The House the Church Spent Two Years Fighting

Bob Cranmer noticed his dog sitting at the bottom of the stairs, staring at something he couldn’t see. The animal seemed fascinated by an empty spot on the staircase, so Bob grabbed his camera and took a picture.

When he had the picture developed, he was startled by what appeared in it. There was a smoky shape on the stairs, roughly resembling a human skeleton. Bob believed he’d captured whatever had been frightening his family.

He Had Wanted the House Since Childhood

The house stood at 3406 Brownsville Road in Brentwood, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a large, three-story home built in 1910, with a wide porch and plenty of room for a family.

Bob had admired it since he was a boy. He used to stop and look at the property, wishing he could someday see what was inside.

In 1988, his chance finally arrived. The house went up for sale just as Bob and his wife, Lesa, were preparing to move back to the Pittsburgh area with their four children. They bought it that December.

During the purchase, Bob asked the previous owner whether there was anything wrong with the house. The man assured him everything was fine, then made an odd comment about Catholic Mass having been held in the living room. Bob thought that was a strange answer but didn’t give it much thought.

Several months later, he discovered a small metal box buried in the yard. Inside were Catholic religious items, including rosary beads. When Bob contacted the previous owner about it, the man advised him to put the box back where he’d found it.

The Lights Started Turning On by Themselves

The Cranmers began noticing unusual things shortly after moving in. Lights would be switched on in rooms nobody had entered, and the radio in Bob’s workshop sometimes started playing by itself. The children also reported hearing footsteps outside their bedroom doors at night.

Bob initially believed the house might have a harmless ghost. The family got used to the occasional noise and tried not to worry about it.

But other things began happening that were harder to ignore. Bob described seeing a dark, cloudy shape moving through the house. Sometimes it appeared as a shadow, while other times it resembled a tall column of black fog.

The shape was often accompanied by a terrible smell. Bob compared it to burning rubber mixed with sulfur. His children also reported seeing a strange person dressed in dark clothing.

As the years passed, the family became increasingly uncomfortable inside their own home.

The Family Began Waking Up With Scratches

By 2003, the disturbances had grown much more frightening. Bob said he sometimes woke up with painful scratches across his back and chest.

The marks often appeared in groups of three, running in roughly parallel lines. He also reported being bitten by something he couldn’t see.

His wife and children described frightening experiences of their own, and the family was struggling to cope. Religious objects began turning up damaged, including crucifixes that Bob said were sometimes bent or broken while people were wearing them.

One of his sons wore a crucifix that Bob later found folded over on itself. When he tried straightening it, the metal broke.

Rosary beads also seemed to be affected. Bob described waking up to discover the chain links forced together so tightly that the beads couldn’t be used normally.

Something Red Was Splattered Across the Walls

Bob first noticed the strange reddish substance in the bathroom. Later, he began finding it on walls and other surfaces around the house. It looked like blood, although Bob didn’t know exactly what it was.

The marks weren’t simply running down the walls. According to Bob, the substance appeared to have been thrown or splashed onto them. He took pictures of several examples, including marks on the wallpaper and a paper towel soaked with the reddish liquid.

The family was terrified. Bob felt that whatever lived in the house had become increasingly aggressive, and he worried about what it might do next.

He had spent years hoping the disturbances would eventually stop on their own. Now he believed the family needed outside help.

Bob Went to the Catholic Church

Although the Cranmers weren’t Catholic at the time, Bob decided to contact the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He eventually received help from Bishop Donald Wuerl, who arranged for clergy to become involved.

One of the priests who visited was Father Michael Salvagna. He came to the house repeatedly, speaking with the family and taking part in prayers and religious services. Salvagna later described experiencing unusual things himself.

He said he encountered terrible smells that seemed to move through rooms. He also reported seeing dark shapes and the reddish substance appearing on walls.

Another visitor, Adam Blai, who worked with people reporting demonic activity, described seeing shadows moving along floors and walls without anything casting them. Blai also reported encountering a foul-smelling column of air that moved through the house and disappeared without leaving the usual lingering smell.

The priests began treating the disturbances as a serious spiritual problem. But getting the house back to normal would take far longer than anyone expected.

The Priests Kept Coming Back

The religious intervention continued through 2004 and 2005, with priests and other helpers returning to the property repeatedly. An exorcist from New York also became involved. They celebrated Mass inside the house, sprinkled holy water throughout the rooms and recited prayers intended to drive out whatever was troubling the family.

Bob described the struggle as a long fight. Sometimes the house seemed quieter after prayers, but the disturbances would return. At one point, he said several rooms had become so frightening that the family stopped using them.

Father Salvagna later compared the experience to trying to put out a fire that kept flaring up again. Every time they thought they’d made progress, something else happened. The priests continued returning rather than abandoning the family.

Bob kept extensive notes about the experiences, eventually filling hundreds of pages with descriptions of what had happened. By early 2006, he believed the worst of the activity had finally ended.

The House Became a Bed-and-Breakfast

After the disturbances stopped, Bob and his family began rebuilding their lives. They also converted to Catholicism, crediting the Church’s intervention with helping them through the ordeal.

In 2014, Bob published The Demon of Brownsville Road, a book based on his notes and written with Erica Manfred. The story attracted national attention. Television programs visited the property, reporters interviewed the family, and Bob began receiving requests from people curious about the house.

But he had no intention of leaving it. In 2019, Bob announced that he was turning the property into a bed-and-breakfast. He and his son Charlie planned to welcome guests into the large home, with rooms decorated using antique furniture inspired by Downton Abbey.

One room, called the Blue Room, was decorated around the house’s unusual history.

Bob said he believed the haunting was over and that the property was safe for visitors. He was happy to welcome overnight guests.

Ouija boards, however, were not allowed.