For much of his life, Darrell Gene Motal was a haunted man.
Growing up in Geneva Township, Motal spent his early childhood in the presence of spirits and paranormal energy while living in a haunted house on North Myers Road, he says.
“My mother was dabbling in witchcraft and the occult, and spirits were drawn to us. We were a haunted family. The spirits followed us,” Motal said.
Now an ordained Christian minister and author of the book “The Witch’s Son,” Motal, 45, is the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary to air today at 2 p.m. The show, “A Haunting: Spellbound,” will recreate Motal’s childhood experiences with aggressive, violent spirits and his path away from the occult.
“A Haunting: Spellbound” will re-air Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.
“I became a Christian when I was 8 years old. My experiences went from mild hauntings in Geneva and progressed as faucets would turn on by themselves,” Motal said. “By the time I was 12 years old, the experiences became more profound. Furniture would move across the room by itself. I saw a male apparition, and it all scared me pretty bad,” he said.
Motal’s dog, Nicky, saw the ghost and attacked it, Motal said.
“(The ghost) threw that Husky across the room,” he said.
Motal’s parents divorced and relocated to Texas City, Texas where his mother, Sandra Waldron, soon became deeply involved in witchcraft, he said.
“I think my mother was losing her mind,” Motal said. “She went from a sweet mother to a paranoid, angry person and I didn’t know her anymore.”
Motal joined the U.S. Air Force, where he was assigned to the infamous “Area 51.” Pushed away by his mother’s involvement in witchcraft, Motal began to feel as cursed as his mother felt scorned.
“The spirits became dangerous. I felt threatened and my mother felt scorned by my attitude toward the occult,” Motal said.
Motal channeled his experiences with the paranormal and founded the Soul and Spirit Ministry, where he helps people disentangle themselves from witchcraft, cults and dangerous religious situations. Motal also serves as a demonologist, ridding homeowners of dangerous or unwanted spirits in their homes.
“People thought I was crazy. I was in a dangerous situation with these spirits and I had to deal with it myself. As soon as I moved away from my mother, I wasn’t haunted anymore,” Motal said. “I know this stuff is real and once I wasn’t haunted anymore, I wanted to help people,” he said.
The hour-long “A Haunting: Spellbound” will include interviews with Waldron and Motal and actor recreations from Motal’s book.
Writing the book that would become a Discovery Channel documentary was a type of therapy for Motal.
“I wrote the book to help my mother understand what her life in the occult had done to me and I wrote it so my son would understand what happened to his dad,” he said.
Motal will release his second book “The Paranormal Preacher: The Truth about Aliens and Area 51” in December
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DARRELL MOTAL
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Living a haunted life
Ex-Genevan featured on Discovery Channel
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