Catholic Exorcisms: Turning Trauma into Theater Since 1614

Some call it “spiritual warfare.” We call it centuries of trauma reenactments performed by bad cosplayers with holy water. The catholic church has been staging exorcisms since 1614 — turning mental illness, grief, and hysteria into holy horror shows for the masses. 

In this episode, we dig into the church’s obsession with exorcism, from Emma Schmidt and Roland Doe to Clara Germana Cele — the so-called “true stories” that inspired The Exorcist. We unravel how priests, nuns, and the Vatican mistook trauma for demons, weaponized fear for faith, and built a billion-dollar horror franchise in the process.  You’ll learn about:

• The Vatican’s exorcism playbook (and its surprisingly recent “Don’t Touch the Children” rule)
• How Catholic exorcisms blurred the line between ritual and abuse
• The twisted legacy of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist
• The International Association of Exorcists (yes, that’s a real thing)

🎧 Part two of our mini-series on The Exorcist — next episode we’re diving into the Protestant flavor of possession panic.

Satan Is My Superhero brings you irreverent, fast-paced satire on religion, conspiracy theories, and cultural myths. Listen, laugh, and learn as we expose the ridiculous and the dangerous with comedy, history, and blasphemy. 

Got a question, rant, or heretical thought? Email us at satanismysuperhero@gmail.com — we might feature it in a future episode. 

Transcript

[JUDE, 'In this episode we follow up on our episode about the Exorcist movie and delve into the nonsense performance art that inspired it, Catholic exorcism.']

REPLAY OG: [EXORCIST, ‘In the name of Christ I call you out of this body demon!’

DEMON, ‘In the name of who?’

EXORCIST, ‘Christ! I called the name of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. You know the rules.’

DEMON, ‘It’s just that I think you said Briste.’

EXORCIST, ‘You know what I said Demon. Get out!’

DEMON, ‘Okay, okay, I’ll go this time but I swear you said Briste.’]

In 1999 the Vatican issued official Exorcism guidelines to be followed by the clergy. 

01 [VATICAN, ‘No touching the children! Why do we always have to make this rule number one?’]

The Vatican’s guidelines maintain a thorough psychological examination of the possessed person should be carried out first. 

02 [VATICAN, ‘Still no touching!’]

All scientific explanations should be explored before pulling the demon card. The modern church concedes most possessions are not possessions at all, but mental illness. 

[JUDE, 'Yeah but believing in an invisible sky fairy persecuting the nasty bitches from high school in an eternal lake of fire is a mental health issue. So where do you draw the line with this stuff?']

This new more ‘scientific’ approach finally came after many years of controversial cases going horribly wrong.

03 [VATICAN, ‘What did we say about touching them?’]

William Peter Blatty based his novel, The Exorcist on one of these real life exorcisms that had made the news in previous years. 

04 [REPORTER, ‘Tonight on 60 Minutes, just when you thought Christians couldn't get any sillier.’]

In 1912 a Catholic priest performed an exorcism on an Emma Schmidt. 16 years later she presented to him again with the same problem. 

05 [SCHMIDT RAPPING, 'Guess who's back, back again. Emmas back. Tell a friend.']

This time the priest performed a 2 week long exorcism on her in a convent in Iowa. 

06 [DEMON, ‘Okay, okay! I'll stop possessing the girl! Geez! You didn't have to bring me to Iowa!’]

While in the convent Emma displayed fits of rage, levitation and vomiting what they thought were tobacco leaves. She also spoke in tongues. 

07 [SCHMIDT, ‘Iowa sugit! Iowa Scheibe! Iowa kunyonya!’

PRIEST, ‘I believe she is speaking Latin, German and Swahili.’

MOTHER, ‘What’s she saying?’

PRIEST, ‘Iowa sucks.’]

It turned out her aunty had cursed her way back when she was 12 for not wanting to have sex with her own father. 

[BINGO, ‘Gross!’]

At least 80% of people requesting exorcisms are victims of sexual abuse according to modern day exorcist Father Gary Thomas. 

[TTS, ‘Father Gary Thomas. Was the inspiration for the Anthony Hopkins film. The Rite. I’m telling you this so we can make an Anthony Hopkins joke now instead of one about sexual abuse.’]

08 [LECTER, ‘A demon once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.’]

[TTS, ‘See how much less offensive that cannibal joke was!’]

Blatty is also said to have drawn inspiration for The Exorcist from a famous 1949 exorcism in Missouri known as The Exorcism of Roland Doe.

09 [DEMON, ‘I've made a terrible mistake! Send me back to Iowa.’] 

Just like the character Regan in The Exorcist, Roland had also become possessed after using an Ouija Board. 

10 [DOE, ‘Should I marry Piggy Sue?’

PIG, ‘Oink.’

DOE, ‘Ouija Board! You're so naughty!’]

Just like Emma, Roland spoke in tongues. 

11 [DOE, ‘Te amo Piggy Sue! Ich liebe dich Piggy Sue! Nukupenda Piggy Sue!’

PRIEST, ‘I believe he is speaking Latin, German and Swahili.’

MOTHER, ‘What’s he saying?’

PRIEST, ‘You don’t want to know.’]

But in Roland's case there were also strange occurrences in the house like furniture mysteriously moving!

12 [SFX COFFEE TABLE BEING TRIPPED OVER

DAD, ‘Ow! Who moved the god damned coffee table?’

ROLAND, ‘It was a.... demon... Yeah that's it! It was a demon.’]

For the most part the two cases above are the only ones that get name checked as inspirations for The Exorcist. But there was another famous Catholic exorcism from the 20th century that I think is just as relevant.

13 [OBGYN, 'On the 14th of June, 1946 I pulled a demon out of Mary Ann Trump.']

In 1906 in South Africa, an orphan by the name of Clara Germana Cele had to be valiantly rescued from demons by Father Erasmus Horner.

[JUDE, 'Erasmus Horner? There's a name you're unlikely to ever hear again.']

Erasmus means 'beloved'. So anyway, in confession 16 year old Clara told Father Beloved Boner, IN CONFIDENCE, she had made a deal with the devil.

[JUDE, 'When you say CONFIDENCE you mean under the sanctity of confession. An oath sworn between Father Beloved Boner and the Almighty creator god of the entire universe. An oath that if broken could crack open the illusion of existence itself. An oath so powerful Catholic Priests can't even report child abuse when they've heard about it. And we all know just how hard Christians hate on child abuse.']

14 [PRIEST, 'Oh dear lord please, please, please can you make it possible for me to report the many child abusers my financial well being relies on.'

JESUS, 'Okay report them.'

PRIEST, 'Wait what?'

JESUS, 'I've heard your prayer and I agree.'

PRIEST, 'No but...'

JESUS, ' My church should NOT be the most obvious haven for paedophiles.'

PRIEST, 'I wasn't actually being...'

JESUS, 'My name SHOULDN'T shine like a massive beacon on a hill drawing them in from everywhere.'

PRIEST, 'Hey guys! Jesus is trying to ruin religion.’

(BEAT)

PRIEST, ‘Again.']

Well sometime after the totally not confidential confession Clara ripped all her clothes off growled like a demon and said,

15 [CLARA, ‘Sister, please call Father Erasmus, I must confess and tell everything. But quick, quick, or Satan will kill me, he has me in his power! Nothing is blessed with me, I have thrown away all of the medals you gave me.’]

[JUDE, 'I think that last line gives the whole game away. You imagine one of our kids having to tell they'd done the wrong thing.']

16 [JAMES, 'Mum, Dad, please call Father Beloved Boner, I must confess and tell everything. But quick, quick, or Satan will kill me, he has me in his power! Nothing is blessed with me!'

(BEAT)

JAMES, 'By the way, I have thrown away all of the Beanie Babies you told me would be worth something one day.'

(BEAT)

JAMES, 'But the Satan thing is probably where we should be focussing most of our attention right now. Just sayin.']

A nun who had ‘allegedly’ been an eyewitness to it all, wrote with a suspiciously incredible gift for prose...

17 [NUN, ‘No animal had ever made such sounds. Neither the lions of East Africa nor the angry bulls. At times, it sounded like a veritable herd of wild beasts orchestrated by Satan had formed a hellish choir.’]

[SATAN, 'Hell actually has a choir you know. It's made up entirely of cats.'

SFX HOWLING CATS

SATAN, 'If you're imagining how bad that sounds, you're not even halfway there. We don't call it eternal conscious suffering for nothing.'

SFX HOWLING CATS GROWING IN AMOUNT AND DISCORDANCE]

Over the following weeks Clara would lash out violently at any and all religious paraphernalia.

18 [CLARA, 'Get the Beloved Boner out of my face!']

Alleged eyewitnesses claim Clara displayed clairvoyant abilities, exposing things in people’s personal lives she couldn’t have possibly known.

19 [CLARA, 'Sister Mary  you've been sexually abused by men of the cloth your whole life haven't you?'

NUN, 'Oh my god! How did you know that? It's a miracle.'

CLARA, 'It's just statistically, a certainty.'

NUN, 'Hmm, miracle and proof of the lord's love.'

CLARA, 'Definitely not.'

NUN, 'Hmm, tomato tomatoe.']

She spoke in languages she was never taught. 

20 [CLARA, 'Oh boo blah bah cooky wookie do do.'

NUN, 'What was that?'

CLARA, 'Just a language I made... I mean, a language I was never taught.'

NUN  'What does it mean.'

CLARA, 'No one knows and never will.'

NUN, 'Wow that's so mysterious.'

CLARA, 'Yeeeeessss, that's it. It's mysterious!']

Clara had super human strength.

21 [NUN, 'Hey who broke my favourite picture frame?'

CLARA, 'Oh yeah sorry about that. It's the super strength. Once again I think we should remain focused on the demon possession and not get distracted by breakages.']

And Clara levitated above her bed!

[JUDE, 'Have we seriously considered the idea Clara may have been bitten by a radioactive spider?']

Perhaps we should consider that this story is made up by someone who makes their living pretending Jesus magic is real?

[JUDE, 'Wash you mouth out! We haven't made over a hundred episodes of this show to finally admit now that EVERY question you have about religion can be answered with, they made it up!']

So anyway, Father Erasmus Horner...

[JUDE, 'Father Beloved Boner.']

Yes, the Beloved Boner needed help with the exorcism of orphaned teenaged Clara Germana Cele and called in his sidekick Reverend Mansueti.

[JUDE, 'Man sweaty? Are you making these names up?']

It all got very violent with Clara trying to strangle one of the priests at one point.

[JUDE, 'From this distance it's hard to see who deserved the choking more? Beloved Boner or Man Sweaty?']

22 [SFX LIGHTSABRE

MANSUETI CHOKING, 'I had no choice.'

BONER, ‘What are you doing? Trust him! Trust him!

CLARA, 'Oh we understand don't we Satan. He had no choice.'

MANSUETI CHOKING, 'I'm just trying to help.'

CLARA, 'We don't need any of your help.'

SFX LIGHTSABRE

ERIC SON OF A DUSTMAN, ‘If you know you know.’]

[JUDE, 'If you know that reference, you have finally found your podcast. Checkout the Patreon.’]

[DEMON, 'Go to www.patreon.com/satanismysuperhero.']

Eventually after much choking a deal was struck with the demon and...

[JUDE, 'Wait what? A deal was made? What kind of deal does one make with a demon?']

I think more to the point, what kind of deal does one make with a 16 year old who has seen right through all your bullshit and turned it back on you?

23 [DEMON, 'And I… Ahem. I mean Clara WILL be going to Tiffany's party on Saturday.']

Yes so some kind of deal was made and in front of 170 people.

[JUDE, ‘There was an audience?’]

Yes.

[JUDE, ‘And the number one hundred and seventy, totally doesn't sound like a made up number at all.’]

Well what would you say if I told you this 170 people then saw Clara levitate five feet in the air while the evil entity departed her body?

[JUDE, 'I would say you have confirmed my suspicion that the one hundred and seventy is a made up number.']

[ERIC, 'Is that the truth or did you hear it from a Christian?']

Regardless of the suspicions we may have, one year later, 17 year old Clara made another pact with the devil and they did the whole thing again.

[JUDE, ‘This time, hoping to sell more tickets, I imagine.’]

But doesn’t THAT story have more elements of The Exorcist than the two Blatty mentioned?

[JUDE, ‘Oh totally. And even though I already know the answer, I’ll ask the question for the sake of the segue, did the Catholic church learn from any of this?’]

Oh heavens no. In 1975 a Catholic woman in Germany by the name of Anneliese Michel had been diagnosed with epileptic psychosis and hospitalized for visual and auditory hallucinations. 

24 [ANNELIESE, 'Everywhere I look I see images of the Christ and his angels!'

NUN, 'We're in a church!’]

Her family thought,

25 [JAZZY, ‘What would the experts know?’]

And decided it was demonic possession. 

26 [DOCTOR, 'I'm afraid Anneleise is very sick.'

BILLYHILL, 'Speak English doc, we ain't scientists!']

[JUDE, Once again, if you get the reference, THIS is your place.']

27 [BARBERSHOP QUARTET, ‘Sign up to the Patreon. It’s good for the soul, soul, soul.’]

Anneliese was then tortured with 70 exorcisms over ten months.

28 [EXORCIST, ‘If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try×70 again.’]

Anneliese finally died of starvation. Her family and the clergy involved were convicted of manslaughter. This story is the inspiration behind the 2005 film,

[JUDE, ‘Ooh let me guess it. I’m really good at this. 2005 film, wretched girl, horrific gruelling possession? I’ve got it! Herbie Fully Loaded!’] 

The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

[JUDE, ‘That would have been my next guess!’]

So you can see why the Catholic Church have tried to regulate exorcism. As recently as 2014 The Vatican ratified the International Association of Exorcists. 

29 [EXORCIST, ‘Welcome to the first meeting of the International Association of Exorcists. First order of business. NO touching the children! Why's everyone leaving?’]

While we’re on the subject of The International Association of Exorcists, its founder Father Gabriele Amorth was the Vatican’s chief exorcist and said The Exorcist is his favourite film. 

30 [AMORTH, 'I give it 4 out 5 choirboys.']

Coincidentally The Exorcist director, William Friedkin made a documentary called, The Devil and Father Amorth starring none other than, Father Amorth.

31 [AMORTH, ‘You wanna make a film about little old me? I couldn’t possibly. Oh, okay then! This is my best side.’]

Most recently, a fictionalized version of Father Amorth was played by Russel Crowe in 2023 film, The Pope’s Exorcist.

32 [CROWE, ‘At my signal, unleash hell.’]

In that film, Crowe portrays an offbeat, kinda cooky priest with some extreme views. Which is not a bad description of exorcists. Father Amorth did say stuff like, 

33 [AMORTH, ‘Practicing yoga is satanic, it leads to evil just like reading Harry Potter’]

When he made that statement, I think we all took that to mean, like Yoga reading Harry Potter was a pathway to evil. But in a post J.K.Rowling getting a Twitter account world, maybe Harry Potter IS the evil Amorth was talking about?

34 [PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL, ‘Settle down children. This is your new teacher of the Dark Arts, Professor Transphobius Terf.’]

[JUDE, ‘What can we take away from all of this larping outside of the designated weekend madness?’]

Exorcism is how very primitive peoples deal with mental health issues. For example in 1763 in what we would now call New Mexico, an exorcism was performed on Maria Trujillo who just couldn’t get happy after giving birth to her child. 

[JUDE, ‘Sounds like a classic case of ‘Postpartum Demon Possession’.]

Yes. Putting aside your hilarious pun.

[JUDE, ‘Thank you for saying it was hilarious.’]

Maria was most certainly suffering from postpartum depression. The local Spanish Missionary Juan Toledo wrote that Maria,

35 [TOLEDO, ‘could not be amused by the diversions of the fiesta!’]

If failing to be ‘amused by the diversions of the fiesta’ are an indication of demon possession then I’ve been possessed my whole life. And that’s why Satan is my superhero.