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Poltergeists

Possessions and exorcisms

Accounts of possession – people speaking in strange voices, writhing in convulsions and recoiling from holy objects – have accompanied Christianity since its beginnings. The most famous cases took place in 17th-century French convents and in the 20th century, when the story of a boy from Missouri inspired The Exorcist. Some ended tragically, with the death of the possessed or a court case. Doctors see mental illness, epilepsy and mass hysteria in them.

cases
16
years
1609–2026

Disputed: 6 Legend: 2 Explained: 8

  1. 17th century

    1. 1609–1611 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained The Possessed Ursulines of Aix-en-Provence Ursuline convent, Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France A young nun accused her confessor of seduction and a pact with the devil – the Aix trial ended with the priest burned and set the pattern for Loudun.
    2. 1632–1634 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained The Devils of Loudun Ursuline convent, Loudun, Poitou, France The prioress and Ursuline nuns accused Father Urbain Grandier of witchcraft – crowds watched the public exorcisms, and the priest was burned at the stake.
    3. 1642–1647 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained The Louviers Possessions Convent of hospitaller nuns, Louviers, Normandy, France The nun Madeleine Bavent accused a dead chaplain and a vicar of carrying the sisters off to sabbaths – the affair ended at the stake in Rouen.
    4. c. 1700–present Possessions and exorcisms · Legend Stambeli – Black Spirits and White Saints of Tunis Medina of Tunis (zawiya of Sidi Ali al-Asmar), Tunisia Descendants of enslaved people from the Sahel summon spirits in Tunis to the sound of the gumbri lute – and the possession is meant to heal, not frighten.

  2. 19th century

    1. 1842–1843 Possessions and exorcisms · Disputed The Struggle for Gottliebin Dittus in Möttlingen Möttlingen near Bad Liebenzell, Württemberg, Germany A Lutheran pastor prayed for two years over a parishioner tormented by “spirits” – the battle ended with the cry “Jesus is Victor!”
    2. 1863 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained Ramanenjana – the Dancing Mania and the Queen's Ghost Rova of Antananarivo, Madagascar In 1863 thousands of Malagasy danced for weeks as if in a trance. People said the spirit of the late Queen Ranavalona was protesting her son's reforms.
    3. 1895 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained Bridget Cleary: “Are you a witch, or are you a fairy?” Ballyvadlea near Cloneen, County Tipperary, Ireland In 1895 Michael Cleary burned his wife to death, convinced the fairies had taken the real Bridget and left a changeling in her place. The case shocked Ireland.
    4. 1898–present Possessions and exorcisms · Disputed Mbuya Nehanda – the Medium Whose “Bones Will Rise” Harare (formerly Salisbury), Zimbabwe In 1898 the British hanged Charwe, medium of the spirit Nehanda. For Zimbabweans her spirit did not die – it returned in later generations of struggle.

  3. 1900–1909

    1. 1906 Possessions and exorcisms · Disputed Clara Germana Cele of St Michael’s Mission St Michael’s Mission, Natal (between Umzinto and Ixopo), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa A 16-year-old mission pupil in Natal reportedly spoke unknown languages, recoiled from holy objects and levitated – her exorcism lasted two days.

  4. 1920–1929

    1. 1928 Possessions and exorcisms · Disputed The Earling Exorcism Franciscan convent by St Joseph’s Church, Earling, Iowa, United States In a small Iowa town a Capuchin friar exorcised a woman for four months – the pamphlet “Begone Satan!” made the case famous worldwide.

  5. 1940–1949

    1. 1949 Possessions and exorcisms · Disputed The Exorcism of “Roland Doe” – the Real-Life Exorcist Alexian Brothers Hospital, South Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri, United States The exorcism of a teenage boy from Maryland, carried out by Jesuits in St. Louis, inspired the novel and film “The Exorcist”.

  6. 1950–1959

    1. 1953–1956 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained Elifasi Msomi and the Tokoloshe – a Hanging Watched by Chiefs Pretoria Central Prison, South Africa A killer from Natal claimed a tokoloshe had ordered him to kill. When he was hanged in 1956, Zulu chiefs watched – to be sure the spirit would not save him.

  7. 1960–1969

    1. 1962–1963 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained The Laughter Epidemic at Kashasha Mission girls' school at Kashasha near Bukoba, Tanzania In 1962 three girls at a school by Lake Victoria began to laugh and could not stop. Soon hundreds of people had “caught” it, and schools were being closed.
    2. c. 1968–present Possessions and exorcisms · Legend Aisha Qandisha – the She-Demon of the Hamadsha Meknes and the shrine of Sidi Ali in the Zerhoun hills, Morocco A beautiful woman with goat's hooves who lures men by the water and steals their reason – and in Meknes people dance in trance to appease her.

  8. 1970–1979

    1. 1975–1976 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained The Tragedy of Anneliese Michel Klingenberg am Main, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany A young student with epilepsy and depression died of starvation after dozens of exorcisms – her parents and two priests were put on trial.

  9. 1980–1989

    1. 1981 Possessions and exorcisms · Disputed “The Devil Made Me Do It” – the Arne Johnson Case Brookfield, Connecticut, United States The first US trial in which the defence sought to argue that a man accused of killing was possessed by a demon – the court refused to allow it.