Anneliese Michel

Anna Elisabeth "Anneliese" Michel (21 September 1952 – 1 July 1976) was a German woman who underwent 67 Catholic exorcism rites during the year before her death.

She died of malnutrition, for which her parents and priest were convicted of negligent Homicide.

She was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis (temporal lobe epilepsy) and had a history of psychiatric treatment that proved ineffective.

When Michel was 16, she experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with psychosis caused by temporal lobe epilepsy.

Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with depression and was treated by a psychiatric hospital.

By the time that she was 20, she had become intolerant of various religious objects and began to hear voices.

Her condition worsened despite medication, and she became suicidal, also displaying other symptoms, for which she took medication as well.

After taking psychiatric medications for five years failed to improve her symptoms, Michel and her family became convinced she was possessed by a demon.

As a result, her family appealed to the Catholic Church for an exorcism.

Born as Anna Elisabeth Michel on 21 September 1952 in Leiblfing, Bavaria, West Germany to a Roman Catholic family, Michel was raised along with three sisters by her parents, Joseph and Anna.

She was religious and attended Mass twice a week.

When she was 16, she experienced a severe convulsion and was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy.

In June 1970, Michel had a third seizure at the psychiatric hospital where she had been staying.

She was prescribed anti-convulsion drugs for the first time, including Dilantin, which did not alleviate the problem.

She described seeing "devil faces" at various times of the day.

That same month, she was prescribed Aolept, which is similar to chlorpromazine and is used in the treatment of various psychoses including schizophrenia, disturbed behavior, and delusions.

In 1973, Michel attended the University of Würzburg.

Her classmates later described her as "withdrawn and very religious".

By 1973, she began experiencing depression, hallucinated while praying and complained about hearing voices telling her that she was "damned" and would "rot in hell."

Michel's treatment in a psychiatric hospital did not improve her health and her depression worsened.

Long-term treatment also did not help, and she grew increasingly frustrated with her medical care after having taken pharmacological drugs for five years.

Michel became intolerant of Christian sacred places and objects, such as the crucifix.

Michel visited San Damiano with a family friend who regularly organized Christian pilgrimages.

Her escort concluded that she was suffering from demonic possession because she was unable to walk past a crucifix and refused to drink the water of a Christian holy spring.

"Anneliese told me—and Frau Hein confirmed this—that she was unable to enter the shrine. She approached it with the greatest hesitation, then said that the soil burned like fire and she simply could not stand it. She then walked around the shrine in a wide arc and tried to approach it from the back. She looked at the people who were kneeling in the area surrounding the little garden, and it seemed to her that while praying they were gnashing their teeth. She got as far as the edge of the little garden, then she had to turn back. Coming from the front again, she had to avert her glance from the picture of Christ [in the chapel of the house]. She made it several times to the garden, but could not get past it. She also noted that she could no longer look at medals or pictures of saints; they sparkled so immensely that she could not stand it."

Anneliese’s mother said that she saw stigmata on her daughter.

Anneliese believed she could communicate with Mary, mother of Jesus.

Michel's family and community became convinced that she was possessed and consulted several priests to request an exorcism.

The priests declined, recommended the continuation of medical treatment and informed the family that exorcisms required the bishop's permission.

In the Catholic Church, official approval for an exorcism is granted when the subject strictly meets the set criteria and is considered to be suffering from possession (infestatio) and under demonic control.

Intense dislike for religious objects and supernatural powers are some of the first indications.

Michel worsened physically and displayed aggression, injured herself, drank her own urine and ate insects.

In November 1973, Michel began treatment with Tegretol, an anti-seizure drug and mood stabilizer.

She was prescribed antipsychotic drugs during the course of the religious rites and consumed them frequently until some time before her death.

While rejected at first, two priests got permission from the local bishop in 1975.

The priests began conducting exorcism sessions and the parents stopped consulting doctors.

Anneliese Michel stopped eating food and died of malnourishment and dehydration after 67 exorcism sessions.

Michel's parents and the two Roman Catholic priests were found guilty of negligent Homicide and were sentenced to six months in jail (reduced to three years of probation), as well as a fine.

In a conference several years later, German bishops retracted the claim that she was possessed.

Several films are based on her story, including the 2005 film The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the award-winning 2006 film Requiem and the 2011 film Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes.