Season 07 Episode 06: Look Me in the I (Pt.2 of 3)

met for walks or quiet conversation in the courtyard. In the meantime, she continued to attend Mass regularly, just as her mother requested, and also found time to visit Father Alt, who seemed pleased with her progress. One morning in Wurtzburg, a few months into her first term, and Eliza enters her local church to make confession. Perhaps it was the troubling thought she'd been having about Peter, or maybe it

was simply routine that led her there. After making the sign of the Cross at the back of the nave, she moves silently toward the confession box and lets herself inside, But when she tries to talk, the words stick in her mouth. Speak my child, came a croaky voice from the other side of the booth, and Eliza tried again, but still the words would not come out. She felt panic begin to rise up from within, and something seemed

to have her throat in its grip. In horror, she leaps from the confession booth and bolts out the church. A few days later, she suffers a seizure. Then the headaches return, plaguing her day after day, and soon the voices and faces have returned to the devil it seemed was back. For the next year, she struggles with her various ailments, making visits to Father Alt whenever they threatened

to completely overwhelm her. Each time it's the same, An oddly distracted ann Eliza would be brought to Alt's office. After some gentle insistence. She would kneel on the ground and bow her head. Then Alt would hold out his arms and begin the prayers, May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord make his face shine

on you. And each time, when Ault finished, he would make the sign of the cross and watch in astonishment, as like a flower turning to the sun, a newly bright and alert ann Eliza would be revealed before him in place of the dour and vacant young woman of only moments before. It was like a miracle for Analisa,

it was clear that only the church could save her. Old, however, insists that she continued to check in regularly with the university physician, who prescribes her yet another course of pills. Throughout it all, Peter, falling ever more in love, supports Annalisa however he can, but she is often saddened by the way her condition leaves her so lethargic and numb, Unable to reciprocate his love, things soon become strained between them.

In the end, Annelisa realizes she has little choice but to trust him with her terrible secret that something monstrous is trying to take over her mind. Peter is shocked at first, not quite knowing how to respond, but seeing the sincerity in her eyes, he tells her he believes her and promises to be there whenever she needs him. In her second year, worried that a loosening in her lifestyle might be to blame for letting the devil back in,

and Elisa gradually withdraws from her social circle. Now with a room or to herself, she finds new, more religiously committed friends like Maria, Kay and Anna to share her prayer sessions with. By early nineteen seventy five. Her efforts appear to be vindicated, as the voices and faces are

banished and the seizures clear up too. But in late spring, an Elisa's grandmother, a much loved and calming influence, passes away at her home in Klingenburg, with her sister Barbara now living in Sulzbach and Gertrude working in Spain, and Elisa feels something shifting away from her, as though she

were a boat suddenly unmoored. A few days later, she sits with Anna and Maria ready to begin their prayers, and Alisa can't seem to concentrate as Anna and Maria chat between themselves, their voices growing steadily louder and louder. Unable to think, and Alisa yells for them to be quiet. Anna and Maria turned to her in confusion. They'd been completely silent the whole time. Another time, and Alisa is

suddenly overcome with an uncontrollable anger. She tears down a picture of Christ from her wall, then grabs her rosary and rips it apart. The beads scatter loudly across the floor. Unable to calm down, a terrified an Alisa runs to the church to pray, but as she reaches the threshold,

something seems to have her in its grip. No matter how hard she tries to enter, her legs will not move across the threshold, and Alisa rushes back to her room, slamming the door shut behind her, and there she stays is all night as the voices come again, begging her to join them. The next morning, a desperate Ana Lisa calls Father Alt. He is met by Ane Lisa's friend Anna, who leads him up to the room. When he arrives, An Elisa is crying quietly in her bed, clutching a

new rosary tightly in her hands. Anna watches from the doorway as Father Alt kneels by the bed and urges an Alisa to pray with him as tears stream down her face. I believe in God. I believe tature of Heaven, traitor of Heaven. Moments later, Alt watches in horror as an unearthly scream is ripped from Anna Lisa's throat. Father Alt turns to a stunned Anna. Has she taken her pills? He asks, as an Elisa continues to scream in anguish yes, I saw her take them. She says, get Peter now

says Alt. Alt makes the sign of the Cross and quickly and quietly utters the solemn blessing may God, the Father of lights, who is pleased to Analisa's breaths begin to slow, until finally she is stilled. Alt stares at her in the ensuing silence. It is time, he thinks, taking a moment to steal himself, he places his hand on her head and begins, I Father, Ernst Alt, minister of Christ and the Church, in the name of Jesus Christ, command you, unclean spirit, if you lie hidden in the

body of this woman created by God. At first there is nothing. Then Alt feels movement under his hand slowly, and Lisa lifts her head, Her face twisted into an angry, grotesque grimace, is almost unrecognizable. Then her body begins to contort and writhe under Ault's hand as he holds firm and Elisa grabs at her rosary, ripping it to shreds before throwing it across the room. A breathless Anna arrives with Peter, but before they can speak an Elisa fixes Peter with a wild eyed stare and in a rough

guttural voice, she screams for him to get out. She's eventually calmed and gently ushered to sleep, but all who were present are left in no doubt as to what they have witnessed. That summer, Annalisa's mind drifts between lucidity and confusion. She continues to suffer seizures, and sometimes she just freezes and seems to vanish completely from behind her eyes. She and Peter agree that whenever she enters one of these strange trances, he should look her in the eyes

to see if she is still present. If she is able to move them when he asks, he will know that she is still there. By mid July nineteen seventy five, and Elisa is back home living with her family in Klingenberg. One afternoon, Father Oldt's colleague, father Carl Roth, is in his office when the phone rings. He answers it to find the trembling voice of Analisa's father, Joseph Michael. On the other end of the line. Analisa can be heard screaming in the background, having been unable to get hold

of father Alt. Joseph asks if Roth can help them instead. Father Roth agrees to see what he can do and arrives at the house a few hours later. When he steps inside, he is immediately overwhelmed by a foul stench, as if something putrid has just been set on fire. The smell intensifies as Joseph leads him through to the kitchen, where he stops abruptly at the sight of Anna Lisa, standing stiff in the middle of the room, as if in a deep trance. Then, without warning, she suddenly sprints

towards Roth. The terrified priest only has time to stumble backwards before she stops again, sudden and rigid, no more than a meter away from him. Roth can only stare at her in amazement as she regards his face for a moment before flinging herself back towards the other side of the room. Wrath fumbles for his crucifix and hurriedly holds it out in front of him. The sight of it sends Anna Lisa into a fit of rage. Stop it, you're tormenting me, she shrieks. A deeply disturbed Wrath feels

very out of his depth. Unwilling to do any more, he promises to inform Father Alt of everything he's seen, and then swiftly leaves the house. Together, Fathers Wrath and Alt take their findings to local head Bishop Joseph Stangele and implore him to grant them permission to conduct an exorcism. Stangle agrees to a small exorcism, a test to determine if a more comprehensive exorcism is required. A few days later, on Sunday, third of August, Wrath and Alt return to

the Michael's home. The now twenty three year old and Elsa sits patiently on her bed before the two priests as Alt pulls a small black book from his case, then kneels down before her most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael, the archangel, says Alt, and Alisa's eyes draw closed slowly. Her head begins to lull, while her body starts to twist. What begins as a moan

grows steadily to a full on growl. Defenders in our battle against principalities and powers, continues Alt, Stop it's burning my arms, she cries. The priest continues, unmoved, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Without warning, and Elisa flings forward, trying to knock the prayer book from Alt's grasp, but is restrained by her parents. Yejoseph and Anna father's alt

and wrath have seen enough. While the family wait for the church to decide what to do next, Joseph and Anna struggled to keep the worst of it at bay with prayers and the Rosary, but nothing seems to work. One morning, Anna finds Anna Lisa in her bedroom, gasping for air as an invisible force appears to be shoving her face down against the floor, but any attempt to get her up or straighten her out results in a

terrifying choking fit that Joseph can't bear to watch. As quickly as the fits begin, they can just as quickly stop, leaving Anna Lisa in bizarre catatonic states. When the hot summer days reach their peak, she tears at her clothes and runs naked through the house in a desperate attempt to cool down. At night, having moved moved into the attic, she can be heard running about the room accompanied by endless,

blood curdling screams. One morning, Anna finds Anna Lisa staring at a spider as it makes its way across the floor. Before she has time to intervene, the young woman has put it in her mouth and swallowed it whole. Anna Lisa senses clouds of flies amassing around her, while strange, distorted creatures scuttle about in the shadows. All religious iconography

is torn from the walls or smashed to pieces. On one especially difficult day with father Olt on holiday, Jesuit priest and exorcism specialist Father Rudovic is sent for He arrives to find Anna Lisa lying on the kitchen floor in a trance with small open wounds on her hands and feet that Anna claims appeared one morning without reason. After shepherding Ana Lisa to the sofa, Rodovic confirms to Anna and Joseph that a force of immense evil has

possessed their daughter. Rodovic takes hold of Analisa's hands and in a clear, assertive voice, he asks, what is your name? Analisa's eyes roll back and her head lulls from side to side. I am Judas, she replies in a low, unfamiliar tone. Moments later, Annalisa opens her eyes and looks at Father Roderick, as if only seeing him then for the first time. When Father Rodovic makes his report, the church agrees unanimously to proceed with a full exorcism, sadly

for Analisa. By then, Father Alt had moved to Edelburn, one hundred kilometers away, and was unable to commit fully to the task. Instead, it falls to the much respected Father Arnold Rents of the nearby Salvation Monastery to lead the ritual. Alt agrees to join him for the first day, and so it is that at four p m. On the twenty fourth of September nineteen seventy five, Fathers, Rents and Alt arrive at the Michael household to begin the

blessed exorcism. Right of the rituale Romanum, Anna and Joseph have prepared a room upstairs at the back, in the hope that the sound of Analisa's screams will not be heard by the neighbours. Father's, Rents and Alt enter the room to find Annalisa waiting patiently for them on a wooden chair. Seated around her are her parents Anna and Joseph, and her sisters Barbara and Rosweather, and the ever dependable Peter, who has stuck with Anna Lisa through it all. Her

neighbour Tea Heine and her husband complete the congregation. To the left is a makeshift altar laid with a clean white cloth, on which is placed a crucifix bearing a statue of Christ, along with framed pictures of the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Michael, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The group watching anxious silence as Father Rents in his white and black robes, lays his briefcase on a side table and removes the purple stole before solemnly placing it around

his shoulders. Next, he takes out a vial of holy water and relics of Pope Pious the Tenth and Saint Vincent. With great trepidation. RNs shares a look with Father Aldt before turning to Annalisa. Holding his Bible in one hand, RNs makes the sign of the Cross with the other, then takes the vial of holy water and flicks it lightly over the nervous congregation. When he comes to Annalisa, the touch of the water causes her to jerk and growl in pain. Rosswether's eyes widen in horror as Barbara

squeezes her hand. After a brief pause, RNs drops down to his knees. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, they all murmur in reply. As Rence proceeds with the litany of the Saints, a strange moan escapes Annalissa's mouth as her body becomes more and more restless. Saint Luke, Saint Mark RNs continues. An Alisa thrusts forward, her legs kicking out violently. Her hind rushes towards her, and together with Peter and Joseph, they forced the young woman back down

into her seat. She growls and flashes wildly in response as the three men struggle to hold her down, her teeth gnashing as she tries to bite their skin. I command you, continues RNT, unclean spirit, whoever you are, along with all your minions, now attacking this servant of God. Then a monstrous scream erupts from deep in Anna Lisa's throat. Stop with that shit, she shouts her mother. Anna gasps, struggling to hold back tears as all in the room

stare in terrified amazement. Father Rents places his hand on Analisa's head as she continues to growl and squirm underneath him. They shall lay their hands upon the sick and all will be well with them another flick of holy water as Anna Lisa, howling again in pain. Put that shit away, she yells, Unable to keep her safely on the chair any longer. Peter and Joseph help Annalisa onto a small couch at the back of the room. Emboldened by Father

Rentz's words, the congregation break into a gentle song. Annalisa cries out at the sound of every word, as if they are being carried to her on waves of fire. After sixteen hours of relentless battling, Father Rents brings the session to an end in a moment of lucidity, and Elisa implores him to continue, but Rents is wary of pushing too hard and insists they finish for the night,

telling them all that a long road lies ahead. Over the next month, Father Rents and the others will gather eight times in that little room at the back of the house, occasionally breaking for tea and cake. During the more exhausting sessions. Sometimes Anne Elisa becomes so enraged they bind her hands and feet to protect her from herself. Those who attempt to restrain her complain of a great

weight pushing down on them. Whenever they draw near. Often ann Elisa will return to her normal self, her mind sharp and clear, only to be seemingly taken over again by the dark spirits and their wretched voices. On the times that he can be there, Father Alt tests an Alisa by switching languages, questioning the voices in Dutch or Latin,

but every time they seem to understand. During one session, she again develops the four wounds on each of her hands and feet, the marks of the stigmata, according to Father Rents. After weeks of interrogation, Analisa's tormentors seemingly reveal themselves as Nero, Cain, Lucifer, Hitler, and Judas, each of their names uttered from Annalissa's lips with the same guttural growl. One afternoon, Father Olt is telling the family about a disgraced priest by the name of Valentine Fleischmann who ran

Alt's parish back in the sixteenth century. When Analisa lets out a terrible scream. They watch in horror as her body twitches and her face shifts into strained shapes, as if something were trying to come through her skin, and a sixth demon announces itself. It is Fleischmann, says the

voice coming from Anna Lisa's lips. Father Old is astonished when the voice then later recounts how it had once killed a man and battered a woman, in details that could only have been gleaned from the archives of his Ethelburn Parish. In the days between sessions, and Elisa incredibly is able to study for her end of term exams. Other times, her mother finds her staring off into space while simultaneously kicking the underside of her bed until her

feet split open and bleed. In October, and Elisa is sitting alone in her bedroom when another voice appears to her, one she has not heard before. It is soft, gentle, and loving. The voice announces itself as the Mother of God. It tells Anna Lisa to be brave, and that she must endure all this torment, to carry the burden of so much sin that has befallen the world. She need not fear, it says, she will be free soon. All the while, the sessions continue recorded by Father Rents on

a reel to reel tape recorder. Some nights he plays the recordings back to Bishop Stangle as together they sit and wrapped in the dim light of his office, while the supposed voices of Satan's minions echo around the room. On the twenty ninth of October, the voices deliver an unexpected message they will leave on All Hallows Night, Saturday thirty. First gathering on that day in the small back room, an air of cautious optimism descends as the family take

their places around the stricken Analsa. In the name of the Holy Trinity, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I command you to go out, never to return, repeats Father Rents. A splash of holy water is followed by Analysa's agonizing screams, but the voices refuse to appear, until finally one of them gurgles up. Who are you, asks Father Rents? Are you? Fleischmann asks Father Alt yes, I go now. It rasps into hell, demands alt yes. Anne Elisa doubles over and wretches violently.

Then a swift growl of Hail Mary, full of Grace is heard and the room falls completely silent. Father Rents is the first to break the silence. Fleischmann has gone. Now it is the turn of the others. Then, one by one, the supposed hitler Caine, and then Nero all seemingly take their leave from ann Alisa's body. The announcement from each voice is accompanied by horrific screams as they

beg Father rents not to send them back to hell. Finally, it is only Lucifer left with a raspy hail Mary full of grace, It too, seemingly takes its leave from Analisa's body, sending an exhausted Annalsa collapsing back onto the sofa. A waning moon hangs outside the window in the dark autumn night. As a long forgotten silence returns to the Michel household. There are gasps and apprehensive murmurs as Ana Lisa begins to stir, coming round as if from a dream.

Is it over? She asks meekly. It seems the Mother of God's apparent words have come true. The congregation weep with joy and break into song, the elated voices rising as a majestic euphoria floods the room, so much so that they don't hear it at first, the shallow gurgle snaking through the gentle choral melodies, turning into another horrified scream that brings the joyous hymn to an abrupt end.

They turn in terror towards Annalisa, now sitting up again on the sofa with a strange smile playing on her lips. But I am not yet, out comes a coarse voice. A rare window of good health the following week enables Annalisa to return to Wurtzburg to take her theology exams. The next few months are spent traveling back and forth to Klingenburg as Father Rents continues unsuccessfully to coax a

name from the demon, who refuses to be exercised. When Anealissa's friends ask where she's been, she offers only that an illness has kept her from her studies. As the year draws to a close, there's no let up from the unnamed voice that plagues her every waking hour and who spits and rages at the Rents whenever he comes near. In early nineteen seventy six, the voice finally reveals itself. I am Lucifer, it says, insisting that it never actually left.

One evening in the dorm, Lucifer tells Anna Lisa to press her face to the floor. Do it until you can't breathe anymore, he says, Now strip naked and go to Anna's room and climb under her sheets. Anna Lisa screams as her body seems to undress itself until she is finally released. She puts her clothes back on and climbs, terrified and shaking, into bed, and there she shivers all through the night, begging for a piece that never comes.

You've been listening to Unexplained Season seven, episode six, look Me in the Eye, Part two of three. The third and final part will be released next Friday, October sixth. This episode was written by Richard McLain Smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, with stories never before featured on the show, is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon,

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