The Chilling Exorcism Of Anneliese Michel

**The Chilling Exorcism of Anneliese Michel** is a video made by Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej, uploaded onto YouTube on November 12, 2016. It was the fourth episode of the first season of BuzzFeed Unsolved: Supernatural, and was the twelfth episode overall. You can find it here.

## Description

One of the most chilling cases of demonic possession of all time.

## Notable Events

This is the first Supernatural episode that was filmed completely outside. It was also one of the only episodes where Father Gary Thomas was featured as a special guest.

## Background

In September 1968, in Klingenberg, Bavaria, Germany, sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel lost consciousness, and, during the night, felt a force pressing down on her chest.

In August 1969, eleven months later, a similar episode occurred, after which her mother took her to see Dr. Vogt, the family doctor, and Dr. Luthy, a neurologist. Luthy ran an EEG, or a brain scan, but found nothing wrong. Luthy and Vogt added that it could have possibly been a form of seizure.

In 1970, Anneliese had another episode, and an EEG taken showed there was still nothing wrong. However, she was prescribed an anticonvulsant, and in 1972, Anneliese's third loss of consciousness was followed by an EEG reporting mild irregular patterns. She was then prescribed Dilantin, an antiseizure medication.

In spring of 1973, Anneliese and her sisters began to hear knocking sounds in her bedroom. She also reported hearing a voice "damning her to hell." Anneliese's mother was fearful, recounting Anneliese angrily staring at a statue of the Virgin Mary, with "eyes turned jet black, and her hands, thick paws with claws."

In September of 1973, Anneliese described to Dr. Luthy that she felt "the devil was inside her," citing visions of demons tormenting her and smelling burnt feces. Others around her also smelled burnt feces at times. According to Anneliese's mother, Luthy advised the family to seek a Jesuit, which they found in Father Alt. However, Luthy would later deny he had said this.

In November, a Freudian psychiatrist diagnosed Anneliese as a neurotic with possible epilepsy. Another psychiatrist affirmed this, saying her mind had "epileptic patterns." They would later recall Anneliese's Delantin and replace it with the much stronger Tegretol.

In July 1975, Anneliese's behavior worsened, barely sleeping or eating, and praying fervently. Anneliese began to eat insects and arachnids, consuming her own urine, and destroying religious imagery, like rosaries, icons, and crucifixes. Anneliese's strength grew to what some described as close to superhuman, including throwing her sister "as if she were a rag doll" and squeezing an apple to explosion with one hand.

Father Rodewyk, who was considered to be an expert on exorcisms, had one approved by the Bishop, who deemed that Father Renz would officiate it. The first exorcism was performed September 24, and as they continued, Renz allowed them to be recorded, albeit in German. The following was transcripted from some of the tapes:

*Renz: "Why are you at all here?"*

*Anneliese, growling: "I have the right to be in this woman. I will carry this brat for so long, until she croaks, this dumbass bitch!" (screams) "For us there is no coming back! Never! For all eternity!"*

*Renz: "Say your name!"*

*Anneliese: "I, Judas, and Nero, Cain, and Hitler! That's five of us!"*

*Renz: "Who is the sixth?"*

*Anneliese: "We lied about him..."*

*Female in room: "Lucifer?"*

*Renz: "You lied about him?"*

Anneliese also named Valentin Fleishmann as one of her demons, presumably the sixth. Fleishmann, a priest in the 1500s, was excommunicated. Anneliese also gave accurate details about him that Father Alt claimed she had no knowledge of.

Ryan and Shane interview with Father Gary Thomas, a Vatican-approved exorcist, to find out the symptoms of possession. The symptoms are as follows: an aversion to the sacred, knowledge of hidden things, superhuman strength, and epileptic seizures.

In May of 1976, Anneliese deteriorated further, banging her head against the wall and biting herself and others. Her family reported tying her up out of fear for her safety. Anneliese testified that she felt she was "not permitted to eat" and, though likely weighing under eighty pounds, exhibited superhuman strength.

On May 30, Father Alt brought physician Richard Roth to Anneliese. Roth clarified later that this was out of scientific curiosity, and "not as a physician." His examination of Anneliese contrasted with Renz's―while Renz discovered Anneliese had a swollen cheek, several bruises, and black eyes, Roth declared her as having no external injuries.

In June, Anneliese refused doctor's visits and her face became sunken. At her last exorcism, on June 30, she only repeated "please... absolution." The next day, on July 1, she was found dead in her room by her family.

Her official cause of death was starvation after sixty-seven exorcisms. Though she had sought medical attention early on, Anneliese and her family ultimately placed her future with Father Alt and Father Renz. An autopsy taken noted that she had a healthy brain and had no evidence of damage due to seizures, "not even on a microscopic level." She had no ulcers on her body, which was often found in starvation victims, and had unusually dilated pupils.

Anneliese's family and the priests were accused of negligent homicide, which went to trial in 1978. The defense provided eyewitness testimony and submitted recordings of Anneliese's exorcisms, arguing that she had truly been possessed. They also brought up that Anneliese was legally allowed to deny treatment, especially because treatment at the time may have included tranquilizing, force-feeding her, and practicing electroshock therapy. An eyewitness at the trial and family friend, Thea Hein, recounted in 1976 that before Anneliese's death, she had "begged on her knees" to avoid getting treatment.

However, the prosecuting side argued that because Anneliese was thought to have epilepsy and psychosis, she should have been forced to go to treatment. Two experts on the prosecuting team also found Father Alt exhibiting signs of schizophrenia.

The prosecuting side did not accept evidence that Anneliese was being possessed, and they pointed out that Anneliese often went through periods of normal behavior between exorcisms.

They also argued that her medication successfully suppressed her seizures, but eventually morphed into "a delusional psychosis associated with epilepsy," where the exorcisms fed into Anneliese's delusions that she was being possessed. This meant that, according to the prosecutors, her psychosis was brought on by the medication she received. (However, it was actually unknown if the seizures stopped because of the medication, or stopped on their own, as Anneliese's visions of being possessed predated the medication).

The court eventually ruled against the Michels, Father Renz, and Father Alt, sentencing them to six months in prison and payment for all court costs. Father Renz and Father Alt would receive a three-year suspension. The court said that Anneliese was unable to make decisions for herself, and should have been forced to have medical care.

Professor Felicitas Goodman, author of "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel," mentioned that the theories that Anneliese had epilepsy were presented as fact, not speculation.

Ryan and Shane interview with Father Gary Thomas, who tells them about differentiating possession and mental illness. Father Thomas explains that his team works to find the root cause of the individual's "suffering," and that he works with a doctor, a clinical psychiatrist, a psychologist. He also mentions that a "formal exorcism" only happens as the last resort.

In 1978, Anneliese's body was dug up and put back. Mr. and Mrs. Michel told officials they wanted to transfer their daughter to a higher-quality coffin, as previously her body had been buried in a hurry. However, a Bavarian nun reportedly told Mr. and Mrs. Michel that she had had a vision of Anneliese's body perfectly preserved, as evidence for possession. When Anneliese's body was examined, it was found that her body was deteriorating normally, and she was buried in the Klingenberg Cemetery in Klingenberg, Bavaria, Germany.

In 1999, Anneliese's father, Josef Michel, died. It is unknown if her mother, Anna Michel, is alive.

The story was loosely adapted into the movies *The Exorcism of Emily Rose* (2005), *Requiem* (2006), and *Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes* (2011).

## Theories

* No official theories were presented in this episode, besides coverage of the 1978 trial.

## Quotes

* Ryan: "Oh, fuck, is that a bee? This is what you get, this is what you get," (to the bee) "Yeah, sick him―oh, fuck!" (is attacked by the bee)
* Shane: "I bet I could squeeze an apple 'til it exploded."
	+ Ryan: "I bet you a million dollars you couldn't."
	+ Shane (picking up an apple): "Here we go. Wait, this was Germany, so this was before preservatives."
	+ Ryan: "Hear that in the distance? That's the excuse train coming."
	+ Shane (struggling and failing to crush an apple): "Wait for it... You're full of shit, Ryan Bergara."
* Shane (imitating a demon): "'That's all―we're all here! It's all―I ran out of evil people to think of... uh... the blonde man from *Die Hard* is also in here! Skeletor from *Masters of the Universe!* Heath Ledger's Joker! Not Jack Nicholson, he was too cartoonish!'"
* Shane: "[Roth] technically was just like, 'look, I'm not here as a doctor. I just wanna see some of this crazy shit.'"