When you hear the phrase 10 weirdest exorcism, you probably picture shadowy rooms, trembling priests, and inexplicable phenomena. Yet the truth stretches far beyond movies like The Exorcist – it reaches back to ancient Mesopotamia and crawls forward into modern hospitals. These ten spine‑tingling accounts show just how bizarre and unsettling possession stories can become.
10 Weirdest Exorcism Cases Overview
From levitating schoolgirls in South Africa to a surrealist painter seeking relief, each tale below offers a unique glimpse into the uncanny world of demonic encounters. Buckle up; the ride is as eerie as it is fascinating.
10 Clara Germana Cele
In 1906, sixteen‑year‑old Clara Germana Cele, a devout schoolgirl from South Africa, allegedly entered into a pact with the devil. Almost immediately, she began exhibiting classic signs of possession: she could miraculously understand languages such as Polish and French despite never having studied them.
Even more unsettling, Clara would occasionally rise off the ground—both vertically and horizontally—hovering roughly 1.5 metres (about five feet) in the air. During the exorcism, she tried to choke the priest attempting to drive the demon out, but the cleric managed to subdue her and halt the terrifying manifestations.
9 Michael Taylor
Fast forward to 1974, when English family man Michael Taylor seemed to live a perfectly ordinary life with his wife and five children. That tranquility shattered when he joined a shadowy sect called the “Christian Fellowship Group,” led by a striking 21‑year‑old named Marie Robinson. Taylor spent increasing amounts of time with Marie, even co‑leading services where they spoke in tongues and performed impromptu exorcisms.
The climax arrived after a grueling 24‑hour exorcism. Exhausted priests claimed they had expelled all but three malevolent forces—insanity, anger, and murder. Within two hours, Taylor turned violently, brutally murdering his wife and their dog, ripping out his wife’s eyes and tongue. He was later discovered wandering naked, drenched in blood, and eventually confined to Broadmoor Hospital, where he cycled through psychiatric wards and courts for years.
8 Emma Schmidt/Anna Ecklund
Emma Schmidt—also known as Anna Ecklund—experienced two intense bouts of possession in the early 1910s, both overseen by Father Riesinger, a future exorcism legend. While the first episode resolved relatively smoothly, the second, in 1928, proved far more harrowing. Over a span of 23 days, split across August, September, and December, Emma’s eyes never opened, and she vomited what appeared to be a strange mixture of macaroni and tea leaves.
When Father Riesinger interrogated the demons, they admitted to being many, led by Beelzebub, and claimed a curse from Emma’s father. During the ordeal, she levitated toward the ceiling, clung to the rafters, and spoke in incomprehensible tongues while spewing the macaron‑tea concoction. After three relentless days of exorcising, Emma suddenly shouted praises to Jesus and God, finally breaking free. This case remains the only exorcism officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church.
7 ‘Julia’
In 2008, Dr. Richard E. Gallagher of New York Medical College documented a chilling case involving a patient known only as “Julia.” A long‑time participant in satanic circles, Julia petitioned Gallagher for an exorcism, insisting she was possessed. During her dissociative episodes, her voice morphed into a deep, guttural, almost masculine timbre, peppered with vile insults and a pronounced aversion to any holy objects.
Initially skeptical, Dr. Gallagher became convinced when Julia displayed uncanny knowledge of the personal histories of the psychiatric staff—details no one else could have known. True to many possession narratives, she levitated, hurled objects, and verbally assaulted the attending nuns, nurses, and doctors, heightening the eerie atmosphere of the hospital ward.
6 Arne Cheyenne Johnson
The early 1980s gave rise to the infamous “Demon Murder Case,” also dubbed the “Devil Made Me Do It” trial. In Brookfield, Connecticut, 19‑year‑old Arne Cheyenne Johnson allegedly acted under demonic influence when he stabbed his landlord, Alan Bono, repeatedly on November 24, 1981.
Prior to the homicide, Johnson had taken part in an exorcism intended for his younger brother‑in‑law, allegedly taunting a demon to possess him instead of the 11‑year‑old. His defense attorney, Martin Minella, attempted to argue demonic possession as a legal defense, even seeking to summon European exorcism experts and subpoena the priests involved. After 15 hours of jury deliberation, the court rejected the supernatural defense and convicted Johnson of first‑degree murder.
5 Ronald Hunkeler
Ronald Hunkeler—better known in folklore as “Roland Doe”—is perhaps the most celebrated possession case, inspiring the 1973 classic The Exorcist. The haunting unfolded in Cottage City, Maryland, at 3807 40th Avenue, where a series of unsettling events began after the death of Aunt Tillie, a close family member.
Icons of the Virgin Mary and Jesus inexplicably leapt from the walls, while strange knocking and pounding resonated from within the house. The phenomena intensified, zeroing in on Ronald’s bedroom. The initial exorcism, spanning February 28 to March 3, 1949, produced eerie scratches forming the words “Hell” and “Christ” on his skin, as objects moved of their own accord.
The decisive session on March 16, led by Father Bowdern, culminated in the family’s baptism into Catholicism. On April 18, 1949, Ronald convulsed, fell to the floor, and whispered, “He is gone,” signaling the demon’s departure.
4 Salvador Dali
Did you know that the legendary surrealist painter Salvador Dali underwent an exorcism in 1947? After enduring a series of unsettling episodes and breaking away from the Surrealist movement due to ideological clashes, Dali sought the aid of Friar Gabriele Maria Berardi.
In gratitude, the artist presented the friar with an original artwork. The exorcism was said to address the turbulent inner demons that had plagued Dali during that turbulent period of his life.
3 Gottliebin Dittus
In 1843, Pastor Johann Christoph Blumhart confronted a terrifying case involving Gottliebin Dittus, a young congregant plagued by classic possession signs. She would levitate, hurl filth at Christ, the Church, and directly at Pastor Blumhart, while dark apparitions surrounded her, screaming about fallen angels and specific hellish demons.
During moments of lucidity, Gottliebin begged Jesus for salvation, pleading for the heavens’ power to release her. Her convulsions persisted sporadically over the next year, prompting regular exorcism sessions led by Blumhart and the congregation. After a final, intense rite, she was freed, never again tormented by demonic forces.
2 George Lukins
In 1788, 44‑year‑old George Lukins of England found himself haunted by seven distinct demons, prompting the involvement of seven clergymen. The ordeal began back in 1770 when Lukins attempted a devout Christmas celebration, only to burst into demonic songs sung backward in Latin, terrifying onlookers.
When the exorcism finally took place on a Friday the 13th, the clergymen gathered in a local church, chanting and praying while Lukins shouted in tongues, demanding to showcase demonic power to humanity. After a fierce struggle, the possessed voices proclaimed their return to Hell, promising never to trouble Lukins again.
1 Elizabeth Knapp
During the colonial era in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a sixteen‑year‑old indentured servant named Elizabeth Knapp fell under a terrifying demonic grip. Lured by promises of wealth and an easy life, she quickly turned to the darker side of Christianity.
Elizabeth’s possession manifested through violent convulsions, verbal assaults on the reverend attempting to heal her, and grotesque contortions of her face. She uttered blasphemies with a wide‑open, motionless mouth, and her tongue stretched to an unnatural length, accompanied by blood‑curdling screams echoing around the room. Though eventually exorcised successfully, the trauma of the experience left indelible scars on her psyche.
Damien Rasberry, a spoken‑word poet, student, and cosmetologist from Denton, Texas, currently pursuing an associate’s degree in English with aspirations for a PhD, has a particular fascination with creepy, weird phenomena like those that haunted Elizabeth.