Born in 1952, in the small town of Klingenberg in Bavaria, Germany, Anneliese Michel was raised as a strict Catholic and was described as very bright and everyone liked her. In September 1968. When Anneliese was 16 years old, she experienced her first episode of losing consciousness. And later that night she felt as if something was pressing down on her chest. 11 months later in August 1969, a similar event occurred, and her mother took Anneliese to a doctor. Dr. Vogt with a neurologist named Dr. Luthy examined her amd even ran EEG, a brain scan but found nothing wrong. They thought that it could be possibly be a form of seizure. Over the next 3 years, Anneliese had 2 more episodes and was prescribed two more medications. On both occasions, an EEG came back normal with minor irregular patterns. But there was nothing that can explain her problem.
In March 1973, Anneliese began to hear knocking sounds in her bedroom. Sounds which her sisters heard as well. Anneliese reported that the voice had taken her to hell. Her mother was further rattled when she witnessed Anneliese angrily staring at a statue of the Mother Mary. Her eyes turned black, jet black and her hands turn into paws with claws.
In September 1973, in a neurological visit Dr. Luthy, Anneliese had describe horrific visions of demon faces that were torturing her and she stated that the devil was inside her. She also reported smelling something that had the aroma of burnt faces, later on other members of the family also confirmed that they had smelled as well. Around this time, Anneliese's mother described these strange occurrence to Dr. Luthy, who according to Mrs. Michel, advised them to consult a priest and obviously Dr. Luthy replied her not to do that. Whether or not that's true, the family searched for a priest, and eventually found a priest named Father Alt.
In November 1973, Anneliese met with another psychiatrist who diagnosed her as a neurotic with possible epilepsy. Eventually he found some epileptic patterns inside her brain. He raised her medications much stronger. In July 1975, Anneliese's behavior become worse. She barely slept and prayed fluently all night. She ate spiders and flies and even drank her own urine from the floor. She displayed her strength that was close to superhumans by throwing her sisters as if they were ragged dolls and she effortlessly squeezed an apple with one hand.
A priest named Father Roderwyk, a man considered an expert on exorcisms. He convinced that Anneliese was possessed and after deliberation with the bishop, an exorcism ritual was performed. Father Renz allowed some of the exorcism sessions to be recorded and 42 audio of recordings of the exorcisms were made I total. DurDuring the ritual, Anneliese claimed that she was possessed by 6 demons. There name was Judas, Nero, Cain, Hitler, Lucifer, and Valentine Flieshmann.
By May, Anneliese's condition became worse. She was banging her head against the wall and biting herself and others to the point where her family had to tie her up to prevent her from hurting herself. But most dangerously, Anneliese refused to eat. She described it as not being permitted to eat. Despite being quite frail, likely weighing 80 pounds (36.28 in KGS), she possessed great strength when people tried to restrain her. By June. Her entire face was shrunk in, she refused to visit doctor even though she had a high fever. On June 30, 1976, Anneliese had another exorcism, only saying " please, absolution". The next morning her family went to her room and found her dead. Despite seeking medical attention early on, Anneliese refused to submit to medical attention in the end, as she and her family ultimately placed all faith of recovery on exorcism. She died of starvation at the age of 23 after 67 exorcisms. She weighed only 68 pounds (approximately 30 in KGS) at the time of her death.
After her death, Anneliese's parents and the priests were accused of neglect homicide and the case went to trial in 1978. The priest was sentenced to 6 months in prison with suspension for 3 years and payment for all court costs although it was later suspended. Her parents received no punishment because they already had gone through so much in their life. The court ruled that Anneliese was unable to nak decisions and should have been forced to submit to medical care. Professor Felicitas B. Goodman, an author book of the case notes the theories that Anneliese's epileptic were presented as a statement of in disputable fact. Inspire of the court, there were many debates about what actually led to Anneliese's death. Was it a case of mental illness or the case of a demonic possession? Whatever a real reason may be, but the case of Anneliese Michel's tragedy was and were always remain unsolved.
