Does the name Anneliese Michel ring a bell? Even if not, you’re probably agonizingly familiar with the movie based on her life, The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
A girl of sixteen struggling with epilepsy and mental illness was exposed to brutal exorcism rites upon suicidal tendencies in 1973. Her aberrant behaviors like repelling religious artifacts, hearing mystical voices and drinking her own urine will make you wonder if people are too oblivious to take such accounts seriously.
Take a look at these other disturbing stories about sinister spirit possessions:
1. Clara Germana Cele
A student at St. Michael’s Mission in South Africa, Cele, who confessed to making a pact with Satan, was reckoned as possessed in 1906 for showing unnatural impulses. She was reported to levitate up to five feet and make peculiar inhuman cacophonies.
Her exorcism was witnessed by over one hundred and seventy people where she knocked out bibles, behaved wildly and tried to strangle a priest with his own stole. The two days hysteria ended with her levitating before descending still.
2. Julia
A case documented in 2008 by Dr. Richard E. Gallagher, a psychiatrist in New York, chronicles the story of his patient who he deemed to be possessed after seeing objects floating in the air, her clairvoyance about surrounding people, hateful rants and periodic levitation.
During her exorcisms, the room apparently became excruciatingly hot while she vehemently repulsed holy water. Upon waking up from these trances, she would have no memory of what went down.
3. George Lukins
An English tailor, George, in late 1700s indulged in erratic behavior wherein he sang and spoke in spooky voices and strange languages after claiming to be possessed. Doctors surrendered and he went his own way, only to get more hostile and animalistic in nature for years to come.
The self claimed devil’s exorcism called for a gathering of seven priests and the madness ended with him praising the Lord and accrediting the priests.
4. Roland Doe/ Robbie Mannheim
The inspiration for many fictitious adaptations like The Exorcist and Possessed, the story of this man is hauntingly tragic. The boy of fourteen whose actual name was Roland Edwin Hunkler had a tryst with demonic possession in an attempt to contact his dead aunt using an Ouija Board.
With mysterious scratches on the skin, flying religious artifacts, guttural splutters, body contortion and levitation, he was subjected to thirty exorcisms where he even injured the priests. The final exorcism involved feral anguish and sulphuric odor looming in the air.
5. Arne Cheyenne Johnson
Marked in history for being the first person to plead innocent on account of demonic possession, Arne’s case is well-known as the Demon Murder Trial.
His trial involved strange claims by people in his vicinity such as the presence of an apparition with demonic eyes and beastly features. He was in for stabbing his landlord while growling infernally and got convicted, serving a sentence of five years for a typical ten-to-twenty-years crime.
6. Anna Ecklund
The grotesque story of this fourteen year old girl born in 1882 is infamous as the Earling Posession.
Cursed by the witchcraft practiced by her father and aunt, Anna became intolerant towards religious artifacts, was sexually vile and couldn’t set foot in church. A successful attempt at exorcism was made, but the demonic possession was back as her folks begged Satan for it. Admitted in a convent, she hissed, threw away blessed food, levitated, spoke foreign languages and could cling onto walls.
She deformed in appearance and after twenty-three days and three exhaustive exorcisms, she was cured of evil possession.
7. Gottleibin Dittus
Brought up in a superstitious household, Gottliebin Dittus grew up to be religious. In 1842, when she was twenty eight years old, her house blared of violent noises and people saw furniture colliding, unexplained scrapes and labelled the house as haunted. She affirmed that a woman’s spirit holding a baby visited during nights and endured blackouts and trances that would make her forget intense blasphemy and fits.
It has been documented that her conversations were mediated by a supernatural being. With time, about hundred spirits overtook her claiming they were victims of demonic possessions as well trying to escape evil.
8. Michael Taylor
A man of religion, Michael began to act out, indulged in obscenity and profanity after his wife accused him of having an affair in 1974. After acceleration of this immoral behavior, he consulted a clergy and a 24 hour long exorcism was performed that discharged forty demons from his body.
However, what remains freakish here is that the priests warned him of a dormant demon of murder still finding refuge inside him. Upon reaching home, he barbarically murdered his wife and dog.
9. David Berkowitz/ ‘Son of Sam’
The serial killer who made New York terror-stricken in 1976 went by ‘Son of Sam,’ or the ‘.44 Caliber Killer.’
Reports confirm that six people died and seven got wounded in the “Summer of Sam.” After he was taken into custody, he confessed all his crimes and asserted that a demon residing in his neighbor’s dog ordered the killings. Incarcerated with six life sentences, he admitted to being a part of Satanic cult and perpetrating the murders as ritual offering.
10. The Smurls Family
This family’s traumatic experience is dated in 1974 when the house started emitting nasty odors, their dog got smacked across the rooms, children were shoved down the stairs and the members got attacked physically and sexually. Paranormal investigators concluded that the house harbored a potent spiteful spirit as the exorcisms failed time and again. Eventually, consistent prayers and rituals were able to diminish the power of the demonic entity.
11. The Ammons Family
The frightening ordeal of this family with paranormal forces began in 2014 when clouds of flies accumulated near their house, walls emanated creepy noises and wet footprints appeared on floors. The mother believed spirits were preying on her three children as she reported her son of walking up a wall backwards and across the ceiling, another one smacked across the room and her daughter levitating while being unconscious. The kids apparently spoke in grave tones, giggled evilly, rolled back eyes in their heads and upon investigation, authorities got convinced of demonic presence.
The family had to move after the exorcism as two hundred demons still lurked in the area
As chilling as tragic, these unfortunate possession stories will keep you on a supernatural lookout.