53 - Exorcism: The death of Christine Taylor

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

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True Crime, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2019

⏱️ 49 minutes

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Summary

This week, we delve into the world of the paranormal - sort of. In 1974, in the small town of Ossett, northern England, Michael and Christine Taylor found religion. They became born again after attending a small Fellowship meeting in their community. The meetings had a profound effect on Michael, and he began to act oddly. His behaviour led local clergy to suspect that Michael had been possessed by demons, and so an exorcism was in order. But, before the end of that process, someone would be dead. ******** Head to www.hellofresh.co.uk and enter the code MENSREA at checkout for £60 off! That’s £15 off your first four boxes! Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! The featured podcast for this episode is our friends over at True Blue True Crime - don't forget to check them out! You can find them here ******** Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ “BossaBossa” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ******** Sources: Marc Heal, The Sussex Devils (Manchester: Unbound, 2015) ch. 4-5. Purchase here Peter Deeley, “Exorcised man was 'brainwashed'” in The Observer (30 March 1974), p.2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/257858183/ “Evangelist tells of terror” in The Guardian (23 April 1975) p. 7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735511/ John Hudson, “'Charismatic' group gets a warning from bishop” in The Guardian (23 April 1975) p. 7 https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735511/ Peter Cole, “What possessed Michael Taylor” in The Guardian (27 march 1975) p. 15. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259714848 Letters to the Editor, Peter Thompson “Exorcism for offenders – new dimension for the doctors” in The Guardian (4 August 1975) https://www.newspapers.com/image/259824796/ Baden Hickman, “Exorcism inquiry ordered” in The Guardian (3 April 1975) p. 6 https://www.newspapers.com/image/259719053/ Malcolm Pithers, “My night of 20 exorcisms – by vicar” in The Guardian (23 April 1975) p. 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735299/ Robert Shields, “Casting out devils” in The Guardian (27 April 1975) p. 11 https://www.newspapers.com/image/257860004/ Malcolm Pithers, “Exorcism 'was a mistake'” in The Guardian (22 April 1975) p.p. 1, 28. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259734212/ and https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735268/ “Killing after exorcism is not a crime, coroner decides” in The Guardian (24 April 1975) p 6, p32 https://www.newspapers.com/image/259736392/; https://www.newspapers.com/image/259737339/ C Torrington, Demonic Possession: Extraordinary true life experiences (Arcturus Publishing, 2016) Brent Swancer, “Demons and Death: The strange case of Michael Taylor” from Mysteriousuniverse.org https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/12/demons-and-death-the-strange-case-of-michael-taylor/ (29 December 2015) “1974 exorcist 'killer' back before court” in The Wakefield Expresshttps://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/1974-exorcist-killer-back-before-court-1-931236 (8 July 2005)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the mens rea podcast and this is the story of the exorcism of Michael Taylor. The Oh, Religion is one of those things that seems monumental and unchanging. We practice these traditions
0:49.5	as if they're outside of time, practices that came before us and will last much longer than our own lives.
0:56.4	But traditions are constantly developing as well as beliefs.
1:00.8	From the offset, Christianity had so many interpretations, from early Gnostic
1:06.0	belief to the great schisms in the 11th century and the Reformation.
1:11.7	Trends in theology change, just like everything else.
1:15.0	Throughout the 2,000 years of history, there has always been an element of believers who are focused on the more metaphysical side of that religious tradition.
1:27.0	Charismatic Christianity is definitely one of those traditions within the wider Christian belief system.
1:33.2	Miracles, faith healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues are all common.
1:38.5	God and the Holy Spirit are present in everyday lives, and conversely, there is a real threat of true evil,
1:46.7	Satan and Hell.
1:50.1	In the north of England in West Yorkshire lies the small town of Osset.
1:54.8	It's like many mining towns in the area, but also with a history of a well-established
2:01.2	textile industry.
2:03.4	It is a bit different though.
2:05.6	At one point in the 19th century, Osset had become a spa town, a place for the rich to come
2:11.9	to take curative waters, and it was also known as a center of
2:16.4	non-conformist religious practice.
2:19.3	And the idea of being resolute and independent when it came to its spiritual matters was one that continued in the area into modern times.
2:29.0	Michael and Christine Taylor had lived in Osset all their lives.
2:34.0	In 1974, at age 31 and 29 respectively,
2:39.5	they were young but had a large family.
	...

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