The Why Files: Operation Podcast - Shattering the Illusion: Exorcism and the Truth About Possessions

Episode Date: April 14, 2023

Here's how it starts. Maybe it's your mother or maybe your sister. She starts complaining of headaches and strange tingling sensations in different parts of her body. Her discomfort escalates. She complains of hallucinations; she starts hearing voices. Then the seizures begin. She has trouble walking and eating. And maintaining control of her bladder. The seizures become violent. She thrashes around her bed for hours. You try to restrain her, but she suddenly has impossible strength. Her moods become erratic. She swings between fear and anger and sadness. Her speech becomes ragged and deep. She has sudden outbursts where she barks out phrases in Latin and Aramaic; languages she doesn't speak. Then, for no reason at all, the symptoms suddenly stop. And she's back to her normal self. Frightened and exhausted, but it's still her. Her doctor can't find anything wrong with her. Psychiatrists and neurologists can't explain what's happening. This scenario happens to hundreds of families every year from all over the world; of every different culture and religion. And when this *does* happen to someone you love, and there's nobody else to call; you call an exorcist. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support

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Right, and Hecklefish. We just wanted to tell you that if you want to start a podcast, Spotify makes it easy. It'd have to be easy for humans to understand it. Will you stop that? I'm just saying. Spotify for Podcasters lets you record and edit podcasts from your computer. I don't have a computer. Do you have a phone? Of course

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You don't want to support your kids? What are you, my wife's lawyer now? Never mind. And I don't know if you noticed, but all Y-Files episodes are video, too. And there's a ton of other features, but you... But we can't be here all day. Will you settle down? I need you to hurry up with this stupid commercial.

I got a packed calendar today. I'm sorry about him. Anyway, check out Spotify for Podcasters. It's free, no catch, and a packed calendar today. I'm sorry about him. Anyway, check out Spotify for podcasters. It's free, no catch, and you could start today. Are we done? We're done, but you need to check your attitude. Excuse me, but I don't have all day to sit here and talk about Spotify. This would go a lot faster if you would just let me get through it without... Here's how it starts. Maybe it's your mother or maybe your sister. She starts complaining of headaches and strange tingling sensations in different parts of her body.

Her discomfort escalates. She complains of hallucinations. She starts hearing voices. Then the seizures begin. She has trouble walking and eating and maintaining control of her bladder. The seizures become violent. She thrashes around her bed for hours. You try to restrain her, but she suddenly has impossible strength. Her moods become erratic.

She swings between fear and anger and sadness. Her speech becomes ragged and deep. She has sudden outbursts where she barks out phrases in Latin and Aramaic. Languages she doesn't speak. Then, for no reason at all, the symptoms suddenly stop. And she's back to her normal self. Brightened and exhausted, but it's still her. Her doctor can't find anything wrong with her.

Psychiatrists and neurologists can't explain what's happening. This scenario happens to hundreds of families every year all over the world, of every different culture and religion. And when this does happen to someone you love, and there's no one else to call, you call an exorcist. Born into a devoutly Catholic family, Annalise Michelle had a normal childhood. What kind of name is Annalise?

Annalise. What'd I say? She was kind, creative, and intelligent. She had good friends and she got good grades. Her dream was to become a teacher. When she was 16 years old, Annalise experienced a violent seizure. She was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy, a neurological disorder that can cause hallucinations and affect one's personality.

Over the next few years, Annalise received various treatments, including psychotherapy and anticonvulsive medications. But her condition didn't improve. Her hallucinations got worse and her seizures more severe. And when she was 21 years old, Anneliese's condition took a dark turn. She began to experience terrifying visions of demonic apparitions. She said she heard voices condemning her to hell. Her Catholic upbringing led her to believe that she was being tormented by demons. And since her medical treatments weren't working,

she turned to her faith. Anneliese became obsessed with religious practices. She would pray for hours and even harm herself, trying to drive away the evil spirits that she believed possessed her. She prayed so often that she broke the bones in her knees, but she kept praying. Finally, when Anneliese was 23,

her family turned to the church for help. They wanted a priest to perform an exorcism. Over the next 10 months, she would undergo a series of 16 exorcisms. These sessions were exhausting and could last for hours. And during the sessions, she would scream, growl, and speak in languages she had never learned. She would physically harm herself, breaking her own bones and tearing her own flesh. She would attack other people in the room. She also suddenly had superhuman strength. Sometimes she would throw people across the room. When five people could no longer

restrain her, she was tied to her bed. When she broke her restraints, she was chained. Her body deteriorated rapidly. She said the demons wouldn't allow her to eat, though she would occasionally eat spiders and bugs crawling around her room. Eventually, her body couldn't take anymore, and she passed away when she was only 23 years old. She weighed less than 70 pounds, and the official cause of death was malnutrition and years old. She weighed less than 70 pounds, and the official cause of death was malnutrition and dehydration. In the aftermath of her death, Annalise's story became the subject of intense debate.

The mainstream view is that Annalise had been the victim of a gross failure of the medical and religious establishments. Her family and the priests were actually convicted of negligence and abuse, though they didn't serve any time. And this case was the inspiration for the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose. And now there are lots of films about exorcism, but just a few years ago, the church avoided talking about them or denied they ever happened. But one movie would change all that, and exorcism would go mainstream. From the novel that had long been on the bestseller lists and directed by the man who had brought the French connection to the screen, The Exorcist had long been awaited,

widely speculated upon, and anxiously anticipated. But no one, no matter how close or deeply involved in the film, could possibly have anticipated what was to happen. When The Exorcist was released in 1973, it was a phenomenon. People lined up for hours to see it. It ended up being one of the highest grossing films of all time. Exorcism was now mainstream, and The Exorcist is still considered one of the scariest films of all time. And one of the reasons for this is its realism. The film is

based on a novel by William Blatty, but his novel is actually based on real events. Blatty read about a boy who underwent several exorcisms in 1949. For years, the boy was known as Roland Doe or sometimes Robbie Mannheim, but we now know his real name was Ronald Hunkler. When Ronald was 13, he was devastated by the recent loss of his aunt. She taught him many things, including how to use a Ouija board. And not long after his aunt's death, Hunkler started experiencing paranormal activity, like knocking and scratching sounds from behind his bedroom walls. Water would

drip from pipes into his room, though no leaks were found. But the worst event Ronald experienced was his bed suddenly moving across the room. Ronald's parents called on every expert they could find. Doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists. They couldn't find anything wrong. Out of options, their minister suggested that the Hunklers contact an exorcist. With permission from the Catholic Church, Father E. Albert performed his first exorcism on Ronald in February of 1949, but it would be cut short. Even though Ronald was strapped to his bed, he broke off a piece of his mattress spring and slashed the priest across his shoulder. A few days later, scratch marks appeared all over Ronald's body. One set of scratches spelled the

word Lewis, which Ronald's mother took as a sign to seek help in St. Louis. And several more priests and assistants tried to help Ronald. Witnesses reported seeing scratches appear on Ronald's body, and they saw his bed move on its own. More and more scratches appeared on Ronald, and despite multiple exorcisms, nothing worked. He was getting worse. He was more aggressive. And then he started urinating on his bed and around the room.

Finally, Ronald Hunkler was admitted to the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis, and after a month of violent tantrums of screaming and cursing Latin phrases, a priest called on St. Michael to expel Satan from Ronald's body. Seven minutes later, Ronald came out of his trance and said he's gone. Ronald Hunkler went on to lead a normal life. In fact, he became a NASA engineer who worked on the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions. His identity was kept secret for years. A friend said he lived in a state of constant worry

that his coworkers would find out that he was the boy who inspired the exorcist. Ronald Hunkler retired from NASA in 2001 and passed away peacefully in 2020. And in the years since the movie was released, the number of possessions has increased, as has the number of exorcisms. One of the most famous and scariest cases

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From tires to auto repair, we're always there at treadexperts.ca. You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen.

Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. In 2011, Latoya Ammons, along with her three children, moved into a house on a quiet street in Gary, Indiana. In December of that year, despite the Indiana cold, her porch was infested with black flies. No matter how many they killed, they kept coming back. Late one night, Latoya and her mother, Rosa Campbell, heard the stomping of footsteps climbing up their basement stairs. Then the creak of the door from the basement to the kitchen slowly opened. Latoya followed the

sound. There was no one there. She locked the door and went back to bed. An hour later, the sounds returned. This time, Latoya saw the shadowy figure of a man slowly walking around her kitchen. Again, she jumped out of bed to investigate. And again, the kitchen was empty. But there were large, wet boot prints on the kitchen floor. A few months later, things would escalate. This time, it was Latoya's mother Rosa who was startled awake. Latoya was screaming, Mama, Mama.

Rosa followed the yelling into her granddaughter's bedroom. There was Latoya's 12-year-old daughter, unconscious, levitating above her bed. The girl fell back to her bed, opened her eyes, and had no memory of what happened. Latoya reached out to local churches for help, but nobody took her seriously. But a local clairvoyant told her the house was possessed by 200 demons and told LaToya to burn sage and sulfur throughout the house. Burn sage and sulfur? I don't know if that gets rid of demons, but it sure would get rid of people. Yeah, sulfur smells horrible. It's just, it's like intense rotten eggs.

Ugh, tell me about it. Every time you eat cabbage, the resulting fumes make my eyes water. Okay, that's enough. You know, in my next contract, I'm going to add, the human shall not consume any sauerkraut, broccoli, or cauliflower within 48 hours of doing the show. Anyway, the Ammons' house was quiet for a few days, but then things escalated again. Both Latoya and Rosa said demons possessed the children, then ages seven, nine, and 12. The kids' eyes bulged, evil smiles crossed their faces, and their voices got very deep every time it happened.

The seven-year-old boy would sit in a closet and talk to another boy that no one else could see. The other boy would describe what it's like to be killed. And once, the seven-year-old flew out of the bathroom like he'd been thrown. The 12-year-old told doctors that she sometimes feels like she's being choked and held down where she couldn't speak or move. She then heard a voice say that she'd never see her family again

and wouldn't live another 20 minutes. Now, for skeptics, this story might sound far-fetched. But all this information is from official police reports written by two veteran officers who became believers. Still, no matter what you believe, the best course of action in a situation like this is to see a doctor

and get actual medical care, which the family did. And somehow, in front of medically trained witnesses, things got even worse. It seemed that whatever demonic forces were in LaToya Ammons' house

attached themselves to her children. While being examined at their doctor's office, LaToya's sons, aged 7 and 9, suddenly passed out and couldn't be revived. 911 was called and the boys were rushed by ambulance to Methodist Hospital. When they woke up, the 9-year-old seemed okay, but the 7-year-old thrashed and screamed. It took five men to hold him down. At this point, someone at the hospital thought that this behavior was the result of a troubled home, or that their mother, LaToya, had a mental illness. They called child services.

The case was assigned to Valerie Washington, who asked the hospital to examine the family. Hospital personnel found LaToya and her children to be healthy, with no physical marks or bruises. A hospital psychiatrist said LaToya was of sound mind. But when Washington spoke to the seven-year-old, his eyes rolled back and he growled, it's time to die, and then he lunged at his brother. He grabbed his brother by the throat and refused to let go. It took several adults to pry him off.

And what happened next really rattled the hospital workers. According to Washington's official DCS report, the nine-year-old had a weird grin on his face and then while holding Rose's hands, walked backwards up a wall and to the ceiling. He then flipped over and landed on his feet. He never let go of his grandmother's hands. The boy doesn't remember doing this

and says he couldn't do it if he tried. This was witnessed by a nurse who corroborated the event in the DCS report, and I linked all these documents below. Valerie Washington decided that until they could figure out what was really happening, DCS should take short-term custody of the children. Meanwhile, the hospital chaplain contacted Reverend Michael Maginot and asked him to interview the family and perform an exorcism if he thought demons were possessing them. When Reverend Maginot went to the house, the lights would flicker for no reason

and the blinds started moving. He also saw wet footprints. And when the Reverend showed Latoya a crucifix, she went into convulsions. He believed there were ghosts and demons in the house, which was some kind of portal to somewhere, somewhere bad. A week later, DCS stopped by with police officers to check the condition of the home.

They found the house to be clean, quiet, plenty of food. Oh, so aside from demons, a lovely place to raise a few kids. Right. Nothing's worse than an inconsiderate roommate. Do you mind? Sorry, go ahead. Captain Charles Austin,

a 36-year veteran of the Gary Police Department, didn't believe in demons when he entered the house, but he did by the time he left. While at the home, one of the officer's audio recorders died, even though it had fresh batteries. Another officer recorded audio, and when he played it back later, he heard an unknown voice whisper, hey. I'm surprised. The officers took photos of the house and saw ghostly figures in the images. Captain Austin took a photo with his phone that showed the silhouette of a person who wasn't there. Captain Austin's police radio stopped working. His garage door stopped working.

The electronics in his personal car stopped working, even though mechanically, all of these things were perfectly fine. And this is all documented in an official police report. Captain Austin said he investigated some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, but there was no way he'd spend a night alone in that house. Finally, Reverend Maginot performed a series of exorcisms on LaToya and the house. After the third session, the house was clean. Child services returned the children to the home

under the stipulation that there would be no further talk of demons or possession. The strange activity stopped, and LaToya Ammons moved out of the home about a year later. And various other tenants lived there until it was finally purchased by Zach Bagans. Zach who? He's the host of Ghost Adventures.

Oh yeah, the ghost bro. That's him. He shot the documentary Demon House there, and then when he was done shooting, he demolished the house. If there was a portal in the house, it's now closed. And many people said that this case is evidence of the power of evil and the need for faith in a war against demonic forces. And if this is a war, on the other side of the planet is the world's greatest warrior.

You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth, while curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. Father Gabriele Amorth, a Catholic priest and exorcist, could be described as a war hero in the battle against evil.

Father Amorth fearlessly battled thousands of demonic forces that threatened to harm the souls of the faithful. And for over 30 years, he was the Vatican's chief exorcist, which is a real title of a real job in the Church. Well, that's one hell of a business card. It sure is. Father Amort performed thousands of exorcisms over his career and wrote several books on the subject.

He believed that demonic possession was a real phenomenon and that the devil was actively working to destroy the faith of believers. In the movie The Pope's Exorcist, Russell Crowe plays Father Amort, and the cases shown in the film are taken directly from Father Amort's own writing. The movie is part horror, part Da Vinci Code, and part Indiana Jones. It includes a great storyline about a Vatican cover-up. Just one Vatican cover-up? What about the other 10,000? Baby steps. If you're into exorcisms or supernatural thrillers, definitely check it out. Now, Father Amort exercised thousands

of demons from hundreds of people during his 30 years as chief exorcist. Now, that might sound like he's exercising everyone who walks through the door, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Before someone could even be considered for an exorcism, they're required to see a physical doctor and a psychiatrist. Father Amort said that less than half of 1% of people who contacted him are actually possessed. And he would whittle that number down further. He had a few techniques that allowed him to tell if someone was truly possessed. One of these was to have the possessed person close their eyes. Then he would bring a holy object like a crucifix near them to see if they react. If they

did, he knew he was dealing with a true demonic possession. No! No! No! No! The exorcism ritual typically takes place in a church or other sacred space, and only a few people are present. Father Amort brings a trained assistant who helps with prayer and occasionally helps hold the person down. A couple of the possessed person's family and friends

are also present to assist. And in 2016, Father Amort allowed William Friedkin to film an exorcism on a young woman named Christina. And there's no better choice than Friedkin. He directed The Exorcist. The Exorcism ritual itself is highly structured and involves a lot of steps that have to be done in a specific order. There's a lot of prayer, the sprinkling of holy water, and the use of a crucifix to draw out the demons. The exorcism ritual can be physically and emotionally demanding, both for the person being exorcised and for Father Amort and his assistant.

The person may experience convulsions and screaming as the demons are cast out. Father Amort would continue the exorcism until he was confident that the demons had been cast out of the person's body. And this could take several hours or even multiple sessions. Once the exorcism was complete, Father Amort would pray over the person and give them a blessing. And the only exorcism Father Amort allowed to be filmed turned out to be his last. He passed away a few months later at the age of 91.

But even worse, that exorcism didn't work. Christina was still possessed. And although William Friedkin tried to contact her, she was never heard from again. Exorcism is usually connected to the Catholic Church, but the concept goes back thousands of years to the beginning of civilization. Ancient Babylonians believed that demons, or evil spirits, were responsible for illnesses as well as natural disasters. Exorcism rituals were done to drive these entities out and restore balance to the world.

And the process of exorcism in ancient Babylon was complex and dangerous. The exorcist would draw a circle around the possessed person, creating a barrier between them and the demon. He would then recite special incantations, and around the circle, sprinkle various substances like salt and herbs. And for especially evil demons, an animal like a goat or a chicken would have to be sacrificed. Salt and herbs on a dead chicken? That doesn't sound like a ritual, it sounds like a delicious recipe!

You're killing me, pal. Well, I'm sorry! I skipped lunch and you tell me exorcisms use 11 herbs and spices on chicken, what do you expect? By the way, you and Colonel Sanders make demons sound finger-licking good. That was not my intention. Now I know why the chicken's so addicting. It's seasoned with evil. If you just let me get through this, we'll grab lunch. Chicken bucket from KFC? Is that even a question at this point? Ancient Egyptians also used exorcism to ward off evil spirits. And one of the most common methods involved the use of a magic spell called a hecca. And this was performed by a priest who would recite a series of incantations and make offerings to the gods. The priest would then place his hands on the afflicted person's head and command the

evil spirit to leave the body. The person would then be given amulets to wear as protection against future attacks. And in the early days of Christianity, exorcism was an essential part of the faith. The early church believed that demons were the cause of many physical and mental illnesses, and that the only way to cure these afflictions was through exorcism. During the middle ages, exorcism became even more popular. The church saw it as a way to combat heresy and protect its followers from the devil's influence. Exorcism reached its peak during the Renaissance when the witch trials were at their height.

Many people believe that witches were in league with the devil and that exorcism was the only way to rid them of their evil influence. The practice started to decline during the age of enlightenment when people started to question the church's authority. Many scientists and philosophers saw exorcism as a superstitious practice with no scientific basis.

The church responded by downplaying the importance of exorcism and focusing on other aspects of the faith. But exorcism did not disappear completely. It continued to be practiced in many parts of the world, especially in areas where traditional beliefs were still strong. Thanks to film and pop culture and the state of the world, there have never been more exorcists or exorcisms in history. And now, in the age of

social media, that number is on the rise once again. Exorcism has been practiced in some form throughout all of history. It was probably the earliest form of psychotherapy. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, started out as an exorcist. But is it real? Well, it depends on your beliefs and what we consider real. Do you believe demons are real? If you believe they are and you believe you're possessed, then exorcism could certainly be a real solution. But if you are cured, were demons really exercised from your body? Or do you just believe they were because you believe in demons? It's hard to say. Trying to explain possession as non-supernatural has been a struggle for medical professionals for a long time. People claiming to be possessed show symptoms of epilepsy, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder,

disassociative identity disorder, bipolar disorder, and many other conditions. But the medications and therapy commonly used to treat these illnesses often doesn't work. But sometimes, exorcisms do. Possession is now recognized in the DSM. Specifically, it's Possession Trance Disorder, or PTD. But it's a pretty new addition. So, modern mainstream doctors don't think we're dealing with demons.

But they acknowledge there is something happening to some people that they can't quite explain. Often people who claim to be possessed come from very religious and very troubled homes. Many times the possessed are children acting out or trying to please religious parents. For instance, Ronald Hunkler, the boy whose story kicked off the modern exorcism phase, he admitted he was faking. He said he was a bad kid acting out against his mother, who was very religious. Annalise Michel's parents were extremely religious,

and they raised their daughter to be as well. If Annalise were suffering from schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder, this could have manifested as possession, something she was raised to believe was real. And remember, Annalise was diagnosed with epilepsy. She was also prescribed antipsychotics. When she stopped taking her meds, her episodes got worse.

Now, the faithful will say these conditions were caused by the demons possessing her. Skeptics will say she was simply mentally ill, and the possession was just a manifestation of her strongly held religious beliefs. But nobody can say for sure. Latoya Ammons is also very religious and extremely superstitious. Where most people would consult family, friends, or a therapist for advice,

she would consult psychics. Her children were raised believing that possession was real and they may have used it to their advantage. It's well documented that over several years, her children missed a lot of school. The reason they couldn't go to school? They were possessed. Were they faking it to stay out of school?

Who can say? Also, at the time the possession started, Latoya Ammons was behind on her rent, and she said she couldn't pay because demons. And if you follow this channel, you know that this isn't the first time someone behind on their rent claimed it was demons or ghosts. The owner of the house said no tenants who lived in the house reported anything strange,

both before and after Latoya lived there. Yeah, but what about Zach the ghost bro and the ghost hunters? Yeah, nothing on that show is real, but it's fun to watch. But he destroyed the house to close the portal. Maybe. Or he demolished the house to generate some buzz

for his documentary about the house. And knocking the house down, that created some buzz. Now, Inside Edition with Debra Norville. That portal to hell house that we've been telling you about in Gary, Indiana, where so many eerie things are said to have happened, has just been sold. And what do you see who's moving in? The new owner is Zach Baggins. What on earth were you thinking buying this house?

All the witnesses in that case, including police Captain Austin, are highly superstitious and believe in the paranormal. They were primed to believe the story. They were also interested in money. Captain Austin is on record saying he thought he might get some notoriety out of this, or even a movie deal. And Reverend Maginot did get a movie deal. He signed an agreement with Evergreen Media, the company that produced the Conjuring movies, which is perfect because the Conjuring movies are based on stories told by people seeking

fame and fortune. There's no truth behind them. But true or not, those movies earned over a billion dollars. Now, I'm not saying all or any of these people are lying, but with stories like this, it's important to see the whole picture, especially when people are profiting. Now, I'm not saying all or any of these people are lying. But with stories like this, it's important to see the whole picture, especially when people are profiting. Now, believers will say exorcism is a necessary tool to combat the force of evil that's all around us all the time. And skeptics will say exorcism is a brutal medieval torture ritual justified by ignorance. And people do die during exorcisms all the time. Now, you're getting the idea that I'm a skeptic. And maybe I am.

But only 90%. That 10% of me can't help but think about Father Amort. I've studied his life, read his articles, a couple of his books. He says demonic possession is real and that he witnessed countless supernatural events. I don't think he's lying. But actual demons? I look around and I can't find any proof. But evidence of evil? Well, proof of that is everywhere. Supernatural or not, there really

is a battle between good and evil taking place in the world right now. And we all have a role to play in this battle. And knowing this, I want you to ask yourself, which side am I on? And like most topics we cover on this channel, today's topic was recommended by you. And if there's a story you'd like to see or learn more about, go to the Y-Files.com slash tips. Special thanks to our patrons. You guys are amazing and you're keeping this channel going. And if you want to be part of a great community, check out the Y-Files Discord. It's free to join.

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Well, you're fired up. Well, come a little closer to my bowl and I'll sprinkle you with holy vodka. I'm in. That's gonna do it. Until next time,

be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated. Let me grab a glass. Thank you. Bye.