Demonic? NJ Family Flees Home & Sues Landlord...After 'Poltergeist' Allegedly Torments Them

A family in Toms River, New Jersey, is suing their landlord over the presence of what they dub a "poltergeist." Just one week after they moved into their new residence on March 1, the family reported bizarre occurrences that have inevitably driven them out of the home -- literally.

According to the Asbury Park Press, it was only days before Josue Chinchilla, Michele Callan and their two children permanently vacated the premises and checked into a hotel in the middle of the night. Following the incident, the family members, claiming to be shaken by events in the home, are pledging not to go back. So, what was it that created such fear and angst? The Press reports:

The family would come home and find their clothes and towels ejected from the closets and strewn over the floors. Doors would creak open and slam closed in unoccupied areas of the house. Lights switched on and off without human intervention. At night, footsteps could be heard from the kitchen after everyone was tucked in and unintelligible whispering seemed to fade in and out of thin air, according to the couple.

The most disturbing and consistent phenomenon, they claim, is the sound that comes through the vents to the basement — the muffled din of something lumbering seven feet below their feet.

Among other noises, they report hearing a voice cryptically say, "Let it burn."

Now, an epic battle has unfolded between Chinchilla, Callan and their landlord, Dr. Richard Lopez (a well-known orthodontist). While the couple is demanding they get their $2,250 security deposit back, Lopez is dismissing their claims. The doctor has launched a counter suit against them, claiming that they have violated their lease and alleging that they're using "paranormal activity" as a guise to shield their personal financial troubles and inability to pay rent.

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Lopez's attorney claims this is the first time in 10 years that anyone renting the home has said that it is haunted. But the family still maintains that they're telling the truth. Chinchilla has allegedly been so shaken by what went on in the home that he was recently hospitalized for panic attacks.

"I would not have given anyone $4,000 (deposit and rent) to stay somewhere, just to pick up and leave seven days later. I would not have hired a moving truck, packed and unpacked, had my mother take off time from work to watch the kids," she said. "The whole idea was to get a nice, big home for the kids. But there’s no way I’m going back there."

The couple claim that they tried to rationalize what was going on inside the house -- that is until the events of March 10 made it virtually impossible to do so. The Press explains:

Chinchilla and Callan had settled into bed to watch television when he said his attention was drawn to a tapping noise against the set. After having spent the past week trying to be a voice of reason, he said he just ignored it. There had to be a rational explanation.

A short time later, Chinchilla felt a tug on the sheets over him and watched in bewilderment as the bedclothes began to slide off him. He then felt an invisible hand land on his arm. Callan, who was next to him at the time, claims she saw what looked like a shapeless dark apparition in the bedroom.

This incident was the final straw, as it led the family to seek alternative shelter. Callan claims that she has even been inflicted with welts and sores upon trying to visit them home to pick up items.

Chinchilla and Callan have been counseled by Terence Sullivan, a local pastor at Element Church in North Brunswick. All parties believe that the home has fallen prey to demonic possession. Paranormal teams have been brought to the house as well and have found, based on their reviews, that a haunting of some sort is taking place -- though they cannot yet be certain that it is demonic in nature (video was recorded and will be released to the public).

The family reports that nothing has followed them to the motel where they are staying, although one of the paranormal investigators said that it is possible that a demonic being has an attachment to Callan.

(H/T: Consumerist)