When it comes to paranormal activity, the most unsettling cases are the truly creepy demonic hauntings that leave families terrified and homes forever marked. Unlike residual hauntings that merely replay old memories, these entities interact, torment, and often refuse to leave without a forceful exorcism.
What Makes These Hauntings Truly Creepy?
Each of these stories involves a non‑human presence that physically assaults, manipulates, or even possesses the occupants. The accounts are packed with blood‑curdling details, mysterious symbols, and chilling photographs that make the skin crawl.
10 The Demon House
Bob Cranmer, a former Allegheny County Commissioner in Pennsylvania, insists that his family endured an 18‑year siege by a demon that finally fled after an exorcism in 2006. He describes blood seeping from the walls and invisible hands striking his loved ones. The house, located in Brentwood, was built on rotten soil where, in the 1700s, Native Americans brutally murdered European settlers. A construction worker allegedly cursed the land.
According to Cranmer, the true horror began when Dr. James C. Mahan Sr., a former tenant, performed hundreds of illegal abortions as an alcoholic abortionist, supposedly summoning a black, foggy cloud demon. Cranmer even knows the demon’s name: Moloch, a Canaanite god linked to child sacrifices. He believes Mahan and the previous owners, the Malick family, worshipped Moloch, which explains the malevolent presence.
9 Strange Symbols
Featured on Paranormal Witness, the house at 20317 Fairway Drive in Springfield, Louisiana, turned into a nightmare for new owners Jeanine and A.J. After moving in, Jeanine suffered physical assaults from an unseen force. The couple eventually fled, discovering a room plastered with satanic symbols beneath a rug.
The episode emphasizes Louisiana’s reputation for voodoo and satanic rituals, suggesting the home once hosted a cult that summoned a demon during a ceremony.
8 Attack
In 2014, Fox43 reporters visited DeAnna Simpson’s home in Hanover, Pennsylvania, after she claimed a nonhuman entity haunted the property. While filming, cameraman Nick Petrillo felt a burning sensation in his hand; Simpson responded by dousing the area with holy water.
The case later appeared on the Travel Channel’s The Dead Files. Simpson says a large black shadow—her demon—torments her and her husband Tom, alongside five other ghosts. She attributes the haunting to a series of gruesome deaths that occurred on the property.
7 The Smurl Haunting
From 1974 to 1989, the Smurl family of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, endured relentless paranormal phenomena: televisions bursting into flames, toilets flushing on their own, electronics failing without cause, and inexplicable footsteps and foul odors. Claw‑like marks appeared in their bathroom, and full‑bodied apparitions rose above beds.In 1985, a ghoul dubbed “Old Hag” was seen walking through walls and even sexually assaulted Jack and Janet Smurl. Approximately 50 exorcisms were performed, yet the assaults only ceased after the family moved out in 1989. The case involved famed investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and later inspired the TV movie The Haunted.
6 The Bean Family
Bill Bean, author of Dark Force, recounts his family’s 1970s ordeal in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Their ranch‑style home exuded a palpable negative energy, and a demon would wrap cold hands around family members, simulating murder. At one point, the entity transformed into a man in a black suit, revealing its all‑black eyes.
The Beans eventually fled in the 1980s. Bean offers no concrete explanation for the haunting, though his book hints at possible extraterrestrial involvement. He claims to possess photographic evidence taken while the family still lived there, while subsequent owners reported no abnormalities.
5 A Horde Of Demons
Latoya Ammons and her three children moved into a modest home on Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana, in November 2011. Soon after, black flies swarmed the screened porch, and the family heard footsteps throughout the house. One night, Ammons saw a shadowy figure crossing her living room.
Paranormal investigators suggest demons often appear as solid black shadows, while skeptics link such sightings to sleep paralysis. Ammons claims she witnessed her 12‑year‑old daughter levitating above her bed at 2 a.m. Clairvoyants later announced that roughly 200 demons haunted the residence.
After undergoing exorcisms, the family fled. A widely circulated photograph supposedly shows a demon by a window, though many have debunked the image.
4 Halloween Demons
Tracey and Keiron Fry of New Tredegar, South Wales, became tabloid sensations after claiming three demons began assaulting them on Halloween night. The entities allegedly threatened to slit the couple’s throats and later inflicted bruises and scratches.
The Fry family believes a Ouija board they previously used to contact spirits opened the door for the demons. Keiron says he captured a photo of one demon—a small child dressed in white. Though the story appeared in sensationalist outlets like the Daily Mail and The Sun, the couple convinced paranormal investigators and a Church of Wales vicar, Johnathan Widdess, to cleanse their home.
3 The Cage
Located in St. Osyth, Essex, “the Cage” once served as a 16th‑century witches’ prison. Former owner Vanessa Mitchell claims the site’s grim history left behind a host of spirits. After moving in 2004, she reported ghosts smacking her rear, pushing her down while pregnant, and mysterious blood‑like stains on the floor.
Mitchell says she saw three ghosts—two men and one woman—and even a goat demon, which she believes she photographed. She later authored A Modern Day Haunting, asserting that one of the specters is Ursula Kemp, a witch executed after being accused of witchcraft.
2 The Armstrong Street House
In 1970, Ann and Roger Brock bought a four‑bedroom home at 2220 N. Armstrong Street in Kokomo, Indiana, for just $5,000. The family’s three daughters soon sensed something wrong, but the situation escalated after the birth of two younger sons in 1978.
Lana, one of the older daughters, experienced inexplicable shaking and later saw a wet man—later identified as a “creature”—standing outside her window. Local rumors suggested a woman had been murdered in the house.
According to an episode of Paranormal Witness, the Brocks, including Baptist minister Roger Brock, endured assaults from a demon. One night, an invisible hand covered Lana’s mouth, preventing her scream until a dog distracted the entity. In retaliation, the demon hurled the dog through a window. Lana now runs a paranormal blog, and she claims the house was ultimately destroyed by a serial arsonist.
1 The Sallie House
Despite its modest appearance, the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas, has earned a reputation as one of America’s most haunted dwellings. Named after a ghost girl, Sallie, the house at 508 N. Second Street became infamous after a 1992 episode of Sightings captured residents Tony and Debra Pickman being scratched and bruised by unseen forces.
The assaults began after the birth of their child, with both parents experiencing cuts and pains from invisible assailants. Visitors reported similar attacks, full‑body apparitions, floating objects, and animal‑like noises.
Paranormals and psychics, some using Ouija boards, tried to communicate with the house’s spirits. The Pickmans concluded that Sallie acted as a portal, allowing a darker entity—sometimes described as a harpy—to enter and target their child. The family vacated the house in 1994 but maintains a website documenting their experiences.