The real-life ‘exorcist’ who investigates the unexplained

The Very Reverend Canon Dr Jason Bray is an Anglican priest and the Dean of Llandaff Cathedral.

He also happens to be a deliverance minister – more commonly known as an exorcist.

“We’re the people that go out and deal with the paranormal," said Dr Bray, who has spoken to BBC News about the work that he does.

"A bit like ghostbusting, that sort of thing, and a bit of an exorcist as well. Although, we don’t very often do the exorcism, certainly not of people."

Dr Bray is one of four deliverance ministers in Cardiff who are called upon to investigate reports of paranormal and supernatural activity on behalf of the Church in Wales.

According to the church, the deliverance ministers are trained in a programme shared with the Church of England and work closely with safeguarding officers and medical professionals.

“What I deal with is haunted houses, people who think that Auntie Brenda is lurking in the airing cupboard and she really shouldn’t be there,” said Dr Bray.

He said he also dealt with reports of poltergeist activity, which is the belief held by some people that a spirit or force can move furniture or throw objects around a house.

"For some reason, it’s always shoes. I’m not quite sure why," said Dr Bray.

"Things go missing or things go bump in the night, or doors open.

"Or the TV turns itself on and off, that’s another thing we deal with – poltergeist activity.”

Dr Bray said there was often a rational explanation for reports of the paranormal - a term sometimes applied to events which seemingly cannot be explained.

“We occasionally deal with people who come along and say ‘help me, I’m possessed’ so they’re looking for an exorcism,” he said.

“That’s one of the things we never do because the chances are, if you come and say ‘I’m possessed’, if something has taken over your entire being, your will, your entity, it’s not going to let you speak to your local vicar to say ‘throw me out, will you’.

"We deal with those people very gently and explore mental health issues with them because very often people who are hearing voices will be suffering from schizophrenia or another psychiatric problem."

Dr Bray said that sometimes his job was to simply provide reassurance.

"I know that what I do works, and that people appreciate what I do, but sometimes there is an element of psychology and making people feel better. And sometimes, actually that does work."

'I felt really frightened'

Dr Bray said he first became interested in deliverance 27 years ago, when he was ordained.

After moving into the curate’s house at his new ministry, Dr Bray said he and his wife noticed that the house was unusually cold, even in the summer.

“While we were there, our first child was born, Thomas, and we noticed that his room was actually colder and darker than the others. We thought that was a bit strange," he said.

The couple noticed a draft coming down the stairs, which they said appeared to be coming from nowhere.

Then, after returning from a trip away, Dr Bray said his wife told him something strange had happened.

“She said: ‘There’s something awful about this house… it was so cold while you were away that it felt like I was walking into a walk-in freezer – it was really, really bad, particularly around [Thomas'] cot.’”

Dr Bray said he then had a "frightening" experience in the middle of the night.

“I was standing at the bathroom door and it was like this sensation of knowing that there was somebody standing on the other side of the door,” he said.

“It was somebody who was about my height, but was absolutely hostile towards me. I don’t know why. I could see his eyes, and it was a man, I could see his grey eyes piercing through the door, and I could also see this strange shape around him, like a sunburst mask.

“I felt really, really frightened.”

Dr Bray asked his boss, the local vicar, for help, who subsequently came to the house.

“The vicar came around and he said some prayers, some of them I think were in Latin,” he said.

“He splashed some holy water around the place, we said the Lord’s prayer together, and the house just returned to what it should have been. It was then warm, it was sunny – it was quite a pleasant place to be.”

Dr Bray said most deliverance ministers carry a bag, the contents of which he said people were "always intrigued by".

“I’ve got various bits and pieces that I need," he said.

"The most important thing I’ve got is a holy water sprinkler... The idea is that water is blessed and it’s then quite literally sprinkled around the house."

Dr Bray also has a portable communion kit, which he said allowed him to celebrate mass in people's houses.

“There are lots of people out there who don’t believe in the supernatural. There are lots of people out there who don’t believe in God, and that’s fine," he said.

"I’m not imposing my beliefs on you, and I don’t expect you to impose your beliefs on me.

"What’s really interesting is the number of people I come across who don’t believe in God, but also believe in ghosts, and for me that’s just a little bit puzzling.”

A spokesperson for the Church in Wales said: "Deliverance is a key part of the ministry we offer.

"Each of the Church in Wales’ six dioceses has a deliverance minister. They are licensed by their bishop and they make up the deliverance team.

"They are fully trained in a programme we share with the Church of England and they work closely with our safeguarding officers and medical professionals."