The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund

Anna Ecklund (pseudonym) underwent one of the most thoroughly documented and disturbing exorcisms in American Catholic Church history. Between 1912 and 1928, she was subjected to multiple exorcism sessions, the most intensive taking place over twenty-three days in a convent in Earling, Iowa. The case produced phenomena witnessed by nuns, priests, and others—levitation, knowledge of hidden things, speaking in languages never learned, and physical contortions. A Catholic priest published an account that became one of the most influential possession narratives of the twentieth century.

Early Life and First Possession

Anna Ecklund was born in the Midwest in the 1880s. According to the published account, she was a pious Catholic girl who began showing signs of possession at age fourteen in 1896. She developed an aversion to holy objects, particularly church and communion. She exhibited violent reactions to blessed items and began speaking in voices not her own.

Her family sought help from the Catholic Church. In 1912, Father Theophilus Riesinger, a German-born Capuchin priest specializing in exorcism, performed the rite on Anna. The exorcism appeared successful. Anna returned to normal life for over a decade.

The Return

In the mid-1920s, Anna’s symptoms returned with greater intensity. She again exhibited aversion to sacred objects. She spoke in multiple voices. She displayed knowledge she could not possess—revealing secrets of people she had never met, describing events happening at distant locations.

Father Riesinger was again contacted. He arranged for a more intensive exorcism to be conducted at a convent in Earling, Iowa, where the Franciscan Sisters operated a facility that could provide support and privacy.

The Earling Exorcism

Beginning on August 18, 1928, Father Riesinger conducted an exorcism that would last twenty-three days. What occurred during those days was witnessed by multiple nuns and documented in detail.

Anna exhibited phenomena that defied natural explanation:

Levitation: She rose from the bed and hung suspended near the ceiling, requiring physical force to pull her down. On other occasions, she became impossibly heavy, her body pressing into the bed with force far exceeding her weight.

Voice phenomena: Multiple distinct voices emerged from Anna—male and female, speaking German, Latin, and other languages she had never learned. The voices identified themselves as demons with names including Beelzebub and Judas Iscariot.

Physical contortions: Anna’s body twisted into positions that seemed impossible for human anatomy. Her head reportedly rotated completely around. Her body swelled grotesquely.

Projectile vomiting: Anna expelled enormous quantities of foul-smelling material, far more than she could have consumed. The nuns measured it in buckets.

Knowledge: The demons speaking through Anna revealed hidden sins of those present, described events happening elsewhere, and demonstrated knowledge of theology beyond what an uneducated woman could possess.

The Participants

Father Riesinger led the exorcism. He was assisted by Father Joseph Steiger, the parish priest of Earling. The Franciscan Sisters provided constant care and witnessed most of the phenomena.

The witnesses were educated people—clergy and religious who had devoted their lives to faith. They were not credulous believers in every supernatural claim but trained observers who nonetheless found Anna’s case convincing.

Resolution

After twenty-three days of intensive exorcism, the demons allegedly departed on September 9, 1928. Anna regained her composure, expressed gratitude, and showed no memory of what had transpired. She lived normally thereafter.

Publication

Father Riesinger provided detailed accounts to Father Carl Vogl, who published the case as “Begone Satan!” in 1935. The pamphlet became one of the most widely distributed possession accounts of the era, influencing Catholic understanding of exorcism and demonic possession.

The publication was careful to note that the case had ecclesiastical approval and that the witnesses included credible clergy who had directly observed the phenomena.

Analysis

The Anna Ecklund case has been analyzed from multiple perspectives.

Believers cite the number and quality of witnesses, the physical phenomena (levitation, impossible contortions), and the knowledge displayed as evidence of genuine demonic possession.

Skeptics suggest psychological explanations—dissociative disorders, hysteria, or deliberate performance. The detailed knowledge might be explained by cold reading or information gathered through normal means. The physical phenomena might be exaggerated in memory or simply fabricated.

Some historians note the cultural context—German Catholic immigrants in the Midwest with strong beliefs in demonic activity, a charismatic exorcist priest, and a cloistered convent where unusual events might be interpreted through supernatural frames.

Legacy

The Ecklund case influenced subsequent understanding of possession in America. “Begone Satan!” was translated into multiple languages and distributed worldwide. The case was cited in training materials for priests learning about exorcism.

The case also demonstrated the Catholic Church’s careful approach to possession claims—requiring multiple witnesses, documentation, and ecclesiastical approval before recognizing cases as genuine.

Whether Anna Ecklund was possessed by demons, suffering from unrecognized psychological illness, or something else entirely, her case remains one of the most detailed and influential possession accounts in American religious history.