Have you ever wondered if some stories of demonic possession could be true? In today's
modern age, people generally scoff at demonic possession. Spooky ghost stories and the like
are meant to be left in horror novels and films, or so they say. Despite a general disbelief,
a demand for exorcisms has risen so much that the Catholic Church had to hold a conference
about it. Even a prominent psychiatrist claims demonic possession is the real thing. With
so many people believing they're possessed, maybe some cases are actually true? Well,
I'm Mike with List25 and there's no way to know for sure. But you can always say a prayer
and listen to these 25 Horrible Demonic Possessions That Could Be True.
25. Anna Ecklund
In 1912, this fourteen-year-old girl from Iowa was a devout Catholic, but her father
and aunt, who practiced witchcraft, would curse her and taint her food. After a while,
she couldn't enter a church or look at religious artifacts, and became sexually depraved. Some
witnesses testified that she spoke in languages she'd never known before. She supposedly levitated
and vomited out of her mouth. Eventually, priests came to exorcise the demons and after
twenty-three days, they declared her free of demonic possession.
24. The Ammons Family
Gary police Capt. Charles Austin said he thought the story involving a mother and three children
being possessed was a hoax until he visited the house several times. Since then, he said
he's a "believer." From a swarm of flies in winter to a little boy walking backward up
a wall, many strange and eerie things happened in the Ammons' home. Eventually, this caught
the attention of the Catholic Church and priests exorcised the demons. Since then, the family
claims things have turned back to normal.
23. Michael Taylor
In 1974, this man worked as a butcher and was considered an affable man, but not particularly
religious. However, he began attending Christian Fellowship Group and became enamored with
the lay leader, Marie Robinson. Eventually, he had an episode of becoming "bestial" and
verbally assaulted Robinson to the point where he had to be restrained. He had no memory
of the incident, but his personality slowly deteriorated to the point where priests came
to perform an exorcism. They said they exorcised 40 demons, but murder was still inside him.
Soon after, he brutally murdered his wife in a grisly and violent manner and afterward,
proceeded to kill his dog, ripping off its limbs.
22. Elizabeth Knapp
Twenty years before the Salem Witch Trials, this sixteen-year-old girl was a servant in
the house of Samuel Willard, a prominent Puritan preacher. When she started having violent
fits, Willard consulted a local doctor, but the doctor didn't know what was causing it.
She also would speak in a hollow voice and call the minister a "great black rogue" and
said he "tells the people a company of lies." Little is recorded of what happened to her
later.
21. George Lukins
This man's possession started in 1788 when he would violently slap himself in the face
and have wild fits. As his possession grew worse, he claimed he was the devil, made barking
noises, sung an inverted hymn, and was very violent. Priests exorcised his demons, and
it was reported afterward he was "calm and happy" as if back to normal.
20. Antoine Gay
In the late 19th century, this man became a lay brother at a monastery but eventually
was considered demonically possessed. Some of the symptoms included having knowledge
of things he would have no way of knowing and speaking in Latin, though he had no official
training in it. No exorcism was performed on him and he died in 1871.
19. "Julia"
Dr. Richard E. Gallagher never considered demon possession to be real until he saw it
up close and personal with a woman called "Julia." Julia would know things about Gallagher
that only he knew and even had books flying off the shelves around her at one point. Sometimes
her voice would appear on his phone when he was talking to a priest. Julia tried to be
exorcised but eventually gave up and was later diagnosed with cancer.
18. Carolyn Perron and Her Family
This mother and family moved into their new 14-room home in 1971 not expecting what would
befall them soon after. Things started small, like a broom missing, until the children started
seeing spirits, some friendly and others not. Other events took place, like beds rising
off the floor and rooms smelling like rotting flesh. They found a Satanist had once lived
in the house, and they tried to have the demons removed through exorcism.
17. Robert the Doll
As a young boy,Â Gene Otto loved this doll, but when mutilated toys and weird things happened,
he would say, "Robert did it!" Accounts of the doll giggling menacingly and going from
room to room spread through the neighborhood, and eventually, the doll was put in the attic.
When Gene inherited the house, he brought Robert down and painted with him. It's said
the doll drove his wife insane. The doll is now on display at the Fort East Martello Museum.
16. The Dibbuk Box
This old Jewish wine box was owned by a Holocaust survivor and brought to the US. The owner
told her daughter to never open it because it contained a demon. The daughter eventually
sold it to a shopkeeper named Mannis, but he didn't believe the story until he opened
it and weird things started happening. Later, his store was destroyed with nothing stolen,
lightbulbs smashed out of nowhere and a strange, disembodied voice screamed. When Mannis gave
the box to his mother, she died of a stroke five minutes after receiving it.
15. Robbie Mannheim
This thirteen-year-old boy from Maryland became obsessed with using an Ouija board to contact
his dead aunt. His behavior changed rapidly and his home suddenly was filled with strange
noises and supernatural activity. Eventually, the family requested a priest to exorcise
the demons. During the exorcism, he spoke in fluent Latin and words like "Hell" and
"Evil" would appear on his body. Afterward, Manneheim went back to normal and lived a
normalÂ life.
14. The Bell Family
In 1817, the Bell Family lived on a farm in Adams, Tennessee. John Bell started seeing
weird things around the farm but told his family to say nothing of it for fear of being
called crazy. Their whole house soon became possessed with daughter, Betsy, waking up
with handprints and welts on her face. John also suffered choking fits and eventually
fell into a coma and died.
13. Father Marian Rajchel
After this priest performed anÂ exorcism on a teenager, he later started receivedÂ
several disturbing text messages. He believes demons are using the cell phone to taunt him,
sending him messages like, "Shut up, preacher. You cannot save yourself." Another message
read, "She will not come out of this hell. Sheâ€™s mine. Anyone who prays for her
will die."
12. Arne Johnson
This murderer is one of the first to use demonic possession as an argument for innocence. His
girlfriend's brother, David Glatzel, claimed to have witnessed a demon at night and had
scratches and bruises on his arms. He went to Arne for help and they approached a priest
to exorcise the demons. They supposedly exorcised 40 demons, but turned their attention to Arne
for helping David. Soon after, while having dinner with his girlfriend and their landlord
Alan Bono, Arne murdered Bono with a pocket knife. His case didn't hold up in court.
11. Man Exorcised by Pope Francis
In 2013, a 43-year-old Mexican father claimed to be possessed by many demons, having already
had 30 exorcisms performed by 10 exorcists. He eventually had Pope Francis pray over him
and it was captured on video. Witnesses claim during that time a horrible roar of a lion
was heard. The man claims his whole life deteriorated when he was first possessed. He'd fall into
trances and speak in unknown languages. Sadly, he still claims to have demons inside of him.
10. Gottliebin Dittus
This 28-year-old woman was born to deeply religious parents inÂ Mottlingen, Germany.
After a priest and doctors claimed their house was haunted, Reverend Johann Christoph Blumhardt
advised GottliebinÂ be removed from the house as she had the worst symptoms. Once she was,
the hauntings ceased. She only grew worse. Speaking in different languages, having violent
convulsions, and yelling out blasphemies, the young girl spoke in a different voice
entirely. During the exorcisms, she supposedly threw up blood, nails, and glass. After two
agonizing years, Blumhardt finally found a way to exorcise the demon entirely and became
a local hero to the villagers.
9. Jason Dalton
This Uber driver who murdered six people told the police his Uber app was possessed and
told him to do it. He claimed the devil sent Satanic messages through the app. A Satanic
symbol popped up on the screen and when he clicked it, he immediately became Satan's
puppet.
8. John Jenkin
The night before this man hacked his mother and sister to death with an ax, he said, "I
am the devil, I need to confess." He was also heard by witnesses to speak in a strange language
and said he was possessed by demons.
7. The Smurls Family
Also known as the Smurl haunting, this family claims their house was haunted by a demon
from 1974 to 1989. From loud noises and bad odors to more violent activities like having
their dog thrown against a wall and their daughter thrown down a flight of stairs, the
Smurls claimed to experience all kinds of horrors that brought the attention of demonologists,
priests, psychologists, and heavy media coverage. While some backed up their claims, many others
said it was a hoax.
6. Woman Seen by William Friedkin
This director ofÂ The Exorcist recently made a documentary following real-life exorcist
Father Amorth as he performed an exorcism. The woman known as Elizabeth would shake violently
as Amorth chanted Latin spells to cast out the evil spirits. She'd also scream, "Don't
touch her!" and "I am Satan!"
5. Anneliese Michel
Growing up in 1960's Bavaria, this girl would occasionally go into trances, convulsions,
pass out randomly, and wet her bed. She was diagnosed with epilepsy and given medicine,
but it didn't seem to help her and the symptoms only grew worse. Eventually, she would do
400 squats a day, crawl under the bed and bark like a dog, eat spiders and coal, and
even bit the head off of a dead bird. She believed she was possessed by five demons:Â
Lucifer, Cain, Judas, Hitler, and Nero. Exorcisms did nothing to help her, and she died of malnutrition
and dehydration in July 1st, 1976.
4. Clara Germana Cele
This sixteen-year-old girl was said to be possessedÂ by a demon in 1960. She admitted
to making a pact with the devil and could do extraordinary things, like speak in many
languages she didn't formerly know, have super strength, and clairvoyance. At one time, she
levitated five feet in the air and could easily hurl nuns across the room. She was successfully
exorcised and said to be acting totally normal afterward.
3. Pat Reading
Living in Litchfield, Connecticut, this woman started feeling a dark presence by her side
and would occasionallyÂ be pushed and hit by an unseen force. Eventually, the attacks
grew more violent until she'd be black and blue in places she wouldn't be able to do
to herself. Found to not have any psychosis, Reading turned to exorcism.
2. H.H. Holmes
Psychopath, con-artist, and America's first serial killer, this man created a castle with
a labyrinth of hidden chambers, rooms, and compartments to keep his victims before torturing
and murdering them. He was captured and confessed to killing 27 people, but it could be upwards
of 200. Many believed the only way he could have done these things was to be possessed
by Satan. He even confessed, "Yes, I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the
fact that I was a murderer no moreÂ then the poet can help the inspiration to song..."
1. David Berkowitz
Also known as "Son of Sam," this serial killer plagued New York City's streets from 1976
to 1977, killing six people and wounding seven using a revolver. When police searched his
apartment, they found Satanic graffiti and diaries confessing to other atrocities. He
pled guilty to the murders and told police his neighbor's dog was possessedÂ by a demon
and told him to do it.
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