While I don’t believe in demonic possessions or anything or the sorts, there’s no doubt the alleged stories of these people remain intriguing and horrific after so many years.
Why? Maybe people like to put a face on evil and want to excuse terrible behavior for some sort of a hidden instigator motivating them to sin, awfully.
Whatever your personal belief, the stories behind the names of these rather famous demonic possessions remain incredibly interesting, maybe giving us a glimpse of what can happen when irregular behavior is diagnosed by the wrong people the wrong way, or of criminals trying to get away with what they’ve done.
Demon Murder Trial
The first known court case in the United States of a lawyer claiming his client was innocent due to demonic possession, as the lawyer of Arne Cheyenne Johnson failed to convince the jury and Johnson was convicted for first-degree manslaughter of his landlord Alan Bono.
Allegedly, Johnson was possessed by demons coming from the younger brother of his fiancee, and several months later killed his landlord during a heated conversation. His defense lawyer tried to argue in court that he was possessed, but the judge ruled that no such defense existed, and Johnson served 5 years of a 10 to 20 year sentence.
Roland Doe
The exorcism of Roland Doe refers to events surrounding the supposed possessed status and exorcism of an anonymous American boy, which occurred in the late 1940s. The events went on to inspire the 1971 novel The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty and the 1973 film adaptation, as well as Thomas B. Allen’s 1993 historical account Possessed, a second edition of it in 1999, and the 2000 film by the same name, based on Allen’s book.
The origins of the story supposedly begin with Doe trying to contact his deceased aunt via a Ouija board. His Aunt’s death was followed by alleged supernatural activity, After a Lutheran pastor spent the night with the boy in a twin bed and witnessing several disturbing events (vibrating sounds from the bed and scratching sounds on the wall) led to the excorsim.
The exorcism ritual was performed thirty times over several weeks. When the final exorcism was complete witnesses reported loud noise going off throughout the hospital. After the exorcism was over, the family was no longer troubled, and moved back to their home.
The Iowa Girl
Also known as the Iowa Girl, Anna Ecklund started showing signs of demonic possessions at the age of 14, but stories of her sexual depravity might mean that her overly-religious family took it a step too far.
She underwent exorcism but soon after her erratic behavior returned. There are rumors of her father and aunt asking Satan through prayers and sacrifices to send demons into her body. She underwent another three-week long exorcism before finally being “cured.”
Anneliese Michel
This case was depicted in a number of films – Exorcism of Emily Rose, Requiem and Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes. Anneliese had her first epileptic attack when she was sixteen and was diagnosed with it. She was soon in depression and was treated at a psychiatric hospital. By 1973, she became intolerant of various religious objects, became suicidal and began to hear voices. Her condition worsened even further despite taking various medications and she appealed to a priest for an exorcism. It was rejected but in 1975 after much hesitation, two priests, after getting permission from the local bishop, began to perform the exorcism rites on her under secrecy.
She died within a year on 1 July. A report into her cause of death stated that it was due to malnutrition and dehydration while the rites were being performed. An investigation concluded that she could have been saved if medical help was given even a day before.
Michael Taylor
An extremely disturbing case of a man who went through an incomplete excorism and went on to brutally murder his wife and stangle their dog before wandering the streets covered in blood, picked up by the police and ended up being acquitted based on insanity.
Taylor was a part of a Christian Fellowship Group. His wife expressed to the group that her husband’s relationship with the lay leader of the group, Marie Robinson, was more carnal than it at first seemed.
Michael Taylor admitted that he felt evil within him and eventually attacked Robinson verbally, but received absolution on the next meeting, but his behavior became more and more erratic, leading to an exorcism that allegedly released 40 demons from his body, but didn’t do a complete job, as the group that was treating him was left exhausted, allowing him to go back home with some demons still inside him, including the demon of murder.
