Family confronts the supernatural

WHEN Lavinia Heremaia moved into her home in Point Vernon in the middle of 2009 she knew immediately something wasn't right.

An eerie figure appears to be floating near the ceiling in this photo which was taken with a phone-camera. Picture: Contributed

WHEN Lavinia Heremaia moved into her home in Point Vernon in the middle of 2009 she knew immediately something wasn't right.

Despite her feelings she decided to stay in the house and that is now a decision she has come to regret.

Lavinia and her sons Chase, 4, and Jacob, 17, claim they have been experiencing paranormal activity in their home for months.

It started with Chase telling her about a man he called "Santa" who sometimes came to play with him.

After observing her son's behaviour and listening to her son speak about his new-found friend, Lavinia soon believed that "Santa" wasn't a pleasant entity to have around - nor did he seem to be just another imaginary friend.

Lavinia said the right side of the house seemed to be the site of the paranormal activity.

Worst affected areas include the kitchen, bathroom, hallway, Jacob's bedroom and Lavinia's bedroom.

Lavinia didn't know what to believe - until early one morning she said the supernatural being paid a visit to her room.

She was standing near her door when she felt something like a strong breeze pushing her back and she was unable to move.

She felt something touch her while she was standing there.

The next thing she knew she was lying on her bed, totally paralysed.

She could see and hear but was unable to move a single part of her body, except for her eyes.

Lavinia said she tried to speak to the entity to tell it to leave but that was difficult because she could barely move her lips to speak.

It was then that she saw something like a flash of light.

She was able to move again and ran out of her bedroom, into the hall, calling for her sons.

Jacob was always a bit sceptical about what might have been going on in the house.

But that has changed since the family called in a psychic medium.

The psychic medium told the family there was a porthole in Jacob's room releasing spirits into the home.

She suggested to the family that if Chase was talking about seeing "Santa", they get out their camera and start snapping shots of the areas around him to see if they could capture an image of the spirit.

Recently when Lavinia was at Zumba, Jacob and his friends were looking after Chase when he started playing hide and seek with the entity.

They started taking photos around the home with a phone - and captured a photo of what appeared to be a man hovering above Jacob as he lay on his bed in his room.

After that, Jacob began to believe that the home really might have supernatural visitors.

After her initial feeling that the house was not a good place, Lavinia started saving up so she and her family could leave.

But several different incidents over the past two years have conspired to keep her and her family in the home.

"It feels like something is trying to keep me here," she said.

Lavinia has done a little bit of research on the history of the area and knows that South Sea Islanders were brought to what was then known as Port Vernon in the 1800s and often treated badly.

She is also aware that Polson Cemetery is nearby, although she has no idea if those factors have played a role in the strange occurrences in her home.

Lavinia is hoping to get a Catholic priest to come through her home, blessing each room with holy water.

Originally published as Family confronts the supernatural