Heart of the Nation: Bayswater 6053

YOU can tell the exact moment a demon leaves someone's body, says Father Barry May, because they always exit via the mouth.

exorcist

YOU can tell the exact moment that a demon leaves someone's body, says Father Barry May, and that's because they always exit via the mouth. It is typically an hour or so into the exorcism.

The possessed person will be clutching a crucifix while May, his hands upon their head, anoints them with holy water and commands the demon to leave, over and over. Demons don't like this, and it manifests in the person shaking, snarling, growling, swearing, or baring their teeth like a dog. But finally there'll be a long, dry retch. And that's the moment: the very moment that the demon leaves the body and is cast into the depths of hell.

"It's pretty hairy stuff, let me tell you," says the 74-year-old Anglican priest and self-taught exorcist, who lives in suburban Perth. He is self-taught by necessity. While the Anglican church acknowledges the existence of evil spirits, May says, its priests get no practical training in how to deal with them. So when he encountered his first one in 1978 - a ghost that was occupying a house in rural South Australia, terrorising the young couple who lived there - he just followed his heart, and made it up as he went along. He has since incorporated the ancient Roman Catholic rite of exorcism into what he calls his "paranormal ministry".

May has performed about 50 exorcisms and countless "house clearings" over the years, and now receives up to five requests for help every week. He puts this down to people messing about with the occult. "It starts out as a bit of fun but then it turns around and bites them," he says. "Satan has got a hold on this world in many ways."

It means that, five years after retiring as the WA Police chaplain, this grandfather of 10 remains a very busy man. But he doesn't mind that.

He lost his wife last year, and besides, he just likes helping people. "It's all very well doing nice pastoral work, but for me this is far, far more important," he says. "I'm glad to be able to help people find a way out of this morass. I'm a servant of God. I'm doing His work."