EXORCISM - THE HIDDEN TRUTH

CHAPTER 7
REFERRALS, DIAGNOSIS AND SOME FAMOUS CASES

          People and places as potential subjects for exorcism have of course to be "referred" in the first place. In other words they have to be brought to a minister's attention. Usually someone has knowledge of a puzzling condition or set of circumstances which seemingly defies solution by normal means. Generally it is thought (by an individual or group) that the circumstances are so strange that it may be thought other world or supernatural agencies are at work. Again, usually the puzzling condition (of a person or place) is examined or treated by those immediately concerned and if no alleviation is discerned then a minister is contacted, especially, as I have said, if there is any suspicion of "dark forces" being responsible. Normally, a person approaches a minister who reports the approach to his Bishop who then informs the diocesan (or local) "official" exorcist that his services may be needed.

          Near the end of this chapter, I have referred to some gender issues (a huge subject in itself). I did not feel an in-depth discussion of these issues was appropriate in this (concise) study. Accordingly I have given a brief conspectus of questions arising from a consideration of the historical incidence of possession in males and females.

A MODERN EXORCIST

          Here we may look at the words of Gabriele Amorth, who was for many years the chief exorcist of Rome, as written in his book AN EXORCIST TELLS HIS STORY. In the chapter, "The Point of Departure", Amorth speaks of his being approached by his Bishop to perform an exorcism. Amorth points out that priests in the generality are reticent to perform an exorcism, maybe because they actually do not belief in exorcism and/or they are, deep down, afraid to confront demons or the Devil. Hence the need for a willing "official" exorcist. Once committed to the "case" the priest begins by studying the symptoms, as Amorth says, that are presented by the person or his relatives, as well as their possible cause. The physical symptoms are investigated first. If medicines have failed, this is a confirmatory symptom. It was only after being convinced of the intervention of an evil force that Amorth would proceed with an exorcism.

          He then relates a case where despite being himself convinced that exorcism was the right approach, ultimately it transpired that it was a matter for psychiatry not exorcism. On the other hand, he goes on to tell of a case which indicates quite the opposite where a man is as he says "completely liberated", from possession by a mute demon. He narrates the incident where two brothers were plagued by health problems and strange nocturnal noises. A minor exorcism "freed" the two from their troubles which emanated from their blaspheming grandfather. Amorth gives several more examples of successful exorcism, among which was the following interesting case.

          Amorth tells of a seventeen year old girl who was being exorcised. "She was a peasant who spoke a dialect. Two other priests were present. Once the presence of Satan was ascertained , these two continued to question her. The chief exorcist while reciting the Latin prayers, began to add some Greek words: 'Shut up! Quit it!' Immediately the girl turned towards him and said 'Why are you commanding me to be quiet? Rather, tell that to these two who continue to ask questions!'

          Another case where Amorth was actively involved was to do with a disturbed sixteen year old girl. Apparently the troubles came from the girl's mother. Anna (the girl's name) was freed by the performance of three blesings, as it was says Amorth, "a weak case of possession". (p. 85 of the 12th edition, 1994) As for the mother, it required several months of weekly exorcisms.

          Antonia, a twenty year old girl, kept hearing strange voices and could not sleep or work. At this time the girl's father became ill, and conversation between the two led to them both becoming apprehensive, even scared. The person who had advised them to come to Amorth informed him that the two were still ill. They never came back. "At times I run into persons who become discouraged by the slow pace of healing and turn to sorcerers for faster help, with disastrous consequences." (p 88)

          I should like to end this section with a quote from Amorth with which I would concur. "Every exorcist has his own experiences that are at times unique...I believe that we must study with great respect different methodologies and experiences in exorcisms. Facts do not change and the efficacy of a method cannot be discounted because the the facts differ from someone else's experience." (p 89)

DIAGNOSIS

          The situation therefore has to be "diagnosed" first. Not an easy task as we have said: exorcism (or rather its need in the particular case) is not an exact science! Disturbed people and disturbed places necessitate different approaches. Nevertheless, initial investigation leading (hopefully) to correct treatment is vital (no apologies for the reiteration) and as we have read in the previous chapter it is at this stage that the "team" is to be involved and consultations with other clergy and lay people such as medical persons must begin. The important thing to try to discover is whether the case necessitates the rite of exorcism and whether "major" or "minor" versions of the ritual are appropriate.

          Before any interview with the patient, as Douglas Howell-Everson states in his informative book, HANDBOOK FOR CHRISTIAN EXORCISTS, the exorcist will pray. His section on "How the Exorcist Works" is especially valuable where he says the exorcist must first face and answer the question: what is actually happening to this troubled person? The list of signs and symptoms which follows is full and instructive. Finally, says Everson, "the team must all be - and endeavour to remain - in a state of recollection in Christ, whose instruments they are, and bear in mind that should there be a genuine case of obsession or possession before them, the last thing the demon would wish to do would be to draw their attention by extreme abnormalities of speech or behaviour".

          It must be confessed that mistakes are possible, but every attempt is made to avoid them! There have been instances of exorcisms going wrong: where a situation has been exacerbated or no discernible alleviation is perceived. But these are very much in the minority and can usually be "explained". Notable or famous cases exist; these have been documented and witnessed. Their credibility is in the mind of the reader; I just present some of them. Personal comment where contextually fitting is given.

FAMOUS CASES

          We can begin with two of the most "famous" cases in the annals of possession: those of Pere Surin and Jeanne des Ange in seventeen century France. Surin came to the Ursuline convent of Loudon with the aim of exorcising the Prioress, Jeanne des Ange. For some reason, Surin became guilt obsessed, which led him into ways of behaving and talking contrary to his true nature. Eventually it seemed as though he began to hate Christ and to enter into heresies. It seems Pere Surin's delusion arose from the belief that he had over-exalted himself (to use Surin's own words). His guilt feelings were attended by bouts of masochism, inflicting injury upon himsef, and he actually attempted suicide. He was unable to concentrate or to move very much which naturally he found very debilitating. Surin himself in his own account - "Histoire des diables de Loudon" - describes his suffering as "a torment of the spirit". He was convinced that he was possessed, describing the condition as though it were his soul becoming separated. Periods of calm alternated with bouts of rage. He believed the devil was urging him on to greater violence. Why he became "possessed" was a mystery to him (and to us now).

          Jeanne des Ange was herself guilt-obsessed - and was so before Surin came to the convent. All this it must be remembered was happening about mid century when cases of possession in Loudon were numerous. Jeanne believed implicitly that she was possessed which led her into insulting God, blaspheming and desecrating holy objects. She believed she was guilty of listening in the first place to demonic suggestions and thus was tortured by almost constant feelings of remorse. "The devils," she said, "took possession of all my exterior and interior faculties to do their will with them..." Sometimes she was able to resist and even on occasion she confessed to a feeling of pleasure in submitting to possession. "The devil tricked me by a little feeling of pleasure that I had in the disturbances..."

          Both eventually overcame their terrors (or delusions) by the ministrations of others.

          Jeanne Fery was born in 1559 in a village near Mons. She was educated at the convent in Mons. Soon after leaving the convent she began to be assailed by demonic forces. The story of her "possession" is given in her autobiography.

          Her first job was as an assistant to a dressmaker. It was not long after starting this job that Jeanne came to be troubled by demons, according to her testimony. Apparently the devils threatened and cajoled her into submitting to them so that she became a virtually a slave to do their bidding. She signed a pact with the devil by which she would behave sacrilegiously towards anything sacred. The devils got her to renounce Christianity while ostensibly she lived outwardly according to Christian dictates. She re-entered the convent, became a nun but the attentions of the demons did not slacken. They got her to sign more pacts whereby she devoted herself to diabolic influence. In theory, and to outward appearance, Jeanne remained in her religious faith. She freely confesses in her account that she gave herself entirely to the devils or to one in particular. She believed herself truly possessed.

          This strain naturally led to ill health, but it was not till she was twenty-five that her companion nuns noticed that all was not well with Jeanne. Brought to the attention of the ecclesiastical authorities, Jeanne submitted to exorcism. The first aim of the exorcists was to recover the "pacts" which Jeanne had made with the devils, and in this we understand that the exorcists were successful. Strange cuts and lacerations were discovered on Jeanne's body which indicated demonic activity; in fact the exorcists were able to communicate with the possessing entities and vice versa. For a whole year, the patient suffered as indeed one possessed: incoherence, struggles, vomiting and so on. She was, as the journal kept by the exorcists put it, reduced to complete childishness, ignorant of all knowledge both of God and of creatures, and unable to say anything.... Towards the end of her period of torment, Jeanne decided to make a Confession to the Archbishop. Naturally the Archbishop and the exorcists saw in all this proof of the devil's work and of supernatural agency. The Archbishop himself was luckily (for Jeanne) a sympathetic man who had her deliverance very much at heart. However for a period, Jeanne lived in the Archbishop's house but her torments if anything, increased and she could get no sleep. The evil spirits contiued to trouble her; she saw devils and also saints. At a Mass (1586) Jeanne went into a sort of religious ecstasy, recognising Christ and God, and Mary Magdalen, crying out that she was being "torn". When a crucifix was held before her the terrible conflicts ended. Finally (after several attempts at exorcism) she was cured. She was still only aged twenty-six.

          As Pierre Debongnie says in his article in SATAN (p. 261),

"What are we to conclude? Was it a mystery of diabolical cleverness, or a mystery of femine psychology? It may well be that it was both at once".

          Jean Lhermitte in the SATAN compendium, in his article on "Pseudo-Possession", recounts a notable instance concerning the strange case of Madeline (known as Ma). This took place in France at the turn of the twentieth century. She was about twenty when owing to some disturbances she had recourse to her parish priest. Apparently she had begun to experience a bleeding from her forehead and as proof she produced a blood-stained handkerchief. Inquiries revealed that Ma had indeed become introverted and believed herself to be a saint.

          She told how one night the devil appeared to her and began an assault. The mysterious being kissed her and attempted a sexual attack; the fact that he did not succeed apparently lay in her religious faith and strong will. The priest however remained somewhat sceptical and wanted proof. He entrusted one of her companions to keep watch over her for some two weeks. This companion reported very strange phenomena indeed which she believed in implicitly. "There are," she said, "sufficient elements which do not allow any doubt about her." The companion continued, "I saw openings form on her forehead and blood flow..her shoes were taken off without her moving...sometimes she fell out of bed for no apparent cause...one night Ma screamed accompanied by a smell of burning and handed me a vest partly burned..."

          Inquiries however revealed that Ma had a disturbed background in which she was often found to be a liar. In a note to the priest, Ma wrote that "For over six months I have had an interior struggle with the devil: it is like a relentless war within me between the spirit of God...and another spirit thrusting me towards evil..."

          The blood flow mystery was never really solved though it was presumed that Ma had engineered it herself somehow. The comment of Lhermitte is valuable: "Many hysterical people have confessed to this inner compulsion [to lie] but in their consciousness the notions of true and false ...are usually blurred ... or are so unstable that it would be most imprudent to accept such allegations with any measure of conviction".(289)

          It appears that Ma confessed to having had delusions and in a way cured herself.

          Saint Theresa (1515-1582) a Spanish mystic, who entered a convent in 1533, has an extraordinary story to tell (in her autobiography). After about twenty years there she experienced religious ecstasies and reached a state of high asceticism. She was famed far and wide for her sanctity.

          In her own words she describes how she was assailed by demons for whom she was of course a prime target.

"One day [the devil] appeared to me in frightful form and said he knew how to seize me. I made the sign of the cross and the demon disappeared - but soon came back. Another day he tormented me for five hours ...I thought I should be unable to resist him any longer. I asked God for the grace of patience...thus I sought to find some alleviation of the cruel torment...The Sisters who were with me were seized with terror and did not know what to do. The Enemy then unleashed himself against me in terrible fury...I threw some holy water in the devil's direction and he fled...the virtue of this water must be indeed great. All my pains left me as if they had been lifted from me by a hand. But I remained shaken and broken...One time the devil returned, but the torment was not so long as I threw some holy water in the direction of the Tempter: this occasion was accompanied by the smell of burning sulphur. Another time I fell into the most profound state of contemplation, went outside and heard the sound of blows and voices as if some plot was being hatched...One evening when I was saying some prayers the demon placed himself on the prayer-book, but he fled when I made the sign of the cross. I beheld in that very instant several souls come forth from purgatory; perhaps the devil had delayed their deliverance. On a particular feast day when I had entered into an ecstasy, I beheld a great battle between demons and angels without being able to understand the meaning...later I experienced a conflict between differing religious beliefs [in the convent and in the country]. I seemed at the time to be invested with a bright light...I understood that God was protecting me and so I could not be led into sin."

          This is a short summary of part of St Theresa's diary; onlookers must have been very puzzled by her strange behaviour and none more so than her confessors. Was she possessed? Did she claim triumph by her sanctity? Was she delusioned? Was her spiritual ecstasy feigned? These are but some of the questions thrown up by the revelations of the mystic.

          Another well-known case is that of the maid of Orlach (as it is referred to). This is interesting as it seems to indicate one of the ways possession can arise. It may begin with an hallucination (of a type of person or being) which then begins to approach the intended victim, seizes him (or her) to enter his/her body (incarnate it). "It is not only a strange soul which enters into man, it is even a strange body!" (Oesterreich, p. 94, POSSESSION) The story is relayed in Eschenmayer's KONFLICT.

"The black spirit subjected her to more and more violent temptations...he made himself master of her whole interior. he entered into her and uttered by her mouth demoniac discourses. The spirit [of a black monk] appears to her sometimes in human shape coming towards her. Then she hears a few brief words: "Won't you give me an answer? I shall torment you". Remaining silent the maid next hears the words: 'Well, I shall enter into you in your despite'. Then she sees him approach, feels as it were a cold hand on her neck, and thus he enters her. She loses her individuality; feels she is no longer present in her own body; she speaks with a bass voice in the person of the monk, through her own lips - diabolically distorted. On one occasion the black spirit appeared before her seemingly with a white head-dress on: 'I'm here again. You are going to cry because this is the last time.' Having pronounced these words, he went towards her, seized her by the neck with his cold hand when she immediately lost consciousness. Once more he was within her."

          This is an authenticated case, witnessed by Eschenmayer and believed by him worthy of inclusion in his notable book on possession.

          One of the most famous (and notorious) cases of modern times is that of Michael Taylor in 1974, found guilty of the horrendous murder of his wife. Tayor, it appears was an ordinary, decent and popular young man - before he fell in with a religious group who played on his innate neuroses by getting him to confess imaginary sins, etc. He became deranged and his condition brought to the attention of the Church, the priests of the parish decided he needed exorcism. Unfortunately the priests were unauthorised and inexperienced and performed an exorcism which undoubtedly worsened Taylor's condition. Pleased with their apparent success, the exorcists allowed Taylor (without any after-care) to return home. Later that night the demented young man attacked and killed his wife with the utmost ferocity. He is now in Broadmoor.

          The Taylor case is an illustration par excellence of an exorcism going wrong when performed by untrained and unskilled people. Maybe Taylor was indeed possessed - the murder of his dearly loved wife was particularly ferocious.

          In 1975 occurred the "celebrated" case (in Germany) of Anneliese Michel, from a devout Roman Catholic family. She was however neurotic and deeply fearful of many things. She appeared to be mentally unbalanced. Anneliese herself was convinced that the devil was trying to possess her soul. The local priest concurred and recommended exorcism. The circumstances were properly and thoroughly investigated and finally the regional Bishop gave his permission.

          It seemed Anneliese suffered from anorexia but this was not investigated, the two priest involved being convinced that she was possessed. The two conducted a series of exorcisms (in 1975, at Klingenberg), but were unsuccessful, her convulsions continuing unabated. Anneliese uttered obscenities as the rites were repeated. Often she spoke in different tongues, sometimes in a tenor voice, sometimes in a deep bass. One of the devils inhabiting her invited the priests to have intercourse with the sufferer. The devils spoke through Anneliese, in the guise of villans from history. An intriguing voice was that of a sixteenth century disgraced prelate, speaking in a long outmoded form of German, about his sexual prowess.

          Throughout this time the condition of the patient actually worsened: the convulsions grew more violent, the language more obscene, while the sexual activity became more graphic. It is possible to believe that Anneliese herself felt abandoned by God, and certainly the sight of holy objects put her in a fury. It was difficult to imagine such language and such behaviour emanating from the deeply religious girl. Meantime she became weaker as she continued to refuse food, and epileptic seizures ensued. Clearly the exorcisms were ineffective.

          Finally, Anneliese fell into a deep sleep - from which she never awoke. She had at last found peace it was concluded. The death was due to self starvation.

          The local doctor was called in to issue a death certificate. He was shocked by Anneliese's appearance and refused to write the death certificate. He reported the matter to the police who could not believe their eyes when they saw the dead body. Among other manifestations were injuries, probably self-inflicted, on her genital organs. Anneliese's parents believed implicity that their daughter had been possessed by evil spirits and that therefore the ravaged body was only to be expected.

          In the subsequent trial Anneliese's parents and the two priests were convicted of murder by negligence.

          It remains a very puzzling case. Maybe the young woman, as one specialist said, was suffering from an emotional conflict resulting fron guilt feelings about a sexual interest in Jesus Christ. One theologian gave as his opinion the following: "Anneliese's exorcism was a basic mistake. Possession is a question of belief, not of empirical fact [controversial statement?] They should have called the doctor".

          Anneliese's mother, summing up the reaction of both patents, disagreed and said: "The worst thing is that despite what has happened still no-one wants to believe in the Devil".

PLACES

          Places, as we know, can be "possessed" (or haunted) by evil entities, as the following case shows. ( I am indebted to Peter Underwood's book EXORCISM! for the details, p.161 and following.)

          He tells of a house that apparently was being plagued by some sort of poltergeist spirit, but several attempts at exorcism had proved unsuccessful. It seems that at the centre of the mystery were two young girls who lived in the house and who appeared completely disorientated and troubled by the happenings. "Ghosts" were seen - apparently arising from a murder committed in the house some time previously. Strange movements and sounds were experienced, especially from one of the beds where it seemed as if a body lay. The bedcovers of this and of the two girls were disarranged unnaturally. There was also an atmosphere of fear about the place. Priests who visited the house experienced strange happenings which could not have been caused by the girls.

          On one occasion, with the girls and the priest present, a sort of communication was established with the unseen force - in Irish and Latin! On another, the family and two priests went into a room (to escape the "haunted" one) but clearly audible were sounds in the disturbed room.

          One night, one of the priests, made the sign of the cross over the beds, and the troublesome spirit (or spirits) disappeared for good.

          This account of a possessed or haunted house is taken from J. Aelwyn Roberts' book, HOLY GHOSTBUSTER.

          A young married couple had rented an old farmhouse and at first everything was going well, but after about a year certain scratching sounds were heard underneath their bed, which they thought must be caused by a rat. Despite putting down rat poison the scratchings continued.

          One night Peter (the husband) woke feeling very cold. He got out of bed to rearrange the bedclothes when he was aware of a middle-aged woman's face leering at him. At the same time his wife (Zoe) awoke and screamed, running downstairs and out into the night.

          Later it transpired that the ghost was that of a previous occupant who was troubled by being unable to find the deeds of the farm that her husband had hidden before he went to war. (He was killed in the trenches.) The scratching therefore had been Hannah (the woman's name) searching for the papers. It seems that a "conversation" with Hannah had resulted in her being freed from the timewarp she was apparently in. She did however reappear from time to time but never with malicious intent. Zoe appears to have been the focus person for Hannah; it was because of the eventual rapport established between them that Hannah felt she could materialise subsequently.

          Hannah, after the death of her husband, had indeed experienced difficulties over the farmhouse deeds and the tenancy in general but refused to move. She remarried eventually and was able to continue living in the farmhouse. She had strong religious affiliations to one branch of the Christian faith but hated another.

          Aelwyn Roberts tells us of "conversations" he held with Hannah which as we have said seemed to liberate her. She was a strange ghost indeed - friendly once approached. She had died some thirty years earlier than the episodes just recounted.

          The young couple continued to live happily in the house - with occasionally Hannah's ghost for company! Sometimes she appeared; sometimes she just knocked to remind people of her presence!

          (Revd. Aelwyn Roberts is (or was) a parish priest in Wales.)

          In Michael Perry's book, DELIVERANCE, there are several "case histories" of possession of persons and places which are of great interest. One of these is recounted (p.114) and concerns a fifty year old woman who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital claiming to be possessed.

          She said the devil had taken her over and was directing her thoughts and actions. She spent most of her time crying and claiming she could see the devil. She was given various drug therapies but failed to improve. Her psychiatrist decided to call in a priest as the woman was so distressed. The patient became frightened in the priest's presence, believing herself to be unworthy; she was obsessed by her feeling of unworthiness. She was prepared for confession and exorcism. The psychiatrist felt that the guilt feelings may have been linked to the fact that she had had a lover for many years (whom she later married). The exorcism was carried out but her psychotic condition continued. With the help of drugs some alleviation was achieved but she still believed she was possessed.

          Another case concerns a possessed? woman whose relatives called in an exorcist. This woman had been for years a member of a witch coven locally. She was a middle-aged woman of working class origins and limited education. She had never left her village except for shopping. Immediately the exorcist entered the room she began calling out details of his past life. The second priest in the team had served for many years in the Middle East and he began to question the woman in Arabic. The woman replied in Arabic. Nothing could have been known by the woman of the priest's past or of the Arabic language. After exorcism, however, she lost these extrasensory powers and renounced her witchcraft.

          An extraordinary but well attested story. The only conclusion is that indeed she was "possessed"?

          Here is an account concerning a location: a church and its village which appeared to have a long history of problems. A priest, a temporary incumbent, heard tell of psychic disturbances: a feeling of presences when the church was empty; the crashing of the main door. Original maps revealed sites in the vicinity which could have been used for pagan worship. Probably the church had been built on one such site. Two crosses in the church had pagan carvings on them - no suggestion of Christianity. The building was exorcised. A mysterious "resistance" was encountered when the pagan crosses were approached. The next Sunday the congregation felt a lighter, more joyous atmosphere than usual, - and they did not know of the exorcism. Pastoral relationships and Christian work improved considerably from that time.

          It seems the "difficulties" experienced by the church began from the date when two Saxon stones had been brought into the church from their original positions in order to afford them more protection from weather and vandalism.

          Reading this puts us in mind of Hamlet's words to Horatio: "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy" - is it realistic to disagree?

          A notable case occurred in America in 1908, involving a well-known exorcist of the time, a Father Theophilus and his patient, Anna Ecklund. She came apparently from a rather unstable family which clearly had contributed to her unbalancing, so much so that she was placed under the care of Father Theophilus who believed that there were several devils inside Anna, and that by exorcism and the power of the Church the devils would be banished. The priest wanted to attempt the exorcism/s away from Anna's home town and asked a certain Father Steiger from a nearby town for permission to perform the ritual there, warning him that the Devil might want to take revenge on him (Steiger) - especially since Anna had exhibited anti-clerical activities.

          In 1928, Anna on getting off the train (in the nearby town) greeted the nuns who had come to welcome her with ribald shouts and even with physical assault. Later, in the convent, she flew into a rage when food, blessed, was brought to her. During the subsequent attempts at exorcism, Anna was, to say the least, unruly, making animal noises, cursing the Church, and violently vomiting. It seems Anna exhibited the power of levitation, leaping from the bed and affixing herself to the walls and ceiling. (It must be remembered that these details are to be found in the account of the episode, called BEGONE SATAN, by a Catholic priest.)

          Anna had to be forcibly detached from the wall - it was not hard to understand that the witnesses believed it was all done by the power of the devil. Very soon the people of the town got to know what was going on.

          The devils conversed in differing voices, some harsh, some soft. Among the "inhabitants" were sinful members of Anna's family. Meantime, she continued her thrashing about and her maniacal cries. She looked very ill indeed. The attendant nuns as well as the exorcist were exhausted.

          One day the (main) devil warned Steiger that it would have revenge -.on the coming Friday. Sure enough, Steiger did have an accident in his car; he was unhurt but his car was a write-off. Anna on seeing him, shouted "It served you right!" - although she could not possibly have known anything about it. Anna herself was but fleetingly coherent. The devils maintained a silence for long periods which added to the burden of exorcism. At times she was clear-headed and was seemingly conscious of the battle within her between good and evil.

          Suddenly, one evening, Anna shouted out in a piercing voice the names of devils. Then she spoke the name of Jesus. From this moment she was cured and restored to normality.

          Was it due to the attempts at exorcism? You as reader may judge.

          Exorcisms of places follow, not infrequently, paths similar to one another. Certainly the following is rather similar to the one narrated earlier. It concerns a young married couple with three children who moved into a house (in Virginia) in the early 1970's. They heard mysterious voices, knocks and footsteps. They put it down to imagination, but one night returning home the lights in the house flashed on and off. Another evening they heard the clock come crashing down and the affixing nail broken in two. Other strange events happened, such as the piano moving quite violently.

          The couple now were convinced their house was haunted or possessed, and approached a priest who had some experience in dealing with possessed places. This cleric (called Fr. Nichola), was somewhat loathe to perform a solemn exorcism entailing a confrontation with the demon, and called upon the local parish priest to perform a minor version, simply blessing the house. This seemed to be effective but certain noises were detectable coming from the cellar. Fr Nicola blessed the cellar and the disturbances ceased.

          He himself felt, in Olga Hoyt's words, that these cases were really a reflection of the sensational popularity of occult subjects that had seized America at the time. (EXORCISM, p. 82) He felt, apparently, that spirits do not return to haunt the living now. "Yet somehow, by his and the pastor's blessings, the house of the young couple in Virginia was freed from unnatural 'happenings'." (p. 83)

          A case, well-known to students of exorcism, is that of the "Illfurt boys" as it is known, Theobald and Josef, of the German town of the same name, which began in 1865 and continued for several years. They were both acknowledged to be possessed from about the ages of ten and eight respectively. Among other things they both contorted their bodies into unnatural positions from which they were freed with the greatest difficulty. They painted the faces of devils on the walls and spoke to them. They appeared to exhibit powers of levitation and this phenomenon affected other people who might be in the room.

          They were given to frequent vomiting of strange objects and were able it seems to move about unnaturally quickly. Their room was always uncomfortably hot although never heated but the sprinkling of holy water restored a normal temperature. At times it seemed as though the whole house was disturbed by some sort of poltergeist presence e.g. curtains, furniture, seemingly moved of their own accord. The boys showed an aversion to the entrance of good Christians, sometimes jumping out of the window (when on the ground floor!)

          Theobald was due his exorcism but one day burst out with the following: "Here I am and I am in a fury". In answer to questioning as to who he was, Theobald replied, "I am the Lord of Darkness". With contorted faces the boys tore their clothes and broke everything within range.

          Was this genuine possession, due to poltergeist activity; were the boys simply at odds with their family? As Martin Ebon says in EXORCISM, PAST AND PRESENT, "Today parapsychologists incline toward a psychophysical explanation based on the youngsters' hostility: unless of course there is straightforward chicanery". (p.92)

          Eventually the two boys "grew out of it" - or were restored by the rites of exorcism.

          An interesting case made national press headlines in 1995, in America.

          A woman believing in her own powers of exorcism admitted in court that she killed her granddaughter by forcing water down the two year old child's throat in an effort to drive out the devil. Mrs C. apparently believed she had the ability to see the devil in people. She came to believe the devil had entered the child - seemingly because the child's parents were unmarried. She undertook to drive the devil out. When the child refused to drink any more water, Mrs C. forced the child's mouth open, thinking that the devil was fighting back. The child vomited and Mrs C. believed the devil had left her.

          Two days later, Mrs C. and her daughter (the child's mother) took the dead child to a Hospital. An autopsy revealed that the child had died by choking on her own vomit. Interviewed by a doctor, Mrs C. said she had successfully exorcised a devil from a four year old boy some time before. She pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge.

          Reading this we are reminded of the poet Pope's epigram: "A little learning is a dangerous thing" - nothing can be more dangerous than exorcisms attempted by "unqualified" or inexperienced amateurs.

          One of the most notable cases of possession (which we have earlier mentioned occurred in Germany about 1830. It concerns a certain Anna Maria Uz who suddenly experienced frightful seizures, raging and cursing in the vilest manner. Medicaltreatment signally failed to help her. She became severely emaciated and the furious rages continued. On occasion she would have periods of normality but the demon always returned. The attempts at exorcism continued. Eventually, Anna was referred to an experienced and saint-like person who dispelled the demons for good.

          Anna had been freed from the affliction which had tormented her for years and lived a happy and productive life. The question remains however: WHY was this apparently normal, religious peasant woman so afflicted?

          The story of Nicola Aubrey (in 1566) is a remarkable one in the annals of exorcism, illustrating the multiple possession syndrome.

          Nicola exhibited all the "signs" of possession as it was acknowledged at the time. She lay mostly semi-conscious while in her waking moments she displayed the most bewildering and obscene behaviour. Several exorcisms were tried, to no avail; the devil would not depart. However, placing the Blessed Sacrament on her lips one day restored her immediately and she received holy communion apparently with great devotion. But this was not the end: Satan (if it were he) returned to Nicola.

          The devil exchanged words with the potential exorcising priests, in a particularly haughty and insolent manner. Once again the Blessed Sacrament was placed on Nicola's lips to restore her to some sort of normality again. Satan left but rendered his victim partly paralysed. Before this happened, Nicola suffered the most frightful torments, her body being rolled up like a ball, her face became distorted, her eyes protruded, her tongue became black.

          However, once more the devil (or Satan) took possession and the bishop of the area began, as was the custom, to question the invading spirit. In answer to the question: "How many of you are in the body?" the devil replied, "There are three of us: Beelzebub, Cerberus and Astaroth." It was clear that the restorations of Nicola were but temporary respites and that Satan remained in domination.

          The documentation of the Nicola Aubrey case is thorough - and of great interest. During an exorcism (or an attempt at exorcism) the bishop asked: "Tell me why hast thou taken possession of this honest and virtuous Catholic woman?" This was the reply: "I have taken possession of her because of the sins of the people. I have done it to show doubters there are devils who can take possession of man whenever it is permitted. [The meaning of this apparently is: with God's permission.] I will show them [the unbelievers, sceptics, the doubters] that I am the powerful Devil. I have taken possession to convince them - or to confirm them in their sins...and I will perform my task."

          Administration of the sacrament restored her once again - but the next day Nicola was visited by the demon and it seems raised into the air, and then allowed to fall back on the ground. Admonitions by the bishop to the devil followed, which turned into threats. The demon began to shriek, saying that the Son of God was, he acknowledged, present and that he had to depart. "This fact is not from me,"said the demon, "it comes from my Lord and Master who has sent me hither." [By "Lord and Master" the demon (Satan?) meant Jesus Christ]

          The poor woman writhed fearfully and it seemed as if her bones cracked. Her face once more became distorted, her colour became bluish and had a demonical look. Satan was not going to depart without a fight! The bishop himself became terrified and turned pale. He retained enough self-control however to carry on with the exorcism and succeeded in finally overcoming the fiend.

          Nicola was freed from her infirmities and distortions. She fell on her knees and praised God. She was liberated at last.

          Another strange tale but well-attested. Was it all down to mental (or physical) illness? Was it all play acting? Was there an element of both? Or was it genuine possession?

          What DO we think of the cases above? No doubt it will largely depend on the individual reader's commitment to the spiritual (or religious) life. It is certain that an agnostic (about God and the Devil) will react differently from a believer (in God). The great problem in all these prominent cases of disturbance, shall we call it, is that there is no way of PROVING the genuine or conversely of proving the false. Maybe it is all a subjective matter - but try telling that to the exorcists involved! Maybe INTERPRETATION of a case (the signs exhibited) is the nub of the matter - and this it is acknowledged IS subjective. Am I myself sitting on the fence? I hope I have not given this impression. As a Catholic priest I am a believer in possible possession (of people, of places) - BUT not in all case I have personally been involved with--or have read about. Some people were undoubtedly trying it on!

          What will have struck readers is the predominance of female "victims" and I must say that in my experience females as patients have been very much in the majority. Possibly the roles are reversed when it comes to the "possession" of places, where a priest's attention to a locality problem is more often drawn by a male. I am not sure why this should be so - but I have theories.

          The predominance down the ages of females may be due to the feeling, real or imagined, on the part of these women, that they are in some sense marginalised (to use a modern idiom) and claiming to be possessed seemingly imparts a (spurious) importance to her as an individual which she could not otherwise gain. There is also it appears a sexual element (often) in these cases, which exhibited, acts as a sort of catharis for the deluded woman (or girl). Often it seems as if the person is repressed, emotionally, and without I hope getting myself accused of political incorrectness, it may be thought that females are more prone to emotional disturbance.

          A theme worth pursuing a little more is that of the incidence of genuine and pseudo possession. A study of the phenomena of possession throughout the centuries points to a gender difference between cases exhibited by males and by females. Possibly males are more reluctant to have recourse to someone else's help (witness the well-known reluctance by males to visit the doctor) than females who, at least in the past, have tended to seek help when feeling distressed. It follows that the greater incidence of female referrals contains the greater incidence of cases which CAN BE explained by so-called natural phenomena.

          When it comes to the possession of the young vis a vis the old (or "mature") there is evidence that the older or elderly do not seem to suffer disturbance (as we use the term here) as much as younger people. The exception seems to be in referrals of places (haunted) which is encountered in well nigh equal numbers of young and old. What is notable is the predominance of what may only be called youngsters or young adults in possession annals. Mature adults figure less frequently. We have said or implied that one reason for this is that youngster are "unhappy at home" as the saying is, and in this way draw attention to themselves, and of course, they tend to have more vivid imaginations or are more easily frightened. The young adults often feel they are at that stage in their lives when important decisions have to be made; they may feel that they have achieved little or nothing so far and that some external agency is to blame. They may also have a strong conviction that a turning to religion or entrusting themselves to a spiritual element is the key to the future; such people are in my estimation "over the top" in a way that often leads to self-delusion.

          Whether education of a formal kind has an effect one way or another is a debateable issue (as so many issues are in our subject). It may be said that on balance the less well educated form the majority of cases; but the dividing line is not clear cut. Possibly the lesser educated are more susceptible to outward influences (psychic or other). Intelligence is something else again. No conclusion is to be drawn from a study of the cases on this score: it seems to be even stevens.

          Of course the less well educated have a more restricted opportunity to make their mark in the world (particularly in past times - dominated by the Church and Royalty).

          We have glanced at the following phenomena earlier; but it is worth repeating if it be repetition: in the last century the incidence of the possession of individuals has declined while that of places has increased. No doubt the growing secularisation of modern thought and living has contributed to this fact, with the ever popular and growing notion of "hauntings" and often side by side with this is an increasing (or increased) interest in the occult. VERY recently however there has been an upsurge of interest in (and occasions of) possession (real or imaginary) of persons. (See the earlier mentions of the increased "work-load" of exorcists.) It may be as is often adduced that the 1973 film THE EXORCIST kindled renewed interest - but this may be over-doing it.

          I feel I should add to the remark I made above regarding place disturbances, where I said that males tend to be in the majority when it comes to referral. I think this is so because males feel they CAN report such things without loss of "macho" image which they feel they might infringe in reporting "standard" cases of possession of the self. In addition, it is still true to say that males tend to own property more so than females and that consequently they are more concerned when "disturbance" affects them and theirs. Also they as a gender tend to be more interested about (or more adventurous over) old buildings, seemingly treacherous patches of road, brooding areas of water or whatever - all of which motivates them if they feel strongly enough about the matter, to talk about it and ultimately to report or "refer" it.

          We began by making some general observations on the efficacy (or otherwise0 of exorcism: the problem of "trying to get it right" and the probability of a number of cases misdiagnosed - or incidents of rituals having gone wrong, exacerbating situations, or simply being ineffective. On the other hand there is plenty of evidence of the "success" of the ritual and of correct diagnosis.

          We then looked at notable cases of possession down the years, involving young and old/er, male and female, educated and not; some of these cases are open to interpretation; maybe some are not. Some seem to be examples of true possession; some implant a doubt. Are some CLEARLY false; some CLEARLY genuine?

          We spoke of the process of referral - of place and of people, and made some comment on gender differences in this regard and in respect of the incidence of "victims".

          We should in the next chapter be in a position to look at some "cases" I have personally been involved with. It is possible that comment because it is personal will have more immediacy - and I hope be all the more compelling for that!

© A.B. Finlay Ph.D