If you’ve seen the 2005 American horror film “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, then you need to know the real story behind the scary movie. Unknown to many, a beautiful German girl named Anneliese Michel who underwent Catholic exorcism rites in 1975, inspired that film.
Disclaimer: This article contains actual photos of Anneliese Michel. The audio included in this article was recorded by priests who conducted exorcism on her.
A religious girl who is knowledgeable in the Catholic faith, Anneliese lived a happy normal life as a teenager.
PHOTO CREDIT: WereBlog
When she turned 17 in 1969, Annelie began experiencing regular convulsions and epileptic seizures. She was initially diagnosed of temporal lobe epilepsy and strong psychosis. Despite being treated in a mental health facility, Anneliese’s condition worsened.
Anneliese became intolerant of religious materials such as the crucifix when she was in her 20’s. Reportedly, Anneliese suffered from severe depression causing her to have hallucinations such as seeing demons and hearing strange voices that tell her she “would rot in hell”. Convinced that she was possessed by demons, her family sought religious help.
Her parents failed to get a priest who would conduct exorcism on her as they were advised to continue medical treatment. Finally, Fr. Ernst Alt and Arnold Renz decided to conduct exorcism rites on Anneliese after getting permission from Bishop Josef Stangl in 1975.
Allegedly, Anneliese would lick her own urine, eat coal, tear her clothes apart, and make demonic faces and voices during her episodes. The demons possessing her body reportedly identified themselves as Cain, Lucifer, Nero, Hitler, and Judas Iscariot. Towards the end, Anneliese began talking about dying and declined to eat.
After 67 exorcisms for 10 months, Anneliese eventually died of extreme dehydration and starvation on July 1, 1976 at the age of 23. The priests claimed she was freed from the demons lurking inside her before she died.
However, her parents and the priests who conducted exorcism rites on Anneliese were charged with negligent homicide. They were sentenced to six months in jail which was later on reduced to three years in probation.
Listen to the disturbing audio below.
What is Exorcism?
The Catholic Encyclopedia defines exorcism as an act of warding off demons or evil spirits from humans, things, or places believed to be possessed by them.
However, many cases of exorcisms involve people suffering from mental illness. If a mentally ill person does not get medical treatment and only undergoes exorcism rites, his or her condition may actually worsen.