ANNELIESE MICHEL: EXORCISM, LETTER AND FILM - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Anneliese Michel was a young woman born in Germany in 1952 who starred in one of the most famous exorcisms performed in recent decades. This popularity was contributed by the release of a film in 2005 based on her story: The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Born into a family with strong Catholic beliefs, Michel began to have health problems since her teens. She was admitted to two hospitals and was diagnosed with epilepsy. The family always maintained that their daughter was possessed by various demons and requested help from the Church.

After several rejections, his request was granted and the exorcism ritual was performed. Unfortunately, Anneliese passed away during the last exorcism she underwent. Later there was a trial to decide if there was any criminal responsibility on the part of the parents and the exorcists.

The more than 40 hours recorded during the ritual and the letter that, apparently, Anneliese herself wrote, have become very valuable objects for researchers of the paranormal.

Anneliese Michel story

Anneliese Michel was born in Leiblfing, a town in West Germany, on September 21, 1952. Her family was Catholic and, especially her mother, a very believer. The girl was raised in the maternal belief that only pain could cause sins to be redeemed.

According to witnesses, Anneliese was a very good girl and she continually tried to please her mother. Thus, she came to sleep for a time on the bare ground, as a way to redeem the sins of the drug addicts in the area.

The girl's mother had gone through a rather traumatic event in her youth: she had a girl when she was single and her family rejected her. Although the baby died, she was forced to wear a black veil at her wedding, as the family considered her impure.

According to some psychologists, this left a mark on the lady and it showed in the education she gave her daughter.

Adolescence

It was during adolescence that Anneliese began to have problems. At the age of 16, she had a seizure that doctors diagnosed as a result of suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy. This led her to suffer from depression; she was finally admitted to the psychiatric hospital in Würzburg

In 1969, from the age of 17, Michel's personality changed. The epileptic seizures did not subside and from being a sweet young woman she went on to insult and attack her family. The treatments she was subjected to did not seem to be working; in addition, her depression was becoming more serious.

Returning home and getting worse

After staying in the hospital, Anneliese returned home. There her condition deteriorated and the family began to report strange phenomena.

The young woman seemed to show great rejection of all religious symbols. Likewise, she indicated that she began to hear voices that encouraged her to commit suicide. That, and the hallucinations he suffered, caused him to stop eating normally.

Other strange behaviors of Michel were screaming non-stop for days, drinking his urine and eating insects.

It was then that the family first went to church for help. They began to think that something beyond an illness was affecting their daughter and that she could be possessed.

Petition for exorcism

The first request was rejected by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but the situation was getting worse. The young woman reported that what she called "evil faces" appeared to her while she prayed, and at home the conviction of the presence of a devil grew.

The second request for an exorcism was also not accepted. For their part, the doctors prescribed even stronger drugs to no avail.

Exorcism

Finally, the church changed its mind. The ecclesiastical authorities appointed two exorcists, Father Arnold Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt, to carry out the ritual.

This was not easy and the two religious had two weekly sessions with Annaliese for 9 months to try to expel the supposed demon.

Each of those sessions lasted four hours and they claimed that there were up to 6 demons in the girl's body, including Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Cain, and Adolf Hitler.

The ritual provoked violent reactions in Anneliese. She had to be held by three men and was even shackled by the force she showed.

Furthermore, he refused to eat and broke his knees during one of the exorcisms. During these, she answered in strange languages and, according to witnesses, with different voices.

All these details could be collected thanks to the recordings made by the exorcists: there are more than 42 hours of recording. There were also numerous witnesses among the neighbors.

Last chance

After many unsuccessful attempts, the last exorcism took place on June 30, 1976. At those times, Michel's state of health was very bad; the lack of food was beginning to take its toll. Malnourished and dehydrated, the intensity of the ritual was too much for her.

Death and investigation

Affected by pneumonia and anemia, Anneliese passed away on July 1, 1976. According to her mother, her last words were "I'm afraid."

When the case was made public, the authorities began an investigation to define the responsibility of the parents and the religious. In the subsequent trial they were found guilty of negligent homicide. The sentence was only six months in jail, but they were paroled after posting bail.

Another interesting consequence of this case is that the Vatican changed some aspects of the exorcism rite. Thus, in 1999 they enacted some reforms, the first in three centuries.

Among these reforms are that the exorcists should have medical knowledge. In any case, most of the recommendations of the German bishops were rejected.

Anneliese letter

One of the mysteries of this case is an alleged letter that Anneliese herself would have written during the exorcism to which she was being subjected. There are different versions of this letter, and there are even those who are very incredulous about its existence.

Apparently it would be a letter written in 1975 and that one of the exorcists delivered to the bishop. In this the young woman declared that she did not want to continue with the ritual.

Anneliese reportedly claimed that the Virgin had appeared to her and given her two options: one, to be released from her possession; and another, to continue being possessed so that the world could realize the dangerousness of demons. It seems that the young woman chose the second option in her letter.

Movie

Anneliese Michel's story became very popular when, in 2005, a movie based on her story was released: The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The film was directed by Scott Derrickson and starred Tom Wilkinson, Laura Linney and Jennifer Carpenter.

Although the action was set in the United States, the writers took Anneliese's story as a basis. The action begins in the trial that took place after the death of the young woman and, through a flashback, recounts the entire process of exorcisms.

The film was very successful, both at the box office and critically. It went on to win several awards at festivals specialized in horror and is considered one of the best of the genre in recent years.

References

1. The Thinker. The exorcism of Emily Rose, demonic possession or medical negligence ?. Obtained from elpensante.com
2. Villa, Bernadette. The chilling exorcism of Anneliese Michel, the real Emily Rose. Obtained from biobiochile.cl
3. Barclay, Shelly. Anneliese Michel Exorcism and Death. Retrieved from historicmysteries.com
4. Dallaire. Glenn. The Exorcism and death of Anneliese Michel – Why did she die? The true story. Retrieved from myst Componenteshechurch.com
5. Castellano, Daniel J. The Real "Emily Rose": Fact and Fiction about Anneliese Michel. Retrieved from arcaneknowledge.org
6. Duffey, John M. Lessons Learned: The Anneliese Michel Exorcism. Recovered from books.google.es
7. Hansen, Eric T. What in God's Name?!. Retrieved from washingtonpost.com
8. Filmaffinity. Emily Rose's exorcism. Retrieved from filmaffinity.com