to be protective of the family. One dog went mad and had to be put down. Another named Fuzzy just disappeared from the yard. The next day, hair and remains of Fuzzy appeared in the house, making it clear that the dog had been killed and mutilated. His body was never found.

By 1975, the whole family was suffering from lack of sleep, terror, PTSD, and strange obsessions. Relatives wouldn’t stay there. Poltergeist activity continued unabated, like faucets turning themselves on and flooding the floor. Lights turning on and off. Doors opening and slamming shut by themselves. Beds recently made were torn apart. A glass storm door just exploded from the inside out, spraying glass everywhere. Friends and relatives begged Patricia to leave the house, move elsewhere, but she steadfastly refused. Meanwhile her health began to seriously decline.

By mid-decade, three male entities had manifested to the point where the family knew what they looked like. Their malevolent character was not the least bit in doubt. In 1978 Bill awoke to see Bobby’s bed floating two feet off the ground. Patricia was physically attacked by one of the entities, who tried to strangle her.

A few days before Fuzzy disappeared, Patricia invited a medium with a Ouija board to probe the spirits through a séance to see what they wanted. Pat’s new boyfriend Richard was also present. The Ouija revealed that there were four spirits in the home. They demanded, “Join us or die!” A gust of wind blew out the candles. Richard freaked. The medium fled in terror. Richard wanted no more, but alas, there was plenty more to come.

Patricia refused to be driven from her home. The whole family paid a terrible price for her refusal to move. She had known for years how dangerous those entities could be to her, her children, and the family pets. What kept her there? Late in the decade, the whole family was horrified by a portrait of Patti that had always hung on the wall. One day, the picture actually deformed, making Patti look evil. It’s one thing for Patricia to risk her own life and marriage, but how could she continually expose her children to such danger?

In July, 1977, the family saw a UFO in the vicinity. This suggests a link with UFOs, demonic spirits, and ghosts, which is not unusual.

The turning point for Bill was a discussion he had with his Uncle Cliff, who happened to be an evangelical Christian. He taught Bill how to take authority over the spirits in the name of Jesus. Bill returned home ready for battle. He stomped around in the name of Jesus. He writes:

"I was not going to be denied in my efforts to battle these evil ones as I forcefully shouted out, 'Show yourselves foul demons! I command it in Jesus’ name! Show yourselves!' It was like a scene from a Hollywood horror film, only this was happening for real. There I was in the dark living room, while the rest of them were standing behind me in the dining room. As I shouted out those last words, I’ll never forget the sight that appeared in front of me. The entities began to appear in greenish beams of light just a few feet away from me…

"…Four entities appeared in those eerie green beams. We saw the sinister looking 'Undertaker,' the evil red-haired attacker, the figure in black with the red eyes, and…a new entity. This one was a female and had the look of a witch."

The entities faded from view and the whole family breathed again. A few days later, Patricia called a Catholic priest and told him about the battle. He had been there before with his holy water, and he returned to talk with Pat. He told her she should move, but once again she refused. The entities did not leave. It’s not that the priest or young Bill lacked power in calling on Jesus or the Church. One key to driving out demons or aliens is that the one possessed needs to utterly renounce the presence, the manifestations, the mystery, and the powers received from the entities. Patricia needed to move or tell the entities to leave in Jesus’ name. Because she would not cut the tie herself, the demons had a legal (yes legal) claim to remain in the home.

After one last horrifying manifestation in which every electrical appliance in the house burned up and a little pet guinea pig was dead in its cage, Pat called Richard, who immediate came over and moved her and the boys out of the house. They moved in with him, but Bill found out years later that the demons followed her there. Pat was dying of kidney failure at that point. She passed away ten months later in 1981.

I once heard a story from a couple that were prominent in my church in San Jose. The man turned out years later to not be a truthful person, but his wife was true blue and I trust her story completely. They claimed that the staff there was called to the home of a woman who was clearly in need of deliverance. The case was so severe that it began to affect her appearance. There were little nobs growing on her head. They both felt them hiding under her hair. She also had two extra pointy teeth growing in her mouth behind her other teeth. After much counsel, the woman decided that she didn’t want deliverance. She had been given psychic powers that made her feel special and made her life interesting. For her to be delivered, she would have to renounce those powers, and she refused to do so. The staff left, and the woman kept her knobby little horns. 

There are other elements in Bill Bean’s story that are instructive. One is that he hints that demonic forces or curses of some kind followed the family from the very beginning, including older generations of good family members. This is a well-known phenomenon both in the Bible and in the UFO community. It is well-known that if “aliens” are in someone’s life, it is almost a sure thing that their parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and grandchildren will all be abductees as well.

The other instructive point is revealed in Bill’s second book called Delivered. (billjbean.com) Bill stayed true to his Christian faith, but it took him many years to understand the importance of real discipleship in which we walk the talk. Bill lived on the fringe of full obedience and commitment. One thing he had to give up was an obsession with UFOs. He would talk about them on the radio or at conferences almost to the point of forgetting the real source of spiritual power, which was his faith in Jesus Christ.

Both of Bill’s books are important pieces in the jigsaw of inter-dimensional reality. Demons, ghosts, aliens, OBE experiences, as well as Christian deliverance are all interconnected. Most researchers study only one aspect of inter-dimensionality. Not a single scientific researcher of paranormal phenomena that I can think of includes the study of the Christian history of exorcism. Bill’s book, like that of Earthquake Kelly and so many others, demonstrate the need to include anecdotes of deliverance in the dialogue.

Soon I will be blogging about my marvelous interview with the late Rev. Charles Osborne and his amazing wife Myra. They have quite a lot to share about deliverance and visions of Jesus Christ.