When it comes to horror movies, conflict between Science and Faith is extremely potent because it gets down to core beliefs. Any time one of these perspectives faces the break down of basic principles of belief it makes for a crazy ride for the protagonist. Films like THE OMEN, ROSEMARY’S BABY, and THE EXORCIST work so well because they lead you to imagine what might happen if a few bad things outside of your daily reckoning were actually possible. You find yourself taking extra precautions, or leaving on a few more lights, because these movies put that little whisper in your ear that maybe there are things – bad things – out there that you never really thought possible.
But who can be sure?
Which brings me to the upcoming movie: THE EXORCISM OF EMILY
ROSE. This is based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a 19 year old girl reportedly possessed by a demon, who eventually died from the exorcism rites performed on her. While the movie keeps the same basic story, it does fictionalize many aspects as movies are wont to do, so I thought it’d be cool to look at the actual case. Especially since a lot of how you interpret what happened to her has as much to do with your personal perspective of the possible as it does with the facts at hand. Whatever you believe, the ultimate tragedy in this case is the failure of either men of faith or science to get this poor young woman help.
Around 1968 Anneliese, after a major seizure, was diagnosed as epileptic at the Psychiatric Clinic in Würzburg. She remained hospitalized for almost two years, and eventually began seeing demonic faces during her daily prayers. When Anneliese returned to school in the fall of 1970 things only got worse.
In addition to the startling images that haunted her in the hospital, Anneliese began to hear voices. Coming from a strict Catholic background, and lacking any other explanation, Anneliese began to attribute her condition to demonic possession. She grew increasingly frustrated with medical intervention as it did not seem to affect her core problems. Only once did she mention her “demons” to a Doctor, but her concerns were not taken seriously.
By the summer of 1973, her parents began to inquire of different pastors if they would perform an exorcism on their daughter. They all refused. The Infestatio (proof of possession) is very specific on the criteria that must be fulfilled. Some of the crucial elements include an aversion to religious objects, speaking in languages the person never learned, and evidence of supernatural powers.
An exorcism request for Anneliese was eventually approved by the Bishop of Würzburg in 1975. At that point some of her more charming behavioral characteristics included:
– insulting, beating, and biting family members
– refusal to eat regular meals (claimed the demons wouldn’t allow her)
– consumption of spiders, flies, coal, and her own urine
– destruction of Crucifixes, paintings of Jesus, and Rosaries
– tearing of clothes from her body
– urinating on the floor
– acts of self-mutilation
So you have to admit that even if it’s not proof of possession, it’s seriously messed up, or at least very messy. And if you found yourself getting sexually excited as the list went on, go out and get yourself a Goth hooker and some counseling.
The exorcism, known at the time as Rituale Romanum, was assigned to Father Arnold Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt. Through the course of these often taped session, Anneliese presented over 6 separate demons possessing her including Satan, Judas Iscariot, Nero, and Adolf Hitler – which would make for an awesome episode of Celebrity Death Match if they could set it up.
For the next 7 – 8 months they held 1 -2 sessions a week. This might make you wonder what exactly the effectiveness of exorcism is supposed to be since your basic antibiotic works about 100 times faster than that. Nevertheless the dudes tried, and Anneliese did have time between sessions when she showed no symptoms.
Eventually Anneliese destroyed her knees through obsessive genuflections, got pneumonia, and died from starvation. Her parents and the exorcists were brought up on charges of negligent homicide. The defense played the tapes from different sessions (sometimes featuring multiple “demons” arguing) to prove that she was indeed possessed.
The Prosecution countered with an argument of Doctrinaire Induction, claiming the priests gave to Anneliese the contents of her psychotic episodes. Added to the basic cynicism concerning an actual demonic possession was a recognition that the country had been thrown into a paranormal panic with the release of the movie THE EXORCIST two years earlier. The possibility of that influence affecting the perceptions of mentally ill patients was well documented.
Ultimately the accused were found guilty of manslaughter resulting from negligence and were sentenced to 6 months – a far lighter sentence than expected.
Later on, a Commission of the German Bishop-Conference declared that Anneliese Michel was not possessed. I’m sure this is a finding that would have been more useful to her if arrived at before ordering her exorcism, by why quibble about timing?
At the end of it all it seems clear that neither the faith nor the medical community did right by this poor girl. They wanted to without a doubt, but for whatever reason they blindly refused to look to answers outside of their immediate expectation and Anneliese Michel died because of it. I’m not saying that exorcism was the way to go. I’m also not discounting the possibility that something supernatural was going on. But Anneliese was failed when well-intentioned folk from both sides of the aisle refused to note the shortcomings of their respective approaches.
She would have been better served by something that worked rather than by doctrine
resuscitation. But that’s probably true for all of us.
Regardless of your perspective on the likelihood of actual demonic possession, there’s no doubt enough messed up shite happened for this to be one hell of a genre flick. Or at the very least, the cause of one hell of an argument.
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE opens
wide on September 9th
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