Literature Review #1

Citation: 

Paoletti, Gabe. “Anneliese Michel And The Shocking Images From The Exorcism Of The Real                                 

    Emily Rose.” All That's Interesting, All That's Interesting, 2 Aug. 2020, 

    allthatsinteresting.com/anneliese-michel-exorcism.

Summary:

The article tells the story of Anneliese Michel. Michel experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with psychosis caused by temporal lobe epilepsy. She was also diagnosed with depression and was treated by a psychiatric hospital. Michel took several different medications, however, her health continued to worsen. As time went on she became intolerant of religious objects and began to hear voices. Although Michel had taken various different types of medication and was treated by several doctors, nothing seemed to help her condition and her health continued to deteriorate. Her family eventually consulted a priest and Michel had gone through 67 exorcisms, before passing away. The article also gives a brief explanation of what exorcisms are.

Author:

The author, Gabe Paoletti, is a New York-based writer and an Editorial Intern at All That Is Interesting.

Key Terms:

possession, exorcism

Three Quotes:

"Exorcisms have existed in various cultures and religions for millennia, but the practice became popular in the Catholic Church in the 1500s with priests who would use the Latin phrase "Vade retro Satana" ("Go back, Satan") to expel demons from their mortal hosts."

"The demons argued with each other, with Hitler saying, "People are stupid as pigs. They think it's all over after death. It goes on" and Judas saying Hitler was nothing but a "big mouth" who had "no real say" in Hell."

"She broke the bones and ripped the tendons in her knees from continually kneeling in prayer."

Value:

This article will help me with my research because it gives an example of a case that was treated with both medical and spiritual treatment. Both treatments did not help with curing or even slightly healing Michel and health, which I think will be a case that explicitly shows that neither treatment was beneficial. There is no definite proof that it was an actual case of possession, nor if it was the fault of medical issues or mental health issues. I think this case will be beneficial in showing that there is no definite answer on whether people who have been seen as victims of possession or people with mental illness.