The Demon of Brownsville Road

The Demon of Brownsville Road

The first edition of the book
Author	Bob Cranmer/Erica Manfred
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Horror Non-fiction novel
Publisher	Berkley Books of Penguin Random House
Publication date	August 5, 2014
Media type	Print, electronic, audio

The Demon of Brownsville Road is a book by Bob Cranmer and Erica Manfred, published in August 2014. The story is also the basis of a series of television documentaries and dramatizations released between 2011 and 2016. The book is claimed to be based on the paranormal experiences of the Cranmer family, with Bob Cranmer telling the first-person account.

In March of 1792 a mother and her three children were killed by marauding Native Americans in the vicinity of Fort Pitt during the Northwest Indian War. The book maintains that this massacre occurred on the ground where the house is built and that the four individuals are buried in the front yard. The book also states that a local doctor performed hundreds of illegal abortions in the house during the early decades of the Twentieth Century. There are no records or firsthand accounts of this illegal activity but an investigative newspaper article did identify that such a doctor did exist and that local lore supported the claim that he performed many abortions. In December 1988, Bob and Lesa Cranmer and their four children moved into the house. This began the long string of events that eventually led to a “demonic entity” being expelled from their home in 2006 by priests of the Catholic Church.

The house at 3406 Brownsville Road was built in 1909-10 and had three previous owners prior to the Cranmers. In December 1988 Bob and Lesa Cranmer bought the house upon being transferred to Pittsburgh by his employer. Bob states that the house was his “dream” to own, and that it mysteriously went up for sale the same week that they began looking for a house to buy. As a young child he would often stand and stare at the house hoping that someday he could see the inside. The three-story house was built in the Craftsman style and would later be designated as a historical landmark (by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks) because of its unique design. Bob and Lesa married in 1980 while Bob was an officer in the U.S. Army. He left the service in 1986 and went to work for AT&T in Whippany, New Jersey. Their objective was to eventually relocate to Pittsburgh, where Bob had grown up. This was unexpectedly realized quicker than they had expected as they had just built a new house in 1987. They had four children: Jessica (4), Bobby (3), David (2), and Charles (2 months) when they moved to Pittsburgh.

Bob Cranmer states that the sellers seemed very anxious to move out and surprisingly accepted his first (low-ball) offer without any negotiations. During a walk-through of the house young Bobby Jr. wondered off by himself as the group went to the basement. He would soon be found on the front staircase crying and hyperventilating as if “he’d seen a ghost”. Lesa later expressed to Bob her misgivings about the house, that it was much too large, and furthermore “gave her the creeps.” Bob discounted this and was determined to make this house a home for his young family. He did however ask the seller if there “was anything wrong with the house.” Understanding exactly what he was referring to the seller assured him that the house was fine and that Catholic Mass was conducted several times in the living room of the house. Bob thought this an odd response but took it with the reassurance that had been implied. Later the next Spring Bob discovered a small metal box buried in the front yard containing Catholic religious items. He called the previous owner who had assured him that “the house was fine” only then to hear him say “just put it back where you found it.”