Possession or Psychosis?

Anneliese Michel: A real-life horror?

There was born on September 21, 1952, in a remote village in Bavaria, Germany, a woman whose life has been steeped in darkness. Instead of happy thoughts of a girl, all the ordinary girl's thoughts - Events occurred to her. On July 1, 1976, her short and unfulfilled life abruptly ended, leaving her friends and others in shocked disbelief. The deaths are still a topic of discussion today throughout the world because people widely believe this teen girl was possessed by a demon, and there was nothing they could do to get rid of the spirit.

When she was 16, in 1968, Anneliese began to experience symptoms that no one could account for. Doctors initially diagnosed the sudden jerks as eplilepsy, but her condition deteriorated. and it was impossible to ignore. In the 1970s, she started to have hallucinations, depression, and strange behaviour, and it worsened between 1973-1975.. She stopped eating, expressed a fear of holy objects, and started speaking in strange voices. With a deeply religious Catholic family, they believed these inexplicable symptoms were a form of demonic possession. When medicine failed, they turned to God. Anneliese’s family and the attending priests viewed her odd behavior (such as mutilating herself, developing an aversion to sacred objects and forced to recite out an exorcism which she refuses), using harsh male voices (including thinking herself as hell prince Lucifer), having an aversion to religious symbols, speaking in a "guttural" voice, and an insatiable behavior with strength fit for only a man, speaking in other languages reminiscent of Latin that she could not have possibly known the words of also) as evidence that she was possessed. In the exorcisms, Anneliese (or the spirits possessing her) went by the names Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Cain, Hitler, and Fleishman. The principal (Christian) demon (i.e., representation of evil) is said to have been Lucifer and one of the strongest of the demons within Anneliese. It was alleged that he would frequently put on a proud or haughty look and even blaspheme God and holy emblems. Judas Iscariot, who was the man who betrayed Jesus Christ, was also claimed to have been inside Anneliese. He is said to have harped on the sin of treachery forever and bewailed his never-ending punishment. He was known in history for being the wicked tyrant of the Roman Empire; in her mind, he was the demon in Anneliese. He is described as taking pleasure in the torment of others, openly bragging about his abuses. Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, is well known for killing his brother Abel. This demon in Anlis is said to have had regret over the death of his brother. Adolf Hitler was another figure identified as a demon in Anlis. He was quoted as talking of his political beliefs and war crimes and attempting to rationalize his behaviour. Fleischmann identified this demon as a priest or a cleric who had lived in the 16th century. He is not well-documented and does not appear to be as prominent as other demons. Nevertheless, medical thought is that such conduct might be the effect of mental disorders, including, for example, epilepsy, schizophrenia, or multiple personality disorder. Her mental state may have been worsened by her religious background and family upbringing, psychologists say.

Anneliese's family approached church priests for help in 1975 to resolve her issues. With the approval of the Catholic Church, Father Arnold Rense and Pastor Ernest Ault began a nightmarish series of exorcisms on her. Sixty-seven exorcisms took place over the course of ten months, sometimes several times a day. There were audio tapes taken of Anneliese's horrifying sounds and behavior from these ceremonies. She ate almost nothing the whole time, and her body dwindled and wracked down to a weight I won't even mention.

On July 1, 1976, Anneliese Michel passed away, and the whole world was stunned. The cause of death in the medical records was noted as severe malnutrition and dehydration. She was about 30 kilograms (70 lb) in weight when she died.

Her parents and the two priests who conducted the exorcism were charged with involuntary manslaughter following her death. Convicted at a trial in 1978, they were sentenced to six years in prison, but the sentence was suspended.

Anneliese's narrative has ignited fierce debate worldwide over religion, medicine, and mental illness. Others still think that her condition was an actual demonic possession. Others believe it may have been a terrible mental illness, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, or multiple personality disorder, and that she simply wasn't given the proper care before she died. Her disappearance is an unexplained case.

The events in Anneliese's story formed the basis of the film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose,'' however, it was heavily fictionalized. Several other films and documentaries have been produced about her. When she died prematurely, the Catholic Church put stringent regulations into place for the exorcism process. But to this day, her death is a mystery.