This young woman of only 23 years old went from looking this way to looking and sounding this other way her name is Annelis Michel protagonist of one of the most famous exorcisms in history however this was not a case like any other since she was subjected to 67 exorcisms in less than a year and her case ended in a terrible tragedy a lawsuit against her parents and a trial against the priests in charge of these exorcisms the plaintiff against these people argued that the girl suffered from epilepsy and psychiatric illnesses but Anelis's own mother and the priests were certain and had faith that this girl's case was something much worse than that something much darker than we could imagine this is one of the most famous and best documented cases of exorcism in history So there is a lot of information and with more information we can draw better conclusions with which we will try to understand if this was a case of negligence and religious fanaticism or phenomena beyond our understanding so that you can make a judgment here is the context the name of the victim is Michel was born in Germany in September 1952 both her mother and father used to go to mass twice a week as they are extremely devout Catholics who also instilled this way of thinking in their daughters these beliefs are going to play a crucial role in the way in which her parents are about to approach the series of unfortunate events that their daughter is about to suffer anelis is 16 years old and leads a relatively normal life her relatives describe her as a somewhat shy but happy and loving girl and like her parents she was also extremely devout to Catholicism but suddenly at the age of 16 she suffers her first severe seizure and it is here where her descent into hell begins that same day at night while the girl tries to fall asleep she feels a strange force begin to be present in the bed it traps her in it and sinks her with an unprecedented weight then that force goes directly to her neck and grabs her hands the girl tries to fight with all her strength until finally the force disappears the girl is in shock since it is the first time that This happens but since it doesn't happen again she doesn't give it importance, however this is only the beginning of her relationship with evil after this encounter she continues to lead a relatively normal life until almost a year later these attacks return in October of her 17 years anelis once again convulses and loses consciousness again later at night the pattern repeats itself the girl feels that something is not right with her body and moments later an inexplicable force takes hold of her the young woman tries to resort to her Rosary but it has no effect so she screams and falls to the floor her parents hear everything so they enter her room and are horrified by the scene that their eyes see from this moment on the idea that it could be a position is installed in everyone's mind however before concluding it anelis's parents choose to take her to a medical consultation where they mainly perform neurological studies here things get a little strange since in the electroencephalograms they never found abnormalities or anything that could explain the symptoms physically her brain looks healthy but despite that they decide to attribute the problems to a diagnosed based on symptoms this diagnosis is a disorder called temporal lobe epilepsy or the most common type of epilepsy to treat her illness doctors prescribe anticonvulsant pills and psychotropic medications these medications can help control the seizures but only in 70 percent of patients treated and in the case of anelis rather than helping it would make everything worse the girl takes her pills regularly but these have no positive effect on the contrary they produce profound changes in her mood and the medications fail to stop the seizures these epileptic seizures could also have affected her personality confidence and self esteem due to the alarming nature of her symptoms by this time the girl has already begun to lose faith and hope in recovering with the help of doctors so little by little she begins to approach priests to tell them what is happening to her and that she has the slight suspicion that perhaps she is being possessed however one bad day the girl is admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and tuberculosis but after entering the hospital nothing is ever the same there she suffers two more seizures of epilepsy and is prescribed more psychotropic medications when he gets home he begins to experience the following he has frequent outbursts of anger when praying he says he hears voices telling him And suddenly he begins to show one of the four signs of demonic possession according to the church, that is, he began to generate a rejection towards religious objects such as rosaries and crucifixes this is only the beginning of the end because from here things will only get worse a second ago I mentioned that Anelis presented one of the four symptoms of position according to the church but before continuing with the story I am going to give you a little context and information that you need to know to fully understand this case in the world of exorcisms, demonic activity is classified in the following four ways: infestation irritation obsession and possession Knowing this, let's take it one by one first, perhaps the least known, obsession is when a person has intrusive and constant thoughts of a malignant nature according to the church it can be caused by a demon that tempts or torments the mind of the victim driving them to despair or acts of evil secondly we have the vexa That is when someone receives physical attacks by an alleged demon for example waking up with marks on the body this vexa can also present itself in the form of constant misfortunes in the life of the victim now the infestation probably the one that many already know since it is one of the most portrayed in the cinema and more than one may have good reason to believe that they have already experienced it the infestation refers to demonstrations of the presence of evil in an object or a physical place such as your own home these places can be the site of Paranormal Activity that can include unexplained noises objects that move by themselves shadows or apparitions and sudden changes in temperature often people who live or work in these places may also experience feelings of discomfort fear or feel that they are being watched but these infestations are not only limited to places but also according to the Catholic Church evil can infest objects some people also call them cursed objects and they can be anything jewelry furniture cars or dolls it is believed that these objects can be infested if they participate in dark rituals or They are associated with evil practices The most famous example in popular culture is this famous doll called Annabel most of us know it for its adaptation to the famous movie of the same name but in reality it is based on a story of alleged real infestation but another example of alleged infestation not so well known is that of this car that took the lives of a series of people in a very mysterious way its original owner was James Dean a very famous American actor at that time who decided to buy a Porsche 550 customized it with the support of Little Bastard and a few days later showed it to another actor named Alec Gines or the man who played Obi Wan Kenobi years later in an interview Alec declared that when he saw the vehicle he had a terrible feeling and warned the boy that if he got into that vehicle he would die in less than a week and as incredible as it may seem Dinan the owner of the vehicle died just 5 days later due to a head-on collision with another car Apparently the only one on the road but here things get stranger after the accident the engine and transmission of the car were sold to two doctors who used them in their own racing cars one of them Dr McKenry died in an accident during a race while the other Dr Chris was seriously injured while participating in a similar event later one of these vehicles broke the legs of a mechanic when it fell from a harness and months later injured a student when it fell from a museum all of this has led some people to believe that the car was the subject of a demonic infestation and returning to our list the last type of activity is demonic possession the best known of all and also the most portrayed in series and films according to the Catholic Church a demon can take control of a person's body and use that body as if it were its own using its mouth to speak its body to act its eyes to see and its ears to hear this last activity, possession is what Anelis this shy young girl is about to start presenting I think it is important to clarify that for the church in these cases it makes a distinction between the demon and the individual for example when a demon begins to manifest in a person's body it is not said that the person did what he did it could be said that the demon through the body of the possessed person did it I want you to remember well the way in which the church makes the differentiation between person and Demon Because it will be important to fully understand The story the hallucinations with infernal faces begin to be present the same girl tells her parents and priests that she has disturbing visions of demonic faces that expel them incessantly then with a voice full of fear she confesses to believing that the devil himself resides inside her because of this her resos intensify and the visions added to the low effectiveness of the medications make the girl come to the conclusion that it is not a mental problem she concludes that it is a case of Possession at first the family goes to the religious authorities to be able to perform an exorcism on her daughter but this permission is denied however the problems worsen the young woman begins to throw objects with Fury to drink her own urine to hurt herself to eat insects to see demons more and more often And to growl how an animal would do it as her symptoms intensified the family and a priest named Ernst Alt approached a Bishop named Joseph Stangle for permission for an exorcism permission was granted and Ernst along with another priest named Arnold Ren carried out the first of an agonizing series of exorcisms what these two priests don't know is that the rituals they are about to perform will have catastrophic consequences not only for the girl but also for themselves before continuing I want to clarify something according to religious doctrine exorcisms can only be performed by priests who receive special training and who are also appointed as exorcists by a Bishop in multiple interviews exorcist B Lampert has explained that this training addresses things from a spiritual and physical level but above all from a Mental Health level ideally exorcists should be trained to be the most skeptical people Father Vincent himself says I am the last person to believe that someone is truly possessed this is because all the other explanations have to be analyzed first possible lampert says that in the classes for exorcists they bring psychiatrists and psychologists who talk to them about mental health conditions that can closely resemble the symptoms of possession this was the reason why at first the girl was rejected as a candidate despite the numerous symptoms she presented but thanks to the insistence of the family and above all the insistence of they managed to get the permission to be granted it is september 1975 and the exorcism of annelis mitchell begins the young woman decides to abandon her medication and the family chooses to cut off all communication with doctors and psychiatrists putting all their faith in that their daughter will improve only with the help of these exorcists and of God himself as annelis's health worsens both she and her parents seem to lean more towards the spiritual moving away from medicine and looking in faith for a promise of recovery as the exorcisms progress annelis's parents are faced with a terrifying revelation their daughter they claim is possessed by not one but seven different demons anelis stops eating and comments that she has a desire to die to atone for the sins of others in turn Father Ren in charge of the Rite allows the recording of audios during the sessions and here I share with you some of the most [Music] [ Applause] shocking fragments in less than a year around 67 exorcisms are performed with each session extending for an average of 4 hours exorcisms of this degree demand an extreme physical and emotional intensity for anelis each session is a battle both mental and physical subjecting her to a wear and tear that goes beyond the imaginable as an integral part of the exorcism Rite the priests with the support of the girl's parents instruct her to perform genuflections an act of devotion and humility before the divine however repeating this act so many times causes devastating consequences because of the constant pressure and stress the ligaments in her knees are being destroyed preventing her from walking on her own adding another layer of suffering to her tortured existence religious authorities have no mercy since as as i mentioned earlier they are not facing anelis but the demons that manifest through her as time goes by the signs of possession in the girl intensify among the most disturbing symptoms are a violent approach to any object sacred symbol an inexplicable knowledge of subjects unknown to her and a supernatural strength that defies all logic especially considering that her weight has sadly decreased drastically to more or less 30 kg despite her fragile condition the priests testify about her extraordinary strength the young woman from the beginning of the process and the one now facing these exorcisms seem to be two different people the physical and mental wear and tear has transformed her to the point of being almost unrecognizable that although her health is deteriorating rapidly anelis refuses to eat or seek medical treatment convinced of her demonic possession it is essential to remember that it was she who initially requested the exorcisms firmly believing in their necessity however and despite the efforts of the priests and her parents to cure her everything culminates tragically one morning in July 1976 when the Anelis's parents discover her lifeless in her room. The priests attribute this to demonic homicide, but justice and the law have another verdict prepared. The case captures the attention of the media and Anelis's pairs along with the priests are accused of involuntary manslaughter. The autopsy reveals that the girl's cause of death was starvation and dehydration. In addition, the report highlights multiple injuries, bruises and scratches distributed throughout her body. With all these findings, they are summoned to appear in court. Below I will explain the arguments presented by both sides and at the end I will tell you if they were found guilty or innocent. From a religious perspective, the defense represented by the priests and Anelis's parents present recordings of the exorcism and a witness to support the claim that Anelis was truly possessed. From a legal and rational approach, they maintain that it was Anelis herself who decided not to continue with her medical treatment and argues that this act is a legal right. It is mentioned that a close friend of the family testifies that Annelis implored that cease medical treatments and instead seek a more spiritual solution let us remember once again that the girl was the one who turned to the priests in search of an exorcism in the first place it was practically her own decision to undergo that brutal rite her parents are being defended by one of Germany's best lawyers Eric Schmith read who has also defended numerous people in war crimes trials and already As a bonus I find it important to emphasize that during the autopsy no evidence of epileptic activity was found in her brain on the other hand the prosecution claims that Anelis was dealing with clear and defined medical conditions epilepsy and psychosis based on this medical perspective they argue that the girl was not in a stable mental position to make critical decisions about her health and wellbeing especially as it relates to discontinuing her medical treatment they add that under normal circumstances an individual has the right to choose or refuse treatment however in Anelis' case given her alleged deteriorating mental condition that responsibility would fall on her parents i.e. the parents should have intervened and ensured that she received appropriate medical treatment regardless of her daughter's preferences furthermore the prosecution maintains that the exorcisms far from helping worsened the young woman's condition they argue that the intense and grueling rituals combined with the firm and persistent belief that she was possessed may have exacerbated her psychosis taking her to an even more fragile and vulnerable state at this point it seems to me that the sides are defined there are those who believe that it was all a series of mental conditions and there are those who claim that there are supernatural forces at work but but before I tell you what the final verdict was I want to stop to explain a phenomenon called confirmation bias since regardless of which side you're on this may make you reevaluate your perspectives Look confirmation bias is one of the most common and powerful cognitive biases and plays a role in how people interpret and remember information it's our tendency to seek to interpret and remember information in ways that confirm our pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses while ignoring or dismissing information that contradicts them anelis's story and the subsequent controversy surrounding her case They perfectly illustrate how confirmation bias coupled with deeply held belief systems can influence people's perceptions and decisions. On the one hand, if the girl's peers, Anelis herself, and the community strongly believed in demonic influence and the power of exorcisms, they would likely see signs of status rather than mental illness. Every atypical behavior, every breakdown, every unusual word she said could be interpreted as a sign of demonic intervention. On the other hand, people who do not share these beliefs and are inclined to a more scientific point of view will try to search for C. any relationship of this girl's behaviors with any mental condition through the lens of our belief system we would seek and perhaps unconsciously that each act or each event confirms or serves as evidence of our ideas but this bias goes further for example people who firmly believe in concepts such as karma or astrology can also interpret daily events and experiences through this particular lens a horoscope that predicts a complicated day can lead someone to pay more attention to obstacles or minor problems while ignoring everything else or for example if you believe in karma a positive event in your day can be seen as a karmic reward for something you did and very possibly ignore all the other little things that happened to you that maybe weren't so positive you pay attention only to that which confirms your beliefs or let's not go so far How many times has it not happened to us that we believe that our partner is angry with us and all the words he says, his actions or behaviors we interpret them as acts of annoyance no matter how minimal they are our interpretation of reality is always biased by the beliefs we have and now yes after having explained all this to you, what was the verdict? The priests and the girl's parents were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 6 months in prison, which later became three years of probation and bail. Some to this day argue that it was a demonic position since many points such as the abrupt changes in Voices or the superhuman strength described by the priests still cannot be explained. In addition to the fact that many people throughout their lives have experienced events that are simply inexplicable by science or logic, others claim that the alleged possession of anelis was one of their different factors such as mental illness and the environment that led her to this tragic end. From this more scientific point of view, it can be argued that supernatural explanations have a place where science ends, people tend to justify their supernatural narratives under the argument that science cannot explain it, however, science always operates with the information it has at the moment, which means that if at this moment something cannot be explained with the information that is It does not mean that in a few years or in the future this phenomenon can be explained by giving it a more logical explanation an example of this can be different mental conditions such as depression that today we can explain them better but historically they were attributed to supernatural causes such as spirit possessions but regardless of the version you believe it seems to me that we can all agree that this is a sad story we must not forget that behind all these layers of possessions demons or mental disorders and medications at the end of the day there was a woman like any other a human like you and me like your mother or your partner lived with the intensity with which any young person does She fell deeply in love she experienced the heat of passion and the sadness of a shed tear she had dreams and aspirations that she hoped to fulfill she wanted to embrace each day enjoy every moment and build a future full of promise but life with its unexpected twists had a different path prepared for her that was cut short by circumstances beyond her control something that I find heartbreaking is that this belief system that directed a large part of her life was not even chosen by her but like many of It was given to us at the moment she was born and thanks to the family that raised her very few of us are who choose which God to believe in or which religion to practice in the case of Anelis her parents not only passed on this faith but they did so with such rigidity and intensity that it is likely that the young woman subjected herself to these torments because of this belief instilled since childhood the influence of beliefs instilled from an early age is extremely powerful often operating from the shadows of our unconscious but quoting Jung until we make the unconscious conscious the unconscious will direct our life and we will call it destiny the fanaticism of the mother can be seen in some words that she said 40 years later and they are the following I know we did the right thing because I saw the wounds of Christ in her hands she had stigmata and that was a sign from God that we should exorcise the demons she died to save other lost souls to atone for their sins interpret it as you want but tell me what you really think there will be certain phenomena and experiences that can never be explained from a logical point of view or at some point we can gather the necessary information to be able to explain these phenomena what happened to this girl was it a true demonic position or just negligence on the part of the authorities and her parents fan if you want me to relate and reflect on your favorite story or answer questions or comments you can become a member of the Channel by clicking below where it says join this will give you access to many exclusive benefits In addition to that you will be supporting the channel immensely if you want to see more stories reflections and interpretations of stories you can take a look at the channel If you search a little maybe you will find your favorite story and in case you didn't know I have three published books that you can order from anywhere in the world here below I leave you the link Thank you very much for your support see you in the next video