00:00The movie, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, terrified audiences worldwide, but what if I told you the true story behind
00:08it is even more chilling?
00:10It's not a work of fiction. It's the tragic tale of a young German woman named Annalise Michel.
00:18And her story will make you question everything you thought you knew about the line between faith and madness.
00:24Our story begins in the 1960s in a small, quiet town in Bavaria, Germany.
00:32Annalise Michel was a bright, happy and deeply religious girl, just like any other in her community.
00:39She attended church, prayed daily and had dreams for her future.
00:44But when she was just 16, her life took a sudden and terrifying turn.
00:49It started with a violent convulsion, a seizure so intense it left her disoriented and weak.
00:57Doctors were consulted, tests were run and the diagnosis came back.
01:02Temporal lobe epilepsy. It seemed like a medical explanation, a path forward with medication and treatment.
01:10But for Annalise, this was just the beginning of a descent into a nightmare from which she would never wake.
01:17Despite following her doctor's orders and taking her prescribed medication, Annalise's condition didn't improve.
01:25In fact, it got dramatically worse.
01:28The seizures continued, but they were now accompanied by something far more sinister.
01:34She began experiencing terrifying waking nightmares,
01:38seeing demonic faces contorting in the walls and hearing disembodied voices whispering that she was damned.
01:45Her personality began to shift.
01:48The once devout girl developed a violent aversion to anything sacred.
01:53She couldn't bear to look at a crucifix.
01:56The touch of holy water felt like fire on her skin,
01:59and the very act of stepping into a church became an unbearable torment.
02:04She would tear at her clothes, eat insects, and even drink her own urine.
02:10Her family watched in horror as the daughter they knew disappeared before their eyes, replaced by a tormented soul.
02:18The medicine wasn't working.
02:20The doctors seemed powerless, desperate and out of options.
02:25Her deeply Catholic family came to a terrifying conclusion.
02:29This was not a medical illness.
02:32Annalise was possessed.
02:33Convinced that science had failed them, they turned to the one place they believed could offer a solution, the Catholic
02:41Church.
02:42They pleaded for an exorcism.
02:44Initially, the church was hesitant.
02:47The practice of exorcism was rare and required strict criteria to be met.
02:52The bishop insisted that all medical avenues must be exhausted first.
02:57But, as Annalise's state deteriorated, her behavior growing more violent and disturbing, the family's pleas became more urgent.
03:07Finally, after years of persistence, and with a local priest vouching for the signs of possession, the bishop of Würzburg
03:15gave his permission.
03:16In the fall of 1975, two priests, Fr. Arnold Renz and Fr. Ernstolt, were assigned to perform the rite of
03:25exorcism on Annalise Michel.
03:27What followed was ten months of unimaginable horror.
03:31They conducted a staggering 67 exorcism sessions, sometimes one or two a week, each lasting up to four hours.
03:40These sessions were recorded on audio tape, capturing hours of bone-chilling sounds.
03:47On these tapes, Annalise's voice is heard shifting, contorting into deep, guttural growls and high-pitched shrieks.
03:56She spoke in different languages she had never learned, and claimed to be possessed by six different demons,
04:03including Lucifer, Cain, Judas, Iskbet, and even Adolf Hitler.
04:08She would thrash with such incredible, seemingly superhuman strength that it would take several men to hold her down.
04:16She refused food, claiming the demons wouldn't let her eat.
04:20Her body, once healthy and vibrant, began to waste away.
04:25The exorcisms were a brutal, relentless battle for her soul, and they were taking a devastating physical toll.
04:33On July 1st, 1976, the battle ended.
04:38Annalise Michel died in her sleep.
04:41She was just 23 years old.
04:43The official cause of death was severe malnutrition and dehydration.
04:48At the time of her death, she weighed a skeletal 68 pounds,
04:53her body covered in bruises, and her knees broken from constant, frantic kneeling.
04:58The girl who was once full of life was gone, but her story was far from over.
05:05Annalise S. death sparked a media firestorm and led to one of the most sensational court cases in German history.
05:13The state brought charges of negligent homicide against her parents,
05:18Anna and Joseph Michel, and the two exorcist priests, Father Renz and Father Alt.
05:24The trial became a public spectacle.
05:27A modern-day witch trial that pitted faith against science, belief against reason.
05:33The prosecution argued that the defendants were responsible for Annalise's death.
05:39They claimed that she was a mentally ill young woman who was denied crucial medical and psychiatric care.
05:45They argued that if she had been force-fed and properly treated for her epilepsy and psychosis,
05:52she would still be alive.
05:54Her parents and the priests, they said, allowed her to starve to death in the name of a medieval superstition.
06:01The defense, however, painted a very different picture.
06:05They played the horrifying audio tapes from the exorcisms for the court.
06:11Arguing that these were undeniable proof of demonic possession,
06:15they brought in experts who testified that what Annalise experienced went beyond the scope of known mental illness.
06:23Their defense was simple.
06:25They were not fighting a disease.
06:28They were fighting the devil himself.
06:31They believed they were doing what was necessary to save her eternal soul,
06:35even if it meant losing her physical body.
06:38The court was faced with an impossible question.
06:41Was this a case of murder by neglect or a legitimate spiritual battle with a tragic outcome?
06:48In the end, the court found all four defendants guilty of negligent homicide.
06:54However, the sentences were surprisingly lenient.
06:58They were given six months in prison, which was suspended, and three years of probation.
07:04The verdict seemed to satisfy no one.
07:07It acknowledged a crime had been committed, but stopped short of placing the full weight of blame on the parents
07:14and priests,
07:15implicitly recognizing the complexity of their beliefs.
07:19Decades later, the case of Annalise Michel continues to haunt and fascinate us.
07:25Her grave has become an unlikely pilgrimage site for believers who see her as a martyr
07:31who sacrificed herself in a battle against evil.
07:34For others, she is a tragic victim of religious fanaticism and medical ignorance,
07:40a young woman who was failed by everyone who should have protected her.
07:45Was Annalise truly possessed by demons, a modern-day saint who fought a spiritual war?
07:51Or was she a deeply disturbed individual, suffering from a combination of epilepsy and severe psychosis,
07:59whose cries for help were misinterpreted through the lens of religious extremism?
08:04The audio tapes are real.
08:06Her suffering was real.
08:08Her death was real.
08:10But the ultimate truth of what happened to her remains buried in a tangle of faith, fear, and unanswered questions.
08:19Her story serves as a chilling reminder of the dark places the human mind can go
08:24and the terrifying power of what we choose to believe.
08:28Thank you for watching.
08:30If you found this story as compelling as we did,
08:33make sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel for more deep dives into the mysteries
08:39that lie just beneath the surface of our world.
08:42We'll see you next time.
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