About 20 miles to the west of the South African city of Umzinto, there used to be an old

Catholic outpost called St. Michael's Mission. Along with serving as home to the missionaries

working there, it was also the location of a small, peaceful orphanage. In 1906, though,

that piece was broken by an extraordinary event. One of the older children, a 16-year-old girl

named Clara Germana-Cella, began to act strangely. Although she never studied them, she suddenly

became fluent in German, French, and Polish. Witnesses also reported that she somehow knew

the darkest secrets of complete strangers, as if she could read their minds. They said

she could levitate off the floor, sometimes as high as five feet, but the holy water would

bring her back down. On more than one occasion, Clara even tossed a nun across the room as

if she were a ragdoll. And the noises she made sounded as if, and, I quote, a herd of wild

beasts orchestrated by Satan had formed a hellish choir. When they realized that Clara couldn't

be near objects that had been blessed by a priest, they finally had their answer. She was

possessed, they said, by a demon.

Herse is one of countless possession stories told throughout history. They span centuries

and cultures and religions, and all the while people have been fascinated by them. Maybe

it's the darkness, maybe it's the loss of control. Perhaps it's just our love of

a good old-fashioned scary tale. People are obsessed with stories about possession. Look

no further than Hollywood for proof, films like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, along

with every single episode of Supernatural, all hinge on the idea of dark forces taking

control of innocent victims. It makes for great entertainment. Darkness sells, apparently.

These stories, it turns out, are almost always about individuals. One person possessed by

evil and the results of their condition. But what happens when there are more than one?

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