Traffic reportedly slowed to a crawl in the Lewis Street area of Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland, recently, after a teenage girl, said to have been demon- possessed, was rushed to the St Joseph's Catholic Church for deliverance.

THE STAR was informed that the youngster, who lives close to the church, was taken there by her mother and neighbours after they noticed things, extremely out of the ordinary, happening to her.

One neighbour with whom THE STAR spoke told the newspaper that the episode began in the morning when she heard the young girl screaming.

"I saw her with her hands stretched out and legs crossed, just like how Jesus was on the cross. Her feet were not touching the ground," Cambodiana* said. "She was being pulled by something. I didn't see anything pulling her literally, but you could tell she was being dragged because she was moving in the air."

House shattered

Cambodiana said the child's mother ran out and tried to hold on to her but the unseen force was still pulling her. She said that neighbours intervened after the girl's mother raised an alarm. "After her mother started calling for help about eight persons ran over there and held on to the girl but she was still being pulled," the neighbour said. "But, after a while she was released and her mother and the others took her back inside the house."

The alleged eyewitness added that after the girl was taken inside the house, the windows in the house shattered. It was at this point that the people attempted to get her in a car to take her to the church. "Even when they were trying to put her in the car the thing came back and was trying to pull her away again," she said. "To be honest, I was very afraid because I have never seen anything like that and I never believed in demons but this changed my view. At one point I even saw blood coming out of her nose, it was scary."

Various forces

When THE STAR contacted the St Joseph's Catholic Church, the pastor, giving his name only as Father Ken, confirmed that a young girl, about 17 years old, was taken to him. After being asked if the youngster was demon- possessed, he said: "I didn't see her being pulled (but) she was being worked up by various forces, within and without."

Father Ken added: "She was sticking out her tongue and so forth but I put my hands on her and she calmed down after about an hour." The pastor said the child was taken away in a car shortly afterwards and the huge crowd that had gathered outside the church slowly dispersed.

Neither the child nor her mother has been seen in the area since the incident, Cambodiana told The Star.

*Name changed upon request