It’s one of those cases where the truth is so much scarier than fiction.
She was treated at a psychiatric hospital unsuccessfully and her symptoms worsened.
At age 20, Anneliese was suicidal.
Annaliese Michel and The Exorcism of Emily Rose
She had seizures, hallucinations, heard voices, and had violent reactions to religious words and objects.
She was also growling, self-harming, eating insects, anddrinking her own urine.
The movieThe Exorcistbased on the bestselling horror novel had come out two years earlier.
Anneliese and her family were very religious themselves and wondered if her health issues could stem from demonic possession.
One priest the family met with, Ernst Alt, said Anneliesedidnt look like an epileptic.
They decided to ask the Catholic Church for an exorcism.
In 1975, two priests began performing exorcisms on Anneliese.
At this time, Annelieses family stopped working with medical professionals.
Anneliese became malnourished and stopped eating as the exorcisms went on and on.
German officials found thatAnnelieses death was preventable up to a week before she succumbed to malnutrition.
Prosecuters argued that Anneliese had never had issues other than her medical health.
The church paid for the parents and priests lawyers, who played tapes of Annelieses exorcism during the trial.
Priests Ernst Alt and Arnold Renz argued that Annelieses demonic possession was serious.
The priests and Annelieses parents were all found guilty of negligent homicide and given 3 years probation.
Much of the scare factor of her story comes from the tapes created during her exorcisms.
During this time period,cases of a previously unknown disease (Bulimia) were rapidly risingin Germany.
Anneliese Michel was indeed a very sick woman who needed real help.
Unfortunately, she was instead subjected to 67 four-hour exorcisms and cut off from medical professionals.
The movie was incredibly popular in the years before Anneliese began displaying her own signs of demonic possession.
To be clear Im not, at all, saying Anneliese Michel made it up for attention.
Peoples symptoms are information about their health.
Annelieses last words were said to her mother.
After 67 exorcisms over a 10 month period, she was simply dying of starvation.
She told her mom Mother, Im afraid and passed.
As recently as 2005,Annelieses mother told the mediaGod told us to exorcise my daughters demons.
I dont regret her death.
