The Demon of Brownsville Road. November 14, 2019

Copyright © 2019                               John F. Oyler 

November 14, 2019

The Demon of Brownsville Road

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society celebrated Halloween last month by deviating from its normal subject matter and wandering off into the supernatural. Bob Cranmer made an interesting presentation based on his book, “The Demon of Brownsville Road”.

He prefaced his presentation with an explanation of why he wrote the book, which documents the experiences his family had in their house at 3406 Brownsville Road in Brentwood. In his mind these experiences prove conclusively the existence of God and Satan, Heaven and Hell, and Angels and Demons, and he is committed to bearing witness to the presence of Evil right here in the twenty-first century.

When Mr. Cranmer was a young boy, he lived near the mansion and felt strangely attracted to it. After graduating from Duquesne University, serving a tour of duty in the U. S. Army, and beginning a family in New Jersey, in 1988 he found himself being relocated to Pittsburgh by his employer. By coincidence the house showed up on the real estate market the very week he and his wife began house hunting.

When they learned the house was out of their price range, they offered a token bid, $20,000 below the asking price and were surprised when it was accepted immediately. When he asked if there was something wrong with the house, he was told, “Don’t worry, they have celebrated Mass in the dining room”. The first time the family visited the house, his two-year-old son was terrified by something he could not explain.

Once they moved into the house, a variety of strange things began to happen. The pull cord on the light in the coat closet in the front hall kept getting would around the bulb. Red streaks began to appear on the walls of certain rooms. A crucifix was split into two parts; in another instance, the crucifix mysteriously was separated from the rosary while being held in a supplicant’s hands.

When he was digging in the yard to plant flowers, he accidentally dug up a metal box, which contained a rosary. When he asked the realtor about it he was advised to put it back where he found it an “leave well enough alone”. 

Furniture was moved, pictures were rotated on the wall, and objects hurled across the room. Mr. Cranmer reported that eventually a specific individual became evident. Usually it was invisible but could be recognized by a pungent odor. On some occasions it appeared to materialize as a humanoid-shaped dense cloud. He even saw it in the form of a “Grim Reaper” type figure at one point.

Eventually Mr. Cranmer reported these events to his friend Tom Murphy, the Mayor of Pittsburgh at the time. Murphy suggested they contact Bishop Donald Wuerl, who referred the matter to Father Ron Lengwin, who then contacted a local mystic, Connie Valenti. Without ever visiting the house she immediately described its interior in detail and advised Father Lengwin against entering it.

According to Mr. Cranmer, the Church already had a file of information regarding previous anti-religious occurrences in the house and was convinced that it was occupied by a demon. They initiated a program of celebrating Masses in each room, splashed Holy Water on the red stains, and even imported an exorcist. By 2006 they declared that the Demon had been driven from the house. Nothing strange has occurred since then. 

Mr. Cranmer believes that Evil arrived at this location in March, 1792, when an Indian raid resulted in the death of a mother and three children there. Based on a radar investigation of the site, he believes the bodies are still buried there. I was unaware of any Indian raids in this area as late as that date. None are recorded in C. Hale Sipe’s classic “The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania”. I emailed Mr. Cranmer with a request for the source of his information; so far I have had no response.

There is also a legend that an immigrant working on construction of the house in 1906 put a curse on it based on his dislike of its wealthy owner. Then too, Mr. Cranmer believes an unscrupulous doctor performed illegal abortions there in the 1930s, at least one of which resulted in the death of the mother.

With the help of a co-author and editor, Erica Manfred, his book was published in 2014. His story has been featured on a number of television programs dealing with the paranormal and a subsidiary of Warner Brothers has purchased rights to make a movie based on it.

At this point Mr. Cranmer is living on the third floor of the house; he and his son Charles are planning to open it as a bed-and-breakfast with an historical theme. Included is “the Washington Dining Room, inspired by the legend that George Washington slept on the property in 1784”. Washington’s Journal of his visit to this area in 1784 clearly indicates that Canonsburg was the closest he ever got to Brentwood.

Perhaps the bed-and-breakfast can have an Elvis room, in honor of Mike Lange’s frequent expression “Elvis has just left the building!” After all, the old Civic Arena was closer to Brentwood that Canonsburg.

It is interesting to speculate on where the Demon went after he was ejected from Cranmer’s house. When Larry Godwin introduced the speaker, he mentioned Mr. Cranmer’s service as Allegheny County Commissioner and the part he played in the construction of Pittsburgh International Airport, PNC Park, and Heinz Field.

Perhaps the Demon joined the management team at USAir in time to convince them to pull out their Pittsburgh hub and doom the airport to an early obsolescence leading to demolition of half of it. Or perhaps it is part of the Pirates ownership group which has failed to field a team worth going to see at PNC Park. Must we exorcise Heinz Field the next time the Ravens come to town?

Hearing Mr. Cranmer in person, one is impressed with the fact that he is articulate, apparently rational, and intensely sincere. His powerful faith in the Church is evident. The presentation was well received by the audience.

Next month the Historical Society will return to history when Georgeanne Abood Henson will discuss her grandfather, George Abood, and his experiences in World War II as one of a trio of Bridgeville airmen shot down and ending up in the same prisoner-of-war camp. The program will be presented at 7:30, Tuesday, November 26, 2019, in the Chartiers Room, Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department.