The Real "Emily Rose"

Is demonic possession real? Or is there a psychological explanation behind it all?

Based on a true story, a movie called The Exorcism of Emily Rose was released in 2005. The name of the girl the movie is based on is Annelise Michel. She was born in 1952 and grew up in Germany. At the age of 16 Annelise began to shake uncontrollably and when taken to a clinic, she was diagnosed with having Grand Mal epilepsy. Soon after, she began hearing evil voices and seeing devilish grimaces. Anneliese and her parents believed that she was possessed by a number of demons.

When conventional medicine failed, her parents turned to the Catholic Church for help. At first the request for an exorcism was denied. However after a tape was made of Annelise speaking in tongues and different voices, the Church agreed to perform the exorcism.

Father Arnold Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt performed 67 rites of exorcism on Annelise, also known as "Rituale Romanum". For months the exorcism was performed on a weekly basis but the attacks continued along with her bizarre behavior. She stopped eating and her knees ruptured from the 600 genuflections she performed obsessively.

On July 1, 1976 Annelise died of starvation. Immediately following her passing, a prosecutor began an investigation into her death.

In the end, her parents and the priests were found guilty of manslaughter and received probation for three years. "The Catholic Church, which had authorized the exorcism, reversed itself and declared it a case of mental illness."(Wikipedia)

Was poor Annelise possessed by demons? Or did she fall victim to an neurological disorder?