”WARNING BELOW VIDEO IS THE REAL AUDIO FROM THE ANNELIESE CASE, SOME LISTENERS MAY FIND IT DISTURBING”

When people ask if i believe in demonic possession there is always one case that comes to mind and that is the case of Anneliese Michel.

The above Audio Recording is real and is that of Annelise, personally every time i listen to it, it sends shivers down my spine!

The events that surround Annelise’s death has some what become a modern legend and the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose was based on the true life events that took place to Annelise Michel.

Annelise is known to many as a unofficial catholic saint – a women who suffered for our sins while others argue the events that occurred is evidence of what can happen when religious fervor goes to far. Regardless of what you believe the events which occurred was truly terrifying and she is forever remembered as the tragic figure behind one of the most well-known of demonic possession to date!

Annelise’s Story

Anneliese was born in 1952 and grew up in the small Bavarian town known as Klingenberg. Klingenberg is situated in the midst of the catholic heartland of Germany meaning her upbringing was very religious originated. Her family was traditional Catholics and as a long standing family tradition decided to dedicate Anneliese – at her request to an ecclesiastical career to become a teacher of the principles of the catholic religon.

Annelise’s later possession was blamed on the changes that was made within the catholic faith but like many families living in Bavarian at the time, Annelises family rejected the reform for modern day Catholicism. A psychological study conducted in 1974 by the Freiburg Institute for Border-Line Psychology determined that only 63 percent of Catholic theologians in Germany believed in the devil. When members of the public were asked a similar question by the Wickery Organization two years later, an overwhelming 89 percent denied the existence of the devil, in the form of a being Germans, both Catholic and non-Catholic, were highly skeptical about the very existence of Satan, therefore providing evidence that religious fanaticism wasn’t at play here.

If you look into how many Catholic exorcists there is in recent times within Germany, you will find that there is only 3, where its neighboring country France there is 70 and 350 within Poland. Such evidence suggests that Annelise grew up in a society that did not recognize or have a belief in the devil, let alone demonic possession, making this case a little more interesting and problematic for those who wish to quickly discredit the case as a religious fervour.

Annelise had quite a normal upbringing. Anneliese’s parents, Anna and Josef, have been described as strict, yet protective. Anneliese mother recalled how she“…liked life. She sang wilfully. She was an intelligent girl. Teachers and professors always complimented her.”

When Annelise turned 16 this was when her life began to change. In the September of 1968, she lost consciousness at school. Later that evening, sometime after midnight, Anneliese woke up, paralyzed. She lost control of her bladder, her breathing was laboured and her tongue felt sore. The moment quickly passed, but left Anneliese terrified.

However It wasnt until almost a year later, on the afternoon of 24th August 1969 that Annelise became a cause for concern. She suffered another brief blackout, followed by paralysis later the same day. Annelise’s mother took her to see her family physician. A referral was made to have a appointment with neurologist Dr. Siegfried Lüthy. On 27th August, Anneliese had an (EEG), which shown her brain activity to be normal. The doctor concluded that Anneliese was probably experiencing cerebral seizures, with symptoms of grand mal epilepsy. At this point, no anticonvulsant medication was prescribed.

Previously to this Annelise medically health had been some what varied, before the age of five, she had contracted mumps, measles and scarlet fever. She was regarded such a delicate child by her kindergarten teacher that her parents were counselled into keeping her home a year longer than the other children.

After Anneliese visited Dr Luthy she suffered from a terrible sore throat, which resulted in her tonsils being removed she then contracted pleurisy and pneumonia and a encountered a tuberculosis infection. She was so poorly that she had to stop attending school and had to go on bed rest. 11 On 28th February 1970, with no improvement in her condition, Anneliese was admitted to a clinic in Mittelberg which specialized in treating lung disease in young people. Before too long, her parents were informed that she had heart and circulatory problems.

In the June of 1970 Anneliese experienced a third episode. She visited a different neurologist, Dr. von Haller, and had another EEG. This time, however, the test revealed a series of irregularities. This resulted in treatment for epilepsy. On the 29th August, Anneliese returned home, but at this point it was very clear that the once very happy and healthy women was no more……

Anneliese’s Mental Health

From this point Anneliese’s mental health did start to deteriorate. With seeing multiple health care professionals it impacted on her general mental health state which resulted in Anneliese studying Christian literature and practices as a way of coping with the stress. She was placed in the Mittleberg clinic which again added to her stress as it was a cold and sanitized environment and away from all her home comforts. During her stay she was subjected to bullying from the other patients who was placed there and this resulted in Anneliese becoming depressed and withdrawn and would rarely discuss her stay at the clinic.

A visit to a psychiatrist, Dr Lenner highlighted some issues Anneliese had with her mother after her stay, Anneliese’s mother would not allow Anneliese to engage in social activities in the attempt to protect Annelise’s physical state but Anneliese didn’t take to kindly to this and Dr Lenner noted Anneliese’s hatred of her mother, and her use of holy objects and prayers as a means to control and discipline her daughters. This could perhaps explain Anneliese’s later aversion to such religious elements: they were a symbol of her mother’s control and this could later be a explanation to Anneliese’s possession.

“Fratzen”

It was during her stay in the Mittleberg clinic that Anneliese first mentioned encountering “Frazten”. Frazten in German meant grimaces. In September 1973 she described what she seen to Dr. Lüthy and said that ghastly, demonic faces would appear to he on upon witnessing this she claimed it left her feeling empty and as though the devil were inside of her and described smelling foul odours whenever Frazten came.

Seizures become more often and was more intensified. Anneliese claimed that the demonic faces were becoming more frequent, and that the voices which accompanied them told her that she was damned to hell. In between episodes Anneliese was able to live quite happily and quite normal and was even able to maintain a loving relationship with her boyfriend, Peter. At this point there was no word of possession and it was believed Anneliese epilepsy could simply be treated with medication.

Between March and April of 1973, Anneliese began hearing noises in her bedroom. In the middle of the night, she would be awoken by the sound of knocking. No other family member could hear these noises. Once again Anneliese was taken to see a doctor, who found her hearing to be perfectly normal.

It was during her exams at school that Anneliese’s symptoms escalated. The voices and hallucinations of demonic faces became worse and at this point she was beginning to have trouble speaking and walking and suffered from severe bouts of depression.

Possession

It was over dinner one night that triggered peoples thoughts that Annelise could be possibly possessed. Thea Heinz, A member of the local Church, was the first person to suggest this to Annelises mother. Her mother recalls that Anneliese’s hands swelled up to a huge size and Anneliese was crying out: “I have black hands. My Saviour, forgive me!”. As this occurred, she claimed to be able to see diabolic faces on the wall. She described them as having “7 crowns and 7 horns”.

It was in the Autumn of 1973 that Anneliese found solace in communications with Father Ernst Alt, a priest who shared her convictions that she was under the influence of Satan. Later in a interview Ernst Alt admitted that he approached the case with skepticism as he did not believe that demonic possession could happen in the case of someone who was baptized.

At this point Dr Luthy noted that at this point Anneliese was unable to make decisions for herself meaning at this point she was extremely vulnerable.

Anneliese seem to also have a intolerance of sacred objects, such as holy water and crucifixes at this point and on a visit to a pilgrimage with her father she found herself unable to enter a shrine.While there she claimed that the earth beneath her feet burned and to look upon holy pictures and sacramentals would pain her. On the way home, Anneliese was still not herself. Her voice had changed: it was deeper and masculine. She also was producing a foul odour which was so strong that other pilgrims on the bus could smell.

In addition to this, her mother, Anna, recalled one episode where Anneliese stood before a statue of the Virgin Mary, her eyes completely black. All of which suggested to those around Anneliese that she was indeed experiencing a possession.

The year The Exocists began….

It was on 9th September 1974, Anneliese had made the statement: “I cannot cope with reality.” suggesting at this point she may be experiencing a mental break down.

In May 1975, Anneliese lost her much loved grandmother, which again such a trauma added to Annelises deterioration in her mental health state. Annesliese just simply couldn’t cope with the realities that life brought and was unable to cope with the world around her.

It was in 1975 that Father Arnold Renz, a senior priest and exorcist, became involved in Anneliese’s case. On his first visit he claimed to have experienced a great force that would repeatedly throw Anneliese to the floor. Each time she would respond in the same way by getting up onto her knees and saying the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer. Anneliese’s mother stated that the devil would constantly throw her daughter to the ground, so much so that Anneliese eventually took to sleeping on the floor.

At this point it is important to mention that in the late 1960s and early seventies, epilepsy was not as well understood as it is today and all medical avenues for this case was visited which only left room for the preliminary steps towards exorcism to take place. Anneliese was still on epilepsy medication until a few days before her death. Priests, Renz and Alt, began a trial of exorcisms to deem if Anneliese was truly possessed. Part of that trial was interrogation – to find out why the entity is there and what it is they want. The priests mentally commended for the enitity to “Depart from her! Say who you are!”. which sent Anneliese into a frenzy, She grabbed herself by the neck and destroyed the rosary which she was wearing.

It was after this event, the priests appealed to the Bishop of Würzburg to approve an exorcism and the priests did delieverence rituals to try and keep the entity at bay.

On Sunday 3rd August 1975, Anneliese underwent her first exorcism.

The six demons

It was at this point the case escalated and Annesliese now was producing deep and guttural voices. The priests was so surprised at the rate the exorcism was processing that the priests was somewhat unprepared. It was unusual for a demonic entity to reveal itself so early on in a exorcism that the priests decided to conduct notes on the case and Annelisese suggesting to have recordings taken to produce to the world so that the world could realize that the devil did indeed exist.

Allegedly, six demons revealed themselves: Lucifer, Judas, Nero, Cain, Hitler and Fleischmann, a disgraced 16th century Frankish priest.

It was reported that whenever Hitler possessed Anneliese, he would announce himself to the priests with a ‘Sieg Heil’. Strangely, when it Hitler who took possession, Anneliese would speak with the correct Austrian inflections that Hilter would have used!

Annelise would spend her days speaking tongues, attacking family members with a incredible strength, bark like a dog, bite the head off a dead bird, eat spiders and drink her own urine. Anneliese said she could see demons dancing around the priests in mockery and Invisible forces would throw the tragic girl from wall to wall, resulting in Anneliese always covered in bruises from head to toe. Furniture would move around the house of their own accord and despite Anneliese increasing weight loss she would gorge on huge amounts of food and drink.

Episodes as such would carry on for many months and there was times where Anneliese would pick up. One day Anneliese and Peter went for a walk in the nearby woods. Anneliese wondered off alone in a trance like state, according to Peter.

At one time, Anneliese and Peter went for a walk in the nearby woods. However, once there, Anneliese walked off alone. According to Peter, she was in a trance-like state. Anneliese reported Walking alongside the Virgin Mary that day and said that she had told her that: “It pains my heart that so many souls are going to Hell… Someone needs to do penance… Would you like to do penance for the souls so that they do not enter Hell?”

Anneliese said she was given three days to consider the Virgin Mary’s offer.

When they arrived home, she told everyone of her vision. She said that she felt so much better and it was as almost as though the Virgin Mary had relieved Anneliese of her possession whilst she considered the offer.

The family was skeptical, but could not deny the happiness that Anneliese was now showing. When Anneliese expressed her willingness to accept the Virgin Mary’s proposal, her parents was not happy and tried to convince her to not but despite the attempts Annesliese had already made up her mind.

Anneliese claimed that, in her vision on the 31st October, the Virgin Mary would return to expel the demons if she chose not to accept the offer. When the day came, Anneliese was more willing than ever to become a vessel for all of mankind’s sins and make a martyr of herself.

On this day the demons presented themselves as rather passive and the priests seen the chance to intensify the session of exorcism. They claimed that the was able to extract the cries of agony that claimed to inhabit anneliese and when they started to pray to the Virgin Mary, a truly chilling cry came from within Anneliese. The voices yelled out: “She is coming!”

After the demons has been banished, Anneliese said in her normal voice: “I’m completely free now…completely free. It’s so wonderful…completely free.”

Ten to fifteen minutes later, is when this possession case took a unsual twist. All of the demons was back and claimed as much as they wanted to leave they couldnt…..they was trapped!!

From this day, it was claimed that the demons would continously moan how they wanted to leave but couldnt and called out “We want to go out, but we’re not allowed to.” Anneliese herself, was in pain. Father Alt tried to seek help from his friend and physician Dr. Richard Roth, who had previously been involved in the case and asked him to prescribe medication to help soothe Anneliese’s pain. The doctor didnt and in a interview in 2007 Father Alt states that Roth had said “I can’t give medication to a possessed person because I do not know how they might affect them. There is no injection against the devil.”

Annelisese now started to recieve what is known as stigmata marks (the wounds of christ , which represents themselves as nail inflicted wounds on the hands and feet as like when Jesus was nailed to the crufix).

Again Annelise was losing weight considerably regardless of the huge amount of food and drink she consumed .

At the beginning of 1976, Anneliese claimed that something would change in July. On 1st July, at the age of 23, she sadly passed away.

Anneliese had endured some sixty-seven exorcisms, some which had lasted up to four hours. Forty-two of these sessions were recorded on tape.

Moments before her death, Anneliese uttered the words: “Mother, I’m afraid.”

The autopsy reports shown that Annelise died to starvation he weighed a tiny 30 kilograms (68 pounds), and suffered from broken knees due to continuous genuflections.

A cover up?

The two priests, Renz and Alt, and Anneliese’s parents, Anna and Josef was suspected of Annelises death and were found guilty and were given six-month suspended prison sentences and three years’ probation.

Although a verdict was reached, the court proceedings were riddled with inconsistencies and defense lawyers submitted the priest’s exorcism tapes as evidence, but of course they wasnt taken seriously by the court and even a expert witness called to give evidence by the prosecution, Professor Hans Sattes of Wuertzburg University, concluded that Anneliese’s death had been a result of “a spiritual sickness and heavy psychic disturbance”.

Interestingly, the post-mortem examination for the court discovered that her brain was healthy: it showed no damage which could have caused epileptic seizures. Some believe that the evidence put forward could have been a cover up and the courts was out to discredit the catholic faith. The court seemed to openly mocked the positions of the priests. For example, the way in which the judge sought to ridicule Father Alt’s faith by asking the question: “I assume, Father, you’re not married, are you?”

Later on in years, the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose was released, but unlike many other possession cases, Annelieses family had nothing to do with it or profited from it in any way, infact when it was release her mother stated to the Telegraph in a interview “I don’t want to see the film and I don’t know anything about it.” and the journalist took note how Anna felt uncomfortable talking about the case and the film.

Whatever you believe, the case of Anneliese Michel is one of the most well-documented, and most interesting cases of alleged modern-day demonic possession to this date.

It is such a sad story, which regardless of what you believe, a young girl of just 23 lost her life, was it her mental and physical health state or was it her religious upbringing that influence this possession…..or are we looking at a true case of demonic possession here.

Ill leave you with that thought for you to deicide………..