The Exorcism of Annelise Mikkel

When most people think of an exorcism, they conjure up images from various films of

someone on a bed as their bodies contort and they spout profanities in growling voices at a priest.

While movies such as The Exorcist have taken over the popular impression of exorcisms,

films, like many other things, have embellished quite a bit.

The real-world practice of casting out entities from people believed to be possessed has existed

for thousands of years, extending beyond the purview typically limited in films to Christianity.

There have been a number of well-known exorcism cases in the last century,

but the one we'll be discussing today is that of Annelese McKell,

a German Catholic woman whose case has inspired multiple films.

As usual, I won't be covering every detail of this story, but I will cover all of the major points.

Annelese McKell was born in September of 1952 in Liebelfing, Germany, and was baptized the following

day.

The McKell's were a hardworking and traditional Roman Catholic

family that lived in the town of Klingenberg, not far from the sawmill that Annalise's

father Yosef owned and operated. Annelese's older sister died at the age of eight, after

complications during surgery to remove a kidney, leaving Annalise the oldest of four daughters.

Her mother, Anna, spent most of her time working in the sawmill business with Yosef,

so the children were often looked after by Annalise's religious grandmother.

The family went to Mass every Sunday, and occasionally on weekday evenings, and often prayed

the rosary together at home.

Annalise had some health issues as a child, contracting mumps, measles, and scarlet fever before

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