“DEMONS don’t care about who you are, or where you come from.”

Exorcisms are happening all over Australia — in our cities, in our suburbs and out in the bush. And chances are there’s one woman carrying them out — professional exorcist, Lizzy Rose.

“I can’t tell you how many Exorcisms I’ve performed — I’ve lost count,” Melbourne-based Lizzy told news.com.au.

“It’s roughly 200 to 500 per year and given that I’ve been doing them for 24-years, it must be at least in excess of 5,000.

“People come from all walks of life — rich or poor, healthy and unhealthy, young or old. Quite frankly, anyone can be affected.”

Raised on a farm in rural Victoria, Lizzy knew that she was destined for an otherworldly career from a young age.

“I’ve been able to hear, feel and speak to spirits for as long as I can remember,” she says.

“As a child I didn’t know what they were, all I knew was that my abilities seemed to scare and upset the other children at my small country school, so I learnt very quickly to keep them to myself.

“At home it was the same. My mother was a seventh day Adventist and my life at that time revolved around daily prayer meetings. She was very strict. We didn’t have a TV and seeing kids outside of school wasn’t allowed.”

Ironically, Lizzy’s first brush with exorcism was as a recipient. Just as her abilities scared the children at school, it also struck fear into her deeply religious mother, who decided to take her four-year-old girl to the local catholic church to exorcise the ‘devil in her’.

“As I wasn’t possessed it didn’t do anything,” she says matter-of-factly.

After locking horns with her mum for years, Lizzy finally left home when she was 14 and began to work as a professional psychic. Two years later, exorcism would once again come into her life when she was invited to watch one in an inner suburb of Adelaide.

“I remember everything very clearly,” she recalls.

“It was scary, like something out of a horror movie, but I was fascinated.”

Hooked, she immersed herself in six years of studying the occult and then, in 1992, at the age of 22, Lizzy carried out my first exorcism.

“It was on a prostitute,” she says.

“A beautiful girl full of a dark energy, which she had absorbed from one of her customers. Thankfully it was relatively easy to extract. She went on to study and is now a doctor — I’m still in contact with her.”

Of course, one of the most common questions Lizzy’s asked when people discover her unusual occupation is: ‘how does a person get possessed?’ She’s quick to point out that there’s not one set route, but an obvious — and frequent one — is via dabbling with seances and ouija boards.

“It’s like a moth to the flame,” she says.

“A doorway for demons of sorts — don’t play around with that sort of stuff, not even as a joke.”

So, when possession does take place are we talking The Exorcist-style vomiting pea soup?

“Partly, yes!” she laughs.

“Aside from the pea soup, in many ways Hollywood does deliver the truth, but on screen what we see is usually full blown demonic possession, which is not as common as people might think.”

Saying that, while the majority of incidents don’t involve subjects screaming obscenities and contorting their bodies, when Lizzy opens up her case files some of the exorcisms she claims to have conducted are shocking to say the least.

“I’ve seen a lot over the years, but have only been truly scared on a couple of occasions,” she says.

“During an exorcism I was conducting on a woman, the entity in possession flung her from one wall to the next, breaking her ribs, and then pinned her to the bed, during which multiple bruises appeared on the woman’s forearms as if the spirit was pinning her to the bed … I could physically see hand prints forming.

“Blood appeared on the windows and mirrors in strange shapes and words and the woman — despite being a native Australian — spoke the whole time in Russian.

“Another time I was asked to exorcise an old Asylum. The building was filled with the spirits of angry, hurt and abused former patients. It was very dangerous. Old wooden beams on the floor moved, doors opened by themselves, chairs moved and I was grabbed on the wrist, spat on and had my hair was pulled.”

Given the freaky nature of her work, Lizzy acknowledges that people might be sceptical.

“Unless you witness such unexplainable things with your own eyes you wouldn’t believe me,” says the 46-year-old.

“I don’t blame you. It’s very hard to accept myself, let alone for others who have never seen what I’ve seen.”

But the proof of her work is — as the saying goes — in the pudding. Given that most of her cases are from word of mouth recommendation, it stands to reason that she’s doing something right.

“Usually people come to me after they’ve exhausted every other avenue. I’m their last resort,” she says.

“I’ve had clients who were told by doctors that they were close to death, yet following an exorcism they’re still alive to this day.”

Indeed, demand for Lizzy’s services is so high that she even has a designated temple room (the ‘temple of rose’) in her home specifically designed for exorcisms.

“Each exorcism is tailored to the individual in need,” she explains.

“There are four main parts: the opening ritual, calling out the possessor, then removing and disposing of that energy, and finally the closing ritual.”

Having a temple within her home means that Lizzy’s family are very accustomed to the supernatural goings on.

“I have five sons and it’s all they’ve ever known,” she says.

“I asked my youngest, who is 15, how he feels about my work and he said, ‘I’m proud of you and my mates think you’re cool, but the demons freak me out!’

“I guess that I’m lucky that I’m accepted for who I am and just the way that I am. Even the relationship with my mum has also changed. She’s 81 now and we’ve reached an understanding. She still doesn’t really like what I do, but she won’t say anything about it these days.

“Dating is interesting. I find it scares many men and those that are drawn to me see me as a ‘fixer’ or a healer, which is wonderful when I’m working but not when it comes to relationships. Hence my current single status!”

But while dating might be tough for this professional demon hunter, the on the job satisfaction she gains more than makes up for it.

“Being an exorcist has its highs and its lows,” says Lizzy.

“But when I see people return to lead fulfilling lives after being so hurt and traumatised, I’m honoured that I can help.”

- Originally from the UK, Paul has lived and worked in three different continents: from the heady metropolis of Dubai, to North America and — as of seven years ago — Sydney, Australia; a place he now calls home. You can find out more about Paul at www.paulewart.com.