What Happened To Anneliese Michel During Her Exorcisms?

I still think about Anneliese Michel on sleepless nights when true-crime and theology collide in my mind. In essence, she was a young German woman who suffered seizures and psychotic symptoms and who, believing she was possessed, underwent dozens of exorcism sessions performed by priests. Those rituals reportedly lasted many hours at a time over the course of roughly ten months.

Instead of recovery, Anneliese’s physical condition worsened: she stopped eating adequately and became severely emaciated. When she died in 1976 the autopsy blamed malnutrition and dehydration. Legally, her parents and the priests were convicted of negligent homicide because they failed to ensure she received proper medical care. The case is often referenced in discussions about the clash between religious belief and medical responsibility and inspired films like 'Requiem' and 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose'.

For me, the most chilling part isn’t the supernatural angle so much as the human failure — how conviction, fear, and mistrust of psychiatric treatment can lead to tragic neglect.

I was drawn into Anneliese Michel's story the same way I get pulled into a grim, late-night true-crime read: slowly, and then all at once. She was a young woman in Bavaria who, in the mid-1970s, began having severe seizures and psychotic symptoms. Medical professionals diagnosed epilepsy and what looked like a psychotic disorder, but Anneliese and her deeply religious family believed she was possessed. Over about ten months she underwent Catholic exorcism rites — roughly 67 sessions were reported — performed by priests who thought they were confronting demonic forces.

The exorcisms were intense and prolonged. Witness accounts and transcripts describe screaming, strange voices, and dramatic reactions during the rituals. Instead of stabilizing, Anneliese’s physical health deteriorated; she stopped eating normally and essentially wasted away. When she died in July 1976, the autopsy cited malnutrition and dehydration as the primary causes. Her parents and the two priests were later convicted of negligent homicide for failing to provide adequate medical care; the sentences were relatively light but the trial rocked Germany and sparked fierce debate about faith, medicine, and responsibility.

The case keeps popping up in pop culture — the American film 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' and the German film 'Requiem' are both inspired by her story — and for me it’s a sad, complicated fusion of tragedy and misunderstanding. I often think about how different outcomes might have been if medical and spiritual caretakers had communicated better; it’s a human story that still makes my chest tighten whenever I revisit it.