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The Terrifying Haunting Of Don Decker The Demonic Rain Man - Pennsylvania | Updated & More! · Mystery Archives Episodes

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In the winter of 1983, a quiet Pennsylvania town witnessed
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something so impossible even police officers refused to talk
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about it. For years, a young inmate named
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Don Decker stepped out of jail on a simple furlough and walked
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straight into one of the most disturbing paranormal cases in
0:20
American history. Within hours, it began to rain
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indoors where he was staying. Rain that fell sideways, rose
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upward, and drenched entire rooms without a single drop
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falling outside. Crucifixes burned, objects moved
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on their own, and every witness claimed the same chilling thing.
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The storm was following him. Tonight, we're reopening the
0:48
files on a demonic event that should not exist, an event
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documented by civilians, clergy, and law enforcement alike.
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This is the terrifying haunting of Dawn Decker, also known as
1:02
the Demonic Rain Man. We will not only revisit the
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original case itself, but I will be providing details and updates
1:11
that are new or were missed in the original.
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So grab a drink or a snack, cozy up with a Mystery archive's
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blanket, and decide for yourself if the devil really visited
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Pennsylvania all those years ago.
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Can death unleash something into this world that isn't supposed
1:30
to be here? Could it act like a portal,
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allowing something sinister and dark to creep in just before it
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closes? Especially if the person passing
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is harboring dark and abhorrent secrets?
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When a young man begins to exhibit strange and demonic
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behavior and the very laws of nature seem to bend to his will,
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can a reverend work to save his very soul?
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Documented by multiple law enforcement professionals as
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unexplained to this day, this is certainly not a story you will
2:06
want to miss. This is the untold story of Don
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Decker, also known as the Rain Man of Pennsylvania.
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The date is February 24th, 1983 and on this cold misty day, a
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family is mourning the loss of their loved 1A man by the name
2:32
of James Keshaw. After battling alcoholism for
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many years, the bottle finally took its toll and caused
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cirrhosis of the liver, which became fatal.
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Among the pews of friends and family paying their respects
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sits a young man, the grandson of James, 21 year old Don
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Decker. Don had been granted furlough
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from his 4 to 12 month jail sentence for receiving stolen
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property in order to attend the funeral.
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But as he sat facing the body of his grandfather as others paid
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their last respects and gave glowing speeches about the man,
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Don clenched his fists. Only he harbored a dark secret
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that no one else knew, and this secret is perhaps what
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contributed to his troubled adolescence.
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When it was his turn to walk up and say goodbye to James.
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As he stood over his body, the face of evil looked back at him
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with eyes closed for the first time.
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Dom would later say it felt like good triumphing over evil that
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day. And I truly felt like everything
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was going to get better, like it was a turning point in my life.
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The secret that he had been holding on to for so long was
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that James, his very own grandfather, had abused him from
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the time he was seven years old until he was a teenager and no
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one else knew. All the years of pain and fear
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were caused by that man, the very same that now laid in the
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coffin, the very same that dawn was now having to hear others
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praise and who he was publicly obligated to mourn.
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At the conclusion of the funeral when James casket was laid into
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its final resting place, he couldn't stand the way his
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parents had glorified the man's memory, but given the
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circumstances he was in furloughed from jail and with
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emotions raw amongst everybody, he decided it would be for the
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best to go and stay the night with some family friends instead
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before he was set to return to finish out his sentence.
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Bob and Jeannie Kiefer were long time friends of the family and
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were quite fond of Dawn so they were more than happy to have him
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join them for the night. As the night progressed, the
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three of them were enjoying each other's company, but it seemed
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like all the feelings that have been stirred up from the
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memories of his grandfather's abuse at the funeral were coming
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back to haunt dawn. He fell on edge and uneasy when
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suddenly the air around him vibrated with a bone deep chill.
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Almost simultaneously after this occurred, water began to drip
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from the ceiling and down the living room walls.
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Don then fell into an eerie trance like state, staring at
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nothing and yet everything at the same time.
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The Kiefer's were perplexed at what was happening and tried
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examining all reasonable possibilities.
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Thinking they had a leak, they contacted their landlord, a man
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named Ron Van Wy. Upon arriving, Ron too quickly
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became perplexed. The leak, or so they thought,
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was obvious, but what was strange to him was that there
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was no piping that ran through the front part of the house,
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certainly none that could spring a leak from the ceiling or the
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walls, none at all. On top of this strangeness, when
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observing the water's direction, Ron noticed that there was
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indeed no sense of direction. The water was not only coming
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from the top, down from the ceiling, in the walls, but it
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was going from the floor and up the walls and direct
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contradiction to the laws of gravity and to anything that he
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had ever seen. Shocked and needing multiple
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witnesses to assure himself that he wasn't crazy, Ron phoned his
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wife Romaine to come and take a look as well.
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Upon her arrival, she was just as perplexed and became scared
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at what was happening since it defied all logic and the leak,
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or so they thought, only became worse.
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So the landlords did the only thing that they could do.
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They called the police. Shortly after that call, a
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patrol car arrived with Officer John Beaujin, who, after briefly
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stepping inside the home, became drenched in water and also
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witnessed the bizarre, otherworldly activity to which
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he had no explanation for either.
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So to prove his sanity and to back up a report, he called upon
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his partner, an officer named Richard Volbert.
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When Richard arrived, he wanted to be briefed on exactly what
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was going on, but Beaujan didn't want to give him any sort of a
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preconceived notion and just told him to trust him on this
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one. After some back and forth,
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Richard finally conceded and followed John into the key for
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residence. He would later describe the
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incident as So I walked in the door, I couldn't have gotten 2
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steps in the door and I was pelted by water as we were
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discussing a potential leak and as we were being told that there
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were no pipes in that part of the house.
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As we stood just inside the house, a droplet of water was
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traveling horizontally and passed right between US and out
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into the next room. As I retell this story, I have a
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chill up my spine and the hair on my neck is standing up.
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John would go on to say things were happening in this house
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that I couldn't have ever possibly dreamed of happening
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and there was no way to explain what was going on.
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Shocked by what they were witnessing, the two officers
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asked the family to step outside of the house and out of the
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water while they left to report the incident to the chief
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himself. The Wise decided to stay at the
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property while the kiefers and Don walked across the street to
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a local restaurant for something to eat.
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Within seconds of everyone departing, the water suddenly
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stopped within the house and aside from the home being
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drenched, it was back to normal. No more dripping water and no
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more mist. This left Ron and his wife only
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to speculate that whatever was happening was coming from one of
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the three, because when they left, so did it.
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Pam Scrofano, who owned the pizzeria opposite the Kiefer's
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house where the three ended up in, was a friend of the Kiefer's
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and knew Dawn as well. Upon greeting the three of them,
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she noticed that Dawn was distant, like he was looking at
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you, but looking through you, a deeply religious woman, she
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sensed something evil about him, like the devil was working
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through Dawn Decker and recommended that they contact
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someone at the church for help. Within mere seconds of
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mentioning this, droplets of water hit the table in front of
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them, and soon the very same phenomena that was originally
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happening in the house was also now taking place inside the
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pizzeria. Sensing this evil, Pam ran to
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the cash register where she had an old cross necklace.
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She took it out and placed it around Don's neck.
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As soon as it touched his skin, he got burned.
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He began to scream and pull the necklace off of him.
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It was charred black. As the trio departed the
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pizzeria and headed back to their home, the strange activity
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inside once again ceased. It's important to note that
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nothing like this had ever happened at the Kiefer Residence
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or Pam's Pizzeria. No plumbing issues, nothing that
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could be considered even remotely similar.
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Convening inside the home once again, they met Ron and his
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wife. Ron suspected that Don had
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something to do with what was happening, and after some
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discussion, an argument erupted among the group.
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This led to Jeannie screaming at Don, telling him that they knew
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it was him, that he had to make all of this stop.
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After the words left her mouth, the pots and pans above the
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stove began to shake and the lights around them began to
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flicker. Dawn Decker was no longer in
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control of his body. Everyone watched in horror as
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Dawn levitated multiple feet into the air and rotated several
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times. He was then thrown out of the
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kitchen, where they were and into an entirely different room.
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Don himself would later recount the event like this.
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It wasn't like someone grabbing your hand or picking you up.
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I felt this force over my entire body.
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I'm a big man and I've always been assertive, but this,
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whatever this was, made me feel like a newborn child.
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I'm scared right now just thinking about it.
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Dawn now laid unconscious on the floor and the rain began again.
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The wise and the kiefers were an absolute shock and disbelief at
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what had just taken place. They knew it was tied to Dawn,
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but they had no idea just what it was.
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But they felt that it was evil. The few hours after the strange
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incident witnessed by the police officers, they arrived back at
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the residence alongside their very heated police chief.
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As he made his way into the home with the two officers behind
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him, he too was pelted with water, just as they had been.
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Now first probably feeling like he was on the spot and perhaps
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slightly embarrassed, he claimed that this wasn't even a police
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issue but a plumbing issue, despite then being told that
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there were no pipes in that part of the house and this was even
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confirmed by blueprints of the home.
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After taking a look around at the rest of the home, which was
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bone dry, the chief then angrily ordered the two officers to
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escort him back home. He would be the only officer
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that night to not admit to anything strange happening.
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He then directed Officers John and Richard to not file a report
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and to not speak about the incident at all, but word would
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get out the following morning. Acting against the specific
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orders from their chief, the two officers returned to the
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residence along with three veteran officers as well.
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They too would see and experience the bizarre rain
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inside the home. So they decided to try something
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to attempt to get to the bottom of what exactly was going on.
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They asked if they could place a paper bag over Don's head, to
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which Don agreed. This was so he would have no way
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of seeing anything. He'd have no preconceived
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notions of what could be placed on him or in his hands.
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They then placed a gold cross necklace from one of the
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officers into his hand. Lieutenant William Davies, one
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of the officers present who placed the cross into his hand,
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described the incident like this.
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As soon as the necklace touched his palm, he said it burnt him.
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He would have had no idea what it was.
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I saw what I believe to be smoke of some sort coming from the
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necklace or his hand. As he dropped the necklace, I
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picked it up and it was hot, not burning hot, but hot enough to
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concern me. Then suddenly with the force, as
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if a bus hit him, he lifted up and was thrown across the room,
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hitting the back wall. Upon removing the bag from him,
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he was clearly dazed and had three bloody and fresh claw
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marks across his neck. I've been a cop for 40 years and
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I've never ran into anything like this ever.
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Never before and never again after.
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There's always an explanation, but in this case, there was no
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explanation. The police would later leave
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again with no answers as to what was taking place, believing it
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to be a spiritual matter. Dom was placed on the couch in
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the living room, where the rain continued to go from mist to
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showers at random and varying times.
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After making multiple desperate calls to every Protestant and
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Catholic religious leader in Shroudsburg, only one didn't
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turn them down. Ron was able to convince an
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evangelical preacher who went by the name of Reverend Johnson to
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come over and pray with Don. As she arrived and began to
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pray, the rest of the group held hands and vigil and did what
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they could to support her. As the first words left her
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lips, Don began to convulse and shake.
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The rain intensified and his body began to twist into
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unnatural positions, but as she continued, he slowly but surely
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began to relax and the rain seemed to stop.
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Although those present believed that a miracle had been
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performed, the results of that prayer session would only prove
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temporary, perhaps placing into hibernation whatever was inside
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Don Decker. Once his furlough was over, Don
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Decker returned back to jail to finish his sentence.
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Within just a few days, the mysterious rain returned.
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Upon his return to jail, Don was placed in a cell with another
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inmate and had the thought enter his mind that if he could make
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it rain in the cell, perhaps he could get to be alone.
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Almost as soon as he thought that the rain began.
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It was materializing out of the concrete floor and flowing
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upward. The other inmate was horrified
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and screamed for the guards to let him out.
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Thinking they had some kind of plumbing issue, the guards
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opened the cell and removed that inmate as well as Decker.
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At first he was accused of throwing water onto the walls
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from the sink or from the toilet by the guards.
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But upon these accusations, Don rebuttal with I can control it.
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This time the feeling was different, this time he felt
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powerful and didn't control. Upon hearing this, the guard
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laughed and said if you can control this rain, make it rain
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in the warden's office. An offer that Don couldn't
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refuse. The warden would then describe
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what happened. And these are the words of
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Lieutenant Warden David Keenhold.
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I was in my office filling out paperwork with no one else
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around. It was approximately 8:00 PM in
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the evening. I didn't notice it at that time,
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but my shirt was dripping down. I heard a knock at the door and
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little did I know that it was the same officer that was just
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with Don Decker. I wasn't aware of the situation
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at the time. He told me to look at my shirt
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and there was no explanation as to where the water could have
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come from. The officer then became very
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frightened of what had happened and after explaining the
19:00
situation to me, I too became frightened.
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Shortly after the rain in the warden's office, a frantic call
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was placed to a local chaplain, a man named Reverend William
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Blackburn. He soon found himself shaking
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hands with the warden and several officers as he was
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escorted into the jail and into an empty cell.
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Within minutes he came face to face with Don Decker, who by
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this time was beginning to fear the feeling he had inside of
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him. That powerful and evil feeling.
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He was now asking for the Reverend's help and freeing him
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of whatever this thing was. Blackburn wasn't convinced at
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first. He told Decker that his life
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would be much easier if he just stopped all this nonsense and
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attention seeking. He would go on later to describe
19:51
the situation like this. Almost immediately after I
19:55
accused him, Don's demeanor changed.
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The glazed look came over him and a horrible smell entered the
20:02
room. Doctors, nurses, and medical
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personnel will tell you that when you walk into a room when
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there's someone dying of disease or of cancer, there's a smell to
20:13
it. I smelled that smell multiplied
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by at least five times. It was evil and foreboding.
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Don's glazed expression then switched to 1.
20:25
Of malice and calculation. He exclaimed.
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I have powers that you don't and I can make it rain.
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He then raised his hand and rubbed his fingers together and
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it started to rain inside that cell.
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It was like a devil's rain, a mist.
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I was in the presence of evil. I started opening my Bible to
20:49
begin to pray and Don said I don't want you to pray for me,
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to which I decided to anyways. I started to read to him and the
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strange thing is that even though I was soaked, the pages
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of my Bible never got wet and that was truly frightening.
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Although the session was short, upon uttering the words that he
21:10
was now bound in the name of Jesus Christ, the rain stopped
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and a peace overtook dawn. When he finally came to, he
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thanked the reverend with tears in his eyes, and the two hugged
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and prayed together again. In the words of Reverend
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Blackburn, there is no doubt in my mind that he was possessed.
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No human being could do what he did in that room.
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There is no way that he did anything to fool me whatsoever.
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Whatever happened was spiritual and it was not from God.
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I can guarantee you that it was not from God.
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From this moment forward, the rain has stopped for now.
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Don Decker would later say that he takes things day by day and
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that fortunately, the rain hasn't returned.
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As for his grandfather, he thinks whatever happened was
22:04
related to him. He thinks that considering where
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he thinks he ended up, maybe he was able to make a deal with
22:12
someone and have yet another chance to abuse him.
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What makes this case so unique and interesting is that all the
22:20
people involved are credible people.
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I mean we have some family friends sure, but they stated
22:26
they had nothing take place in that house prior to Don's
22:29
arrival that morning. We have the landlord of the
22:32
family's home and his wife not only reaffirming that there
22:36
weren't any prior issues, but that there were no pipes in that
22:40
area of the house. We then have 6 police officers
22:44
including the chief over the case experience the phenomena
22:48
and he was the only one that said that nothing took place.
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We have a business owner where the phenomena took place at her
22:54
establishment as well. Then several guards at the jail
22:58
and which he goes back to finish serving his time witness things
23:02
and the warden of the jail himself and the police officers.
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Three of them were seasoned lieutenants I might add and
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anyone with a proper reputation unless they really experienced
23:13
something would risk that in my opinion.
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So was it demonic infestation? Possession, poltergeist
23:22
activity, or something else entirely?
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When we have so many credible eyewitnesses recanting the same
23:28
details, saying what they saw, experienced and felt was a
23:34
phenomena not of this world, it truly makes you wonder.
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And if it wasn't spiritual, could Don's childhood trauma
23:42
have allowed him to break into a part of the mind that could
23:46
somehow 'cause these kinds of things allow him to manipulate
23:50
the weather of his surroundings, move objects, and even cause
23:55
harm to himself? We may never truly know the
23:58
answers to this mystery in particular, and it very much
24:01
still is a mystery to this day. I originally covered this case
24:06
back in February of 2023 and I remember being perplexed just by
24:12
the sheer amount of strange activity surrounding this man
24:16
for all intents and purposes, who seem to be troubled but a
24:20
mostly normal individual. These are some of the updates
24:24
and details that I might not have covered in the original
24:26
video. Over the years, the Dawn Decker
24:30
case has remained a subject of debate among paranormal
24:33
enthusiasts and skeptics alike. In the early twenty 10s, renewed
24:38
attention came when New Zealand sociologist Robert Bartholomew
24:42
investigated the Rain Man claims.
24:45
Bartholomew offered natural explanations in a 2013 report
24:49
suggesting that the indoor rain might have been caused by an ice
24:53
damming effect or water leakage after a snowmelt refreezes on a
24:57
roof, coinciding with Decker's emotional stress.
25:01
He noted that weather records at the time showed conditions
25:04
favorable to I stem formation, which could explain water
25:07
seeping into the house naturally.
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Bartholomew and other skeptics also questioned why no one
25:12
captured photos or videos of the phenomena if it truly occurred.
25:16
Nonetheless, many of the original witnesses, including
25:19
law enforcement officers, stand by their accounts, maintaining
25:23
that an unknown supernatural force was at work.
25:26
This mix of belief in skepticism has kept the case alive as a
25:30
topic of discussion. For example, local media ran a
25:34
feature in 2013 highlighting the skeptic's viewpoint on
25:37
Shroudsburg's infamous Devil's Tale, and the story continues to
25:41
be revisited in podcasts, blogs, and paranormal forms into the 20
25:46
twenties. Even decades later, Don Decker's
25:49
Weekends of Devil's Reign is frequently cited as one of the
25:53
modern era's most puzzling alleged poltergeist cases.
25:57
However, following the case, the most significant public NEWS
26:00
UPDATE on Don Decker came about 30 years after the paranormal
26:04
events themselves. In October of 2012, Decker, who
26:09
was then in his early 50s, was arrested on federal arson
26:12
charges in Pennsylvania. Investigators alleged that a
26:16
restaurant owner and Toby Hana hired Decker to burn down his
26:20
business for the insurance money.
26:22
According to federal prosecutors, Theodoros
26:26
Curriculopoulos, the owner of Dana's Restaurant in Tavern,
26:29
agreed to pay Decker $25,000 to set the place on fire as part of
26:34
the insurance fraud scheme. Decker reportedly turned himself
26:38
in to authorities in late 2012. Once charged, local news outlets
26:42
noting his infamous past, even headlined him as the Rain Man
26:46
charged with arson. During the coverage of the case,
26:49
this twist was met with astonishment in both paranormal
26:52
and local communities. The man known by mysterious
26:55
indoor rain was now accused of intentionally setting a building
26:59
ablaze. Court records and news reports
27:02
indicated that Decker was released on bail after
27:05
surrendering to police. If convicted on the arson
27:08
conspiracy, he faced a potential sentence of up to 20 years in
27:12
prison. The case proceeded in federal
27:15
court in 2013, and notably, the restaurant owner ultimately
27:19
pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for the arson for hire
27:23
plot. Decker's own outcome, however,
27:26
received less media attention, suggesting that he likely took a
27:30
plea deal in order to avoid a high profile trial.
27:34
As of December 2025, there's little publicly available
27:38
information about Don Decker's personal status or whereabouts.
27:43
There's no major news outlets reporting on him, since the
27:45
resolution to his arson case was in 2012 to 2013, and it's
27:51
unclear whether Decker served a prison term and if so, how long.
27:55
Those details were not widely reported.
27:58
There are no recent appearances or interviews by Decker and any
28:02
media. In fact, local discussion
28:05
threads have occasionally inquired if he's still alive or
28:08
where he might be living, but no definitive answers have
28:11
surfaced. However, I can tell you that
28:14
there is no obituary or death notice for Don Decker, so he is
28:18
presumed to be alive and likely in his mid 60s by now, living a
28:22
private life out of the spotlight.
28:24
Given his low profile, some paranormal enthusiasts have
28:27
mused that Decker may prefer to avoid publicity, especially
28:31
after the unwanted fame for both the haunting claims and the
28:34
criminal charges. Whether you believe Don Decker
28:37
was a troubled young man caught in coincidence or a vessel for
28:41
something far darker, one thing remains undeniable.
28:45
Dozens of credible witnesses all saw the same impossible storm
28:48
unfold, the storm that vanished the moment that Decker left the
28:52
room and has never been replicated since.
28:56
So ask yourself, now that we've covered all the bases, did the
28:59
Devil truly visit Pennsylvania? Or was the devil just confusion,
29:04
misinterpretation, or ignorance? The answers may never truly be
29:10
clear, but all we can do is try and decipher the truth, the fog
29:14
of uncertainty that shrouds this story.
29:19
Thank you guys so much for watching this revisited and
29:21
updated case video of mine. I really and truly appreciate
29:25
it. I've been revisiting these
29:26
stories not only for my own curiosity to see what I can
29:29
find, but it's allowed me to revisit my roots of the channel
29:33
and I think ultimately will make my new content for years to come
29:36
much better. So please, like the video if you
29:39
liked it, comment down below letting me know your thoughts on
29:42
the case. Hype it if you can and subscribe
29:45
if you haven't already. All those things help me out
29:47
tremendously. You can also pick up any of my
29:50
four books or merchandise at mysteryarchives.myshopify.com.
29:55
If you'd like to further support my work and gain access to all
29:58
my content ad free, please visit andconsiderjoining@patreon.com/mystery
30:04
Archives. With all that being said guys, I
30:07
have a ton of content planned for you this month so please
30:09
stay tuned and I will see you guys again very soon.
30:13
This has been Cody here at Mystery Archives.
30:15
Make sure to please stay safe out there from demonic, rain,
30:19
arson, and more and I'll see you next time.
30:22
Take care.