A rising number of people are contacting the Church of England to ask priests to carry out exorcisms to ‘deliver them from evil’.
Representatives from the Church’s ‘deliverance ministries’ said they have seen an uptick in inquiries about the practice since the Covid-19 pandemic.
They said most people, however, are looking for spiritual help to put their ‘minds at rest’ rather than a dramatic exorcism as is often depicted in Hollywood films.
It follows reports this week that an NHS trust called in an exorcist after staff said they had seen ghosts including a ‘girl in a red dress’ at a hospice in Norwich.
Employees at the site, which was previously used as a children’s hospital, feared it may still be haunted by spirits following a series of paranormal incidents.
To calm their fears, the NHS reportedly requested the help of deliverance ministers to carry out a religious service using holy oil.
Commonly known as exorcists, deliverance ministers are employed by the Church of England to rid places or people of evil spirits.
They became a household concept in the 1970s following the release of the horror film, The Exorcist, which follows the story of a young girl who was possessed by a demon.
Max Von Sydow plays a priest in the 1973 film The Exorcist
An NHS trust called in an exorcist after staff reported seeing ghosts including a ‘girl in a red dress’ at a hospice in Norwich. Pictured: Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital
The spooky sightings occurred at Priscilla Bacon Lodge, near Colman Hospital, which has been used by Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust to provide specialist end-of-life care.
However, up until 1975 it was the site of Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital, with some staff believing it is still haunted by spirits.
Sources said there were concerns about ‘paranormal incidents’ at the hospice, with one person reportedly seeing the spectre of a ‘small child in a red dress’.
It is understood that an exorcism wasn’t actually carried out at the site, but instead the chaplain carried out a blessing of the building.
Dr Anne Richards, the Church of England’s national officer for ‘deliverance ministry’, explained that while in Hollywood exorcisms conjure up scenes of screaming and shouting, in practice they are usually quiet and calm affairs.
She said the focus tends to be on reassuring people, who have often suffered a recent bereavement, and not ‘upping the temperature’.
Dr Richards told The Times: ‘The number of inquiries they receive is rising. It’s fair to say there is an uptick in requests for help.
‘But it’s not to do with a spirit being cast out of a person. It’s a whole range.’
‘We had quite a surge of cases after Covid with people who, during lockdown, started to hear funny things in their houses. Most of the time it was the plumbing,’ she added.
Linda Blair portrays Regan MacNeil in the horror film The Exorcist
A young patient is pictured recovering at the Jenny Lind Hospital in Norwich in 1955
Emails seen by the Telegraph show that in 2023, the hospice chaplain contacted the Diocese of Norwich for ‘advice/support from the deliverance team’.
They said it had been a ‘difficult time’ at the site and requested ‘some holy oil’ from Norwich Cathedral.
The chaplain reportedly said this would be used to conduct a religious service for staff and patients who were concerned that the site was haunted.
A week later, another email was sent to the Diocese of Norwich, which is understood to have confirmed they were in ‘conversation with a member of the deliverance team’.
The trust confirmed that a ‘blessing of the building’ was carried out but denied that an exorcist ever visited the site in person.
They also refused to comment on what paranormal activity patients and staff claimed to have seen.
Priscilla Bacon Lodge moved into new premises in 2023, after the paranormal incidents were reported.
The building is now no longer in use, despite being briefly repurposed into a therapy unit.
