Alexis McQuillan went looking for spirits. She found a demon. Her life will never be the same. Alexis is a psychic who never believed in demons until she came face to face with pure evil. This is her true story of spiritual warfare with a terrifying entity so powerful it turned her life upside down and put her in mortal danger. The nightmare begins shortly after Alexis and her husband relocate to a small lakeside community. After hearing rumors about the nearby Matthews residence, Alexis investigates the nineteenth-century house and its spirit inhabitants. She soon finds herself caught in a demon's snare of violent fury―isolating her from her family, attacking her in the one place she thinks she is safe, and staining her very soul.
My Thoughts: This was a pretty quick read for me (see my goodreads updates). I find it hard to review non-fiction, so just bear with me and my train wreck jumble of thoughts.
In this story, the author is writing of her experience being haunted by a demon. I found the entire book to be interesting, for sure. She, the author, is an excellent writer. At times, I felt like I was reading a letter from a friend I hadn’t seen in ages and not a book. There was just a natural comfort in the writing style, that I really enjoyed.
As for the plot/story: It was pretty much what the blurb above says it is. A true account, so claimed, of a woman who hunted ghosts and ended up the target of a demon. I, personally, had a hard time believing the account. Not because of the subject matter – I’m open to believing about anything is possible. My issue with the story is the author claimed to be a ghost hunter, a psychic; she believed in ghosts, spirits, entities, and even some witch craft was strewn in. However, she repeatedly stated up until the incidents in this book, she didn’t believe in demons. I just, for myself, I don’t understand how someone (or why someone) would be willing to make the leap to believe in all that other stuff…but not demons. Ghosts – yes. Spirits – yes. Witch craft – oh yes. But Demons – nope. It doesn’t make sense to me. It makes it hard for me to believe any of the account. If that even makes any sense.
In Conclusion: I would recommend this book, I think. Especially to those who like true-paranormal type things (like Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Hauntings, etc). It’s not my place to say whether this is fact or fiction, its just my place to say whether it is entertaining. I can say I read the entire thing and was definitely intrigued by it. I am still not sure I believe it, but that’s why it’s entertainment. It has been several days since I finished it, and am still “thinking” about it, so I say it did its job. It entertained me. I would certainly read more from this author, she’s very interesting.
Mom Notes: Not for younger ones. Since it is written as factual – it could/would really confuse younger ones as to reality, faith, etc. Contains: ghosts, demons, varying religious beliefs, violence, etc.
Entertaining but very repetitive and anticlimactic. She tells her story the best she can. It was well written but just too wordy and not enough meat of the story I wanted to hear about. She is slightly arrogant as well with how she was solely going to defeat a creature who is infinite and possesses the knowledge of thousands of years. Not going to happen on any level. She was either extremely lucky or not telling the truth.
This book was a reminder that there are probably things out there that have abilities that are way beyond what any Human can do, and it'd be best not to piss them off. The author is a very brave woman, and I think deserves to have a very happy life:).
An interesting read but I found it somewhat fanciful, Ms Mcquillan tries to tell us her story of an encounter with Amon an upper demon of hell.But it comes across as a somewhat friendly encounter after she refuses to end the demons life after numerous attacks by the demon.
I chose this rating because I could not put This book down and I did not want it to end. It was an eye opener for sure , funny and suspenseful book. I loved it !
When I’m scared it is because my fears are realized. However, there are many reasons why we are scared and many more reasons why we have fear. To be afraid of something that is tangent is said to have rational fear. To be afraid of something that is non-existent is called irrational fear. Then, what would happen when irrational fear becomes rational? Should I still be scared or committed for paranoid delusions?
Encounter with Hell is a real life account of Alexis McQuillan’s experiences with a demon on one of her ghost hunting adventures. Just like so many people, Alexis did not believe in demons until one day she came face-to-face with his demonic powers. She shares her terrifying moments of the evil that invaded her life, and dives deep within her own faith to pull herself out of the torments from hell. Psychological and spiritual warfare at its best, Alexis continues to educate and warn others about the dangers that lurk by “poking a stick” at a demon.
This book left me wondering if the irrational were in fact rational, then the fear that I would feel would indeed energize an evil entity that has become clearly tangent. I, just like Alexis, am the skeptic, but deep down inside of me (maybe it’s because of my strong Christian background) I know that there is some inkling of truth to this story.
There is, however, one thought that is most troubling to me. Today, churches are diminishing at a rapid rate and many people are walking away from their faith. It scares the hell out of me to think that these very people deny the existence of God, but are quick to look for the existence of demons. The very entities that can harm, whether directly or indirectly, are the hype of today while God (in his many glorious forms) is denied the love and protection that he offers humans to overcome this spiritual warfare.
Often times we give demons too much credit for our daily troubles, and sometimes we do not give them enough credit. We hardly ever think of the higher power; the light, which shines love and guidance in our lives. Whether it is God, Jesus, Goddess, or the Universe, there is a higher power that calls to us and wants us to seek everlasting peace. I know that deep down in each and every single one of us, we seek that peace among the chaos that is our world, whether it is tangible or not. Without that peace, we allow the “demons” of our lives to take over. Alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual addiction, abuse, neglect, mental health issues, bingeing and purging are just a few of the “demons” we allow to control our lives.
Whether you believe in demons or not, take a moment to read this book. It is insightful and deeply thought-provoking. A great read for the time of year where everything frightful becomes all the rage, and it might scare the wits out of you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I have read a fair few of these books and this is definitely at the low end of them, The writing is not brilliant and I just struggled to believe that it was a true story.
The demon (Amon) didn't seem all that terrifying and it all seemed a little to easy when it came to the 'battle' also the fact that the whole town was extremely superstitious to the point that even the police on several occasions tried (not too discretely) to intimidate them for taking a few photo's in a graveyard, the whole thing was just rather dull and unimaginative.
Oh and at times the dialogue was cringe worthy, I must admit though I found the thought of the two women (one in her late 40's) jumping up and high fiving each other for pretty much no reason quite amusing.
Oh yeah I am pretty sure that there were some issues with the dates as well, I am pretty sure that one thing that is said indicates the whole thing taking place in the early 90's and then another suggests that it was in the early 00's, I know that it isn't a massive issue but the book just kind of got me irritated by little things like that and I found myself looking for flaws in it...oh and if it was the early 90's then I doubt that they would have been running around with digital cameras.
I would recommend quite a few books on the same subject over this one.
This book was entertaining, however, like most supernatural novels, it's a bit cliche. She keeps talking about good vs. evil without really telling us what she considers good and what she considers evil. She uses tools like candles without explaining how they work. Two things really bugged me. First, the author claims to believe in God because of one random event (that could've been literally anything) that happened when she was young. Then she also casually draws from Wicca and Paganism, seemingly without realizing that Paganism is an umbrella term that includes the beliefs of Greek, Egyptian, and many other religions. Secondly, she calls the demon in the novel evil, but she also admits that she was the one who sought him out due to curiosity. It's not like he went out of his way to make her life miserable. The only bad thing that he did was refusing to leave her alone after she decided she didn't want to play with him anymore.
Not as good as many of the paranormal investigation books out there. If one wants to read about run-ins with demonic enteties, any of the books about Ed and Lorraine WArren investigations are better than this one. The "clash" described in the book was 3-4 rather tame instances of running into evil energies. This is not the tale of demonic oppression that I thought it would be.
I really tried to get into this book, but just could not believe this supposed "true story". I had a hard time believing any of the stuff she wrote about. I happen to be a huge lover of the paranormal and this just screamed bullcrap to me. Sorry guys I am going to have to give it a 2 out of 5 stars. The author can write well, but I cannot buy into her book at all.
Okay, I read the prologue at night and had to actually stop reading it since it it scared me so badly (but it was so thrilling!!). I liked this, but I often found myself wanting to shake McQuillan because she was proactive in what was happening to her. 3.5/5 stars.
I really enjoyed this book so much so that I read it all in one sitting. Gives you a understanding of demons and also the paranormal. Very interesting and historical research throughout. Great book. Highly recommended.