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Exorcism: A tale as old as time
Most people may not know what
it’s actually like to be an exorcist. Exorcism came to everyone’s attention
with the release of the 1973 film The Exorcist, which was
based on the book The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. The
author drew from the real-life exorcism of Roland Doe (more details to follow).
But exorcism has been part of virtually every religion throughout
recorded history. Ancient Babylonian priests performed exorcisms via a
voodoo-like rite. Ancient Persians were saved from demonic possession via holy
water, and the Bible recounts many times when Jesus Christ cast out demons from
people believed to be possessed. These are the spookiest ghost stories
from each state.
1778: The exorcism of George Lukins
In 1778, English tailor George
Lukins was behaving oddly—speaking in strange voices, making inhuman
noises, and singing hymns backward. In a ceremony held in Bristol’s Temple
Church, seven priests commanded the demons who’d apparently taken over Lukins’
soul to leave, once and for all. When the ceremony was over, Lukins recited the
Lord’s Prayer and thanked the priests. This was one of the few recorded
exorcisms with a happy ending. For more scares, check out the scariest
movies of all time.
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1842: Gottliebin Dittus
In 1842, German villagers noticed
strange goings-on at the home of a 28-year-old woman named Gottleibin
Dittus. Dittus claimed her house was haunted and soon began slipping in and out
of what others described as “trance-like” states, but it was only when a
religious pastor commenced an exorcism that things went truly nuts: Dittus
became violent, requiring physical restraints. For two torturous years during
which the pastor performed various exorcism rights, Dittus vomited glass,
nails—and blood, of course. Finally, Dittus informed everyone the demons were
gone and stated that “Jesus is victor.” These real-life ghost stories will
give you the chills.
1906: Clara Germana Cele
A 16-year-old from South
Africa, Clara Cele, was heard making a pact with the devil and soon began
behaving erratically, tearing at her clothes, growling, speaking in tongues,
and demonstrating super-human strength. In 1906 and 1907, two priests performed
exorcisms on Clara, during which her skin “burned” when touched by holy water
and her body levitated before 170 witnesses. But after a “noxious smell” was
observed leaving her body, Clara was deemed free of evil.
1896: Anna Eklund
Anna Ecklund was not her real name, but it’s the one people associate with
this classic American case of demonic possession, thanks to the 2016 horror
film, The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund. The real girl was born in 1882,
and her name is unknown. Her father accused her of being possessed by the devil
at age 14 after she refused his sexual advances. After several years and two
lengthy exorcisms—interspersed by foul play, thanks to Anna’s father’s lover, a
woman named Mina who practiced black magic and introduced another demonic possession—”Anna”
was finally she was freed of her demons in December 1928. Read the scariest
books of all time.
This 13-year old boy—in the records
of the case, his name was changed to Roland Doe to protect his privacy—was
mourning the loss of a beloved aunt when he began seeing and hearing strange
things. As the possession worsened, Roland began demonstrating violent
super-human strength. His parents took him to St. Louis in 1949 for a
weeks-long exorcism now known as “the St. Louis Exorcism.” This is the story on
which The Exorcist is based. Roland screamed, cursed, and
attacked his exorcists until a “miracle,” according to the exorcists, finally
led Roland out of his trance-like state; the boy simply stated: “He’s
gone.” Find out what the director of The Exorcist saw
when he witnessed an exorcism in Italy.
1974: Michael Taylor
When Englishman Michael Taylor,
a husband and father of five, met 21-year-old pastor Marie Robinson, his
frequent bouts of depression seemed to ease. In part, Taylor believed it was
due to Robinson’s ability to exorcize demons plaguing him. After Taylor’s wife
confronted Taylor about a possible affair with Robinson, he physically attacked
her; this led to an actual exorcism by two ministers that took place on October
5, 1974. Michael had seizures, spit at and bit the exorcists, and screamed in
tongues. The next day, he brutally murdered his wife. He wasn’t convicted,
however, because of the defense’s argument that the exorcism had made him
insane. Check out these true ghost stories from the most haunted places in
the world.
The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel by Felicitas D. Goodman relates a
tragic story from Germany. (It’s also the basis of the 2005 horror film, The
Exorcism of Emily Rose.) Like Michael Taylor’s exorcism, Anneliese’s
story also ended in murder, only it was Anneliese who was murdered. The
German woman’s “demonic possession” was actually an undiagnosed brain disorder
(possibly epilepsy, schizophrenia, or both), but being a religious young woman,
Anneliese welcomed exorcism to help cure her. After 67 attempts—each
unsurprisingly unsuccessful—the 23-year-old succumbed to starvation. Two of her
priests were convicted of homicide. No one can explain these haunted house
mysteries.
1990: The exorcism of Gina
In 1990, Reverend James LeBar
oversaw three exorcisms, all sanctioned by the archbishop of New York, Cardinal
John O’Connor, and the Vatican. One of them, the exorcism of a Florida teenager
named Gina, was televised by on the ABC network in 1991. Newsweek described
the ceremony, which was accompanied by medieval-style music, as “little more
than the gratuitous torment of a deeply disturbed young girl.” Strapped to a
chair, she screamed and barked unintelligibly while the reverend pressed a
cross into her face and told her supposed demons that if they wanted pain, he’d
give it to them—meaning, of course, the helpless Gina. Ultimately, it was
antipsychotic drugs that gave Gina relief. Check out these creepy
urban legends that turned out to be true.
2003: Terrance Cottrell
In 2003, an autistic eight-year-old
boy named Terrance Cottrell was killed during a prayer service that was
“intended” to drive out the evil spirits supposedly causing his condition. “The
official cause of death is mechanical asphyxia due to external chest
compression,” CNN reported, “meaning Terrance was suffocated.” The
Reverend Ray Hemphill, who had performed the exorcism, reportedly sat on the
boy’s chest until he stopped breathing. The reverend was convicted of homicide.
These are the most haunted places in America.
Romanian nun Maricica Irina Cornici
was 23 when she began hearing voices. She thought it was the devil talking to
her. Although she was treated for schizophrenia, she relapsed and was then
subjected to an exorcism. Bound to a cross, gagged with a towel, and left in a
dank convent room for three days without food and water, Cornici died of
suffocation and dehydration, according to CBS‘s coverage of the case. Here
are 25 spooky photos that will give you chills.
On Christmas Day 2010, a 15-year-old
boy, Kristy Bamu, was beaten and drowned in a bathtub in London by his sister
and her friend in an attempt to exorcize evil spirits from the boy, according
to the BBC. Originally from the Republic of Congo, the pair tortured the boy
with knives, sticks, metal bars, a hammer, and a chisel until he “begged to
die.” The pair were convicted of the boy’s murder. These true stories from
the most haunted forests in the world will give you nightmares.
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2015: The exorcism of Laura
If you thought exorcisms were a
thing of the past, guess again: In Argentina, church officials filmed the exorcism
of a 22-year-old woman named Laura by Bishop Manuel Acuna. Laura writhes,
bangs her head, and screams profanities. Supposedly, the exorcism ends well as
the evil spirits leave Laura and the bishop makes the sign of the cross over
her. If you want to read first-hand accounts of exorcisms, check out Interview
with an Exorcist, a book about Father Jose Antonio Fortea. Don’t miss
these 11 creepy things that actually happened on Halloween.
1.Do you believe in mysticism? What do you think of this article?
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
Comments
I won’t say that I don’t believe in God, but I’ll say that I don’t believe in any religion. I’m rather into science which should make me not believe in mysticism, however, there is something inside of me, which makes me really interested in such topics. Sometimes I think that it’s only because I watched so many horror movies that I’m just thinking about them too much. I would really like to say that I do not believe in being in touch with the other world, but if I don’t, then why am I scared of it? I guess it is because of the movies.
I have never had any mystic story happening to me. I was told about some that happened to my friends or grandfather but I’m not sure if I really believe them. However, at the same time, writing those words makes me think “Hey, maybe do not write that nothing has happened to you because something will come and try to show you that it exists”. I feel like such a topic will be eternal struggle between my mind and fear.
The article was interesting. The story of Kristy Bamu gave me unpleasant chills as it “proves”, that people can be unpredictable and crazy while believing unrealistic superstitions. To murder someone because of believing it’s a ghost or demon of some kind … it’s just crazy for me.
2. No, I don’t, but I remember that my high school headmaster once told us a story in which he and his students were fooling around with ouija board. After couple of minutes and few ridiculed shouts to imaginative ghost one girl fell on the floor and started choking. He said he was never this scared as that day, and now he strongly believes that ghosts and demons exist. I have no idea if that was a true story but it was very much acting on my imagination back then.
I would say no, I am not such kind of person who believes in demons, ghost, astrology and so on. But I would like that the magic from the Harry Potter universe can be real :)
I think that exorcism is the result of unknown psychology diseases like schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder. But unfortunately, some people still don`t want to know more and instead of visiting a doctor make terrible ceremonies.
Even though I don`t believe in mysticism, I like to read or watch such stories. It excites you. But, I am almost sure that more then half situations in the article are myths. The closer the story is to us in time, the more believable it is, such as about Anneliese Michel.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
I can`t remember my own mystic story. But I know the woman who after her mother`s death went to her ex-flat to find an important document. She has spent almost all day searching without result. But in the night she had a dream in which her mother told her the exact place where the document is.
I've never believed in mysticism, I treated this topic more like fiction, a way to make up stories or parts of real stories, to thrill the audience and excite them.
Things like those mentioned in the article never happened to me, thankfully. I've heard some thrilling stories or read about them online, not necessarily related to exorcism, but scary nonetheless. For example, a topic that I found quite interesting, called Feral Children, Wild Children, or L'Enfant Sauvage, describing people that were raised in such conditions (e.g. among animals or in isolation) that made them unable to function in society. One case of a girl named Genie is described here. Thought I'll share, maybe someone will find it interesting.
2. The symptoms of magical thinking cannot be confused with mysticism. No, I have never experienced anything mystical in my life.
I don't. I always take such information with a pinch of scepticism. I think it is more probable that these type of events has its source from some kind of mental illness rather than metaphysical occurrences. I try not to believe in any things that go beyond the material/nature world
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
No, nothing of such sort. It would definitely change my mind on many topics if such a thing happened.
2. I had no mystic situations myself. I love a good horror with possesion/ghost motive though.
2. I don't believe in this kind of fool's mysticism. Although I heard some true stories from older generation that are truly odd. I think that everyone experienced moments in their lives when the chain of events seems really long and unlikely and the result of this chain is tremendously significant.
Considering possession - I think that the devil lives in all of us. Becoming crazy is the inability of one's mind to withstand inhumane deeds. But being able to continue harming someone and look like a normal person - that's indeed the definition of being possessed. Putin is a good example of a possessed person.
1.Do you believe in mysticism? What do you think of this article?
I don’t believe in mysticism. I like the idea of it. This article was interesting and very sad. It shows that these poor people just suffered from mental illness.
I watched one movie that you mentioned “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. I watched it when I was only 7 years old and was scared to death after it. I was too young to watch these types of horror movies. For years I had anxiety after waking up at 3 am.
Also, I’m very skeptical when someone tells me their mystic or creepy stories.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
Never. Although I would like to have. Life would be more interesting. My favorite kind of magic world is the one from Harry Potter <3
I have no opinion about mysticism. I think this article is very good. I like horrors very much and I watch them a lot. In many horror films there is a motif of exorcism, I know that many of them are based on facts. I have never seriously thought about it, so it's hard for me to say which side I am on.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
Fortunately, no. I have not heard of any of my friends having such experiences. I do not wish this to anyone because it must be a terrifying experience
Nothing supernatural has ever happened to me, so that's propably why I don't belive in mysticism. In middle school, my friends and I have tried using the ouija board and nothing happened. However, when we were in highschool my friend told me that a female dybbuk was haunting his house and randomly turning on and off the dishwasher. I don't really think it was a ghost, rather a short circuit.
I believe mysticism is a type of fandom like anime lovers or fanfic fans. I love the aesthetics, but still it seems that bringing mysticism as something serious and almost natural will only cause a series of dramatic and chaotic events. From my point of view mysticism should be considered as something disputable like astrology. An attempt to find sense in a toxic mixture of folklore, culture, mythology and religion seems for me just unreasonable.
2.
I don’t remember anything like that. The reason for that is probably because I wasn’t trying to find mystic explanation to any obscure events in my life. It doesn’t mean that I always understand what is going on but I just don’t believe that some demons are hiding my socks from me.
Well obviously not an exorcism story, but in my family home we used to hear noises, like bouncing a ball, from the attic, and nobody goes there so that was strange. We playfully named the ghost and whenever we hear some weird noises (which is very often, when there are 5 people and 4 cats in one house) we joke that it is him.
My aunt told me about her friend who lived with her and behaved very strangely. He was running away from the Bible, the holy water, and when her son, who is a priest, was visiting them, this friend started to do various strange things.
Well, it was not exact mysticism case, but in the middle of 90's my parents and me visited an old church. There was a priest with a long grey beard, he ordered to take all my clothes off and then muttering strange words he lifted me up from the ground and put myself into a small well, then me and parents returned back home. Since that day God loves me.
Unfortunately I don’t believe in any mysticism, also I’m definitely not a religious person. I don’t want to hurt feelings, if someone is religious, I just want to share my own point of view. Few days ago I found an interview with Ricky Gervais - great British director, actor and comedian, and he brilliantly described my opinion about religion. He said: “There are three thousands of gods and many religions in the world. If you believe in God, you don’t believe in another 2999 gods. If I don’t believe in any God, the only difference between us is the fact that I don’t believe in one more God than you.” For me, christianity was created to control and protect people in the Middle ages. There were no departments to control demography, you can't get married in a registry office, the only way to get married was a church wedding and the only evidence was an entry in the church book. Also there was no contraception, so the only way to protect people against infections transmitted by sexual contact was a ban on adultery. Also giving birth for a child in marriage was the only evidence for the father, that he is raising his own child. So the only way to force people to follow these rules was scuffeling them, that someone is stuffing them all the time.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
When my mom got pregnant with me, she thought about abortion, because dad didn’t planed this pregnancy. But by accident my mother was visited by Jehowas Witneses, and persuaded her to leave the baby. My mother said that she will believe in their God, if she will give birth to this child in 45 minutes, and it will be a girl with fair hair and blue eyes. It's a miracle, because I was genuinely borned in less than 45 minutes. It was funny how a young intern barely had time to catch me. But I have brown hair and eyes, because genetically her wish wasn’t possible. My mom is religious now, but I think it was just a coincidence. Sometimes I read articles about my zodiac sign or about the meaning of my name. Earlier, I thought that it is really mysterious, that someone knows me as good. But now I understand that it’s just a psychological trick. These descriptions fit for everyone, but you can find yourself just because here is your name or sign. Also I heard many stories, like someone by accident was late on the plane. And this accident saved his or her life, because after all the plane crashed, so “the God protected him before death”. But what about other people who died in these accidents? The fact that someone missed the plane is not uncommon, so there is always a chance that someone will miss an unfortunate flight.
I don't believe in mysticism. In my opinion there is no forces that can't be explained somehow in rational way. I think this article was quite interesting but for me is like a tale and it didn't change my mind. For example the story about Maricica Irina Cornici maybe it can be a good idea for a book but that's all.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
When i was younger i was exploring bunker with my friend. We had only flashlights and there was dark around. At some point he looked at me and his face become white in no time (he was that scaried) then he rushed out as soon as possible. He was convinced that he saw some ghost when we was going down but in my opinion it was just a shadow on wall. Is it counts ?
No, I do not believe in mysticism, but that doesn't mean that mystic, paranormal events cannot occur. I found the article very interesting and I have to admit that prior to reading, I wasn't aware that there are so many "well-documented" cases of demonic possesions and exorcisms. While most of these cases seem quite spectacular, I begin to rise some scepticism, when it comes to their authenticity. I am convinced that in every of these occurencies, imagination started to play a role at some point - I think that some parts of the events are true but most of them are not. I believe that 99% of such events can be easily interpreted and solved using proffesional psychological approach. I think that human mind is still a riddle to solve by science and things such as speaking multiple languages or backwards can be scientifically explained. Some events however, if genuine, seem quite spooky and might have their origin in some mystic qualities (which sounds funny to me but I cannot exclude such option).
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
I hardly recall any, but feeling of some paranormal presence in some scary locations, sometimes happens to me. Such feeling can occur especially after watching a horror movie. But still, each and every time I think about science and the way my brain works in such situations, which makes me feel at ease.
Well, no. There are definitely things in the world which we can't explain yet, but I think that very few such stories or even none of them are real mysteries. Such exorcism is only the mix of traditions, religious beliefs and superstitions, and, of course, crazy people. Give them ideology instead of religion and you will get something like German in 1939. By the way, they also did a lot of mystical researches.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
No. Sometimes it seems that I can predict things very well, you know, intuition, all that stuff. But in fact, I think that a lot of events are easily predictable and even if you don't do it by conscious, your subconscious can do it. And here lies a really huge field of unstudied.
In recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in mysticism. For many, this interest comes from a sense of the surrounding darkness and chaos in the outside world. Others want to understand what is beyond ordinary everyday and scientific knowledge.
For some, interest in mysticism comes from a deeper understanding of religious traditions and the feeling that this is where the answers to the most important questions are and it is here that the secrets of life can be understood.
Generally speaking, with the help of mystical knowledge, people want to find their own path of development, find meaning in their lives, want to understand how the world and the universe work. Mystical experience provides an intuitive understanding of the meaning of existence and hidden truths, as well as the solution of life's problems.
There are many disagreements about the definition of mysticism, which indicate a lack of understanding of the essence of this phenomenon. The term "mysticism" has become a popular label for "everything obscure, esoteric, occult, supernatural." Therefore, to talk about mysticism, you must first define the concepts.
2. Fortunately or unfortunately, nothing mystical happened in life, except for what is happening in games / films / TV shows, nothing happened.
It's a very interesting article with many different stories. I think some of them can be explained in quite rational way easily, especially in cases when someone else basically accused another person. In different times many events were assigned to some higher powers, things hard to explain or outside of norm. People are driven to have explanation, to not leave something untold or unfinished. Otherwise, it can be bothering or unsettling.
I don't believe in mysticism, but sometimes I'm curious about it.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
I don't have any. I have a sense of "deja vu" sometimes, but frankly it must have been initiated by just a similar situation that I don't remember anymore rather than same event.
Thank you for the comment. Yeah this kind of stories happens sometimes. I have the same story when I heard some weird noise or just something suddenly fall down. It was really scared
I don't believe too but I am into this kind of stories. I like watch movies about deamons and exorcism. I watched movie about Emily Rose real story and I have read her story and still there are a lot of quetions about that.
Wow really weird story
Hm interesting story Illia thank you for sharing.
Maybe it's fortunately that you do not believe in mysticism, think less about it and sleep better). And I would say that there is some truth in your answer.
Story of your birth is really cool. Definetely your mother made right desicion and I think I understand why she became religious
I think that there is a place for both science and mysticism. I think that even in our time, science is not developed enough to give answers to all questions. Therefore, we refer all inexplicable things to some kind of mysticism.
Yes, there is some truth in your answer, because we may not believe until the moment we ourselves come across something mystical. And immediately we try to give an answer to what it was.
Such stories sometimes make you believe in the existence of something else.
Yes, I would also like Harry Potter to exist in reality.
Yes, such stories are intriguing, but some of them are really no more than a myth.
Perhaps real stories are not the same as the media convey them to us, maybe they embellish them so that we can read them more
I truly belive in mysticism and unexplainable forces of nature around us. Especially, I belive in life energy and I think that it all comes from depper need of understanding world around us. I found your article very interesting and it also gave me some serious chills, but I already knew most of these informations.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
Not really, but I heard a lot of stories from other people that made be belive in powers around us, powers that we don't really understand and probably we never will.
I don't believe in any paranormal stuff. In my opinion there are only things that we can explain scientifically and things that we can't explain yet. That being said I really like horror games and movies and I enjoyed reading this article. I think that people that are believed to be possessed are just people mentally ill and they need help of a mental health experts, not priests.
2. Do you have any mystic stories that happened to you?
No, but my mother told me that when she was 9 year old her friend from school died because of mushroom poisoning and my grandmother, not knowing that she died, saw her in their house for a brief moment, after which she disappeared. I don't really know what to think about that story and I can't ask my grandmother about it, because she's dead, but if I had to guess I'd say that she had a dream about that girl and after she found out she died, her brain connected these events and created a false memory.