The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel

Anneliese Michel was a 23-year-old German woman who believed she was possessed by demons. Between September 1975 and July 1976, she underwent 67 exorcism sessions performed by two Catholic priests. Audio recordings from these sessions captured voices unlike any human sound—voices claiming to be Hitler, Nero, Judas, and various demons. Anneliese died of malnutrition and dehydration in July 1976, having refused food in the belief that only starvation could defeat the demons. Her case became the basis for “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” and remains the most documented possession case in modern history.

Anneliese Michel

Early Life

Born September 21, 1952, in Leiblfing, Bavaria, Anneliese grew up in a strictly Catholic family. Her parents, Josef and Anna Michel, raised their children with deep religious devotion.

Health History:

• 1968: Diagnosed with epilepsy after a severe seizure
• 1969: Hospitalization for a grand mal seizure
• Ongoing treatment with anticonvulsant medications
• Depression and psychological difficulties in her teens

Despite her health challenges, Anneliese was intelligent and devout, eventually attending the University of Würzburg to study pedagogy.

The Manifestations

1973-1974

Anneliese began exhibiting behaviors she and her family attributed to demonic possession:

Symptoms:

• Aversion to religious imagery and objects
• Inability to pray
• Violent reactions to holy water
• Hearing voices
• Seeing demonic faces
• Depression and suicidal thoughts
• Voices commanding her to harm herself

The Family’s Response: Medical treatment hadn’t resolved her problems. Her deeply religious family began to consider supernatural explanations.

1975 — Seeking Exorcism

The Michel family approached the Catholic Church requesting an exorcism. Initially, the Church refused—exorcisms require extensive documentation and approval.

However, after months of appeals and deterioration of Anneliese’s condition, Bishop Josef Stangl of Würzburg authorized the rite.

The Priests:

• Father Arnold Renz — An older priest experienced in exorcism
• Father Ernst Alt — A younger priest who became her primary exorcist

The Exorcism

September 1975 — July 1976

The exorcism of Anneliese Michel was unlike any in modern history:

Duration:

• 67 separate exorcism sessions over 10 months
• Some sessions lasted over 4 hours
• Usually 1-2 sessions per week

The Recordings: Father Alt recorded approximately 42 audio tapes of the sessions. These recordings preserve:

• Anneliese’s normal voice
• Multiple distinct “demon” voices
• Conversations between priests and entities
• Prayers and rituals performed
• Anneliese’s suffering

The Voices

On the recordings, voices claiming to be various demons speak through Anneliese:

The Entities:

• Lucifer
• Judas Iscariot
• Nero
• Adolf Hitler
• Cain
• Valentin Fleischmann (a priest who died in the 16th century)
• Several unnamed demons

Characteristics:

• Voices ranged from guttural growls to high-pitched screams
• Some voices were masculine, some feminine
• Different personalities and knowledge displayed
• Responded to Latin prayers with Latin curses
• Showed knowledge Anneliese apparently didn’t possess

The Decline

As the exorcism progressed, Anneliese’s physical condition deteriorated:

Physical Symptoms:

• Extreme weight loss (she weighed 68 pounds at death)
• Self-inflicted injuries (genuflecting until her knees broke)
• Refusal to eat (believing starvation would expel the demons)
• Dehydration
• Pneumonia
• Exhaustion

The Final Days: In her last weeks, Anneliese was unable to walk due to broken knees from genuflecting. She spent much of her time in bed or being carried to sessions.

On July 1, 1976, she died in her sleep. The official cause: malnutrition and dehydration.

The Trial

Criminal Charges

German authorities charged Anneliese’s parents and both priests with negligent homicide for failing to seek medical attention.

The Evidence:

• Audio recordings of the exorcisms
• Medical records showing her decline
• Testimony from witnesses
• Expert psychiatric evaluations (posthumous)

The Defense: The defendants argued:

• Anneliese chose religious treatment over medical intervention
• She was an adult making her own decisions
• The exorcism was legitimate religious practice
• Her symptoms were consistent with possession, not mental illness

The Verdict (1978): All four defendants were found guilty of negligent homicide through failure to provide necessary medical care.

The Sentence: Six months in prison (suspended) and three years probation. The court acknowledged religious conviction but held that they should have ensured medical treatment.

Medical vs. Spiritual

Psychiatric experts at the trial concluded Anneliese suffered from:

• Temporal lobe epilepsy
• Depression
• Psychosis
• Anorexia nervosa

However, these diagnoses don’t fully explain:

• The multiple distinct voices
• Knowledge she shouldn’t have possessed
• Physical phenomena witnessed during exorcisms
• Her ability to identify blessed objects without seeing them

The Recordings

What’s on the Tapes?

Portions of the exorcism recordings have been made public. They contain:

The Voices: Unlike anything produced by a healthy human vocal apparatus. Acoustic analysis has shown frequencies difficult for humans to produce.

The Conversations: Demons (as they identified themselves) discussed theology, cursed God, and named their hierarchy.

The Suffering: Anneliese’s screams, prayers, and expressions of faith amid torment.

The Skeptical View: Mental illness can cause dissociative states and unusual vocalizations. Anneliese may have been performing what she believed was expected.

The Believer’s View: The recordings document genuine demonic possession—entities distinct from Anneliese speaking through her body.

Legacy

The Church’s Response

Following Anneliese’s death:

• The Vatican reviewed exorcism protocols
• Guidelines were strengthened to require medical examination
• Training for exorcists was modified
• The case became a cautionary example

Cultural Impact

Anneliese’s case inspired:

• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
• Requiem (2006 German film)
• Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes (2011)
• Multiple documentaries
• Ongoing debate about possession vs. mental illness

The Grave

Anneliese Michel is buried in Klingenberg. Her grave has become a pilgrimage site for those who believe she was a victim of demonic forces and a martyr who chose spiritual warfare over physical survival.

The Question

Was Anneliese Michel:

• A woman suffering from epilepsy and psychosis who was failed by those who should have helped her?
• A victim of genuine demonic possession whose exorcism, though fatal, was spiritually necessary?
• Both—someone with medical conditions that made her vulnerable to spiritual attack?

The audio recordings preserve something that defies easy explanation. The voices, the knowledge, the phenomena don’t fit neatly into psychiatric categories. But neither does the decision to let a young woman starve fit into any moral framework.

Anneliese died believing she was fighting demons. Whether she was right or whether her faith was exploited remains one of the most disturbing questions in modern religious history.

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Sixty-seven sessions. Multiple demonic voices on tape. A young woman starving to save her soul. Anneliese Michel’s exorcism ended in death, a trial, and questions that have never been answered. Listen to the recordings—if you dare—and ask yourself: What was speaking through her? And why did it take her life to silence it?