While film and TV can give their spin on terrifying stories, sometimes there's nothing more frightening than seeing that a film or show is based on real-life events.
However, the real-life version can often be more tragic and even more traumatic than how it is portrayed in a film.
The horror movie, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is based on the story of Anneliese Michel, who suffered a horrifying 67 exorcisms during her life.
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The 2005 film follows a defence counsel (Laura Linney) representing a parish priest (Tom Wilkinson), who is accused of negligent homicide after he performed an exorcism on 19-year-old student Emily Rose.
While the film was a box office hit, the real-life story is arguably more daunting and frightening than how it is portrayed on the screen.
German-born Anneliese was born and brought up in a strict Catholic family and had always been pressured to live a religious life.
Anneliese and her three sisters endured a life of austerity. They also had no friends as the girls spent most of their time inside praying.
And at the age of 16, Anneliese’s life started to take a drastic turn, falling into trances and wetting the bed.
She also experienced inexplicable blackouts - something that really stumped doctors.
Some of her nearest and dearest found the trances as disturbing - but this was only the beginning for Anneliese's problems.
These problems continued for a while and it wasn't until 1970 when doctors actually discovered something medically wrong with her.
Anneliese was hospitalized with a case of tuberculosis, which is 'a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person'.
As she recovered, Anneliese claimed the voices inside her head had begun to escalate but no one could quite understand why.
By 1973, epileptic seizures also surfaced, with terrifying hallucinations and the presence of ‘devil faces’ had becaome a regular occurrence.
Anneliese began believing that she was possessed by the devil, with witnesses also claiming she would lick urine from the floor and strip off her clothes.
As a result, the clergymen believed they had no choice but to perform 67 exorcisms on the young woman.
The first of many rituals was performed in September 1975, with the first exorcism revealing at least six demons inhabiting Anneliese’s body.
They restrained her for hours, but to no avail.
Anneliese eventually stopped eating and her body began to shutdown. She was also had bruises and sores all over her body.
In July 1976, she died of malnutrition and dehydration. After her death, her parents and the priests were convicted with negligent homicide but were given suspended prison sentences.
Anneliese's story is usually attributed to mental illness which went improperly treated.
Topics: Film and TV, Life, News, Horror, Mental Health
Callum Jones