Tarnished Silver Angel

The following is a transcript of interviews conducted by renowned paranormal researcher Lorraine Warren. The names of places and of those involved have been changed for privacy reasons. The transcripts feature the stories of two different women called Mary Jo and Tabatha involving their night and day experiences with a mysterious angel-like being that “guards” the residents of a small town in South Carolina, United States. After years of research the town and its supposed guardian remain a tightly kept secret; these are the only two accounts of people willing to share their experiences with the mysterious “Silver Wing Angel."

Editor's Note: Mrs. Warren edited out some of the more unnecessary parts before releasing the transcripts. We apologize is parts don't seem to fit together.

N.E.S.P.R Director, **** ******

'''Part One: Taken Child. Witness: Mary Jo'''

“My paranormal experience started when I moved to the town of Beaumont Plantation, South Carolina with my six year old son, Kyler, in the winter of 1984. I come from a very religious family in Charleston, South Carolina. My father was a pastor at a small primitive Baptist church and my mother was a professional decorator. I grew up believing that everyone had a guardian angel and that they were these beautiful creatures wearing flowing white robes with blonde hair and blue eyes and had these huge fluffy white wings. I never thought they could come any different from that to be honest. So, I got married in May of 1977 to my high school sweetheart and a year later my son Kyler was born. Sadly things in the marriage weren’t going so well and my husband and I divorced when Kyler had just tuned four years old. After the divorce I got custody of our son and I moved us into a small apartment in Georgetown. Kyler and I were never really happy there and I decided it was time to start looking for a fresh start when I heard about a small town in Charleston County, South Carolina called Beaumont Plantation. After I had a realtor give me a tour I was in love with the town and decided to purchase a small two bedroom ranch style house on the outskirts. The house was perfect; it had a huge yard that Kyler could run around with a small stream running behind the home and a dense forest further back. It was a bit out of the way and I knew I would have some trouble finding a job, but I wanted to move in as soon as possible so I packed up the apartment we were living in and drove out to Beaumont three days after purchasing the home.”

"And when did the experence really start?"

“Weird things started happening a few days after I finished moving in when I found a small silver statuette of an angel sitting on a shelf in my living room. It was about four inches tall, the arms were outstretched like she was pulling you in for an embrace, and she had a very serine look on her face. The odd thing about the statue was while the angel’s body was really pretty and clean the wings were dull and tarnished like whoever had made her never got around to finish polishing her. I wasn’t sure where she came from, but I thought she was too beautiful to throw out so I set her in the middle of the shelf where she could easily be seen and forgot about it. Later that day as I was sitting on the front porch watching Kyler play, an elderly woman came up the walkway and stopped about midway up and started talking to my son. I remember getting up and walking over to greet her and as I got closer I heard her say, “If you are ever scared you can call for her and she will come.” I tapped her on the shoulder; she turned and looked up at me with this sweet smile and introduced herself as Martha. She then handed me a rather large wreath made of dried red and white roses with a small ornate silver cross hanging in the middle. She told me that I was supposed to hang the wreath on the outside of my front door and leave it up to show that my home was protected by the town’s guardian angel. I invited her to join me on the porch, hung the wreath as she instructed, and asked her about this guardian. She explained that when the town had been founded in the early 1800’s an angel came from the marshlands near the town and announced that she had been summoned to protect the town’s people. She said, “We are very grateful for her presence and we always take great precaution to please her. You shouldn’t be scared dear heart she only wishes to protect you from harm.” Martha then got up and left, I never saw her again after that. I  do admit was a bit skeptical about Martha’s story at first, but then I chalked it up to being just another small town legend and pushed it out of my mind. That night I tucked Kyler in and went to my room and started reading. I was worried because Kyler would have these awful night terrors and I thought since we were in a new house they would only get worse so I would stay up a while in case he had one and needed me. I guess I was exhausted though because I had fallen asleep almost immediately after getting in the bed. Well, it was about 2:30 in the morning when I woke up with this feeling that I should go check on my son. When I got to his door I could hear him saying something like, “Thank you pretty lady. Bye bye!”, so I opened his door and found him sitting up in bed looking at his window like he was transfixed by it. When I walked in he started bouncing up and down saying, “Mommy, mommy I saw the angel, I saw her! Mommy she was beautiful; she said she would keep the monsters and bad dreams away.”  I asked him where the angel was and he told me that she was outside talking to him through the window. I smiled and told him to go back to sleep thinking he had just had a dream and was talking in his sleep. The next morning Kyler came into the kitchen happier than he had been in a long time. He kept talking about the angel at his window saying that she was a tall, thin young woman with pale skin and long wavy grey hair and these strange blue/grey eyes that he described looking almost like a dead fish’s. I asked him why an angel would have dead fish eyes and he told me it was because she had “special eyes that helped her see who was a good person and who was bad”. Then he asked me if angels were supposed to wear white, with white wings, and a big halo of light and I told him yes and asked why he wanted to know. Kyler told me that the angel he had seen wore black with wings that looked rusty and she had flowers on her head instead of a halo. I was a bit confused by his description of the supposed angel, but I decided that it was just the over active imagination of a six year old. We didn’t talk about the angel for a long time after that and the whole incident slipped to the back of my mind, but I couldn’t help, but wonder if maybe the statuette in the living room had something to do with what he claimed to see.”

"What happened after your son saw the angel?"

“After we had been living in the house for about two and a half years I met a wonderful guy named Lewis and for a while everything was perfect. Kyler was in school, I had found a job working as a secretary at the high school, and Lewis and I were planning on getting married. It all changed, however, one evening in late October when Kyler never came home after school. At first I thought maybe he had gone to a friend’s house without telling me so, I called around and no one had seen him. Then, I thought maybe he was playing outside somewhere and just forgot to come in, which wasn’t that odd for a rambunctious eight year old and I started calling his name from the back porch. Lewis got home about thirty minutes later and I told him that I couldn't find Kyler and that I was worried. Lewis said that we would wait just a bit longer and if he didn't come home soon we would call for help. When we had waited an hour and he still hadn’t come home I called the police and a search team was put together almost imminently. (Mary Jo becomes emotional and begins to cry) We looked for three days with no sign of him and I began to think the worst, that my little boy was dead somewhere and that I would never find him. On day four some men had gone out to and abandoned cotton mill outside of town and when they got back they were carrying Kyler; I couldn’t believe it, my son was ok. When I was finally able to talk to him about what happened he said that a smiling man came out of the tree line next to our road and took him to the mill. He said the man told him that he was going to help Kyler sleep forever and that no one would be able to stop him. Kyler had told him that the angel would come and protect him; the man told him, “The angel is blind and if she cannot see how will she find me?” I was sick to my stomach; Kyler saw I was upset and told me not to worry because the angel had come and she had taken the bad man far away. I asked why she left him alone at the mill and he said she couldn’t bring him home because she had led help to him. He also told me that she had also said that I had to leave an offering of something precious outside in thanks or she would take back her gift. I was shocked and appalled by this. I mean I just could not believe that a creature sent by God could leave a child in a dilapidated cotton mill and then demand a gift of thanks for it. I no longer felt that the angel in black was really an angel, but a demon pretending to be an angel so the town’s people would worship it. I told Kyler that we were good Christians and that we didn’t leave pagan offerings to evil spirits and that God would protect us if she came back. Kyler became very upset and told me that it wasn’t her rule that it was God’s and that if I didn’t comply she would take him away forever. I could not do it though, I refused to be drug into this blasphemy because I knew in my heart,God would never demand we do things as leave tribute. So I told Kyler that we were going up to my mother’s house in Charleston until the ordeal had blown over.” (Mary Jo’s crying becomes more intense)

“It’s ok ma’am whenever you are ready to continue.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…I can’t still can’t believe what happened. That night I put Kyler to bed and he kept saying that I had to leave some kind of offering to the angel or she would take him before sunrise. I demanded he stop and go to sleep and as I was walking out of the room he said, “Mommy I love you and I will miss you, but we will see each other again in Heaven.” I turned and just stared at him, no one should ever hear something like that come out of their child. I told him that no demon would take him away from me and closed the door then went to my room and told Lewis what Kyler had said. Lewis was concerned because, being a worshiper of the “angel” he said I was doing the wrong thing by ignoring her request. I couldn't help but get angry and throw him out of the house after that. I remember curling up in my bed and crying myself to sleep, praying desperately for morning to come so I could take my son away from the cursed town. The next morning I got up and went to wake up my son and…and he was gone. His window was wide open and I thought, “Oh my God the kidnapper came back for my son!” I ran into the room and leaned out of the window screaming my son’s name. As I looked out at the tree line behind the house I saw a beautiful young woman in a black dress. She was fairly tall and thin, with skin white as milk and long grey hair that came down to her waist, crowned with dead roses, like some perverse halo. She just stood there looking right at me with this sad look and I swear I could hear her singing. I screamed at her to give me my son back and she raised her right hand like see was waving and as she did I saw these huge wings that looked like tarnished silver unfold behind her, then she was gone. I backed out of the window and sat on Kyler’s bed; when I did I happened to glance over and lying next to his pillow was a single tarnished silver feather, like that monster had left it there to mock me. I left that house and possessed town forever a few days later. I never want to go back there and I never will. That town is gripped by evil, and no one can convince me otherwise. That was no angel I saw standing in the woods, that is no angel that protects the town, and no angel that saved and then took my son, it is the Devil in disguise. I tell everyone to avoid Beaumont Plantation and if they don’t believe me I still have that damned metal feather.”

'''Part Two: Gift from God. Witness: Tabatha'''

“My paranormal experience began when my family and I moved to Beaumont Plantation, South Carolina in 2007. In June I was offered a job working at a museum and library housed in a restored cotton mill. The mill first opened in 1904 and was in service until 1971 when a fire broke out destroying many of the buildings around it killing three men and injuring fifteen. It was also the site of several murders by an escaped mental patient named Warren Long in the early 1980s, so it has a history of death and many believe that it is in fact haunted. The mill was restored in 1995 and became the Beaumont Plantation library and historical museum. The town of Beaumont itself is a beautiful quaint little town in Charleston County and has an interesting story behind it as well. Legend has it that when a group of puritan settlers founded the small farming community in 1810 an angel dressed in black appeared from the marshland and announced that she had been sent by God as an answer to the people’s prayers for a guardian against Indian attacks. Now the town has a huge statue of her in the town square plated in silver that depicts the angel holding out her arms to embrace the town’s people in protection.”

“So, you know a lot about the town’s history?”

“As curator of the town museum I have to know these things.”

“Sorry please continue.”

“After receiving the job my family and I moved into a small ranch style house on the outskirts of town. It was myself, my husband Andrew, and our daughter Theresa, who was about ten when we moved in. The house has a large front and back yard with this little stream that runs right behind the house. Further back is the forest line and an old wire fence runs between it and the edge of the yard. It wasn't long after we had gotten settled in that I found this beautiful silver figure of the town angel on the mantle of our fireplace. The figure was about three to four inches tall and is made to look like the statue in the town square. The odd thing about it is that no matter how hard I tried I could not remove the tarnish from the wings, the rest of the statue polished easily, however the wings refused to be polished. I’m not sure where the figure had come from, I think it may have been left by a previous occupant and I just never noticed it due to all the hustle of moving. Later the day I found the figure, an older woman knocked on the door and introduced herself as Martha. I invited her in and she gave me a large wreath of dried roses with a decorated silver cross hanging in the middle. She told me that I was supposed to hang it outside on my front door so the angel would know to protect my house. I hung it up almost right away and asked Martha to join me for coffee in the living room. She thanked me and said she had to leave, but before she did she asked if I knew the story of the angel. I told her that I did and she nodded and said, “Do not fear her dear one she only wishes to protect you,” then left. I haven't seen or heard of Martha since then, I think she may have passed away. Later that night Andrew and I tucked our daughter into bed and went into the living room to watch some TV before going to bed, but we dozed off on the couch. We both woke up around 2:30 and I decided to check on Theresa while Andrew went to bed. When I opened Theresa’s door I found her sitting up looking out her window. I asked if she was ok and she told me that she woke up because she heard a woman outside singing and when she looked outside there was a pretty grey haired girl watching her. She said that she wasn't frightened, but instead felt really peaceful and safe knowing the woman was out there protecting her. I admit I felt a little uneasy knowing that my daughter had just seen a woman outside. I tucked Theresa back into bed and kissed her goodnight and tried to push the incident out of my mind. Nothing else happened at the house for four years, everything was peaceful and no one spoke of seeing the woman again.”

"What happened after your daughter saw the angel?"

“It was really late one night of December, 2011 when I was awakened by the sound of a woman softly singing what sounded to me the old hymn “Willow Tree” and the feeling like someone was gently touching my hair. When I looked up I saw a beautiful young woman with really pale skin, long grey hair, wearing a flowing black dress and a flower crown looking down at me. She appeared to be staring at me until I noticed that she was blind so I asked “Who are you?” The woman just slowly shook her head and said, “Your daughter is not safe here. Send her away.” I noticed that the woman had these huge wings that looked like some kind of dirty rusted metal and I knew she was the angel. I turned over and shook my husband awake so he could see her, but by the time I got him to wake up she was gone. I told him what had happened and he told me it was just a dream and to go back to sleep. I couldn't sleep after that, I just kept thinking about what the angel said about Theresa. The next morning I tried to convince Andrew that what I saw was real and to take Theresa to his mother’s house for a little while. He became upset and told me that our daughter wasn't going anywhere and to stop talking about the angel. I shut up after that. About a week later Theresa told her me that she was going to walk to a small convenience store near our house and get some things. I asked her if she wanted me to just drive her there instead, but she insisted she needed the exercise, so I let her go. I knew the store was about a ten minute walk from our house and figured she would be home within an hour so I began working on some stuff for the museum at the kitchen table. As I was working Andrew came home and asked where Theresa was, I looked up and realized that I had been working for about three hours and that I hadn't heard anyone but Andrew come in. I told him that she had gone to the store down the road and that I had been so wrapped up in work that I hadn't noticed she wasn't back. Andrew looked really worried and he told me that he had stopped by the store on his way home and that the owner said he was the only person he had seen all day. I began to panic, what if Theresa was hurt somewhere next to the road and no one had noticed her. I jumped out of my chair and ran outside calling for my daughter. Andrew followed and we started searching the road for her. After about two hours of looking we went home and called the police to send someone out to help look for Theresa. Soon an officer showed up at the house and said that if she wasn't back by morning that they would form a search party to find her. I couldn't believe it; the cop had come all the way out to my house just to say that they would look for my little girl later when I wanted to find her right then. The officer left and my husband and I decided to take shifts to see if Theresa came home. Andrew took the first shift and I fell asleep on the living room couch. My husband shook me awake shortly after and told me that our girl had come home. I shot off the couch and ran to her room where she sat on the bed. She told me that she was walking to the store when a car pulled up next to her and a group of teenage guys asked her if she needed a ride. She said there were three boys in their late teens and she thought they were too cute to refuse. She got in the back seat and told them where she was going and began talking to the boys. Before she knew it they had passed the store; when she objected the boy in the back with her wrapped his arm around her and told her that they had a better idea. They pulled into a dirt road and drove fairly deep into the woods; she was begging them not to hurt her. She told me she was afraid the boys were going to rape her and that she began praying for someone to help her. When the car stopped the boys opened the car door and told her to run in any direction. She said the ring leader pulled a long butcher knife from next to his car seat and told her to take advantage of her head start. She took off running through the woods in the direction she thought the house was, behind her she could hear the boys laughing and yelling after her. As she ran she prayed for God to send someone to help her. She had gotten lost on her way home and hid under some tree roots. She sat there crying begging for the angel to come for her when she could faintly hear a woman singing; she began running in the direction of the voice. She said that as long as she could hear the voice she didn’t feel tired or scared. The sound of the boys was so far behind her that she could no longer hear them and she looked up to see the woman she had seen as a child pointing for her to go up a hill. Theresa did what the woman wanted and came out of the woods behind the store; ran into the store and asked the man behind the counter to call the police, who then brought her home. I couldn't stop crying after Theresa had finished her story. Then she said something that caught me off guard, “You need to leave an offering of something precious outside as thanks to the angel by sundown tomorrow or she will take away your gift forever before the next sun rises. This is not her rule but God’s.” I didn't know what to do, here was my little girl telling me I had to leave an offering to the angel or I would lose her forever. I walked back into the living room, sat on the couch and began to cry again. I didn't know what the angel wanted or what she meant when she said she wanted something precious. Did she mean precious as in precious to me or precious as in valuable? I remember curling up in the middle of the couch just staring at the figure of the angel on the mantle and it hit me. The figure, I could leave it outside as an offering. So, I grabbed it, a white candle, and one of the roses out of the door wreath and went out on the back porch. I lit the candle and set the two items on the deck banister and went inside. Andrew and I both called into work that morning and decided to take Theresa into the city in celebration of her safe return. On the way there my cellphone rang and a police officer told me that the three boys who attacked my daughter were caught and claimed that the attack was just a prank gone wrong. I was angry yet somewhat relieved that the boys had been caught. When we got home that night I stepped out on the back porch and noticed that the figure and rose were gone and in their place was this beautiful polished silver feather. I picked up the feather and held it close to my chest and thanked God for sending the angel to help my little girl. My daughter is sixteen now and she still has nightmares about that day, but she says that she can’t let the scars in her memory stop her. We have since had the feather placed in a special display case and it sits on our mantle in place of the figure, forever a reminder of God’s gift to my family.”

If anyone has information on the creature described in this transcript please contact us at 1-800-***-**** or at www. ***************.com. Thank you,

Lorraine Warren

Co-founder of The New England Society for Paranormal Research