I was terrified after watching the movie ” Exorcism of Emily Rose”. One of the chilling horror movies. Surfing through the internet and youtube vidoes, I found out that it was based on a true story that happened in Germany. It also raised a big debate between the ritual healing and world of medicine. Even I was struck by the fact that everything that happened to her had a medical explanation and medical explanations are not just superstitions but are evidence based.
Click here for image: Emily rose real
All other music and audio clean up performed by Mike Migas. OTHER: Logo design by Paulina Szymanska. BOOK: Anneliese Michel A true story of a case of demonic possession. Very scary audio and photos of an Exorcism of Anneliese Michel (21 September 1952 – 1 July 1976) was a German woman who underwent Catholic exorcism rites in 1975 and died the next year, in 1976. Later investigation determined that she was malnourished and dehydrated; her parents and the priests responsible were charged with negligent homicide. The above Audio Recording is real and is that of Annelise, personally every time i listen to it, it sends shivers down my spine! The events that surround Annelise’s death has some what become a modern legend and the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose was based on the true life events that took place to Annelise Michel.
Before reading this article , you should know what actually was the story of Anneliese Michel, a german girl who was exposed to ugly exorcism that led to her dead. The priest and parents were punished by the jury with imprisonment but the audio tapes and photos of exorcism even confused the court. The possible demonic possession can’t still be ruled out. Many movies were later released based on her story ” Exorcism of Emily Rose” ” Exorcism of Isabella” etc. Many questions are still floating around the internet. Did she have a Schiziphrenia , Dissociative identity Disorder ie was she mentally ill? Did the blind superstition led to her death? Was she actually possessed? Could she have improved if she had got medical care? Was exorcism a injustice to her? Is her death a murder, an abuse?
The Medical Explanation-
Why Anneliese michel ( Emily rose ) was mentally ill ?
1. Anneliese’s older sister died at the age of 8. Strangely, Anneliese reportedly felt like she needed to repent for her mother’s sin. Her older sister was illegimate daughter to her mother and her mother always had a guilt about her. She died at age of 8 years.
This event had made a deep trauma on her. Anneliese was harboring the guilt for her death. Trauma causes a huge mental influence. She supposedly spent much of her time doing penance for her mother. She was religiously inclined and the names of demons, devils and the religious chapters were not new to her. Guilt and trauma in childhood can be an inciting event to mental illness.
2. At 16 years, anneliese stared having seizures, she was diagnosed to have epilepsy by the neurologist. Researches have shown a strong link between Epilepsy and schizophrenia.
3. With time, her seizures were hard to control by medications. Anneliese Michel started complaining of seeing disturbing visions while saying her prayers. Later, evil voices giving her commands followed.
These are medically explainable. Schizophrenic patients have Auditory and visual hallucinations. They slowly lose insight. Many incidents of ghost sightings have been linked to hallucinations. Brain is a strange thing and stranger when its ill. Her visual hallucinations during prayers are typical to schizophrenia and voices that give command is one of the characteristic feature of the disease.
Auditory hallucinations in Schizophrenia–
- Voices giving command- “kill him, beat him”
- Running commentary on actions- ” Now you are lying on bed, now you are closing your eyes, you are not able to sleep so you turn right”
- Third person auditory hallucinations- two people discussing- usually plotting a conspiracy against the patient herself.
Patients even complain of controlled volition where they believe what they are doing is not them but someone else using them.
4. During the exorcism, Anneliese Michel herself cried out that Judas, Nero, Hitler, Cain, Lucifer and others were inside of her. Audiotapes have also proved her sayings.
Fact that Hitler, Nero, Judas weren’t demon nor devil but the social impact it so strong that they have become icons of bad deeds so claimed devil. The impact of what she has heard and learnt from society in her childhood had made an impact on her. The scenario where a person takes up roles or other persons identity is called ” Dissociative Identity Disorder” . You must have watched Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Hide and Seek, Shutter Island etc. Mutiple personality disorder is disease where a person assumed identity of different people.
5. Anneliese stopped eating altogether for some time before she died. She believed it would lessen the evil’s control over her. And the exorcism and torture on her made a grave appearance that terrified the world. Any person who is not given food and water, and is beaten would look like that. She is said to lick her urine and ate flies. She was dehydrated and starved in the process of exorcism. It was a case of shameful abuse and torture on an ill patient.
Finally she died of severe malnutrition and dehydration. The case was filed against her parents for negligent homicide and the priest who performed exorcism on her. It is said that they were imprisoned for 6 months. Did that justify the amount of grave torture that was given to her in the name of Exorcism?
Reference-
- German schoolgirl suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy and depression was “treated” solely with religious exorcism.
- The parents and the two priests were charged with negligent homicide.
Anneliese Michel was born 21 September 1952 in the community of Leiblfing in West Germany. She lived with her three sisters and her parents Josef and Anna. The family were devout Roman Catholics who attended Mass twice a week. Anna, as she was known, led a normal life until the age of 16 when she suffered a severe epileptic fit. Anna was soon diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression. She was treated at a psychiatric hospital where she had to stay. She was put on a cocktail of anti-convulsive meds, anti-psychotics and mood stabilisers.
By the time Anna was 20 and studying at the University of Würzburg, her symptoms had significantly worsened. Religious objects such as crucifixes seemed to harm her, as did churches.
She heard voices telling her that she was damned and would rot in Hell. She saw devil faces. She became suicidal. Anna and her family believed that she was suffering demonic possession. A family friend arranged a pilgrimage to a sacred spring in San Damiano. This friend also became convinced that Anna was possessed due to her inability to walk past a crucifix and drink the holy water. Anna rapidly and steadily got worse. She became aggressive, she took to self-harming, and she would strip down to her birthday suit, take a big piss on the floor and then proceed to lap it up like a dog. She began feasting on bugs and insects. The family sought help from the Church.
In 1975 two priests (Ernst Alt and Arnold Renz) gained permission from their local bishop (Josef Strangl) to perform exorcism rites on Anna, though he stipulated that secrecy was of the utmost importance. The priests agreed that Anna was suffering demonic possession (or infestatio) and displayed supernatural powers.
Alt told Anna ‘There is no injection against the devil’.
Three days after Anna’s 22nd birthday the first secret exorcism session was performed according to the Rituale Romanum. The Michels had ceased medical treatment by this stage, relying solely upon a religious remedy. Over the next 10 months, 67 of these rituals were performed. Once or twice a week, for about 4 hours, Alt and Renz would attempt to drive the demons from Anna’s body whilst she would argue with them in demonic voices.
The Exorcist Tapes
The sessions were audiotaped, some of which are available online. Toward the end Anna stopped eating altogether.
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The Exorcism
On 1 July 1976 she died at her home.
Anna’s body was autopsied. The official cause of death was malnutrition and dehydration. She had basically been starving herself for a year, with a little insect or pee here and there to keep her going. She weighed a tiny 30kg, her knees were broken due to prolonged and repetitive genuflections as part of the exorcisms and she was immobile and had pneumonia at the time of her death.
The death was investigated, with the state prosecutor finding that Anna’s death was preventable, even as late as one week prior to her death. Anna’s parents and the two priests were charged with negligent homicide. The trial began on 30 March 1978 and drew great public interest.
Doctors for the prosecution testified that Anna’s sickness was medical in nature, and that the religious aspects were hallucinated and invented by her disturbed mind due to her strict Catholic upbringing.
The Church-retained defence lawyers argued that the exorcisms were legal due to the German constitution protecting people practicing their religious beliefs. They played the court the audiotapes from the exorcisms which they maintained proved Anna was possessed due to the appearance of demonic vices on the tapes. The priests testified that Anna was possessed by several demons claiming to be Lucifer, Cain, Judas Iscariot, Hitler, Nero et al.
They also noted that the exorcisms apparently finally worked immediately prior to Anna’s death.
The accused were eventually found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment (later suspended) and 3 years of probation. More damaging was the criticism that the Church copped in the public and the media for allowing such an antiquated ritual to be performed.
Anneliese’s story is dramatized in the films The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Requiem and Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes.
Despite that fact that in 1984 the bishops declared Anneliese mentally ill, and not possessed, her grave still became a pilgrimage center for fringe believers.
Anneliese Michel Tapes Translation
Anneliese Michel Audio Of Her Possession