Exorcism (from Greek ἐξορκισμός, exorkismos - binding by oath) is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed.^[1] Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions.

Requested and performed exorcisms occurred rarely until the later half of the 20th century where the public saw a sharp rise due to the media attention exorcisms were getting. There was “a 750% increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s”.^[2]

Christianity[link]

In Catholic Christianity, exorcisms are performed in the name of Jesus Christ.^[3] A distinction is made between a formal exorcism, which can only be conducted by a priest during a Baptism or with the permission of a Bishop, and "prayers of deliverance" which can be said by anyone.

The Catholic rite for a formal exorcism, called a "Major Exorcism", is given in Section 13 of the Rituale Romanum.^[4] The Ritual lists guidelines for conducting an exorcism, and for determining when a formal exorcism is required.^[5] Priests are instructed to carefully determine that the nature of the affliction is not actually a psychological or medical illness before proceeding.^[3]

In Christian practice the person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the church, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use prayers, and religious material, such as set formulas, gestures, symbols, icons, amulets, etc. The exorcist often invokes God, Jesus, a litany of saints, and/or several different angels and archangels to intervene with the exorcism. It may take several weekly exorcisms over several years to expel a deeply entrenched demon.^[5][6]

In general, possessed persons are not regarded as evil in themselves, nor wholly responsible for their actions.^[7] Therefore, practitioners regard exorcism as more of a cure than a punishment. The mainstream rituals usually take this into account, making sure that there is no violence to the possessed, only that they be tied down if deemed necessary for their own protection and that of the practitioner.^[8]

Hinduism[link]

Beliefs and practices pertaining to the practice of exorcism are prominently connected with Hindus. Of the four Vedas (holy books of the Hindus), the Atharva Veda is said to contain the secrets related to magic and alchemy.^[9][10] The basic means of exorcism are the mantra and the yajna used in both Vedic and Tantric traditions. Vaishnava traditions also employ a recitation of names of Narasimha and reading scriptures, notably the Bhagavata Purana aloud. According to Gita Mahatmya of Padma Purana, reading the 3rd, 7th and 8th chapter of Bhagavad Gita and mentally offering the result to departed persons helps them to get released from their ghostly situation. Kirtan, continuous playing of mantras, keeping scriptures and holy pictures of the deities (Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Shakti, etc.) (especially of Narasimha) in the house, burning incense offered during a Puja, sprinkling water from holy rivers, and blowing conches used in puja are other effective practices.^{[citation needed]}

The main puranic resource on ghost and death-related information is Garuda Purana.^{[citation needed]}

Islam[link]

In Islam, exorcism is called ruqya. It is used to repair the damage caused by sihr or witchcraft. It consists of reciting some specific verses from the Quran which glorify God (e.g. The Throne Verse (Arabic: آية الكرسي Ayatul Kursi), and invoke God's help. In some cases, the adhan (the call for daily prayers) is also read, as this has the effect of repelling non-angelic unseen beings or the jinn.

The Islamic prophet Muhammad taught his followers to read the last three suras from the Quran, Surat al-Ikhlas (The Fidelity), Surat al-Falaq (The Dawn) and Surat al-Nas (Mankind).

Judaism[link]

Josephus reports exorcisms performed by administering poisonous root extracts and others by making sacrifices.^[11] The Dead Sea Scrolls mention that exorcisms were done by the Essene branch of Judaism.

In more recent times, Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya authored the book Minchat Yahuda, which deals extensively with exorcism, his experience with possessed people, and other subjects of Jewish thought. The book is written in Hebrew and was translated into English.

Rabbi Gershon Winkler of New Mexico explains that the procedure for a Jewish exorcism is intended not only to drive away the possessing force, but to help both the possessor and the possessed in an act of healing. The Jewish exorcism ritual is performed by a rabbi who has mastered practical Kabbalah. Also present is a minyan (a group of ten adult males), who gather in a circle around the possessed person. The group recites Psalm 91 three times, and then the rabbi blows a shofar (a ram's horn). The shofar is blown in a certain way, with various notes and tones, in effect to "shatter the body" so that the possessing force will be shaken loose. After it has been shaken loose, the rabbi begins to communicate with it and ask it questions such as why it is possessing the body of the possessed. The minyan may pray for it and perform a ceremony for it in order to enable it to feel safe, and so that it can leave the person's body.^[12]

Scientific view[link]

Demonic possession is not a valid psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognized by either the DSM-IV or the ICD-10. Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed the symptoms associated with mental illnesses, such as hysteria, mania, psychosis, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder, to possession.^[13][14][15] In cases of dissociative identity disorder in which the alter personality is questioned as to its identity, 29% are reported to identify themselves as demons.^[16] Additionally, there is a form of monomania called demonomania or demonopathy in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.

The illusion that exorcism works on people experiencing symptoms of possession is attributed by some to placebo effect and the power of suggestion.^[17] Some supposedly possessed persons are actually narcissists or are suffering from low self-esteem and act like a "demon possessed person" in order to gain attention.^[13]

Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck researched exorcisms and claimed to have conducted two himself. He concluded that the Christian concept of possession was a genuine phenomenon. He derived diagnostic criteria somewhat different from those used by the Roman Catholic Church. He also claimed to see differences in exorcism procedures and progression. After his experiences, and in an effort to get his research validated, he attempted but failed to get the psychiatric community to add the definition of "Evil" to the DSM-IV.^[18] Although Peck's earlier work was met with widespread popular acceptance, his work on the topics of evil and possession generated significant debate and derision. Much was made of his association with (and admiration for) the controversial Malachi Martin, a Roman Catholic priest and a former Jesuit, despite the fact that Peck consistently called Martin a liar and manipulator.^[19][20] Other criticisms leveled against Peck included claims that he had transgressed the boundaries of professional ethics by attempting to persuade his patients to accept Christianity.^[19]

Notable exorcisms[link]

• An October 2007 mākutu lifting in the Wellington, New Zealand suburb of Wainuiomata led to the death by drowning of a woman and the hospitalization of a teen. After a long trial, five family members were convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences.^[21]
• Mother Teresa allegedly underwent an exorcism late in life under the direction of the Archbishop of Calcutta, Henry D'Souza, after he noticed she seemed to be extremely agitated in her sleep and feared she "might be under the attack of the evil one."^[22]
• Anneliese Michel was a Catholic woman from Germany who was said to be possessed by six or more demons and subsequently underwent a secret ten-month-long voluntary exorcism in 1975. Two motion pictures, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem are loosely based on Anneliese's story. The documentary movie Exorcism of Anneliese Michel ^[23] (in Polish, with English subtitles) features the original audio tapes from the exorcism. The two priests and her parents were convicted of negligent manslaughter for failing to call a medical doctor to address her eating disorder. When she died she weighed 68 pounds. The case has been labelled a misidentification of mental illness, negligence, abuse, and religious hysteria.
• Michael Taylor in 1974.
• A boy identified as Robbie Mannheim,^[24][25] was the subject of an exorcism in 1949, which became the chief inspiration for The Exorcist, a horror novel and film written by William Peter Blatty, who heard about the case while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University. Robbie was taken into the care of Rev. Luther Miles Schulze, the boy's Lutheran pastor, after psychiatric and medical doctors were unable to explain the disturbing events associated with the teen; the minister then referred the boy to Rev. Edward Hughes, who performed the first exorcism on the teen.^[26] The subsequent exorcism was partially performed in both Cottage City, Maryland and Bel-Nor, Missouri^[27] by Father William S. Bowdern, S.J., Father Raymond Bishop S.J. and a then Jesuit scholastic Fr. Walter Halloran, S.J.^[28]
• Salvador Dalí is reputed to have received an exorcism from Italian friar Gabriele Maria Berardi while he was in France in 1947. Dali created a sculpture of Christ on the cross that he gave the friar in thanks.^[29]
• Clara Germana Cele was a South African school girl who claimed to be possessed in 1906.
• Johann Blumhardt performed the exorcism of Gottliebin Dittus over a two year period in Möttlingen, Germany from 1842-1844. Pastor Blumhardt's parish subsequently experienced growth marked by confession and healing, which he attributed to the successful exorcism.^[30][31]
• George Lukins in 1778.

Cultural references[link]

Exorcism has been a popular subject in fiction, especially horror.

• The Dybbuk (1914 play by S. Ansky)
• The Exorcist (1971 novel by William Peter Blatty; inspired by exorcism of Robbie Mannheim)
• The Exorcist (1973 film, and its sequels and prequels, were inspired by the exorcism of Robbie Mannheim and the Roman Catholic ritual of exorcism; based on the novels by William Peter Blatty).
• Repossessed (1990 comic movie starring Linda Blair and Leslie Nielsen)
• Days of Our Lives (1995 saw the first ever excorcism performed on a daytime soap opera)
• Marley Davidson (1995 comic book series debut of Marley Davidson, an exorcist in a fictionalized South Bronx)
• Stigmata (1999 film starring Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Bryne)
• Possessed (2000 film inspired by exorcism of Robbie Mannheim)
• Exorcist: The Beginning (2004 movie) a prequel to the 1973 film The Exorcist.
• Supernatural (2005 television series, has many exorcisms throughout)
• Constantine (2005 movie) is based on the DC/Vertigo comic book Hellblazer.
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005 movie) was inspired by the Anneliese Michel case.
• Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005 movie) was an alternate prequel to The Exorcist directed by Paul Schrader.
• A Haunting (2005 Discovery Channel TV series about reportedly true stories, many involving demons and exorcisms.)
• Requiem (2006 German-language movie by Hans-Christian Schmid) is based on the Anneliese Michel case.
• D.Gray-man (2006 Japanese animation series by Hoshino Katsura)
• Grudge 2 (2006 English movie based on the Japanese Ju-on series)
• Apparitions (2008 TV series)
• Boys Do Cry (2007 Family Guy episode about the town of Quahog trying to exorcise Stewie, forcing the family to leave Rhode Island)
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (Showtime TV series) Season 5, Episode 5 - "Exorcism", air date: April 19, 2007. Provides some skeptical commentary on the usefulness and scientific validity of exorcisms.
• 1920 (2008 Bollywood movie)
• True Blood (2008 HBO television series)
• Paranormal State (2008 A&E TV series)
• The Unborn (2009 film)
• Blue Exorcist (2009 Japanese manga)
• The Last Exorcism (2010 American mockumentary horror film)
• The Rite (2011 film)
• Season of the Witch (2011 film)
• 6 Days on Earth (2011 film)
• The Devil Inside (2012 film)

See also[link]

• Exorcist
• Deliverance ministry
• International Association of Exorcists
• Kecak
• List of exorcists
• Yoruba religion
• Gay exorcism

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• William Baldwin, D.D.S., Ph.D., "Spirit Releasement Therapy". ISBN 1-882658-00-0. Practitioner & Instructor of Spirit Releasement Therapy, containing an extensive bibliography.
• Shakuntala Modi, M.D., "Remarkable Healings, A Psychiatrist Discovers Unsuspected Roots of Mental and Physical Illness." ISBN 1-57174-079-1 Gives cases, and statistical summaries of the kinds of maladies remedied by this therapy.
• Bobby Jindal, BEATING A DEMON: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare. (New Oxford Review, December 1994)
• David M. Kiely and Christina McKenna, The Dark Sacrament : True Stories of Modern-Day Demon Possession and Exorcism. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2007. ISBN 0-06-123816-3. Ten detailed accounts from the casebooks of two exorcists, one Roman Catholic, the other Anglican. The cases are very recent.
• Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans. ISBN 0-06-065337-X.
• M. Scott Peck, Glimpses of the Devil : A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption. ISBN
• Max Heindel, The Web of Destiny (Chapter I - Part III: "The Dweller on the Threshold" Earth-Bound Spirits, Part IV: The "Sin Body"--Possession by Self-Made Daemons—Elementals, Part V: Obsession of Man and of Animals), ISBN 0-911274-17-0
• Frederick M Smith, The Self Possessed: Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-231-13748-6
• Gabriele Amorth, An Exorcist Tells His Story. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999. Vatican's chief exorcist tells about Roman Catholic practice of exorcism with numerous anecdotes from his own experience.
• G. Paxia, The Devil's Scourge - Exorcism during the Italian Renaissance, Ed. WeiserBooks 2002.
• J McCarthy The Exorcists Handbook - Approaches the subject of exorcism in a clear non-religious manner. Golem Media Publishers Berkeley CA ISBN 978-1-933993-91-1
• Piero Cantoni, Demonologia e prassi dell’esorcismo e delle preghiere di liberazione, en Fides Catholica 1 (2006,. [1].
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 391-395; 407.409.414.
• Don Gino Oliosi, Il demonio come essere personale. Una verità di fede, Fede & Cultura, 2008.

External links[link]

• "An Evening with an Exorcist," a talk given by Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer* Catholic Exorcism - Web Site
• Bobby Jindal. BEATING A DEMON: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare. (New Oxford Review, December 1994)
•  "Exorcism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Exorcism
• Encyclopædia Britannica: Exorcism
• Diocese of Worcester webpages on Ministry of Deliverance Anglican View
• Exorcism in the Orthodox Church
• The Catholic Prayer of Exorcism in Latin

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Anneliese Michel (21 September 1952 – 1 July 1976) was a German Catholic woman who was said to be possessed by demons and subsequently underwent an exorcism. The case has been labelled by some as a misidentification of mental illness, negligence, abuse, and religious hysteria.^[1]

Three motion pictures, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Requiem, and the Asylum film Anneliese Michel: The Exorcist Tapes, are loosely based on Michel's story.

Early life[link]

Anneliese Michel was born on 21 September 1952 in Leiblfing, Bavaria, West Germany to a strict Catholic family. When she was sixteen, she suffered a severe convulsion and was diagnosed as having epilepsy.^[2] Soon, she began hallucinating while praying.^[2] In 1973, she suffered from depression and began to hear voices telling her that she was “damned”^[3] and would "rot in hell".^[2]

Psychiatric treatment[link]

Her treatment in an unnamed psychiatric hospital did not improve Michel’s health. Moreover, her depression began to deepen. She grew increasingly frustrated with medical intervention as it did not help. Long-term medical treatment proved unsuccessful; her condition, including her depression, worsened with time. A devout Catholic, Michel began to attribute her condition to demonic possession. Michel became intolerant of sacred places and objects, such as the crucifix, which she attributed to her own demonic possession. Throughout the course of the religious rites Michel underwent, she was prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, which she may not have taken.

In June 1970, Michel suffered a third seizure at the psychiatric hospital where she had been staying and was prescribed anti-convulsants for the first time. The name of the drug she was prescribed is not known (Gambutrol, mentioned in a movie loosely based on her story, is a fictional drug); the drug did not bring about immediate alleviation of Michel’s symptoms. She also continued talking about what she called “devil faces”, seen at various times of the day. Michel became convinced that conventional medicine was of no help. Growing increasingly adamant that her illness was of a spiritual kind, she appealed to the Catholic Church to perform an exorcism on her. That same month, she was prescribed another drug, Aolept (pericyazine), which is a phenothiazine with general properties similar to those of chlorpromazine: pericyazine is used in the treatment of various psychoses, including schizophrenia and disturbed behaviour. In November 1973, Michel started her treatment with Tegretol (carbamazepine), an anti-seizure drug and mood stabilizer. Michel took this medicine frequently, until shortly before her death.

Exorcism and death[link]

Anneliese went on a pilgrimage to San Damiano with a good friend of the family, Thea Hein, who regularly organized such pilgrimages to “holy places” not officially recognized by the church.^[4] Because Anneliese was unable to walk past a crucifix and refused to drink the water of a holy spring, her escort concluded that she was suffering from demonic possession.^[3] Both Anneliese and her family became convinced she was possessed and consulted several priests, asking for an exorcism. The priests declined, recommended the continuation of medical treatment, and informed the family that exorcisms required the bishop's permission.^[2] Eventually, in a nearby town, they came across vicar Ernst Alt, who, after seeing Anneliese, declared that she didn't “look like an epileptic” and that he didn't see her having seizures.^[4] He believed she was suffering from demonic possession.^[3] Alt urged the bishop to allow an exorcism. In September 1975, Bishop Josef Stangl granted Father Renz permission to exorcise according to the Rituale Romanum of 1614,^[3] but ordered total secrecy.^[5] Renz performed the first session on 24 September.

Once convinced of her possession, Anneliese, her parents, and the exorcists stopped seeking medical treatment, and put her fate solely into the hands of the exorcism rites.^[3] Sixty-seven exorcism sessions, one or two each week, lasting up to four hours, were performed over about ten months in 1975 and 1976.^[3] At some point, Michel began talking increasingly about dying to atone for the wayward youth of the day and the apostate priests of the modern church, and she refused to eat. At her own request, doctors were no longer being consulted.^[3]

On 1 July 1976, Anneliese died in her sleep. The autopsy report stated the cause of death as malnutrition and dehydration from almost a year of semi-starvation while the rites of exorcism were performed.^[6] She weighed 68 pounds (30.91 kilograms)

Prosecution[link]

After an investigation, the state prosecutor maintained that Michel’s death could have been prevented even one week before she died.

In 1976, the state charged Anneliese's parents and priests Father Ernst Alt and Father Arnold Renz with neglectful homicide.^[7] During the case Anneliese's body was exhumed and tapes were played to the court of the exorcisms over the eleven months leading to her death.^[7][8] The parents were defended by Erich Schmidt-Leichner.^[7] The state asked that no involved parties be jailed; instead the recommended sentence for the priests was a fine. The prosecution asked the parents be recused from punishment as they had "suffered enough".^[7]

Trial and courtroom charges[link]

The trial started on 30 March 1978, in the district court and drew intense interest. Before the court, the doctors claimed the woman was not possessed, although Dr. Richard Roth, who was asked for medical help by Father Alt, allegedly said after the exorcism he witnessed on 30 May 1976, that “there is no injection against the devil, Anneliese”. The priests were defended by lawyers retained by the Church, and the parents were defended by Erich Schmidt-Leichner. Schmidt-Leichner claimed that the exorcism was legal and that the German constitution protected citizens in the unrestricted exercise of their religious beliefs. The defense played tapes recorded at the exorcism sessions, sometimes featuring what was claimed to be “demons arguing”, as proof that Michel was indeed possessed. Both priests presented their deeply held conviction that she was possessed and that she was finally freed by exorcism just before she died. Ultimately, the accused were found guilty of manslaughter resulting from negligence and were sentenced to six months in jail (which was later suspended) and three years of probation. It was a far lighter sentence than anticipated but it was more than demanded by the prosecution, who had asked that the priests only be fined and that the parents be found guilty but not punished. During the trial, the major lingering issues were related to the Church itself. A not-guilty verdict could be seen as opening the gate to more exorcism attempts, and possibly unfortunate outcomes. But for the most part, experienced observers believed the effect would be the opposite: that merely bringing charges of negligent homicide against priests and parents would provoke changes and more caution in the carrying out of exorcisms.^{[citation needed]}

Exhumation[link]

Before the trial, the parents asked the authorities for permission to exhume the remains of their daughter. Their request came after receiving a message from a Carmelite nun from the district of Allgäu in southern Bavaria. The nun told the parents that she had a vision of their daughter’s still-intact body and that the vision authenticated the supernatural character of the daughter's case. The official reason presented by the parents to authorities was that Michel had been buried in undue hurry in a cheap coffin. Almost two years after the burial, on 25 February 1978, her remains were replaced in a new oak coffin lined with tin.

The official reports (to date^[when?] undisputed by any authority^[who?]) state that the body bore the signs of consistent deterioration. The accused exorcists were discouraged from seeing the remains of Michel. Father Arnold Renz later stated that he had been prevented from entering the mortuary.

Footnotes[link]

Sources[link]

• Goodman, Felicitas D. (1988). How about Demons?: Possession and Exorcism in the Modern World. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-32856-X.
• Goodman, Felicitas D. (1981) The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel. Eugene: Resource Publications. ISBN 1-59752-432-8.
• Getler, Micheal. "Cries of a Woman Possessed : German Court Hears Tapes in Exorcism Death Trial" in The Washington Post (21 April 1978)

External links[link]

• Anneliese Michel at Find a Grave