Ralph Sarchie (14 June 1962,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) is a retired
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
sergeant and traditionalist Catholic
demonologist
Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may be ...
. He has written a book, ''Beware the Night'', which details many of his paranormal investigations; his accounts were later the basis of the film ''
Deliver Us from Evil''.
Sarchie, in 2016, was featured in the film ''Hostage to the Devil'', which detailed the life of
Malachi Martin
Malachi Brendan Martin (23 July 1921 – 27 July 1999), also known under the pseudonym of Michael Serafian, was an Irish-born American Traditionalist Catholic priest, biblical archaeologist, exorcist, palaeographer, professor, and prolific wr ...
.
Personal life and ministry
Sarchie served eighteen years as a
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
sergeant in the
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
precinct, and was a member of the
Street Crime Unit working undercover stopping in-progress crimes. Sarchie describes himself as a "committed
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
"; he is described as claiming to have a relic of the
True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
. Sarchie and his partner Mark Stabinski carry with them wooden
Christian crosses and
holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
when called to tackle "demonic infestation around the city." He assists in Christian
exorcisms
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...
. His career as a Catholic Christian demonologist has included regularly meeting with and accompanying
Ed and Lorraine Warren
Edward Warren Miney (September 7, 1926 – August 23, 2006) and Lorraine Rita Warren (; January 31, 1927 – April 18, 2019) were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a ...
on their cases.
Books
''Beware the Night''
In 2001, St. Martin's Press published Sarchie's book, ''Beware the Night'' (also titled ''Deliver Us from Evil''), co-written by
Lisa Collier Cool
Lisa Collier Cool (6 July 1952) is an American journalist and author who writes on health-related topics.
Education
Born Lisa Collier, Cool began collegiate studies in the early 1970s at Shimer College. She later transferred to Columbia Unive ...
, about his experience as a NYPD police officer and demonologist.
''Beware the Night'' synopsis:
"A seventeen-year NYPD veteran, Ralph Sarchie works out of the 46th Precinct in New York's south Bronx. But it is his other job that he calls "the Work": investigating cases of demonic possession and assisting in the exorcisms of humanity's most ancient--and most dangerous--foes. Now he discloses for the first time his investigation into incredible true crimes an inhuman evil that were never explained, solved, or understood except by Sarchie and his partner. Schooled in the rituals of exorcism, and an eyewitness to the reality of demonic possession, Ralph Sarchie has documented a riveting chronicle of the inexplicable that gives a new shape to the shadows in the dark.
In 'Beware the Night,' he takes readers into the very hierarchy of a hell on earth to expose the grisly rituals of a Palo
Palo may refer to:
Places
* Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina
* Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia
* Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain
* Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wit ...
Mayombe priest; a young girl whose innocence is violated by an incubus; a home invaded by the malevolent spirit
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...
of a supposedly murdered nineteenth-century bride; the dark side of a couple who were, literally, the neighbors from hell; and more. Ralph Sarchie's NYPD revelations are a powerful and disturbing documented link between the true-crime realities of life and the blood-chilling ice-grip of a supernatural terror."
In other media
''Deliver Us from Evil''
On July 2, 2014,
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
/
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
released a full-length motion picture, ''
Deliver Us from Evil'', inspired by Sarchie's accounts. The film followed Sarchie (
Eric Bana
Eric Banadinović, (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his career in the sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (19 ...
) into the paranormal investigations he immersed himself in, all the while taking care of his family and working the midnight-to-8:00 A.M. shift as a cop.
However, not many of the events recounted in the book actually remain in the film, as most have been changed and re-imagined by the scriptwriters/producers of the script/film. The film drew mixed reviews and was a success at the box office. The film grossed $30.5 million domestically in the United States and $87.9 million worldwide.
''The Demon Files''
Sarchie hosted the
Destination America
Destination America is an American cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries programming focused on the culture of the United States—including food, lifestyles, a ...
series ''The Demon Files'' which started airing from November 1, 2015.
See also
*
Exorcism in Christianity
In Christianity, exorcism involves the practice of casting out one or more demons from a person whom they are believed to have possessed. The person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the Christian Church, or an ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarchie, Ralph
American Roman Catholics
American traditionalist Catholics
Place of birth missing (living people)
Traditionalist Catholic writers
Demonologists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
New York City Police Department officers