I read an interesting article on this matter. Below is it…
I decided to do a write-up concerning provoking due to the staggering number of people I’ve encountered that use provocation as a standard part of their investigative routine. Provoking, when done correctly, is a very dangerous routine and should never been taken light-heartedly. Too many people doing this do not take it as seriously as it should be taken. There are many problems with that and the paragraphs below will discuss what provoking is, what it does, what it can do, and when provocation should and should not be used.
What is provocation?
Provocation, or to provoke, is to actively, purposefully call on any spirits present to reveal their identity, to show themselves, or to give a sign of their presence. This should ONLY be done by a demonologist, or someone who knows, to great extent, what they’re doing and how to STOP what they’ve begun, should the provocation work. True provocation ONLY works on one type of spirit, the inhuman spirit; the negative, demonic or diabolical spirit. It may, however, also work on a negative human spirit as well. Provoking is very dangerous because, in all actuality, it is an invitation for the spirit to manifest. Most often, and depending on who is doing the provoking, provocation does NOT work. Why? There are many different reasons. In most cases, the spirit may know the provoker to be of no threat to them and simply does not obey, or is more powerful than the provocation.
There are numerous methods of provocation, and which one works best would be determined by the type of spirit present. In general, the person doing the provoking needs to figure out what form of provocation produces the desired results, and continually needs to adjust as necessary. Like people, inhuman spirits are “annoyed” by different things and that can be used to the demonologist’s advantage. Without having to perform “true” provocations, the spirit can be provoked using annoyances, thus increasing activity without bringing out the full force of the spirit present. That is a good way of gaining evidence without going too far, too fast. Start small and simple, and work up when necessary. Using the “annoyance” form of provocation requires a lot of trial and error, for like people, we won’t know what annoys it until we find something that does. If the “annoyance” method of provocation does not work, then the person performing the provocation would have to go to a higher level. This is where care must be taken, for now we are personally directing an “attack” on the spirit and it WILL take it personally and retaliate. Prayers are another form, and can be a powerful form, of provocation. When the intent of a prayer is simply to provoke, there is a good chance of the activity within a house to increase. Conversely, some forms of provocation will cause a spirit to temporarily leave. Nothing says a spirit HAS to stay in the house during a provocation and many times during a prayer form of provocation, the spirit will simply leave and come back at a later time… possibly to retaliate. Remember, now the provoker is outright confronting the spirit, and they don’t like that. Still another form of provocation is an outright command, using Holy Names, for the spirit to reveal itself. This CAN be the most dangerous form of provocation, for if the right person is doing the provoking and the negative spirit has not left the house, it MUST obey. But HOW it obeys is up to it… it can reveal itself by a simple knock on a wall or floor or it can conduct an all out siege on the house and everyone within the house. This leads me to when provocation should and should not be done.
When provocation should and should not be performed
First of all, if a human spirit is involved, provocation should NOT be done. Why? Provocation, in general, uses God’s power and will to command, most human spirits have a belief in a “higher power” and don’t consider Holiness a threat because they’re on the same side. The provocation will, normally, be completely ineffective. An experienced paranormal investigator or demonologist should know this. There are many other means of dealing with human spirits but I will not cover those, there are numerous resources on the internet and elsewhere for that. If a person or investigator is truly psychic, there are only a few instances when true provocation is needed, they should be able to rely on their abilities to determine what type of spirit is in the dwelling. Again, because of the inherent danger of provoking a demonic or diabolical force, it should only be used when absolutely necessary. And when it is used, the person conducting the provocation should know, without hesitation, how to be able to handle the situations that may arise. As stated earlier, if activity is already present, there should be no need, whatsoever, for provoking… because provoking while activity is already taking place has the possibility to increasing the activity to uncontrollable levels and that is unsafe for everyone involved. If provocation is deemed necessary by the demonologist or experienced investigator, they should consult the family or individual first as to why they deem it necessary, how it will be done, and what they should do should activity or manifestations occur. If the family is not comfortable with this idea, the provocation should not take place. If the family is agreeable, all people not involved should gather in ONE location or room while the provoker (who should have another person with him/her) is in another. This is for the safety of family members, for once provocation begins, the person provoking becomes the sole target of the force they’re attacking and it would be a grave error to include the family in this aspect.
What is the purpose of provoking?
Again, that will depend on who you ask. In all actuality, the purpose of provoking is to increase activity so it can be sensed either visibly or audibly or used to gather evidence. So, why would we want to do that? Not everyone has psychic abilities, the means of sensing what is present, and therefore require more proof as to the nature of what’s present. If the person conducting the provocation has no psychic ability and there is no activity taking place, provoking will, depending on all the circumstances listed above, give them the ability to quickly determine the nature and strength of the spirit present. They would know, first off, that what they are dealing with is inhuman in nature, because it reacted to God’s command (remember, although the provoker is the one speaking, it is the power of goodness and Holiness that does the actual commanding). They would also get a feel as to the general power of the inhuman spirit, that is very general though because, again, the spirit will respond in any way IT chooses, not the way the provoker chooses. Another purpose for provoking is if church intervention is deemed necessary. In my experiences with the various religions, most church officials will not authorize a priest or other religious authority to respond or act based on a simple claim by an individual or family, that is too risky, understandably so. The church will normally require much evidence as to the activity taking place before they get involved and, at times, may send a priest to the victim’s house as a witness to the alleged phenomena. Provocation at such a time will be helpful in proving the case as factual and real.
To summarize, very few cases truly require provocation. Again, if YOU are the one in crisis and an investigator claims a need to provoke, ask questions, it’s your right. Ask WHY provoking is necessary, ask WHAT they will do should it work. If you are not comfortable with their responses, don’t allow it to happen, it’s YOUR house, it’s YOUR crisis, they get to leave when they’re done, you’re stuck there, left to deal with any outcome of a botched investigation. Provoking can be a very power ally of the experienced investigator or it can be a very powerful enemy of an inexperienced person who goes too far, too fast.
Mike Roberge
I do conduct my investigations by provoking the unseen, trying to make them respond to your demands, on a few occasions. To me, it does work, but since we’re dealing with the unseen, you might never know who this IHS (In-Human Spirits) are, and I dare say it is a risky proposition.
There was one particular investigation we did at Pasir Ris Bird Sanctuary, whereby Raz (EVP Specialist/ Paranormal Investigator) and myself were at this spot. We called out to the entity as usual in our EVP Session. At a certain point of the provocation (Normal provocation, not mean ones!), I felt a breeze on my left arm and that night was as humid as any other nights in Singapore could be.
Quite baffled by it, I asked randomly whether it was any of the unseen there that did that.
The best part is after we got back from the investigation, Raz analyzed the recordings and we found out that at that exact moment where I felt something blown on my arm, the recording captured a male disembodied voice saying, very clearly, “LEAVE ME ALONE!” It sounded pissed and this is by far the best evidence we got so far, in terms of sound evidence. Luckily it didn’t harm me.
But what if the IHS is a malevolent type? What if it attacked me? Or it ‘possesses me?
These are the things that are still waiting to happen. Bottom-line is, you might never know what will happen if you go beyond their tolerable limits in provoking.
Everyone is afraid of the dark, of being left alone in the dark, of being in a place which is dark and abandoned, or anything that might trigger your ‘fear’ mode.
