Watch CBS News

Local Business Man Describes Paranormal Activity In His Home In New Book

PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio1020 KDKA) - Imagine this, the house of your dreams goes on the market. You're a young father trying to start his family off in the right area with the right schools, you focus on giving your family everything you had as a child and more. But then, that dream turns into your own, personal nightmare.

"The Demon of Brownsville Road," a family's personal account of their battle with evil living in their house. This is the detailed account of  the Cranmer family's battle against evil as it escalated, through the exorcism and finally the eventual removal of the demon.

President and CEO of Cranmer Consultants, Bob Cranmer, was prepared for a bright future full of baseball games and family dinners around the kitchen table when he moved into 3406 Brownsville Road. The former Allegheny County executive grew up in the area and as a child he had always had his eye on the historic home.

Cranmer's Buying Their Dream Home

The dream was becoming a reality as his family was making the journey of relocating back to Brentwood and the Brownsville Road house was on the market. Cranmer low-balled the seller and was prepared to go up in a money-battle for his dream home. But to his surprise, the seller immediately agreed to the price.

KDKA's Mike Pintek sat down with Cranmer to get an inside look at this terrifying real-life story of a haunted house.

Pintek asked Cranmer why at the point of immediate sale did he not wonder why the seller was so interested in leaving the home. He responded that he found it curious, but really didn't question it because this was the house he had wanted to live in since he was a child.

Later he adds, none of the former owners ever contacted Cranmer to talk about their experiences in the house. Only once did he see in passing the son of the former owner who simply remarked, "I could tell you some stories."

Scratches, Bites, and Orbs

He says his house was haunted by a demon, and as the years went on, the activity grew increasingly worse. Cranmer explained that his wife and two of his sons were hospitalized in psychiatric units because of the demon's affect. He even said that he thought his wife had a mental breakdown before they discovered the real problem.

The family was scratched, pushed around, and even bitten in their sleep. Cranmer had always had a feeling that something was living in the house with them, but he never felt threatened until the activity intensified. That was when he sought the help of the Catholic Church and Father Ron Lengwin.

The Catholic Church assisted the family, but also suggested reaching out to a group at Penn State University who was exploring the paranormal. This group would eventually become the well-known cast of the television series, "Paranormal State."

Tolerating the Growing Evil

The most interesting thing about the house was what was found in a hidden room. This was a nook underneath the stairs that no one could get in, but when the Cranmers did they discovered years of history from previous owners.

Cranmer couldn't explain how these things were placed into this room, except that this was where the demon was staying. He told Mike he had never believed in ghosts or the paranormal before, but now he keeps his rosary with him wherever he goes, just in case.

Inside the Secret Room

Mike posed the question, if the demon was removed from their house, could it now be tormenting somewhere else?

"The priest that was with me, the prayer that he used said it would be cast into the abyss. No, if in fact that's the case, I don't know," said Cranmer. "The Bible says that the devil and his angels weren't cast down to hell from heaven, they were cast down to the earth, that this is their domain, and we live in this world of good and evil all around us. And the biggest lie is that the devil wants you to believe is that it doesn't exist."

You can pre-order the book on Amazon by clicking here.

Find them on Facebook, click here.

RELATED LINKS:
More From NewsRadio 1020 KDKA
Like NewsRadio 1020 KDKA On Facebook
Follow NewsRadio 1020 KDKA On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.