When sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel began having seizures and hallucinations in 1968, her parents took her to a doctor, who diagnosed Anneliese with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression and recommended psychiatric treatment. Two years later, however, her delusions and hallucinations returned, manifesting in the form of “devil faces” and voices that telling her she was evil and would be going to hell. Believing the treatment wasn’t working and fearing Anneliese was possessed by demons, Anneliese’s family arranged for her to be visited by a local Jesuit priest, who confirmed their fear: Anneliese was possessed and the only way to save her soul was an exorcism.
When sixteen-year-old Anneliese Michel began having seizures and hallucinations in 1968, her parents took her to a doctor, who diagnosed Anneliese with temporal lobe epilepsy and depression and recommended psychiatric treatment. Two years later, however, her delusions and hallucinations returned, manifesting in the form of “devil faces” and voices that telling her she was evil and would be going to hell. Believing the treatment wasn’t working and fearing Anneliese was possessed by demons, Anneliese’s family arranged for her to be visited by a local Jesuit priest, who confirmed their fear: Anneliese was possessed and the only way to save her soul was an exorcism.
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Sword, Autumn. 2021. "Seized By the Spirit: Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and the Exorcism of Anneliese Michel." Skeptical Inquirer, July 30.
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