1973 would see the release of hit film 'The Exorcist', in which a twelve-year-old
girl is possessed by a demon and two priests attempt to rid the child of the
possession. A year later in West Yorkshire England, a real-life exorcism
would take place and fail with disastrous consequences. Michael Taylor
was a 31-year-old man living in the market town of Ossett with his wife,
Christine. Taylor worked as a butcher, which is... foreshadowing. Michael Taylor
belonged to a Christian Fellowship group, which is kind of like a book club I
think, only there's one book and it's generally frowned upon if you don't have
a glowing review for it. It was here Taylor developed strange
mannerisms including, speaking in tongues. The leader of this group was Mary
Robinson. Taylor's wife, Christine revealed to the group that Michael's
interest in Robinson was sexually driven -- think he might have misunderstood the
nature of these types of groups or -- fuck, maybe I've misunderstood the nature of
these types of groups. Taylor did indeed admit to feeling evil inside and would
eventually attack Robinson verbally. Robinson described a wild bestial look
overtaking Taylor's face and feared she would have been killed in the incident
had it not been for the intervention of Jesus. Taylor's behavior would become
increasingly erratic after this until the group came to the conclusion that
Taylor's behavior was a result of him being diabolically afflicted, and that
there was only one way to free him and get the old Michael Taylor back. The
local vicar called in other ministers he knew to be experienced in deliverance to
cast out demons in Michael Taylor. Enter Father Peter Vincent - an Anglican priest
who would head up the exorcism, and Reverend Raymond - a Methodist clergyman
who would assist him. The exorcism would be performed in Saint Thame's Church in
Barnsley on the night of the 5th of October, 1974. In an all-night ceremony,
the men invoked and cast out at least 40 demons -- Jesus, leave some for the rest of us.
Among these were incest, bestiality,
blasphemy and lewdness. The exorcism rite lasted until 6:00 a.m. Totally
exhausting the priests. They allowed Taylor to go home, but feared at least
three demons still remained; insanity, violence and murder. Those seem like
three pretty important demons, like surely you should have prioritized those
ones!? Like, at the very least, you should have got rid of murder -- that's pretty
serious. Like couldn't you have maybe swapped bestiality and murder there? Was it
really more important to get rid of bestiality instead of murder? "Well, he
might kill someone, but at least he won't suck a dog's dick. Imagine a mechanic
gave you your car back and said, "okay, so I fixed the left tail-light, the broken
mirror, and the crack in the windscreen. The brakes still don't work but I think
you're good to go". A mere two hours after the exorcism,
Michael Taylor would fly into a ferocious rage. Neighbors described a fit
of laughter and joy emanating from the Taylor household but what they did not
know was Michael had viciously attacked Christine. With his bare hands,
Michael tore her eyes and tongue out and almost ripped her entire face off. He
left the house, but not before strangling their poodle. Police found Michael
aimlessly wandering the streets; naked and covered in blood.
He was maniacally shouting; "it is the blood of Satan!" over and over again. They
would soon find the mutilated bodies of his wife and their dog lying in pools of
blood on the floor of their home. At his trial in March,
Taylor was acquitted on the grounds of insanity. He spent two years in Broadmoor
Hospital before being sent to a secure ward in Bradford for another two years.
Michael Taylor was then released. In the years following, Michael Taylor would
attempt suicide on at least four occasions, until in 2005 when he would
find himself in court again. This time for the indecent touching of an underage
girl. A week into his prison sentence for the crime, Taylor began to exhibit
the same strange behavior he did before his wife's murder. When brought back
before the court they again ordered him into a psychiatric treatment. I was
unable to find out where Michael Taylor is as of time of recording.