Demonic Possession & Exorcism Ep 12

EVIL! It's everywhere! What could be more terrifying than demonic possession? Take my hand...cuz I'm SCARED... and I'll tell explain some cultural beliefs in evil, what the bible says, the Ritual of Exorcism, and some REAL cases of possession and exorcism. Grab your holy relics, this may just save your soul. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Well, well, well. Hello there.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

And welcome back to another episode of The Podcast of Terror. My name's Lena, and welcome to the podcast. Well, people, it's June, and my birthday is in a few days. Which means I am a Gemini. I love being a Gemini. A lot of the characteristics fit me to a T. It was interesting to find out that our current president, Donald Trump, is also a Gemini, which actually explains a lot. Some other famous Geminis are Marilyn Monroe, Peter the Great, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Tupac Shakur, Queen Victoria, and Paul McCartney. And here's a fun fact. Statistically, there are more Nobel Prize winners born in June than in any other month. And because it's my birthday, I chose the topic that scares me the absolute most. Demonic possession and exorcisms. For those who have listened to the intro episode, you know that the only movie that truly scares me is The Exorcist. I went to Catholic school and everything, so I was taught that the devil and demons were very real. And with my father being such a huge fan of horror films, I was exposed to this movie and the idea of demonic possession at a very young age. I would say probably around seven or eight. And it has stuck with me my entire life. Like all things that scare me, I want to know everything about it. This truly is a terrifying and extremely complicated subject. This topic touches on our most sacred of core beliefs. Is God real? Because, as scary as this is, if true leaves only one answer. Yes. Because there is no evil without the good. This topic has always fascinated me. I've read books, I've listened to interviews with actual exorcists, I've read the accounts of real exorcisms. I actually knew someone who attended and assisted at a real exorcism to where a prediction of death was foretold and came true. I've also struggled with my own religious beliefs. I've rebelled against organized religion and their abuse of power and money. But that doesn't mean that I don't believe. And I certainly don't judge what you believe. I've always said religion should be a very personal choice. Get educated and make your own decision. So I will do my best to keep my personal beliefs out of this episode, and we'll see how that goes. Of course we have to start with some history, so let's get into it. In every culture there is good and evil. Ancient Sumeria is one of the oldest civilizations before monotheism even existed. Monotheism is the belief in just one god as opposed to many gods. In their mythology, demons are not just evil, but have a good side as well. These beings are called Udugs and include things like ghosts, monsters, and protective spirits. And the gods use these beings to enforce their will. It's believed that they bring diseases, infertility, and other misfortunes. These ancient people also had a complex system of rituals to keep these entities at bay. Zoroastrianism is another ancient religion. It originated in the Middle East around 4,000 years ago. It's believed that monotheism or the belief in one all-powerful God may have originated here. The supreme deity in Zoroastrianism is called Ahura Mazda, but they also recognize an evil spirit named Angra Menu. This spirit brings chaos, death, disease, and all forms of evil. It's also considered the source of human suffering and moral corruption. The demons associated with this spirit are called devas. In Buddhism, any form of malicious force hindering enlightenment are referred to as Mara. Hinduism has many demon type beings. Rakshasas are shape-shifting monsters with fangs and claws and they eat human flesh. Asuras symbolize chaos and overambition. And Vitalas are vampire-like beings and they emphasize the struggle between good and evil. Demons in the Japanese culture are known as yukiai and onai. The yuki can be either helpful or dangerous. They can take many forms and embody eerie sounds, weird sights, and feelings of dread. The onai are usually characterized as large ogre type demons with sharp claws, wild hair, and horns. The onai are associated with disasters, evil deeds, and punishment. In the Mayan culture, the underworld is called Jibalba, translated to place of fear. It is ruled by twelve malevolent lords who bring death, disease, and misfortune to humans. The Incas had Supai. It said he was created to remind humans that there will always be evil in the world. He dwells in their underworld here in Paca, and he might enter the world of the living and bring someone back to the world of the dead as a companion. All of these ancient religions and cultures believed in demons and evil spirit possession, even the Egyptians and the Greeks. And they all have their rituals to expel or appease these spirits, usually through prayer or incantations or interventions by a shaman, a priest, or a holy person. So what about the big three monotheistic religions? Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. These three religions are referred to as the Abrahamic religions because they all have a central figure, a prophet named Abraham. Many beliefs of these three religions are similar, including the devil and demons as well as angels. Islam has beings known as jinn. Born from smokeless fire, they can choose to reject Allah's command. Iblis is a jinn and is kind of the equivalent to the devil. He defied Allah's command to bow to Adam, the first human. For this he was kicked out of paradise and is the adversary of humanity. The Islamic holy book, the Quran, mentions evil spirits called Sheatin, who try to influence humans to do evil. The Islamic ritual to expel these evil spirits is called Rukyah. In Judaism, the devil or Satan is not really a physical being, but more of a metaphor for the inclination for evil in all of us. It's the thing that tempts us to do bad things. The concept of Satan as a being having dominion over a realm isn't really a thing in Judaism, but they do believe in evil spirits called dibaks and demons and possession. They have many interesting ways to ward off this evil, certain amulets and spitting three times and touching certain objects. They also have their rituals and prayers for removing unwanted evil, as well as a ceremony of exorcism. But most people, when they think of demonic possession and exorcisms, picture the Catholic priest performing the rite of exorcism. And that's really the main focus of the rest of the episode. So let's get into what the Christians believe, specifically the Roman Catholic Church. Many Christians believe in the devil or Satan as being the adversary of the one true God. That Satan or Lucifer was an angel, the most beautiful angel, but he would not bow to humans, God's most precious and prized creation. So he was kicked out of heaven and banished to hell and given dominion there. But he's allowed, yes, allowed, because he's still ruled by God, to take one third of the angels of heaven with him as his demons. God plans to use Satan and his demons as a way to tempt and test human will and righteousness. There are examples in the Bible of God doing this, like in the book of Job. God allows Satan to do all kinds of nasty things to Job to prove Job's loyalty to God. Jesus himself is tempted by Satan. According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, while Jesus was fasting for forty days in the wilderness, he was tempted three times by the devil. Once by turning stones into bread to tempt him into eating while he's fasting, he's tempted to jump off a cliff to prove God's protection. And he's tempted by being offered all the kingdoms of the world if he would only worship him, Satan. But Jesus is like, no way, bro, fuck off. No, really what he says is away with you, Satan. There's other times where it's suggested that he's tempted, like in the Garden of Gethsemane before he's arrested and ultimately put to death on the cross. Jesus himself performs exorcisms in the Bible. There's around six or seven detailed accounts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and numerous summary accounts of Jesus casting out devils. Throughout his ministry, he would go from town to town, preaching, healing the sick, and casting out demons. The Bible says at one point an entire town was outside his door. There's also specific ones mentioned in the Bible, like the synagogue demon. Jesus is preaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, and the people are amazed at his authority and knowledge of the scriptures. Suddenly a possessed man comes forth and in a voice not his own says, I know who you are, the holy one from God. Now this is important because this was early in Jesus' ministry. He hasn't even revealed himself to his disciples or his followers yet, but this demon knows who he is. This demon was able to sit unnoticed in a holy place until Jesus' presence caused it to come forth. Jesus simply commands it to be silent and come out of him. The demon obeys and with a loud cry comes out of the man. It was later that night in Capernaum when the whole town gathered outside his door. It's written, he healed many sick people and cast out many demons that night. But the possessed people were muted. Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because they knew who he was. He did not want them revealing to the people who he was. He wanted that to come from his own words and actions. The man in the tombs is another example. Jesus steps out of a boat in Gentile territory, so non-Jew territory. Immediately a man runs up to him. The Gospel of Mark says this man lived among the tombs because he was violent to himself and others. It says chains could not hold him, and no man could subdue him, so he has superhuman strength. The demon inside the man recognizes who Jesus is and falls at his feet in surrender and says, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Again, no one knows who Jesus is, but this demon does. Jesus asks the demon its name and it replies Legion, for we are many. The Gospel of Mark says the demons beg Jesus to send them into a nearby herd of pigs, and Jesus does. The pigs then drown themselves in the sea. The townspeople show up to see this man who has been a complete nuisance, clothed and in his right mind. The man wants to follow Jesus on his mission, but Jesus sends him home to tell the other Gentiles of this and to let them know, quote, how much the Lord has done for you. The Gospels also say, one day Jesus comes upon a crowd of people, including religious leaders and a desperate father. The father explains to Jesus his son has been tormented by a demon since childhood, that it would throw him to the ground and make him foam at the mouth. It takes away his speech and tries to throw him in the fire as well as in the water to drown him. The apostles tried to cast out the demon and failed. Jesus says, Bring him to me. The boy instantly reacts violently around Jesus. The boy instantly reacts violently around Jesus. He tells the demon to leave the boy and never return, and the boy who had suffered since childhood is freed, restored, and healed. One last example I'll give is Mary Magdalene. The Gospel of Luke tells us Mary had seven demons cast out by Jesus. Mary Magdalene is often depicted as a prostitute, but she wasn't. She becomes part of his traveling ministry and plays a huge part in the rest of Jesus' story. She is the first person to see the risen Jesus after he's crucified. And gives the message to the rest of the apostles. After the resurrection, Jesus stays with his twelve apostles for some time, but before he ascends to heaven for good or until next time, depending on your beliefs, he gives them instructions as to what to do while he's gone, and one of those is to go and cast out demons, leading us to the Catholic rite of exorcism. So what is it? The Catholic Rite of Exorcism is a sacred ritual to invoke God's power over evil. It involves prayers and scriptures using Jesus' authority over demons and Satan as its foundation, which is why it was important for me to include the biblical exorcisms. The Catholic Church first formalized and documented the rites of exorcism in 1614 in Latin and it stayed that way for 400 years. Some revisions were done in 1999 to include modern language. There are actually two kinds of exorcisms, major and minor. Minor exorcisms are prayers of liberation and protection from evil. These are included in the rite of baptism. These can be used on people, places, or things. Both minor and major exorcisms must be performed by an authorized Catholic priest. But minor exorcisms don't need permission from the bishop. Catholic priests have a hierarchy in place for their clergy, like a chain of command up to the Pope. Priest, then bishop, then cardinal, then Pope. Major exorcisms or solemn exorcisms are a whole other story. These are reserved for cases of genuine demonic possession. These rites are formal and highly regulated. They require the express permission from the local bishop and only performed by a trained priest. If a trained priest is not available, the bishop must perform the exorcism himself. There are around 900 authorized exorcists worldwide, and around 150 of those are in the United States. To get approval from the church, it requires proof. Usually a full physical and psychological exam is given to rule out any illness causing the symptoms or behaviors. They require specific observable signs that show this is supernatural as opposed to natural or earthly. Some examples of types of proof are the sudden onset of symptoms, the person goes from normal to afflicted instantly. It's not gradual or progressive. The inability to control the affliction. Even with prayer or other spiritual practices, the person cannot stop the symptoms. The inability to explain the affliction. No reason, medical or otherwise, can be found for the symptoms. The presence of demonic signs, speaking in tongues, languages unknown to the possessed person, and not just a couple of words in Polish or Spanish or Latin, full accurate sentences and conversations in a foreign language, unearthly noises and voices, animal sounds, unexplained odors of feces or sulfur, involuntary movements or gestures, body contortions, bending in unnatural ways, convulsions, the lapping of the tongue or the rolling back of the eyes. Unusual or blasphemous statements, unusual or blasphemous statements, awful foul language from somebody who would normally not speak like that. Objects moving without cause, beds shaking, objects thrown, windows and doors opening and closing on their own. Weird sounds like scratching or banging or ripping sounds. Superhuman strength, so strength beyond the person's physical ability. Also, the secret knowledge of things. The demon knows things that the person could not know, like the inner thoughts of people or things that the person did while they were alone. And no one sign is proof. It's usually a combination of things, including witnesses and documentation, and that's what strengthens the case to get church approval. The ritual is also situation dependent on to where the exorcism will take place. Sometimes the exorcism will start at home and then they have to move the person to a church or a hospital. So, want to hear some scary stories of some real demonic possessions and exorcisms?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Okay then, let's start with Annalise Michelle. Annalise was born in Bavaria in 1952, and when she turned 16 in September of 1968, she has her first experience. While laying in bed, she feels like someone is pressing down on her chest, pinning her to the bed. She has a similar experience 11 months later, so she's taken to the family doctor, Dr. Voigt, and a neurologist named Dr. Lucy, who gave her a brain scan called an electroencephalogram or an EEG, but they find nothing medically wrong with her. They think maybe it's some sort of seizure activity, and over the next three years she has two more similar episodes. She's prescribed an anticonvulsant and an anti-seizure medication, although the EEGs continue to be normal. In the spring of 1973, she begins to hear sounds in her bedroom as well as a voice damning her to hell. Her mother reported seeing her staring angrily at a statue of the Virgin Mary, but her eyes had gone completely black and her hands were contorted to look like claws. Also, while speaking with the neurologist Dr. Luthy, she describes faces of demons that tormented her and she felt like the devil himself was inside her. She would smell odors she described as burnt feces. And others around her later admitted to being able to smell this as well. Annalisa's mom spoke to Dr. Luthy about her behavior and he recommended a Jesuit priest, but later denies doing so. The family meets with a priest and in November of 1973, she meets with a psychiatrist who diagnosed her neurotic with possible epilepsy and put her on stronger medication. In July of 1975, her behavior worsens. She won't eat, she barely sleeps, and stays up all night praying. She would eat flies and spiders and lick her own urine off the floor.

unknown 21:04

You gross!

SPEAKER_01 21:06

She would destroy holy objects and have fits of rage. When they tried to restrain her, she had quote superhuman strength, throwing her sister like a ragdoll, and squeezing an apple with one hand until it exploded. Go ahead and try that. It's not as easy as it sounds. An exorcism expert named Father Roderick was convinced she's possessed. After deliberations with the bishop, an exorcism is approved, and Father Wrenz is chosen to perform it. The exorcism started on September 24, 1975, and Father Wrenz allowed some of it to be recorded. Forty-two audio recordings were made during the sessions, and they are fucking scary. I had a hard time listening to them. When asked what is your name, it says Judith. Nero, Hitler, and some more terribly evil people. One being an excommunicated priest from the 1500s named Valentin Fleischmann, and she gives details of his bad behavior. This knowledge shocked the priest because there was absolutely no way of Annalise knowing that information. By May of 1976, it's getting worse. She bites herself and bangs her head against the wall, and the family reverts to keeping her tied up. She is also still not eating, claiming that the entity inside her is not permitting her to eat. So she's starving to death. But weighing around 70 pounds, she still has tremendous physical strength. She had 67 exorcisms performed, the final one on june 30th, 1976. The next morning, the family finds her dead. She died of starvation at the age of 23. She weighed 68 pounds. After her death, her parents and both priests are accused of negligent homicide. It goes to trial in 1978 and they are all found guilty. The court didn't believe in demons and blamed her behavior on epilepsy and the drugs she was on, although the autopsy showed no signs of epilepsy. She had a healthy brain. They all get sentenced to six months in prison and the priests are suspended for three years. This story inspired the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose, released in 2005. The next case brings us back to the US and the great state of Wisconsin. Seems I talk about Wisconsin a lot on this show. What up, Wisconsin? So in the early 1900s, Emma Schmidt or Anna Eklund. A lot of people who go through this try to keep their real names a secret, but it rarely works. She, Anna, we will call her, is from a small town called Marathon, Wisconsin. She was raised very Catholic and her mom died when Anna was young, but Anna kept the Catholic traditions and very much enjoyed activities at church as well as the Mass itself. Around age fourteen, Anna started to feel sick every time she entered the church. Even looking at holy items would make her uncomfortable and ill. When she would go to Mass and get the Eucharist, she would vomit it up in front of the whole church. It got to the point where she physically couldn't enter the church. She would describe wanting to smash the holy water fonts and hurt the priests. She would also scream when the Bible was brought close to her. She began to get depressed because she couldn't do all of the things that she loved to do at church, and she felt out of control of her own body. Then her behavior at home worsens. She would say incredibly vulgar and foul things, describe in great detail violent acts that she wanted to do to people. She would describe sexual relations that at her age would have no way of knowing about. At this point of the story, it's 1908. There is no porn hub. There's probably not even nudie magazines in that tiny town in Wisconsin. She would have sudden and violent outbursts and not remember anything once the affliction had passed. The family seeks medical advice and psychiatric help, and they can't find anything wrong with her. She starts to yell out phrases in Latin, a language not known by Anna, and this goes on for a couple of years. It's Anna's aunt, her mom's sister, that suggests demonic possession and looks for a priest. She finds Father Reisinger, an exorcism expert in the area. He witnesses her aversion to holy objects, how she could pick out items secretly blessed, and her violent reaction to them. He also witnesses her speaking in Latin, as well as Italian, Polish, and Hebrew. In 1912, Father Reisinger, with permission from the bishop, performs an exorcism. And it seems to work. She went back to her normal life. Then, like 15 years later, Anna's demons return or resurface. Again they turn to Father Reisinger, who is now preaching in a small town in Iowa. It's here that they take Anna for the exorcism because it has a convent of nuns next door that agree to assist. The nuns greet her when she arrives and she immediately wants to attack them. They tried to feed her food that was secretly blessed, and she screamed and reacted as though, quote, her very body was encased in burning coals. When they get her in her room, she starts to purr like a cat. In preparation for the exorcism, the nuns bind her to a metal bed to prevent her from harming herself and others and from escaping. No more than a few seconds into the ritual, she breaks the bonds and leapt high up on the wall above the door and hung up there, on the wall. Father Reisinger commands the petrified nuns to get her down and back on the bed. They get her tied up again and she starts to make noises like quote, a pack of wild beasts suddenly let loose. As the priest continues the prayers, she would spit at them and vomit super large amounts of crap even though she wasn't taking in any food for weeks. She would swell up and her eyes would bulge to where the nuns were afraid she would burst. At times she would float above the bed. Other times she would be so heavy that the bed frame bent. Father Reisinger demands the demon to reveal its name, and it says Beelzebub, who is some chieftain of the demons. The exorcism lasted nearly a month. Then on the morning of december twenty third, she leapt up and yelled out Beelzebub, Judas, Jacob, Mina, hell, hell, hell. Her eyes opened, and she stated she was free of the affliction. Everyone in the room witnessed a horrible stench and they had to open the windows to let it out. All of the nuns who assisted in the exorcism requested to be transferred after, and the parish itself no longer exists. Anna again returns to a normal Catholic life. This story inspired a few movies, like The Ritual with El Pacino, released just last year in 2025, which I have not seen. Next, let's travel to South Africa. In the early 1900s, Clara Germana Cole is an orphan and adopted by a Catholic mission that takes care of children. She's healthy, respectful, and well behaved. On the night of her 16th birthday, though, she was irritated, confused, and uncomfortable. As she laid in bed that night, she called out for the nuns to get the priest, that she must confess something. She's afraid Satan is going to kill her before she can confess. Father Erasmus comes to her room to hear her confession, and she tells him upon turning 16, she made a pact with the devil and now she's possessed. The priest thought she's just rebelling and wanted attention and disregarded her claim. Six weeks later, on August 20th, things get worse. She was screaming in her room and the nuns find her curled up next to her bed, her clothes torn and her bed broken. She told them she threw away all her holy items and then starts tearing apart the room. She was hysterically screaming at an entity that only she could see. Screaming things like, You betrayed me, you promised me glory, and now you torture me. She continues to have these episodes, so two nuns and three older girls were charged with watching her overnight. One night Clara starts to question the nuns' faith in God. When the nuns answer back, Clara attacks them, beating and choking them, leaving them barely conscious. The three older girls are like, fuck this, and they don't interfere. After this incident, her behavior starts to be documented and tested to see if it's a hoax. Some of the things documented are when her skin came in contact with holy water, it would burn and blister even if she wasn't in the throes of an attack. Inexplicable flames would appear in her presence, her bed caught on fire and everything burned except Clara and her clothes. She could tell if someone snuck in a holy relic. She had incredible strength. She could speak and understand French, German, and Polish, languages she never studied. She could reveal accurate information about people's private lives. She also gave details of Father Erasmus' trip to Rome that she would never know. Clara is moved to a private room away from the other girls. Loud claps like thunder are said to reverberate throughout the building. Even while Clara was still in bed, loud banging could be heard from her door. She physically changed too. Her neck would extend and four lumps could be seen moving around and then disappear. She would snarl and growl like a wild beast. She would collapse to the ground on her belly and rither around like a snake. Witnesses said her movements were impossible, like no human skeleton could move. She would also bite nuns, leaving puncture wounds like fangs. A sanctionized exorcism was held on september tenth, nineteen oh six by two priests, Father Erasmus and an assistant. From morning till noon and well into the evening, over 170 people are said to have witnessed her levitate as well as hearing the growls and ungodly voice. The next morning, the exorcism continued, and after another battle, she levitated one more time and dropped to her bed. The exorcism was over and successful. But then this dumb broad, sorry, but what the fuck, makes another deal with Satan a year or so later and needs another exorcism. Again, it's successful. She remains demon free until she unexpectedly died of heart failure at the age of twenty two. Interesting. This next case is a bit close to home, and much more recent than the previous cases. It's best known as the Gary, Indiana Hell House. Gary, Indiana is about 30 miles from Chicago, so pretty close to me. It's also the boyhood home of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. But back in November of 2011, Latoya Almonds rented a house on Carolina Street. Gary is poverty stricken. It has a high crime and drug rate. The people there struggle. But LaToya was grateful to find a house for herself, her mother, and LaToya's three children. They are a religious family, and LaToya's mother attends church regularly. The first odd occurrence the family notices are swarms of flies on their screened in porch. By this time it's December. Winters in Gary can be brutal. It's not far from Lake Michigan, and trust me, in the winter it's freezing. There should be no flies in December. They admit to having killed hundreds of them and they just kept coming back. They begin to hear footsteps in the house and the door from the kitchen to the basement opening on its own. Latoya's mother sees a figure of a man pacing in the living room, but no alarms were triggered in the house. These minor occurrences continue for about a year, and then things get worse, as they so often do. March 10th, 2012, around 2 a.m., Latoya screams for her mother to come to her daughter's room. La Toya's daughter was unconscious and levitating above the bed. The family started praying and she slowly came back down. This was also witnessed by some friends of Latoya who were visiting at the time. Upon waking, the girl had no recollection of the incident. Latoya decides she needs some help. They ask around to local non-Catholic churches, but they don't want to deal with it, and they tell her to clean the house with bleach and use oil to trace crosses around the house. She even puts oil on the kids. Others suggest that she move out of the house, but that's not an option financially for Latoya. She also speaks to some psychics who come to the house and tell her she has like 200 demons there. She tries to cleanse the house herself with sage and prayers and by placing a small altar with religious items in the basement. It's quiet for a few days and then it worsens. The daughter feels like she's being choked. All three kids start speaking in tongues like gibberish or a language that's not understood. The youngest boy would sit in his closet and talk to a quote ghost boy. The boys would also speak in voices not their own and suddenly attack each other. One of them even headbutted their grandma in the stomach. Latoya's like, okay, out of hand, and she calls a doctor to the house in April of 2012. The boys curse and swear at him, and their behavior was so erratic he gets child protective services involved. The police come to the house to investigate, and a police officer witnessed one of the boys get thrown into a wall by an invisible force. The boys are taken to the hospital to be examined. A nurse and a caseworker take the boys to a room and they are growling at each other, and one says to the other in a voice not his own, It's time to die. I will kill you. They start to fight until Grandma breaks them up and starts to pray. An incident that really got the people's attention when this went public was witnessed by multiple people, including a nurse, a caseworker for Child Protective Services, and a psychiatrist. During one of the boys' episodes, one of the boys walked backwards up a wall. While still holding his grandma's hand, he walked, described as glided, up the wall backwards, flipped off the wall over grandma and landed behind her. Oh, this poor grandma. The kids undergo physical and psychological exams, and of course, medical professionals are stumped. For everyone's safety, the kids are taken into the custody of CPS. The hospital's Methodist chaplain contacts Catholic priest Father Maginot, and he meets with the kids to experience their behavior for himself. He also goes to the house as well as a police officer, and they both experience things like strange noises, footsteps, and doors opening and closing. They find some items in some dirt under the stairs in the basement, like candles and a fake fingernail, which they think could possibly have been from some kind of ritual. When the cop leaves, the radio in his car goes to static and a deep voice comes through and says, Who's in there? Father Maginot performs a minor exorcism on the house and Latoya. Sometimes this is done to provoke the demon for further proof, and this was also done in the presence of three police officers. Latoya reacts negatively and has an aversion to holy items, the Bible, crucifix, etc. This convinces Maginot that there's a demonic possession happening. After this, he gets official permission from the church to perform an exorcism on Latoya at St. Stephen's Church, and it took two hours. He also performs successful exorcisms on the two boys. After six months, the kids are returned to LaToya. The family moves to Indianapolis and don't experience anything further. The story doesn't end here though. In 2014, Zach Baggins, the host of the TV show Ghost Adventures, buys the house and films an investigation. He's so tormented by this house, he has it demolished in 2016, claiming so it can't harm anyone else. The documentary is called Ghost Adventures Demon House. This case is pretty recent and the witnesses are still around. I used to have a friend in Northwest Indiana who took me to this property. The house was already gone, but I was able to sit across the street from where this actually took place. Because as scary as this is, it still absolutely fascinates me. Probably one of the most famous cases of demonic possession and exorcism that inspired William Blady's book, The Exorcist, and later the movie in 1973, is the case of Roland Doe, but whose real name is Ronald Hunkler. So we shall call him Ronald. Ronald was a 13-year-old boy from Cottage City, Maryland, who was very close to his Aunt Millie. Aunt Millie lived in St. Louis but visited often. She was a spiritualist and interested in necromancy, communicating with the dead. Her favorite tool was the Ouija board. She also introduced Ronald to this, and when Aunt Millie suddenly died in 1948, he was very upset and tried to contact her with her Ouija board. He failed to contact Aunt Millie, but it's believed that this opened the door to something way worse. Just days after this, things started to happen in the house. The family would hear dripping sounds that they could not find an explanation for. A plumber was called and no leaks were found. Then the dripping turned into thumps and scratches that sounded like it was coming from inside the walls. They call in an exterminator, but no rodents or bug infestation is found. Over the next few months, activity increases. Furniture would move on its own, objects would fly across the room, and a picture of Jesus on the wall would rattle and shake. The activity then moves from the walls to Ronald's room and bed. One night he's awakened by his bed shaking profusely. He called out for his mother and she witnessed the bed shaking as well. Confused and concerned, they take him to a doctor and a psychiatrist who determines that other than being high strung, aka having anxiety, he's perfectly healthy. Then the marks on his skin start. The first markings spelled out Bowtern, the name of the priest who will eventually perform the exorcism. With medical professionals providing no answers, the family does the next rational thing. They use the Ouija board to contact Aunt Millie. Oh they contact something, but it ain't Aunt Millie. As the board starts to interact with them, they ask for a sign that it's real, and a chair is thrown across the room. The next morning, Ronald has long burning marks on his legs that spell out Saint Louis. At this point they're like, yep, we need a priest. They contact their local minister who is Lutheran. He comes to the house to pray for the boy, but after witnessing the marks on his body, he suggests they call the Catholics. The family decides to move instead to St. Louis, where they had family in hopes that the activity will stay at the Maryland home. It doesn't. So they reach out to Catholic priest Father Bowtern. He's not convinced that it's demons, but agrees to come to the house to pray with Ronald. He also brings a second priest with him named Father Raymond Bishop. After a few minutes into the prayers, Ronald cries out that his chest is burning. Upon opening his shirt, they see red scratches forming. This concerns the priests and they stay all night praying over the boy. The two priests decide that they should seek an exorcism. Father Bowdern contacts the Archbishop of St. Louis for approval. He's granted permission, but he must keep a detailed account of what happens, so the details of the exorcism come from Father Bowtern's records of the ritual performed. One week later, they return to Ronald's room, and when they walk in, it's freezing inside. They begin the rite of exorcism and Ronald reacts violently. He attacked the priest, and Ronald's dad had to restrain him. Father Bowtern wrote that each punch had the strength of one or more adult men behind it. Breaking loose from His dad's restraints, Ronald punched Father Bishop in the face and broke his nose. After hours of prayers, Ronald finally falls unconscious and sleeps. But as soon as the priest exits the house, he starts to scream violently, and the priests have to return to continue the exorcism. For four hours he screams, his body contorts, and then he pukes up a thick black substance. Ronald seems to be okay after this for a while, but as Jesus said, Satan is the father of all lies. The rite of exorcism warns of the entity leaving for a bit to deceive the priest into thinking it's gone. The priests leave, and Ronald is resting. Then around 2 a.m. he starts to scream again. Deep, unhuman screams fill the house. The priests are called back and they resume the exorcism around 3 15 a.m. Around 6 a.m. Ronald goes catatonic. He's awake, eyes open but unresponsive. Like sleeping but with his eyes open. Around 8 30 a.m. the activity starts again. This time there's loud knocking noises along with Ronald's screams. He thrashes around and starts to bark like a dog, but in two different octaves, like there's two voices coming out of him at once. At this point, the mom has to leave. She no longer recognizes this thing as her son. After some time, Ronald goes catatonic again. The priests realize that this is the worst case of possession that they've seen, and they decide they need to move him somewhere safer and more sanctified. They move him to a hospital ran by an order of Catholic monks. It's also close to the priest's home church. He's put in a private room on a private floor to keep him from scaring the other patients. Father Bowtern brings in a third priest named Father Halloran, whose main job was to sit with Ronald during calm times and to restrain him during the prayers. During his first visit, he blesses Ronald with holy water and places the bottle next to the bed. As soon as he did this, the bottle flew off the table and smashed into pieces against the wall. In a later interview, Father Halloran said that this is when he knew he was dealing with the real thing. When the ritual formally started, Ronald screams violently at the priest. One of the signs of true possession is knowing the unknown. Father Halloran's mother had recently passed away. He and Ronald had just met before the prayers started. Yet Ronald turns to him and in an unearthly voice says, Your mother says hi. She's rotting in the depths of hell. Although this angered and terrified Father Halloran, it also furthered his belief that there was in fact an evil entity inside this boy. After a few hours, Ronald goes catatonic. The next day they resume and Ronald is so violent it takes three priests and his dad to hold him down. He starts to spit a foul smelling fluid at them. He tricks Father Halloran into loosening his grip and Ronald breaks his nose. They end for the night. The priests are exhausted and there's no sign of progress. But they don't give up, they come back and continue. On day 18 of being in the hospital, Ronald asks for a piece of paper and pen, and he writes, quote, I am the devil himself, and within ten days I will give you a sign. He then starts to scream, and the Roman numeral for ten, which is an X, appears on his chest. Father Bowtern decides to try to baptize him. Ronald gives his permission during a calm time and the next day he's baptized, but shortly after the affliction starts again, and the word exit appears in capital letters carved on his chest. The exorcism continues. Ronald taunts the priests, telling them you need to say one word, but you never say it. The priests ponder this and they realize they've been missing the word Lord from their prayers, and they intend to implement it as soon as possible. The following night, when they get to the hospital, from the parking lot they can see the lights flickering on Ronald's private floor. There's a strong smell of sulfur coming from his room, and when they enter, he's yelling and cursing them in fluent Latin, which Ronald didn't speak. He tells the priest, here's your sign, and when he touches the priest's purple stole, it bursts apart into pieces. The prayers intensify. Ronald screams and thrashes, cursing and pissing all over. Five hours into the prayers, Ronald throws his head back and levitates off the bed. Before he hits the ceiling, the priests have to pull him down and tether him to the bed. After another two hours of spiritual battle, Ronald gasped and yelled out that he saw Saint Michael use a flaming sword to drive the devil back to hell. He fell back, closed his eyes, and slept. When Ronald wakes up, he's given communion by Father Bowtern. A loud bang is heard throughout the hospital and the lights go out. But then they come back on and Ronald says he's gone. After weeks of torment, Ronald finally seems to be free of his affliction. Ronald slowly returned to his normal life. Talk of the exorcism eventually makes its way to the press. The priests and the church did not want Ronald's confidentiality to be breached, and they considered this an embarrassment. When asked by the author William Bladdy if this was real, Father Bowdern said he had no doubt then and no doubt now. What was in that room was the devil in the flesh. Ronald goes on to live a normal life. Terrifying. I've read the book twice. The second time was just a few months ago in preparation for this episode. And it still scares the shit out of me. But at least that one has a happy ending. There are a lot of non Catholic faiths that perform exorcisms, sometimes referred to as deliverance ministries. These typically rely on the personal faith of the afflicted person. There are also people called demonologists. These are people who study demons and their hierarchy within religious doctrine, folklore, and occultism. Outside of the church, a lot of demonologists are involved in the investigation of paranormal activity, usually with a team including a psychic or clairvoyant to communicate with the demons or the spirits. Ed and Lorraine Warren were such a team, famous for cases like the Amityville Horror House. P.S. Listen to episode six. The Warrens investigated many cases where demonic activity and possession were centered. Carolyn Perone was one of these cases. You probably know it better by the movie The Conjuring. The Warrens also had a case involving a man named Arnie Johnson, also known as the Devil Made Me Do It case. Arnie Johnson was dating Debbie Glatzel and lived with her family. In June of 1980, Debbie's little brother started to claim that he was tormented by a demon. The family gets the Warrens involved. The Warrens are not Catholic priests, but they perform four minor rites of exorcism on the boy. And during one of these, Arnie Johnson challenged the demons to enter him instead of the boy. Not long after this, on February 16, 1981, Arnie Johnson stabbed 40-year-old Alan Bono more than 20 times with a pocket knife and killed him. Arnie's defense in court was he was possessed. The devil made him do it. He had no prior record of any violence, and the Warrens testified at the trial, but Arnie is found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. But he only serves five for good behavior. He marries Debbie and they live a somewhat normal life. Debbie's little brother eventually sues the Warrens in 2006, claiming they just wanted to get rich and famous at the family's expense. The Warrens are highly controversial, and despite being devout Roman Catholics, the church never endorsed the Warrens practices. A lot of times, unsanctioned exorcisms just make the situation worse, like in the case of Michael Taylor in the UK in 1974. An all-night unsanctioned exorcism was performed on Michael by an Anglican vicar and a Methodist clergyman. They claimed they successfully exorcised 40 demons from Michael that night, but said the demons of quote murder, violence, and insanity remained. They allow him to go home to where he brutally murdered his wife, like tore her face off with his bare hands. He was found guilty by reason of insanity and spent the rest of his life in an institution. Mental illness is often mistaken for possession. That's why it's so important to have trusted and trained professionals involved. Unsanctioned exorcisms can exacerbate a mentally ill person's belief that they are possessed, when in fact they are just sick. Mentally ill patients often have sudden violent mood changes, speak gibberish, act irrationally, have increased strength. Epilepsy can cause seizures, facial and body contortions, stiffening of the limbs, all things that can be mistook for possession. It's after these things are eliminated from the cause, with addition of the other signs, supernatural signs, that the diagnosis of actual demonic possession can take place. Also, in actual possession cases, it's extremely dangerous for a person who is not equipped and not trained to attempt communication with demons. They are liars, and this just opens a door and a way in. So leave it to the professionals. This is nothing to mess with. And the Catholic Church seems to have pretty good authority over this phenomenon. After all, when Jesus sent out his apostles, he told them to cast out demons. He gave them the authority over the demons just like he had. So to close, demonic possession absolutely scares the shit out of me. I believe in evil. How could you not? Look around you. This world is full of it. But you can't have evil without the good. We, humans, are capable of being nothing but good. We just have to choose it. That's really the underlying message in most religions. Be decent, be fair, and be kind. So I encourage you to choose good. Be kind to one another and stay safe out there. Now let's dance, just not with the devil. Be gone, Satan.