An ex-Satanist turned Evangelist is warning Christians not to mark Halloween because they're "spiritually anaemic." 

Author John Ramirez claims that the occasion opens the door "to dark forces."

Introduced to a satanic cult by his family at the age of 8, Ramirez says believers must equip themselves with discernment, warning "Jesus never took the devil lightly in scripture."

The born-again Christian, who now runs his own ministry in America, told The Christian Post "There's a quote by Anton Lavey, founder of the Church of Satan, where he says in his own words, 'I want to thank every Christian parent,' not Buddha, not Muhammad, none of that. ... 'Every Christian parent, I want to thank them that [they] allow [their] children to celebrate the devil one night out of the year,' which is Halloween." 

John Ramirez continued: "He's intentionally thanking Christian parents. Thank you for dressing up your kids, changing their identity, sacrificing spiritually."

He likened the practice to having a "one night stand", saying: "We go celebrate Halloween; we're in bed with the devil for one night. To me, it's like, why would you want to cheat on Jesus? Jesus doesn't cheat on you. I don't see the satanists coming to do church. No way!"

After converting to Christianity, Ramirez removed $100,000 (£87,939) worth of satanic paraphernalia from his New York home and was "tormented for 30 days."