Anna Elisabeth "Anneliese"Michel (21 September 1952 – 1 July 1976) was a German woman whounderwent Catholic exorcism rites during the year before her death.She was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis (temporal lobe epilepsy)and had a history of psychiatric treatment, which was overall noteffective.
When Michel was 16, she experienced aseizure and was diagnosed with psychosis caused by temporal lobeepilepsy. Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with depression andwas treated by a psychiatric hospital. By the time she was 20, shehad become intolerant of various religious objects and began to hearvoices. Her condition worsened despite medication, and she becamesuicidal, also displaying other symptoms, for which she tookmedication as well. After taking psychiatric medications for fiveyears failed to improve her symptoms, Michel and her family becameconvinced she was possessed by a demon. As a result, her familyappealed to the Catholic Church for an exorcism. While rejected atfirst, after much hesitation, two priests got permission from thelocal bishop in 1975. The priests began conducting exorcism sessionsand the parents stopped consulting doctors. Anneliese Michel stoppedeating food and died due to malnourishment and dehydration after 67exorcism sessions. Michel's parents and the two Roman Catholicpriests were found guilty of negligent homicide and were sentenced tosix months in jail (reduced to three years of probation), as well asa fine.
The 2005 film The Exorcism of EmilyRose is loosely based on her story.
Early life
Born as Anna Elisabeth Michel on 21September 1952 in Leiblfing, Bavaria, West Germany, to a RomanCatholic family, Michel was brought up along with three sisters byher parents, Josef and Anna. She was religious and went to Mass twicea week. When she was sixteen, she suffered a severe convulsion andwas diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. In 1973, Michel graduatedand joined the University of Würzburg. Her classmates laterdescribed her as "withdrawn and very religious".
Psychiatric treatment
In June 1970, Michel suffered a thirdseizure at the psychiatric hospital where she had been staying. Shewas prescribed anti-convulsion drugs for the first time, includingDilantin, which did not alleviate the problem. She began describingseeing "devil faces" at various times of the day. That same month, she was prescribed another drug, Aolept, which issimilar to chlorpromazine and is used in the treatment of variouspsychoses including schizophrenia, disturbed behavior and delusions. By 1973, she suffered from depression and began hallucinating whilepraying, 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 herhealth and her depression worsened. Long-term treatment did not helpeither, and she grew increasingly frustrated with the medicalintervention, taking pharmacological drugs for five years. Michelbecame intolerant of Christian sacred places and objects, such as thecrucifix.
Michel went to San Damiano with afamily friend who regularly organized Christian pilgrimages. Herescort concluded that she was suffering from demonic possessionbecause she was unable to walk past a crucifix and refused to drinkthe water of a Christian holy spring:
Anneliese told me—and Frau Heinconfirmed this—that she was unable to enter the shrine. Sheapproached it with the greatest hesitation, then said that the soilburned like fire and she simply could not stand it. She then walkedaround the shrine in a wide arc and tried to approach it from theback. She looked at the people who were kneeling in the areasurrounding the little garden, and it seemed to her that whilepraying they were gnashing their teeth. She got as far as the edge ofthe little garden, then she had to turn back. Coming from the frontagain, she had to avert her glance from the picture of Christ [in thechapel of the house]. She made it several times to the garden, butcould not get past it. She also noted that she could no longer lookat medals or pictures of saints; they sparkled so immensely that shecould not stand it. —Father Alt
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