Everyone wants to know why there was an exorcism in the lumber aisle of Home Depot.
Police were called after individuals inside a Dickson City, Pennsylvania Home Depot lumber yard were apparently having an exorcism summoning dead trees. The early afternoon incident report read, “Disorderly people having an exorcism in the lumber aisle for the dead trees. They were escorted out of the building.” Police Chief William Bilinski said the ‘exorcists’ were two men dressed in black and were “chanting and moaning in the lumber aisle.”
“There were two people hanging out in the lumber department doing their little exorcism thing,” another officer, who asked not to be named, said. “It was a séance type of thing for the dead…Some people at the store started picking up that something was happening that was not necessarily normal. Police were called to the store, and they were escorted out of the building.”
The vague report listed amid other crimes on the department’s page had Facebook followers intrigued and asking for more information. By definition, an exorcism is a religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person who is believed to be possessed.
Some believe the ceremony was related to the rising cost of lumber due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has reached record heights. Performing a ritual for more dead trees might be one way to boost supply. Or, perhaps to remove the evil of the market prices. No one’s sure. The lumber price theory was backed by Facebook commenters who suggested its validity is supported by location of ritual. Others asked why the incident wasn’t filmed by curious bystanders. A few of the comments read:
“Sometimes I think the 2 × 4s in my garage are owned,” writes Louis Galetto.
“Let the price of plywood drop…the name of Christ obliges you to do so,” commented Paul Nichols.
“I’m going to light a candle for Lowes’ wood,” wrote Judith Ann Fadarishan Bonafede.
Thelma Lopatka wrote, “Two nuts in one shell, this city couldn’t be crazier.”
Last year, U.K. authorities warned that there may be a surge in witchcraft and demonic activities due to the pandemic – either because of beliefs that certain groups caused the outbreak or, police warned, beliefs that contracting the virus is a sign of possession. There have been some individuals who have lost their lives to do these faulty beliefs.
In April 2020, Carlo Maria Vigano, an Italian archbishop of the Catholic Church who once served as the Vatican’s diplomatic representative to the U.S., called on the clergy to perform a “mass exorcism” on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, in order to “quell Satan’s frenzy during the coronavirus pandemic.” Vigano believed that the closing of Italy’s Catholic churches due to coronavirus was the work of the devil, and church leaders had shown their followers that “God is of no use during the pandemic.”
Whatever the reason for the most recent incident, it’s not every day that police break up an exorcism at a home improvement store, and it’s hard to tell whether more will follow.
Sources:
Cops break up ‘disorderly exorcism of dead trees’ at PA Home Depot
Group Performing Bizarre ‘Exorcism’ For ‘Dead Trees’ In Home Depot Escorted Out By Cops
Cops urged to ‘messy exorcise dead trees’ in Pennsylvania’s Home Depot timber driveway – .
Coronavirus could cause rise in witchcraft and possession allegations in UK, police say
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