Throughout the world, humans have believed in the existence of demons, ghosts, and malevolent spirits that can take various forms and abilities depending on religion or culture. Despite these differences, there is a common belief that these entities seek to harm the living through various means, with possession and control of a living person’s body being a prominent method. This concept is well-known across many major religions, which have led their followers over the centuries to adopt measures to protect themselves from these malevolent intrusions. These measures include various rituals and prayers, with exorcism being one of the most famous practices. Exorcism involves forcibly expelling spirits from a possessed person, using methods that vary by religion. These methods can range from simple recitations of incantations to more complex rituals conducted by professionals. As seen in the 1975 film “The Exorcist,” exorcisms do not always proceed smoothly; the process can be lengthy and arduous, causing physical, mental, and spiritual harm to both the victim and the exorcist. This was starkly illustrated by the case of Anneliese Michel in Germany in 1975, which remains one of the most disturbing exorcism cases in history.

Anneliese Michel was born on September 21, 1952, in Leiblfing, Bavaria, West Germany, into a deeply religious Catholic family with three sisters and her parents. Her childhood was troubled, partly due to the scandal of her older sister being born out of wedlock four years before her birth. This scandal caused significant shame and guilt within the devout family, particularly affecting her mother. After the death of her older sister at the age of eight, Anneliese Michel’s mother sought to atone for her perceived sins. In 1968, when Anneliese was 16, she began experiencing strange symptoms accompanied by convulsions. Her family took her to a doctor who diagnosed her with temporal lobe epilepsy and prescribed medication. Despite her efforts to maintain a normal life and continue her studies, her condition worsened, and the medication proved ineffective. Her seizures increased, and stronger medications were prescribed, but with little success. She also developed severe depression, leading to suicidal tendencies, and spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Unfortunately, the treatment for her depression did not alleviate her condition.

Over time, Anneliese Michel’s situation deteriorated. Alongside her seizures and depression, she started to experience disturbing visions during prayer, which caused her significant psychological distress. These visions were just the beginning of further troubles when she began hearing strange voices at different times of the day. Initially distant and unclear, these voices grew stronger and more distinct, as though someone was standing beside her. The voices often commanded her to do things, reprimanded, or threatened her. She also began experiencing severe hallucinations, seeing what she described as “faces of the devil” appearing suddenly before her eyes. Psychotherapy failed to stop these hallucinations, and Anneliese and her family grew desperate. She began showing aversion to religious places and symbols, such as the cross. During a pilgrimage to San Damiano, she refused to enter the church and drink from a sacred spring. Her companions noticed a strange and foul odor emanating from her, leading her family to believe she was possessed by a demonic force. They consulted several priests, but none provided the expected help, advising them instead to return Anneliese to the hospital for medical treatment. When the family insisted on their assistance, the priests explained that performing an exorcism required convincing the Catholic Church of the possession and obtaining permission from the bishop. If they met the church’s strict criteria for determining possession, they would be granted permission to perform the exorcism. This process was far from easy, and despite their efforts, the family was repeatedly turned away and given the same response.

Despite their frustration, a glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a priest named Ernst Alt, whose curiosity was piqued by the family’s story. He decided to investigate the matter and, after meeting Anneliese, became convinced that she was not suffering from epilepsy but was indeed under the influence of demonic forces. He began writing letters to the bishop, pleading for permission to perform an exorcism. After much hesitation, Bishop Joseph Stangl eventually agreed to allow the exorcism under strict confidentiality. In 1975, Father Arnold Renz was sent as an assistant to help with the difficult task. The exorcism process officially began on September 24, 1975. When the priests arrived at Anneliese Michel’s darkened home, they were unaware that this day would mark the beginning of a terrifying ordeal lasting 10 months. During the initial attempts, to everyone’s astonishment, Anneliese claimed that she was possessed by multiple demons, naming them as “Judas, Nero, Hitler, Cain, Lucifer, and others.” All of them reportedly resided within her body. Throughout the exorcism sessions, one of Anneliese’s methods of trying to regain control over the evil forces tormenting her involved performing hundreds of kneelings, which caused significant self-harm. She did this willingly, in a desperate effort to ease the grip of the demons within her.

As the exorcism sessions continued, it became evident that Anneliese’s condition was deteriorating to a horrific extent. Reports indicate that she frequently urinated and defecated on the floor and drank her own urine. She often used foul language and insults. Under the influence of the evil spirits, Anneliese would growl like a wild animal and react violently to religious images and symbols. On one occasion, she spent two days under the kitchen table, barking like a dog and refusing to come out. Her family was so terrified that they avoided going near her. The priests, therefore, often left her alone during the exorcism rituals, which lasted four hours or more and were performed once or twice a week. It was also claimed that Anneliese spoke in dead languages she could not have known and displayed knowledge of information she had no prior knowledge of. The exorcisms, totaling 67 attempts, ended in failure each time, leaving the priests exhausted. Eventually, Anneliese refused to eat, and her body became emaciated, indicating that she was succumbing to her fate. She claimed that her death would be atonement for lost youth.

On July 1, 1976, after 10 months of failed exorcisms, Anneliese Michel died in her home. At the time of her death, she weighed only 30 kilograms. The autopsy revealed that she died from malnutrition and dehydration, and she also had pneumonia. An investigation was opened into the circumstances of her death, and the priests Alt and Renz were questioned. The state concluded that her death could have been prevented and that the priests had failed to do anything to stop it. Consequently, they were put on trial on March 30, 1978. The trial attracted significant public attention, during which some audio recordings from the exorcism sessions were played, showing Anneliese growling and using obscene language. One recording featured what was claimed to be two demons arguing through Anneliese, with distinct and different voices. Additionally, numerous photographs were presented showing Anneliese in a shocking state, with her eyes deeply sunken, bruises, and sores covering her face and body. Her knees were broken from continuous kneeling. The priests were defended by lawyers sent by the church, who argued that exorcism was entirely legal and that the law granted citizens the right to religious freedom. Both priests claimed that the girl had finally been freed from the evil that possessed her before her death, which the prosecution disputed. The prosecutor chose a scientific approach, bringing in doctors who testified that Anneliese’s symptoms could be easily explained by a combination of epilepsy and mental illness exacerbated by her extreme religious beliefs. As a result, the priests were convicted of involuntary manslaughter due to negligence and were sentenced to six months in prison and three months of probation, with the sentence later suspended.

The trial’s conclusion did not end the peculiarities surrounding the case. Following it, Anneliese Michel’s body was exhumed at her parents’ request, as she had been buried in a cheap and improper coffin. Those who believe she was truly possessed claimed that her body had not decomposed as expected after so much time in the ground. One nun even reported having a vision of the girl looking perfectly intact. However, medical experts who examined the body found the decomposition rate to be normal. Authorities refused to allow the priests to view the remains, possibly to prevent them from witnessing the body’s actual condition. The mysterious remains were reburied in a new oak coffin lined with tin on February 25, 1978. In another strange twist, a fire broke out at Anneliese Michel’s former home in 2013. Although authorities attributed it to a minor case of arson, some believe it was the result of lingering evil within the house. To this day, Anneliese Michel’s exorcism remains an enduring enigma, widely considered an example of true demonic possession and has significantly influenced various cinematic works, notably the film “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.”