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The Terrifying True Story Of The Exorcism Of Anneliese Michel · Mystery Archives Episodes

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When a young woman begins to experience horrific visions
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daymares during her waking life, she will seek help from her
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parents. Believing the matter to be
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spiritual, they consult a priest who tries to drive multiple
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demons out of her body. However, ultimately the
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exorcisms would fail, the result of which has created one of the
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most compelling and yet controversial cases of the 20th
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century and possibly ever. Today we will be examining the
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life and death of a young woman named Annalise and the six
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demons and supposedly took her. This is the untold Story of The
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Exorcism of Annalise Michelle, and what a terrible and truly
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horrifying story it is. Before I begin this dark and
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extensive story, there's a few things that I would like to say.
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Whether this is a true case of demonic possession or the
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results of malpractice due to religious extremism is not up
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for me to decide. I will simply present the case
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as chronologically accurate and full of details.
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I can, and ultimately the conclusion is up to you.
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So let us first start at the beginning.
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Joseph Michel, who had served in the military during the war, was
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thankful to have returned to his family small village following
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his imprisonment by the Americans and sequential release
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in late 1945. Having seen the horrors and
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ravages of combat, he thanked God that his small village of
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approximately 3000 souls hadn't been attacked during foreign
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army occupation or the devastating air raids that
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levelled most major cities in Germany.
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He would be reunited with his family and would assume a job
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within his family's business. And during this time he would
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meet a woman named Anna, a local girl, and within two years the
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couple would be married. Born as Anna Elizabeth Michelle
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on September 21st of 1952 and Leipfeng, Bavaria, West Germany,
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Anna was a very shy and somewhat sickly child.
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As she grew up, Michelle was raised along with her three
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sisters, as very religious and as a family.
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They would all attend mass twice a week and although frequently
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sick, she was known for being very sweet but also very shy,
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usually keeping to herself and her studies while at school.
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All was going well for Anna, who would become known by the name
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of Annalise, a combination of her first and middle names.
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This was until she turned 16 years old shortly after her
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birthday. Annalise had a moment where she
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fainted in front of her younger sister and upon her sister
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calling her name and poking her in the arm.
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When she came to, she believed that she was just exhausted from
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studying too much and decided to lay down for the night.
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But that night, little did she know that her torment would
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begin as she slept in her bed shortly after the clock had
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struck midnight. Annalise would awaken in a panic
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as a giant force, as she would later describe it, was holding
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her down. She felt the area around her and
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Dent, as if a very large person or creature was sitting on top
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of her. This entity then began to press
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on her stomach, which caused her to urinate.
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Panicking and unable to breathe, the poor woman called out to God
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in a desperate attempt to stave off whatever this thing was.
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Convinced that she was dying, she pleaded to be freed.
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However, upon the nearby church clock tower sounding the quarter
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hour, it was all over. All pressure had ceased, as if
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it was blown away by a wind whimpering in terror.
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Now Michelle changed her linens and would barely sleep that
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night. She would inform her mother the
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following morning that she felt very ill and was exhausted, and
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who can blame her? So her mother allowed her to
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stay home from school. Nearly one year later, during
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the day of August 24th of 1969, whatever it was decided to
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strike again. Just as what had happened
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before. She had blacked out earlier in
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the day, and later that night, right after midnight, yet again,
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she felt the familiar but terrifying large force began to
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hold her captive. Yet again she was unable to
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breathe and unable to call for help.
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Again she would be freed by the tolling of the church clock bell
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tower. Upon informing her mother of
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this second incident, her mother was unsure of what was happening
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to her poor daughter, so she decided to take her into the
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family physician, a man named Doctor Vogt.
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At the recommendation of Doctor Vogt, they would board a train
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to Aufschenburg to meet with a neurologist by the name of
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Doctor Siegfried Luthi. Dr. Luthi that day would run a
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variety of tests, all which would come back negative and
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unsure of the results, he asked them to return on August 27th
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for a follow up appointment and more tests.
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One of the tests ran upon their return in August was an EEG
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which recorded normal alpha type brain activity coming up yet
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again, empty handed. The doctor still had to account
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for the convulsive episode that his patient said she was
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experiencing, so he diagnosed her with temporal lobe epilepsy.
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And from here she'd be placed on a drug known as Xintra pill, an
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anticonvulsant. And this worked for a time.
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But as 1969 would progress, she would become very sick.
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In December she would contract pneumonia, which would be
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further complicated by tuberculosis infection.
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She became too I'll to further attend her studies and was
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forced to drop out of school. At that time, she would remain
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back at home in her bed until January of 1970, at which point
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her condition still hadn't improved.
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So as a result of this, she was transferred to the hospital in
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February. From here she was placed in a
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sanatorium in Middleburg, one that specialized in bronchial
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and lung disease. She made some improvement there,
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but would also have other issues diagnosed.
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When spring came, she longed to go home to see the beautiful,
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lush hills of her village instead of the jagged and
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ominously Gray mountains that surrounded her.
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Unfortunately, for her sake, she was not yet permitted to leave
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due to her condition still needing to improve, as well as
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new diagnosis of cardiovascular circulatory problems.
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Although sad, Michelle understood what was happening.
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However, this all too persistent and familiar force that to come
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to plague her would visit her yet again on June the 3rd of
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1970. The same massive paralyzing
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entity would grip her with ice cold and unseen hands.
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This time, however, Annalise tried everything she could to
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free herself, and in her desperate attempts a lone scream
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would finally manage to tear loose from her lips.
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And this scream was heard by the night nurse as well as the young
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doctor that was on duty that night, both of which rushed to
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her aid. As the two entered the room, the
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spectre released its grip on Michelle.
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By this point, all of the commotion had woken up the other
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girls in the wing of the sanatorium that she was in.
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Michelle would be assisted with changing her pajamas and bedding
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and tried to sleep under nurse supervision that night.
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The following morning, the girl's gossip had reached a
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fever pitch. They began to speculate if
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Annalise had previously had a head injury or if she had water
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on the brain. Annalise herself, however,
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didn't pay much attention to them.
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She was becoming withdrawn and was still weak from the previous
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night's episode. She was more concerned with what
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was going on with her health as the day progressed and dust
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settled on the horizon. While the other girls were
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headed to the cafeteria, Annalise opted to stay in her
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room, stare out her window and say her evening rosary as she
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prayed. The voices of the returning
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girls seemed louder than usual. However, what once appeared as
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massive and foreboding mountains appeared more beautiful this
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time. Their peaks glistened with pink
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and Violet as the sun hit them. One of the girls would approach
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her as she was admiring and praying, and would ask if she
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was all right. She then would comment on her
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blue eyes being black. Annalise, unsure of what to make
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of this, shook off the girl's remarks.
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She would go on to finish her rosary.
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The following day she would be sent to another specialist who
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would attempt to figure out just what was going on inside of her
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head. After a day's worth of tests
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including Eegs, yet again they would find no evidence of
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anything being wrong. However, with her now documented
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history of epileptic seizures, the doctor, Doctor Keller, would
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recommend a new anti convulsive drug be prescribed to her.
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Upon returning to the sanatorium, Annalise would begin
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to experience a new and terrifying manifestation in her
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normal waking life. She would begin to see horrible,
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demonic looking creatures that were seemingly stalking her from
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the shadows. They would appear in the
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mountains, in her corridors, and even in her room.
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Upon seeing their gnarled faces, she would often fall to her
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knees and beg the Virgin Mary for grace to make these terrible
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visions go away. After six more weeks at the
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sanatorium, she would be examined once again by a
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physician and again have more tests ran, and yet again she
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would be found to have no abnormalities in her brain
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scans. With this conclusion, she would
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finally be allowed to return home to her family.
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Her return home was happy at first, being back in her own
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bed, surrounded by familiar faces.
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But yet Michelle found herself soon worrying about going back
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to school and readjusting, and of course, about her persistent
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health problems. However, she would end up
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returning to school to finish. This time, of course, she would
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be visited by multiple doctors all throughout the year to
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monitor her health. She would have several more
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seizures, although seemingly not as severe as the ones previously
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experienced, and although those had seemed to be pretty minor,
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she was still experiencing horrific, disfigured visions.
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She began to share this with her mother, and after time and time
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again of the doctors not finding anything abnormal about her,
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Anna began to think that something supernatural was
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taking place. One evening, the two parents
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discussed this matter. In particular, Anna tried to
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convince her husband that what was plaguing their daughter was
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of the devil. She told him that Annalise had
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been seeing horrible and twisted faces all throughout the day and
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night, sometimes in the mirror or looking out a window, or even
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through the faces of other people.
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One vision in particular that Annalise had relayed to her
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mother disturbed her so much that she had to share it with
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her husband, Joseph. Annalise had told her that upon
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seeing the statue of the Virgin Mary in their living room on
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their mantle at her eyes turned black.
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A hideous grin appeared on her face and her small, delicate
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hands began to twitch and then morph into thick, grotesque
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claws. Seeing the sincerity in his
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wife's eyes, Joseph, although silent for a few minutes,
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decided that the family should ask for guidance through prayer.
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With school finally finished for Annalise before university, a
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summer trip was in order. After consulting with the
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doctors about his daughter's condition and discovering her
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depressive thoughts that she had shared with them, Joseph decided
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to take his daughter to the shrine of San Damiano in Italy
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in hopes of not only aiding her spiritually, but hopefully
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mentally as well. The shrine had been created by a
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woman named Rosa Quetrini, who over time experienced multiple
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miracles and received messages from the Virgin Mary, including
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to have the shrine built, later becoming known as Mama Rosa.
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She would work alongside Padre Pio for many years, so in due
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time, with the assistance of a teacher, they organized a trip
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to the shrine and were on a bus headed through the Italian
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countryside. Upon their arrival and exiting
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of the bus. Amidst the beautiful vineyards
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that surrounded the location of the garden in which the shrine
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was located in, a dark presence would envelope Annalise.
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Surrounding the shrine was an open space which allowed for
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pilgrims to kneel and pray. A small crowd was present as
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Annalise approached the shrine at the insistence of her father.
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However, she seemed like she couldn't approach the Holy
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Mother. She began to walk around the
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shrine in a wide arc and to her her feet began to burn as if she
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was walking on hot coals, and each person she glanced at,
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although in the praying position, were gnashing their
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teeth and their faces were distorted and awful.
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This is where she began to really first display her
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aversion to holy objects such as medals of Saints, statues and
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Insignia that represented Jesus Christ.
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Those present couldn't help but notice how strange the young
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woman was behaving, and upon heading back onto the bus, she
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was then being asked by the teacher, a woman named Frau
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Hein, about what was going on with her.
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She expressed that her will was not her own and that someone
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else was manipulating her. Almost as soon as those words
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left Michelle's mouth, her personality would completely
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change in a voice that sounded like a man's.
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Annalise began to belittle Frau Hein, making fun of her for
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being unsure of herself. She then snatched a blessed
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metal off of her neck. Simultaneously, Frau Joseph and
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others present on the trip began to smell a stench, exuding from
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Annalise unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
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The smell. It was that of fecal matter and
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something burning, and it permeated the entire bus.
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She would eventually calm down and the occupants would return
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back to their native Germany after their visit to San
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Damiano. Annalise seemed to feel quite
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well despite what had taken place, but this would only last
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for about two weeks. She was set to attend college
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for the first time in several weeks time, but felt that she
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was in no condition to do so. And she complained to her mother
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that she was horribly depressed and constantly plagued by these
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horrible faces, believing it to be a result of her daughter's
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seizures and it would make an appointment with Doctor Luthi.
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Several days later Annalise would troop to that very
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appointment. It would be determined that she
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had been seizure free in between their appointments together and
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another EEG would determine that her brain was indeed normal.
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However Doctor Luthi who was non religious, it would essentially
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belittle Annalise for telling him that she was seeing these
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horrible visions on a daily basis.
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Now he believed personally that she was an overly superstitious
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Catholic girl and with this he would clear Annalise to go to
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university. This would be the last time that
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she would see Doctor Luthi and the last time she would mention
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the demons to any medical professional.
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Becoming more depressed and withdrawn, her mother would
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finally confront Annalise, telling her that her whole life
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she's wanted to be a teacher and now that the opportunity is
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here, she's not taking it. Annalise would explain that she
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was depressed, empty and tired, that the drugs were not helping
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her, and that the demons and their manifestations were only
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getting worse. Still, considering her
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daughter's issues to possibly be spiritual in nature, and it
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would arrange for her to begin meeting with priests in an
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effort to aid her. The two priests that would begin
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to receive letters from both Anna and Annalise were Father
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Herman and Father Alt. After reading the letters, their
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interest not only piqued by the descriptions of what poor
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Annalise was experiencing, but Father Alt began to feel very
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ill, seemingly out of nowhere. After this happened, he would
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retire back to his dormitory room for the night and would try
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to sleep it off. Shortly after the clock struck
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midnight, Father Allwood awake, soaked and in a cold sweat.
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A storm reached outside. Lightning illuminated the room
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around him as he laid in his bed.
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Feeling awful, he began to pray. But as he prayed, he would feel
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someone or something press on his bed as if they had walked
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onto it. This deeply frightened the
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Father as he jumped off his bed, began to pray out loud.
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As the words left his mouth, a horrendous burning smell began
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to fill his room. Alton rushed out of his door and
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into the hallway. His vision began to narrow and
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his colour perception was changing as he rushed down the
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stairs and headed toward the exit door of the building.
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Within the shadows cascading on the walls and the stained glass
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that surrounded him, horrible distorted faces began to reveal
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themselves. Father all now knew that what he
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was dealing with was indeed very real evil forces.
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He would run outside and into the rain, falling to his knees
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and gripping his rosary as he attempted to catch his breath.
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He would eventually return back to his room once he felt that
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the force had passed. However, the scent of burning
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fecal matter still filled the entire parish.
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Even the following day it was still there, would be
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experienced by all of the priests and staff.
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This event would further the interest in Annalise's case and
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further motivate the priest to act quickly, fearing that the
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young woman was indeed being affected by the demonic father.
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All would begin to meet with Annalise when he could and it
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would accommodate her school schedule.
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At this particular point she seemed to be doing fairly good,
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despite still seeing the manifestations most days.
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She would begin classes on November 1st of 1973, going to
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lectures day in and day out and seeking various churches and
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chapels to relax and pray in as she remained A diligent student
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and her life, despite these awful visions that bothered her,
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still was about to change. At the end of November, Annalise
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would meet a fellow student by the name of Peter.
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He was somewhat like herself, was very shy and friendly, but
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was outgoing when you got to know him.
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The 2 shared many classes together and would soon fall in
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love. Several weeks into their
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relationship, however, Annalise would tell Peter to stop seeing
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her, fearing that when the demons came back he wouldn't
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want her anyways. But despite what his new
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girlfriend was telling him, Peter denied this and still
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refused to leave her side. Soon after this, Annalise would
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go in for a checkup evaluation where she would have an EEG yet
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again, except this time the doctor administering the Eega
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woman named Doctor Schleipe, would find patterns of epilepsy.
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This is significant because this is the first time, out of all of
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the other times that any patterns of epilepsy had ever
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been found. As a result of this, Doctor
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Schleipe would change Annalise's medication to yet another
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anticonvulsant drug known as the Longton, in hopes that it would
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improve her condition. Following disappointment, Peter
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and Annalise would continue their relationship, in which
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Annalise would confide in Peter, more so about what she was
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experiencing with the demonic figures and faces that still
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plagued her. Peter had also become aware of
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the awful stench that seemed to follow her, especially when she
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was experiencing the supposed hallucinations, and as their
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relationship progressed, he wanted her to join him in
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meeting his family and friends, but Annalise refused, worrying
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that they may not be as understanding as Peter.
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Michelle would ultimately express that she did have
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moments of clarity where she did feel like herself, but every so
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often those devils would reappear.
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Despite taking her medication daily rigorously, the faces
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would remain and soon coupled with the faces, she would begin
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to experience debilitating headaches.
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Father Alt, checking in on her with the local Bishop there on
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campus, would discuss that her complaints and ailments continue
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to be the same despite her taking her medication every
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single day. He would arrange to have
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Annalise meet him in a nearby town for the two to pray
23:06
together. Peter would ultimately take
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Annalise to this appointment and would be surprised at how
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quickly she seemed relieved after the two began praying.
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Although very skeptical, Peter began to believe that possibly
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this could be a spiritual problem.
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I did want to take a moment here and say that there's so much
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information about what happened to Annalise in her life, and
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I've been pretty thorough up to this point, but I'm going to do
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a few briefer sections leading up to the paranormal
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manifestations that worsened her life, just because if I sat here
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on every painstaking detail, we'd be here all day.
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Following the meeting with Father Alt, Annalise's
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depression would return. She told Peter that the clanking
23:52
of knives and forks sickened her, that the demons wouldn't
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let her eat. Couple with her losing weight
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and becoming ever more reclusive, other witnesses to
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the strange behavior she exhibited began to grow as well.
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One incident in particular, a mutual friend of both Annalise
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and Peter named Anna Lypert, witnessed something that she
24:15
would never forget in July of 1975, with Anna, Annalise and
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Peter sitting in Annalise's dorm room having a casual
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conversation. Suddenly, out of nowhere,
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Annalise's face contracted and contorted into something demonic
24:34
in appearance, her entire body than when stiff as a board, as
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if she was entering A catatonic state.
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Obviously freaked out by this, Anna asked Peter what was
24:45
happening and Peter simply replied.
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It's the demons. She's under possession.
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Not knowing what else to do, the two prayed with Michelle and it
24:54
would take an hour and a half for this episode to be over.
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Following this happening, it became clear that Annalise could
25:01
no longer be by herself and attend school.
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The two would reach out to her parents and several days later
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they would move the young woman back to Klingenburg.
25:12
Upon arriving, Annalise was able to start eating again, but her
25:16
other problems continued unabated.
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If anything, they worsened greatly in a very short period
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of time. During a phone call between
25:25
Father Alt and Michelle's mother, the two would be
25:29
interrupted frequently by the horrendous screams of Annalise
25:34
in her room, screaming obscenities and overall acting
25:39
abhorrent. Father All would ask a fellow
25:42
priest closer to Annalise to assist him in aiding her
25:46
spiritual battle, a man named Father Roth.
25:49
Upon reaching out to the family to arrange his meeting with
25:52
them, Father Roth was surprised when Annalise's mother answered
25:56
the phone and said Father Roth. The two had never met before,
26:01
nor had she been previously informed that Father Roth was
26:05
going to call. Bewildered, he said yes, that's
26:09
me. He was then informed that
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Annalise had told her that he was going to phone.
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That right there to the priest was an indication of the demonic
26:19
knowledge of the unknown. He would arrive a week later,
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and upon entering the house, he could hear the girl scream from
26:27
her room above. A horrible stench, like
26:30
something burning like dung and sulphur filled the room that he
26:35
and Missus Michelle chatted in the main living room of the
26:38
house, trying to find the source of the scent.
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He checked all the other rooms, he checked outside in the
26:45
kitchen, everything that he could think of, and yet he could
26:48
find no explainable origin for this horrible smell.
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Missus Michelle would inform him that Annalise had been in the
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living room roughly 20 minutes before his arrival, stepping
27:00
outside to avoid the scent. The two would chat further, and
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Father Roth would be informed of Annalise's outbursts of rage and
27:09
all around her bizarre behaviour.
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The family would beg him to pray over her, to which he agreed,
27:16
reluctantly. Walking up stairs to Annalise's
27:19
room for the first time, he couldn't help but notice the
27:22
abnormal amount of dead bugs that lined the hallway.
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Upon opening the door, he would be besieged by the girl.
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She began cursing at him, screaming at the top of her
27:34
lungs, telling him to not dare take the crucifix out of his
27:38
pocket, which he had not told anyone that he was carrying.
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She ran out of the bed and up to his face, suddenly stopping an
27:47
inch or two away as if she was frozen.
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Her eyes blackened and she said, O priest, you they try.
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She then collapsed to the floor in a catatonic state.
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This was more than enough for Father Roth to rush to arrange a
28:05
meeting with Father Alt to discuss what exactly had taken
28:09
place. Within two days they would meet
28:12
in person, to which Father Roth would explain that he had no
28:15
doubts that the girl was being troubled by demons, that he had
28:19
no doubt that it was indeed the real deal.
28:21
Therefore, the two together would seek to move forward with
28:25
a formal permission to begin the exorcism process.
28:30
During the wait for the final set approval, the course of the
28:33
next year would weave a web of disgust and horror as her
28:38
family, Peter and the priests would experience a plethora of
28:43
horrendous manifestations at the hands of Annalise.
28:48
Following Father Roth's initial visit, Annalise had become
28:52
extremely restless. At most, she was only sleeping
28:56
one maybe 2 hours a night. She would run through the house
29:00
on all fours, barking and screaming like an animal.
29:04
She would visibly be forcibly moved by something that she
29:08
couldn't see. During her prayers, which were
29:11
constant at this point, she would do knee Busters, standing
29:15
up and kneeling down at the expense of her knees.
29:19
No matter how awfully she injured them, they were becoming
29:23
swollen and ulcerated. She would none the less continue
29:27
to do this. She would scream constantly.
29:31
The incessant yelling echoed all throughout the walls, day and
29:34
night, rising and falling like waves against a rocky shore.
29:40
She would tremble and twitch, becoming rigid and catatonic,
29:46
having to be moved back into her bed by Peter and her family
29:51
alongside the ever worsening madness.
29:53
Weighing 100 pounds at most, at this point, she began to exhibit
29:58
superhuman strength. Peter would watch her crush an
30:01
apple with one frail hand and throw her sister Rosvita across
30:06
the room like a rag doll. She also began to smash her face
30:11
into walls and floors, leading to her mother placing pillows
30:16
all around in an effort to stop her from injuring herself.
30:21
But the Michelle family's world turning upside down, Annalise
30:24
stopped eating and drinking altogether.
30:27
Normal food, that is, she began to stuff the overabundance of
30:32
insects into her mouth, eating roaches, hordes of flies and
30:37
spiders. Further, her behavior became
30:40
more unhinged. She began to chew on coal and
30:43
rocks, which ultimately broke several of her teeth.
30:47
Among the chaos, her family began to experience what can
30:50
only be described as paranormal manifestations themselves.
30:55
Clouds of flies would appear and disappear at random all over
30:59
their home and in the dead of winter.
31:02
They began to see shadowy figures that would be running
31:05
all throughout their home and watching them around every
31:08
corner and out of the corner of their eyes.
31:11
This, of course, would deeply frighten them.
31:14
As Annalise raged on, her family and Peter took the alternating 2
31:19
hour shifts in order to take care of her to the best of their
31:22
ability in an attempt to prevent her from inflicting more wounds
31:26
upon herself. Joseph knew things, given how
31:29
awful they were, could not continue the way that they were
31:32
going, so he's soon out of desperation, phoned Father Alt
31:37
and began begging for his assistance.
31:39
Father Alt, who had been in touch with his superiors at the
31:42
church, would inform him that he believed Annalise should be
31:46
admitted to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation.
31:49
However, upon sharing the slew of details that were shared with
31:53
him by Joseph at the dramatic worsening of Annalise's behavior
31:58
and overall condition with a fellow priest by the name of
32:01
Father Rodvic, Father Rodvic agreed to go and see the girl
32:05
for himself. Upon entering the Michelle
32:07
House, he would be introduced to Annalise through her father, who
32:11
had walked her into the living room by himself on account that
32:14
she had become very violent towards herself and family
32:18
members by this point. Sitting down beside her father,
32:22
Rodvik asked her what is your name?
32:25
Her response and a very low, altered voice that was not her
32:29
own, was Judas. Over the course of the next
32:32
several hours, the father was able to have a normal
32:35
conversation with Annalise as she went from being under an
32:39
outside influence to herself, having no recollection of the
32:44
latter. Then, towards the end of the
32:46
meeting, she would slap the father across the face and then
32:51
stand up, walk towards the piano and begin playing it as if
32:56
nothing had ever happened. Father Rodvic informed the
33:00
family that he would indeed help her and support them, and that
33:03
he ultimately believed Annalise to be possessed and would seek
33:08
action immediately. After much deliberation, the
33:12
church finally came around. A priest by the name of Father
33:16
Wrens, an experienced exorcist, would be tasked with the ritual
33:21
and on a cold and rainy day it would begin September 24th of
33:27
1975. He would arrive at the Michelle
33:31
residence. After discussing the plan with
33:33
her family, he would proceed up the stairs and walk into the
33:37
Vipers Den that was Annalise's room.
33:41
He would be joined by Joseph, Peter and a volunteer from their
33:45
local congregation who wanted to assist.
33:49
At first all was quiet, even silent.
33:53
Annalise, or rather the demons, were not engaging Father Wrens.
33:58
But when he began the ritual, he sprinkled holy water on Annalise
34:03
and she began to shake and scream.
34:06
She started to bite the men who were holding her.
34:08
Lunging at the priest, she attempted to attack him.
34:12
It would take all three additional men to hold her down.
34:16
We draw what we know, what happened from an entry and
34:19
Father Rince's diary. He would go on to say that she
34:22
would sound like a man, speak Latin, and eventually be reduced
34:27
to a catatonic state, following an all too familiar pattern from
34:32
what we already know. Knowing that he had a long
34:35
battle ahead of him, the priest was saddened that the first
34:38
ritual had not been successful. He would leave for the night,
34:42
but would ultimately return four days later on September the 28th
34:47
and the evening. He then brought with him a
34:49
recorder in hopes of providing a record for future study within
34:54
the Church. Due to this decision by Father
34:57
Wrens, we now have some of the most disturbing audio I've maybe
35:01
ever heard. And I've heard a lot of of crazy
35:04
stuff. This is just a portion of what
35:08
he recorded. Annalise would again repeat the
36:11
chaotic behavior that was exhibited within the first
36:14
exorcism, and the devil that resided within her began to
36:18
rebuttal, the priest in Latin as well as her native tongue of
36:22
German. Although being familiar with the
36:24
Latin language, Annalise was not fluent, let alone fluent enough
36:29
to have been able to rebuttal a priest in real time who spoke
36:33
the language fluently. As the priest inquired as to why
36:37
the girl was being tormented it, whatever it was, replied with,
36:43
she was cursed before she was born by a woman, a neighbor of
36:48
her mother. Annalise's parents and Peter
36:50
would later check this story out, but the woman had since
36:53
passed away so they weren't able to come up with anything
36:56
conclusive. This second exorcism would last
36:59
for hours and would end with a haunting sentence from Annalise
37:03
herself. She would say, damned for all
37:08
eternity. She would then curl back up into
37:11
a catatonic state like a statue. Now we only have some details
37:16
here and there based on the diary entries, interviews and
37:20
audio recordings, but this would ultimately continue for months.
37:25
Annalise would undergo 67 exorcisms in total.
37:29
She would reveal that she was possessed by 5 demons and their
37:33
names were Cain, Judas, Nero, Fleischmann, and Lucifer, the
37:40
Devil in the flesh. There is one more demon, but
37:45
it's a name that I feel like if I say it on YouTube I will
37:49
probably get demonetized. You can look it up for yourself
37:52
to simply go to her Wikipedia page, which I will also be
37:55
linking down in the comments below.
37:57
Cain, known from the Bible as the first murderer, the
38:01
originator of violence. Judas as in Judas.
38:05
Eskrot, the man who betrayed Christ.
38:08
Nero, the crazed Roman Emperor who tortured Christians for his
38:13
own sick enjoyment. Fleischmann who was a disgraced
38:17
priest local to the land and finally Lucifer, the Prince of
38:22
Darkness himself. Her physical decline due to not
38:26
being able to eat, self-inflicted injuries and
38:30
psychosis due to lack of sleep would finally take their toll.
38:35
She would inform Father Renz on June 30th, at the end of what
38:39
would be their final exorcism, that she had spoken with the
38:43
Virgin Mary and that she had agreed to stay on earth and
38:47
suffer through the demons to prove to people who didn't
38:50
believe in God that the devil was very real.
38:54
She would then ask for absolution in which Father Renz
38:57
would grant her. That night she would go silent
39:01
for the first time since all of these horrifying episodes had
39:05
began. In the following morning, around
39:08
7:00 AM on July the first of 1976, she would be found dead in
39:14
her bed. All of the exorcisms and
39:18
attempts to drive the demons out had failed and upon her death
39:23
she only weighed roughly £85 and Elise had gone from a shy but
39:29
happy girl with her whole life ahead of her to an emaciated
39:33
shell of herself. Just how did we get here?
39:37
Was it malpractice? Was she mentally ill?
39:42
Or was it truly the hands of the demonic that snuffed her out?
39:46
After multiple calls have been made by her grieving family, a
39:50
man named Doctor Keller would perform the post mortem
39:53
examination. And it's important to note the
39:56
following details because honestly, it's really
39:58
intriguing. Her death was determined to be
40:01
caused by starvation and possibly aggravated and
40:04
tremendous physical exertion. In the final weeks of her life,
40:08
you would find that her inner organs, surprisingly, were
40:11
healthy and not damaged, as well as her brain, which showed no
40:16
signs of epilepsy, not even on a microscopic level.
40:20
Curiously, still no bruising bed sores or ulcerations were found
40:26
on her skin and the ensuing aftermath.
40:29
The priests were arrested and charged with negligent homicide,
40:33
as well as Joseph and Anna. The trial and case overall would
40:38
become a highly debated issue among the German people of the
40:41
time, with some being convinced that she died at the hands of
40:44
Satan himself and others that it was the fault of malpractice on
40:49
behalf of the priests and her parents.
40:52
The trial would last for months, with doctors weighing in with
40:55
their opinions, lawyers, witnesses and just the whole
40:59
works. And although I have those
41:01
details here, there is so much to it, just the trial itself,
41:06
that honestly, I would probably have to make a whole other video
41:08
in total just to cover it. The verdict, however, in my
41:11
opinion, is the important part of what followed her death after
41:15
a much heated debate. Ultimately Michelle's parents
41:19
and the priests involved would be charged with negligent
41:22
homicide and would be sentenced to six months in prison.
41:26
The six months ultimately would be reduced to three years of
41:30
probation as well as a fine. Given the unique circumstances
41:34
of the case, the church would draw a ton of heat as a result
41:38
of what happened. They would ultimately retract
41:41
the confirmation that Annalise Michelle was indeed possessed.
41:45
Michelle had been buried under hurried circumstances and as a
41:49
result of this, as well as multiple religious people
41:52
sharing that they had visions of her body untouched by decay, she
41:57
would be exhumed almost two years later with the intention
42:01
being to have her buried in a nicer coffin.
42:04
Her family and friends were discouraged from viewing her
42:07
remains because they were consistent with the decay of a
42:11
corpse of that age. In the end, her case will go on
42:15
to achieve worldwide notoriety and Wood Forest, the Catholic
42:19
Church, to all but never issue sanctioned exorcisms.
42:23
And on June 6th of 2013, the home in which her exorcisms took
42:28
place in mysteriously caught fire and would burn to the
42:32
ground. The police suspected arson but
42:35
never ultimately proved it. But many of locals believe that
42:38
it was a result of what had taken place there.
42:42
And really, it's hard telling. Decades after her death, her
42:45
story would go on to inspire multiple films and books,
42:49
including The Exorcism of Emily Rose being the most popular and
42:54
honestly fairly accurate, with some liberties to the original
42:58
story. And of many of those books, the
43:01
best and most utilized resource of them for me has been The
43:05
Exorcism of Annalise Michelle by Felicitas de Goodman.
43:10
All, and I mean all, details you could ever want about the entire
43:14
case are available in this book and I would highly recommend it.
43:18
In conclusion, Annalise's case remains A terrifying and
43:22
mysterious one. Was she demonically possessed or
43:26
incredibly mentally ill? Did her priests and parents
43:30
genuinely help her and being freed from Satan's grasp?
43:34
Or did they contribute to the end of her life accidentally?
43:38
Really, the final conclusion is yours to make.
43:42
But regardless of the 'cause, I'm glad that her suffering is
43:45
over and I pray now that she can hopefully rest in peace.
43:52
Thank you guys so much for watching this new video.
43:54
If you enjoyed it, please give it a like, subscribe with
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notifications on. And if you're already
44:00
subscribed, go ahead and turn notifications on.
44:03
It helps me out a ton. Please also leave a comment
44:06
letting me know what you thought of the story, your thoughts on.
44:10
Basically the new a newer format I'm trying out.
44:13
I'm trying to do kind of like 1/2 and half thing.
44:15
I'm trying to find ways where I can speed up making content for
44:19
you guys and just try and find a happy medium and get you guys
44:24
more content and better content. So let me know what you think
44:28
for sure and I highly appreciate your feedback.
44:31
This case took a really long time.
44:33
I mean like probably like 2-3 weeks to research and I really
44:38
hope that I did Annalise's story justice and I hope you guys
44:42
learned some stuff that maybe you wouldn't have known before
44:45
or otherwise. Anyways, I appreciate you guys.
44:49
I love you guys and I will see you next time.
44:52
This has been Cody here Mystery Archives.
44:54
Remember to stay safe out there and take care.