The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

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excruciating that I leaped back with a scream and found
myself sitting up in bed. When I got up this morning
I noticed that it was swollen. Having my hand pressed
against the wall, though only in a dream, felt so real that,
later, the skin of my palm peeled off.
The dream so upset John that for several nights he
had difficulty falling asleep. As vivid as his description
is, John assured others that he gave them only a watereddown,
abbreviated version of what really transpired in
the dream. “Bear in mind that I have not tried to frighten
you very much, and so I have not described these things
in all their horror as I saw them and as they impressed
me,” he said. “We know that the Lord always portrayed
Hell in symbols, because, had He described it as it really
is, we would not have understood Him. No mortal can
comprehend these things. The Lord knows them and He
reveals them to whomever He wills.”
FURTHER READING:
Forty Dreams of St. John. Rockford, Ill.: TAN Books and Publishers,
1996.
Johnson, Carl Leonard (1954– ); Johnson, Keith
Edward (1954– ); Johnson, Sandra Ann Hutchings
(1963– ) Paranormal investigators, especially of
cases involving demonic activity. Carl and Keith Johnson
(identical twin brothers) have worked as demonologists
with paranormal investigators and have appeared on
reality television shows featuring demonic cases. Keith
and Sandra Johnson (husband and wife) founded the
New England Anomalies Research organization.
Keith and Carl were born on December 9, 1954, in
Providence, Rhode Island, and grew up in North Scituate,
Rhode Island. The Johnson family was the first to occupy
the new house in North Scituate. Family members,
including the children, soon experienced paranormal
phenomena, such as disembodied voices and knockings
at the walls and windows. Once, water in a glass held by
the boys’ mother suddenly vanished with a loud “slurping”
sound. By the time Keith and Carl were five, the
sounds of animated human conversation could be heard
outside their bedroom window. Although the conversation
sounded close enough to be clearly heard, no specific
words could be distinguished. This and other odd experiences
led the boys to become intensely interested in spirit
phenomena at an early age.
While in school in Scituate, Carl and Keith began serious
study of the paranormal, including ghosts, ANGELs,
DEMONs, and other inhuman spirits. Carl was especially
interested in the demonic and the darker side of both human
and spirit nature. He began concentrating on the
works of ALEISTER CROWLEY and Anton Szandor LaVey
(see SATANISM), among others.
When Carl and Keith were 17, they attended a lecture
at Rhode Island College given by ED AND LORRAINE WAR-
REN. They struck up a lifelong friendship with the famed
paranormal investigators and demonologists. This meeting,
especially with Ed, was a turning point for Keith,
inspiring him to pursue the field of demonology.
The two participated in paranormal investigations
with Rhode Island groups and worked occasionally with
the Warrens, assisting in an EXORCISM.
Sandra Ann Hutchings was born in Warwick, Rhode
Island, on May 17, 1963. She was the seventh child of a
seventh child, a birth order that in folklore indicates supernatural
powers such as psychic abilities. She attended
high school in Warwick and received her college degree
in human services in Warwick as well. Sandra also became
actively involved in local theater in Warwick, where
she met Keith. They married in 1991 and live in Warwick
with their son, Keith Edward Johnson, Jr.
In the 1990s, Carl also moved to Warwick. They became
involved for a time with The Atlantic Paranormal
Research Society, whose members have starred in a popular
reality television show, Ghost Hunters. In 2004, Keith
and Sandra branched off to found their own group, New
England Anomalies Research, which Carl joined. They
have worked with lay demonologists such as JOHN ZAFFIS
and ADAM BLAI and have appeared on other reality shows
besides Ghost Hunters.
Keith and Sandra teach classes and lecture on the
paranormal, specializing in inhuman hauntings. They
host a weekly television talk show, Ghosts R NEAR, aired
in New England. Carl serves as alternate cohost.
The Johnsons estimate that approximately 15 percent
of hauntings involve nonhuman entities. Such cases have
been on the rise since about the 1990s. One significant
factor is the overall rise in global tensions and feelings of
insecurity and vulnerability, due in part to terrorism and
the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.
FURTHER READING:
Near England Anomalies Research Web site. URL: http://
www.nearparanormal.com.
Jonah
See LEVIATHAN.