Life After Paranormals: Season 3, Episode 10

Chris Garibay had a life-changing paranormal experience with "The Saint of Death" while in his apartment in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Find out how the encounter forever changed his outlook on the paranormal.

When were you sure that something paranormal was happening in the apartment? Was there a specific incident that you thought was completely unexplainable?
Probably when I spoke to the curandera. That's when I knew something was going on.

What specifically did they say to you to confirm that it was something paranormal?
When she asked me about the background and about my past. She asked me to tell her what has been going on there at the apartment because up until that point, I kept telling myself that it could be my imagination or… I was not paying attention to details. But it was happening too often. And when I told her about those incidents, she told me that it did sound like something not normal was happening at that place. And that's when I started to become a little more aware and began to open myself up to the possibility rather than try to explain it.

How did you feel when Guillermo started experiencing unexplainable incidents as well?
He didn't tell me until after the fact. We didn't really talk too much about those things until we were more involved in what was going on. We let a lot of things slide. I thought it was him; he thought it was me. Things like that.

When your sister told you that she saw someone in the window of the apartment, were you concerned that someone had broken in? Did you think about calling the authorities?
No, when she told me that, I believed her, and I didn't think it was a burglar or anything like that. I knew things were going on at that place. I mean, my first thought was not that somebody broke in.

How long were you in the apartment before you sought out help? What did you consider the last straw that led you to seek help?
It probably was like three or four months after I had moved in there. The incident that changed everything for me was when I was cleaning the apartment, I was sweeping and mopping, and when I reached to turn the light on, I felt somebody's hand.  I looked inside – there was nobody there. That's probably what made me say, "No, I gotta do something. Like get a priest or something."

What was going through your mind when you found the box with the Santa Muerte card inside?
Well the first thought that came to my mind was, "Here it is. The evidence that something not right had happened at that apartment." I was looking for that evidence because of the curandera's advice. She asked me to look for something. An object or something out of place. When I found it, I was a little surprised and frightened and was not sure – like, my first reaction was that I wanted to get it out of the apartment as quickly as possible and get rid of it. So there was a mix of an adrenaline rush as well as a little fear.

Do you have any idea why it was hidden there?
I don't think it was exactly hidden. I think it was more like guarded or like protected.

How soon after finding the Santa Muerte card did you experience the night of intense paranormal activity with your son? Do you think there was any connection between finding the card and the activity becoming stronger?
Some time passed. It was probably, I'd say like two months after I found the deck of the cards that that incident happened. I think it was a result of me removing those cards that unleashed the other incidents. To trigger them more often and stronger. Whatever was there, I don't think like what I did.

There is also that possibility that since I had discarded the rational explanations and I was more open to the "there's something paranormal going on here," maybe I started to become more aware and notice those things happening.

What does your son remember of that night?
He remembers most of it but he doesn't like talking about it. Up until that night, I did not know things were happening to him as well because he never told me. I thought that he didn't like being with me, but he just didn't like being at that apartment. When it was a weekend where I was going to see him, he would ask me, "Oh, are going to go see my cousin? Are we going to my aunt's house?" He did tell me that he felt something evil and he heard voices and he would see things, sometimes.

Did you talk to the authorities after discovering what you believe was blood on the walls?
My brother, he works for the Mexican Federal Police. I told him about that, but he didn't pursue anything. He just told me to get out of there. He had known a few of the stories I had told him that had been happening, and he's a more rational type of guy. He would leave the paranormal option as the last resort. When I told him that – what we had found, he said, well that was definitely like some sort of ceremony/ritual type of place going on there.

There are still people that are executed almost every day [in Ciudad Juarez].  So to him, it wasn't anything that was worth looking deeper into. This was only one case in a whole city where you have 40 homicides per day.

Do you know if any of your neighbors within the building ever experienced paranormal activity?
It wasn't a very good neighborhood. I didn't really interact with the neighbors. People kind of like just kept to themselves.

Since leaving the apartment, have you experienced any other paranormal activity?
Yeah, little things. Not anything near what happened at the apartment. For example, one time I was driving at night on the road to visit my grandma. She lived about four hours away from Ciudad Juarez toward Chihuahua, and I saw this guy in the middle of the road. I just barely missed him. He was walking exactly in the middle of the road and he was wearing clothes like from another time. Like from the revolution or something like that. When I looked back in the rearview mirror, I didn't see anybody.

What have you taken away from this whole experience?
I didn't used to believe in these things. I thought it only happened to people who were weak-minded or had nothing else to do. This incident has gotten me closer to my faith, to the church. And as a result, that's the good side, because it has made me a better parent, and it just taught me to value my family, my wife and my kids more.