1 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Humans often take for granted that we are ultimately responsible 2 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: for our actions, that the choices we make are governed 3 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: by nothing but our own free will. To question free 4 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: will is to question not only moral responsibility, but also 5 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: the very notion of the self. After all, if you 6 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: take away our conscious agency, then who or what exactly 7 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: are we? If, for example, we take a Newtonian deterministic 8 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: view of the universe and accept the universe as a 9 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,639 Speaker 1: place in which every event is caused by a pre 10 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: existing set of conditions that in turn result in predetermined actions, 11 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: we would have to concede that free will in the 12 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: strictest sense is an impossibility. Our acts, as John Gray 13 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: notes in his two thirds thousand and three book straw Dogs, 14 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: would be nothing but end points in long sequences of 15 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: unconscious responses. Intrigued by this idea, in nineteen eighty, neuroscientist 16 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: Benjamin Labette devised an experiment to try and determine whether 17 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: our actions are conscious choices or not, with some surprising results. 18 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,199 Speaker 1: In Labette's study, titled Unconscious Cerebral Initiative and the Role 19 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: of Conscious Will in Voluntary Action, participants were first hooked 20 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: up to an electro encephalogram or EEG machine. The device 21 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: uses electrodes placed directly on the sculp to measure communication 22 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: between brain cells. With this set up, the subjects were 23 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: then tasked with carrying out a simple function, such as 24 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: pressing a button or flexing their wrist, while at the 25 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: same time making a note of when they decided to 26 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: carry out the action. After comparing the participants per set 27 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: of when they decided to act with the actual brain 28 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: function instigating the act, Labette and his team discovered that 29 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: these seemingly voluntary choices were being initiated up to zero 30 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: point three to five seconds before the subjects were aware 31 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: of them. The implications of Labette's findings were fiercely debated, 32 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: with some suggesting that this small delay is just a 33 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: period of latency between the brain initiating the action and 34 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: our actual conscious awareness that we'd initiated it. However, this 35 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: was challenged significantly in two thousand and eight after a 36 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: series of similar experiments conducted by a team of scientists 37 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: led by Professor John Dilan Haynes at the Max Planck 38 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: Institute in Germany revealed that some of our so called 39 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: decisions might actually occur in the brain as much as 40 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: seven seconds before we become aware of them. Perhaps a 41 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: little unnerved by the results, Professor Haynes was quick to 42 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: leave the door open for free will, stating that it 43 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 1: remained to be seen if such decisions could also be 44 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: reversed or deliberately not acted on either way, the idea 45 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: that free will is little more than a useful illusion 46 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: is unnerving, to say the least, And although we might 47 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: yet come to accept this as merely a quirk of 48 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: life for others, the implication speaks of something else, entirely, 49 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: something far more sinister. If we aren't in control of 50 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: our minds, then who or what is To travel upstream 51 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: along the placid waters of the River Mine from where 52 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: it joins the Mighty Rhine is to enter an enchanted 53 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: world of ancient forest, colorful wedding cake towns, and neatly 54 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: treted castles, as if lifted straight from a grim fairy tale. 55 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: It may be of little surprise, then, to learn that 56 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: the Grim Brothers were born in Hanau, one of the 57 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: first towns you encounter heading east out of Frankfort, the 58 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 1: largest city on the river. Following the waters south into Bavaria, 59 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: you'll soon find yourself caught between the Odenwald mountain ranges 60 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: to the west and the low lying Spssart Hills to 61 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: the east. It is from these ancient mountains, with woods 62 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: of oak, beech and fir, that tales such as Snow 63 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: White and Handsome and Gretel are thought to have originated, 64 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: before being compiled and eventually published as the Grim's Fairy 65 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:49,359 Speaker 1: Tales in eighteen twelve. If you were to travel deeper 66 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: into these mythical lands, you might come across a place 67 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: where four roads meet, and had you stumbled upon it 68 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: one dark night centuries ago, so you may have spied 69 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: a young doctor by the name of Faustus standing in 70 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: the forest alone, drawing mystical circles in the earth and 71 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:15,039 Speaker 1: speaking strange incantations into the wind. Perhaps you would then 72 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: have continued to watch in secret as the young man's 73 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: chants were drowned in a cacophony of inhuman sound, while terrifying, 74 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,919 Speaker 1: monstrous apparitions appeared in the air around him, threatening to 75 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: emerge from some other place. If you hadn't already succumbed 76 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: to fear and made a hasty retreat, you might have 77 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: seen one such apparition finally take shape a demon and 78 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: servant of Lucifer by the name of Mephistopheles, as recounted 79 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: in the legendary tale of Doctor Faustus. Elsewhere southwest of 80 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: the Spressart Hills lies a pretty hamlet of colorful stucco 81 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: and half timber houses with neat terra cotta roofs, known 82 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: as Klingenberg. The town has weathered many storms throughout the years. 83 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: Some brought destruction, like King Louis the fourteenth of France, 84 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: whose troops raised Klingenberg Castle to the ground in sixteen eighty, 85 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: while others, such as invading Roman settlers from two thousand 86 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: years ago, left seeds that later blossomed into the well 87 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: established vineyards that today provide much of the town's trade. 88 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty two, Klingenberg, with its modest population of 89 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: three thousand, is part of Western Germany, a nation newly 90 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: forged from the ashes of the most destructive war the 91 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: world has ever known. The old flags of red and white, 92 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: with their black crooked symbols, that flew from the municipal 93 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: buildings only a few years before, have been taken down 94 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: and replaced by simple black, red and yellow stripes. It 95 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: is in this town one Sunday morning in September of 96 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: that year that Anna and Joseph Michel celebrate the birth 97 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: of their first child together. Twenty four years later, that 98 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: same child will be dead, the result, some have said, 99 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: of the most terrifying and convincing case of demonic possession 100 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: ever recorded. You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McLean Smith. 101 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: Back in nineteen forty eight, two hundred miles to the 102 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: east of Klingenburg, in the district of Libelfing, twenty eight 103 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: year old Anna Firk is in a desperate state. The 104 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: recent birth of her child, Martha, born out of wedlock, 105 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: has brought disgrace on her and her devout Catholic parents, 106 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: Terrified that their daughter will no longer be able to marry, 107 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: and as parents, spy an opportunity when they're introduced to 108 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: a young man named Joseph, recently arrived in town on 109 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: business with the help of the Diocese of Wurtzburg, and 110 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: it is rumored a few hundred Deutsche marks, the Firks 111 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: gift their daughter to the young man. Joseph and Anna, 112 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: shrouded in a black veil as a symbol of her disgrace, 113 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: were married. The following year. Despite their inauspicious beginnings, the 114 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: couple are happy together and soon settled down in Klingenberg, 115 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: where Joseph, now the head of his family's sawmill business, 116 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: lovingly builds them a house on a quiet street overlooking 117 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: Klingenberg Cemetery. It's a modest, two story home with cream 118 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: stucco walls and a high peaked roof, reminiscent of the 119 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: steep vineyard heiresses that slope up behind it before disappearing 120 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: into the foreboding Sbssart trees. Joseph loves Anna's daughter Martha 121 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: as his own, but his affection for her is nothing 122 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: compared to what he feels when his and Anna's first 123 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: child together arrives on a warm September morning in nineteen 124 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: fifty two. Born on the Lord's Day, it is only 125 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: fitting that she should be named Anna Lisa, meaning God 126 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: is Bountiful, and she is as beautiful a baby as 127 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: any parent could wish for. She is joined soon after 128 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: by sisters Gertrude, Maria, and Barbara, and together the four 129 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,680 Speaker 1: sweet children are a blessing on the pious and devoted 130 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: Anna and Joseph. But in nineteen fifty six, tragedy strikes. 131 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 1: A tumor is discovered in eight year old Martha's kidney, 132 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: which requires immediate surgery. Operation is not successful, and the 133 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: young Martha dies soon after. To the avowedly Catholic family, 134 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: it seems a particularly unfathomable tragedy. How could an innocent 135 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: child be so cruelly and suddenly snatched from them? But 136 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: part of Anna has always known this day would come. 137 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: Martha had come into the world a literal embodiment of 138 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: sin upon God's earth, and Anna had failed to compensate 139 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: for it. Clearly thinks Anna Martha's premature death was God's 140 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 1: inevitable revenge. Nevertheless, it is with great sorrow that Martha 141 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: is laid to rest in the cemetery next to the house, 142 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: albeit hidden away at the back in grounds set aside 143 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: for suicide and the so called illegitimate. Convinced now of 144 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: what she must do, Anna determines to make her second child, 145 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 1: Ann Eliza, her vessel for salvation. To this end, she 146 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 1: determines that she will do everything in her power to 147 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: make sure her daughter will never be without the Rosary 148 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: or skip Mass, and together they will win back God's love. 149 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:33,320 Speaker 1: Not long after Martha's death, An Eliza contracts measles, followed 150 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: by the mumps and scarlet fever. Naturally, Anna fears her 151 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,439 Speaker 1: efforts of once again being in vain, but after much praying, 152 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: ann Eliza's ailments soon subside and she becomes a healthy, 153 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: happy child once more. In the autumn of nineteen fifty eight, 154 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: a six year old ann Eliza takes her first communion 155 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: as Anna and Joseph watch proudly while she eats the 156 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: body and SIPs the blood of Christ. It is with 157 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:08,199 Speaker 1: the feeling of a great weight being lifted. The arrival 158 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: of another baby girl in December, christened ross Weather, comes 159 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: like a reward for all their efforts. Many happy years follow, 160 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: and at the age of twelve, Analiza graduates to the 161 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: Dalberg Gymnasium in Aschaffenburg. It is only a ten minute 162 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: train ride from her home, but those ten minutes spent 163 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:34,839 Speaker 1: gazing at the passing hills and bright yellow fields are 164 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: a freedom she's never known before. There are new friends 165 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: to be made, like Maria, whom Analiza regularly laughs and 166 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: jokes with on their daily commute, and over the next 167 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: few years there are other changes to biological changes and 168 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: feelings that Ann Eliza struggles to reconcile with the demands 169 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: of the scriptures. Though she desires to learn dance at 170 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: the local ball room like her sisters, her mother Anna 171 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: forbids it. Her place is at Mass, to give thanks 172 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: to the Mother of God, Anna reminds her, and to 173 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: show penance for all those less fortunate than herself. Some nights, 174 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: ann Eliza decides voluntarily to sleep on the floor as 175 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: a sign of contrition. So determined is she to show 176 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: her mother that she understands. But in spite of it all, 177 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 1: something is stirring. In the summer of nineteen sixty eight, 178 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: ann Eliza and Maria are working together in class when 179 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: Maria notices something amiss. Ann Eliza appears to have fallen 180 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:55,559 Speaker 1: asleep in her chair. Anneliza, she whispers to her, but 181 00:13:55,600 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: there is no reply. Aliza, she says, more forcefully, Is 182 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: it Alison Ordnunk? Is everything okay? Oh yeah, the turlish 183 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: replies Anna Lisa, finally suddenly seeming to snap out of 184 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: a daydream, before turning back to her work as if 185 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: nothing had happened. Later that night, she wakes with a start, 186 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: unable to catch her breath and her eyes wide in horror. 187 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: She tries to cry out for help, but no words 188 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: come out of her mouth. Her limbs are rigid, while 189 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: something strong and invisible seems to be pinning her down 190 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 1: to the bed. When she is finally released, a warm, 191 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: dampness spreads out from underneath her. She has wet the bed. 192 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: Keeping the events of that night to herself, the incident 193 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: is all but forgotten until a year later when it 194 00:14:55,480 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: happens again, only this time, her screams of terror are 195 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: heard throughout the house. The next morning, disturbed by the 196 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: previous night's events, Anna takes her daughter to seniorrologist doctor 197 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: Siegfried Lootie. The clipped and urbane Lootie finds little wrong 198 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: with Anna Lisa, but suggests taking an EEG test in 199 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: the hope of shedding some light on the cares of 200 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: her peculiar seizures. Two days later, a nervous Anna Lisa 201 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: sits in an examination room surrounded by the quiet hum 202 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: of machinery as a series of small, wiry electrodes are 203 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: stuck to her head. At the flick of a switch, 204 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: a continuous feed of paper begins streaming from a printer, 205 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: as a row of crooked metal arms make sharp lines 206 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: of color across the page. Anna squeezes her daughter's hand 207 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: with relay as Lutie regards the readings briefly before telling 208 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: them both that there is nothing to be concerned about. 209 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: A few weeks later, however, Analiza is struck down with 210 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: tonsilitis followed by bouts of pleurisy and pneumonia. In February 211 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine, having also contracted tuberculosis, a devastated Analza 212 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: is taken out of school, away from her friends, and 213 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: sent for treatment at Hokeburk's Clinic Sanatorium. The grand but 214 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: stark sanatorium, located on the edge of Middelburg on the 215 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: border of Western Germany and Austria, is nestled one thousand 216 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: feet high in the Algoy at the northern tip of 217 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: the Alps. The rarefied air and majestic views of the 218 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: Fussun Mountains should be the perfect tonic for Analza's lungs, 219 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: but there is no shaking the sense of foreboding on 220 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: her arrival as she approaches the isolation monolithic building with 221 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: the dark evergreen furs looming behind it. Inside, Anna Lisa 222 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: is led to her dormitory. With each step through the sanatoriums, 223 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: sterile iodic corridors. Young pallid faces appear in the approaching doorways, 224 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 1: keen to get a look at the latest visitor. However, 225 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: when she enters the dorm, the girls inside are quick 226 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: to welcome her into their makeshift commune, and the familiar 227 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:35,479 Speaker 1: chirrup of teenagers soon puts her at ease. As spring 228 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: turns to summer, Anna Lisa is making good progress until 229 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:46,639 Speaker 1: one night when everything changes. A throat ripping scream wakes 230 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 1: the girls and sends nurses sprinting down the halls to 231 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: Analisa's dorm. Only a few catch the faint whiff of 232 00:17:55,359 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: ammonia and notice the dampness of her sheets. All see 233 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: Anna Lisa shaking with terror. It isn't clear what has 234 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 1: set it off, but Ane Lisa is soon calmed and 235 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: moved to a clean bed, but she is too scared 236 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: to sleep. The next morning to check up, finds nothing 237 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: wrong in her dorm. A few weeks later, Anna Lisa 238 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: sits alone in the gloaming as the last of the 239 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: day's light fractures in a burst of golden orange from 240 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: behind the distant mountain peaks. Closing her eyes, she picks 241 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: up her rosary and starts to pray, our Father who 242 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy Kingdom Come. 243 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: She is still sitting in her chair, speaking to herself. 244 00:18:50,920 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: When the girls find her, Lisa, they say timidly, they 245 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: say again. It is as though she doesn't even register them. 246 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,199 Speaker 1: The girls look on with unease as an unresponsive Annalisa 247 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: continues to stare vacantly out of the window, her trembling 248 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: hands held up in front of her face, stiff and 249 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: rigid like claws. She seems to snap out of the 250 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: trance and turns silently to face the girls as an odd, 251 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:34,160 Speaker 1: beatific smile plays about her lips, the pupils of her 252 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: eyes like two vast black discs. In June, Ana Lisa 253 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: is taken for another EEG scan. This time it reveals 254 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 1: a slight anomaly in the pattern of her brain waves. 255 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: According to the doctors, it appears that Ana Lisa is 256 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: suffering from Grand Marle epilepsy and is prescribed a course 257 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: of anti convulsant pills to limit the chance of her 258 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: suffering from a seizure. A week later, alone in her room, 259 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,640 Speaker 1: she is again staring out the window as she passes 260 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: the rosary beads between her fingers. As she prays, something 261 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:24,359 Speaker 1: strange begins to take shape. Above the mountain peaks. The 262 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: crooked nose appears first, followed by a pair of oddly 263 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: twisted ears. Then comes a hideous mouth of gnashing teeth, 264 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: death and a pair of eyes that stared directly at 265 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: her from out of the sky. She tries to turn away, 266 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,159 Speaker 1: but something is stopping her, compelling her to look and 267 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: take it all in. When she is finally released from 268 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: its grip, she runs in terror to the back of 269 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: the room, screaming at all her confused and terrified roommates 270 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 1: to leave her alone. Afternoon a few days later, and 271 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,600 Speaker 1: Alisa is asked if she's been suffering any further issues 272 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:11,119 Speaker 1: during her stay, but she says no, fearful of what 273 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,959 Speaker 1: they might do to her if she tells them about 274 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: what she saw. After nearly six months in the sanatorium, 275 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: she has given a clean bill of health and returns home. 276 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 1: Now back home in Klingenberg after such a long time away, 277 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 1: and Alisa heads straight to her old bedroom. There, she 278 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:45,640 Speaker 1: takes a moment to reacquaint herself with all her old things. 279 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: Sitting on her bed, she runs a hand over her 280 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,639 Speaker 1: old prayer book on her bedside table, with the wild 281 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: flowers pressed inside it. She picks up her badly neglected 282 00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: diary and absent mindedly flicks through the pages. Then she 283 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: stands and strokes the framed picture of Jesus on her wall. Meanwhile, downstairs, 284 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: her sisters are speaking among themselves with quiet concern. Something 285 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:20,880 Speaker 1: isn't quite right with Anna Alsa, they say, she seems different. 286 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 1: Over the next few years, Annelisa excels at school and, 287 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 1: barring a few minor seizures, appears to be returning to 288 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:36,160 Speaker 1: a semblance of normality. In truth, she knew it would 289 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: only be a matter of time before it came for 290 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:45,720 Speaker 1: her again, and sure enough it did. It started one 291 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,159 Speaker 1: night in the spring of nineteen seventy three when she 292 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 1: was awakened by what sounded like a gentle knocking on 293 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: her door, but when she got up to open it, 294 00:22:56,080 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: there was nobody there. When this happened a number of times, 295 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: and Elisa felt compelled to tell her mother. She has 296 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: taken again to see the doctor, but they fail to 297 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: establish any explanation for the seemingly imaginary noises. When they 298 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: return home. An Alisa's sister, Barbara, asks her mother what 299 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: the visit was about this time, It's nothing, she replies, 300 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: and Elisa is imagining noises at night. But Mama says, Barbara, 301 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:36,400 Speaker 1: I have heard them too. In fact, as it turns out, 302 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: all of the sisters have been hearing it, the strange 303 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: soft banging coming from somewhere inside the house. Sometimes it 304 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: seems to come from inside the walls, sometimes from under 305 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: the floorboards, and sometimes it sounds like it's coming directly 306 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 1: from inside and Elisa's own wardrobe. One night, unheard by 307 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,920 Speaker 1: the rest of the family, and now twenty year old 308 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,719 Speaker 1: Anna Lisa awakes in the dark to find a voice 309 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:14,400 Speaker 1: is speaking to her. Join us in health, ever, join 310 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: us in health. Ever, join us in health. Forever, it 311 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: rasps over and over again. Join us in health, rev 312 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:23,920 Speaker 1: join us in health forever, in us in hell, forever, 313 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: join us in health. Health. Joseph is startled awake by 314 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 1: Anna Lisa screaming hysterically. Rushing to her bedroom, he finds 315 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:40,879 Speaker 1: his daughter writhing about in terror, with her hands clasped 316 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:45,959 Speaker 1: over her ears, begging the voices to stop. He grabs 317 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: his daughter and holds her tight until she eventually calms down. 318 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: In the summer of nineteen seventy three, Joseph takes Anna 319 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,639 Speaker 1: Lisa on a pilgrimage to central Italy to visit the 320 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: Garden of Rosa Quatrini Buzzini, a recently venerated shrine in 321 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:15,640 Speaker 1: the village of San Damiano, just east of Perugia. When 322 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:20,080 Speaker 1: Anna Lisa nears the garden, she appears suddenly crippled by 323 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: a searing pain in her feet, as if they were 324 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: on fire. When she next looks up, she is horrified 325 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: to find the faces of the other pilgrims have turned 326 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 1: into wide mouths of sharp, gnashing teeth, all coming for her. 327 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 1: Though the moment passes. On the coach back to Klingenberg, 328 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:44,359 Speaker 1: Annalisa rips an icon medallion from the neck of Tia Hine, 329 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: a friend and neighbor who'd organize the trip. Joseph apologizes 330 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,960 Speaker 1: profusely for her behavior, and shepherds his daughter back to 331 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,440 Speaker 1: their seats, trying his best to keep her calm, while 332 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 1: the rest of the passengers whisper and stare at them. 333 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: A few days later, Anna Lisa is back in doctor 334 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:10,120 Speaker 1: Lutie's office. The devil is in me, she tells him. 335 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: Lootie shifts uncomfortably for a moment in his chair and 336 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: looks to her mother Anna, then back to Anna Lisa. 337 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:24,360 Speaker 1: What do you mean exactly? He asks? He's been speaking 338 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 1: to me through them? And who were they? The demons? 339 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:34,920 Speaker 1: She says plainly, And these are the ones whose faces 340 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: you've seen? Yeah? And how do you recognize this as 341 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 1: the devil? Exactly? Anna Lisa looks to her mother as 342 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: if mulling over what to say, but is unable to reply. 343 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,679 Speaker 1: She knows that Lootie will never understand it is the 344 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:57,960 Speaker 1: last time she mentions anything to doctors about the gruesome 345 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: faces or tormenting voice. Is It is September nineteen seventy 346 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: three when father Ernst Anton Alt first learns about Analisa's case. 347 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 1: The tall and sharply bearded Alt, although relatively young at 348 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:19,160 Speaker 1: thirty five, is considered deeply thoughtful and intelligent by his peers. 349 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: He listens with great concern as Father Carl Roth recounts 350 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,240 Speaker 1: the meeting he's just attended concerning a possible case of 351 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 1: demonic molestation. But before Roth can say more, a strange 352 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: look comes over Father Alt, much to Roth's amazement. Alt 353 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: then proceeds to describe Ana Lisa and her family's situation 354 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: in complete detail. He claims to have no idea how 355 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: he was able to do this. Two days later, Father 356 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: Alt consults with another colleague, father Eduard Hermann, who'd also 357 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: been contacted by the desperate family. When Hermann hands Alt 358 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,320 Speaker 1: to letters he received from Anna and Joseph outlining the case, 359 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: Alt is overcome by a strange nausea. It is, he believes, 360 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: as though something were warning him to stay away. Disturbed 361 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: by his strange reaction to the case, Father Alt wastes 362 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: little time in arranging to speak with the family. On 363 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: first meeting, the now twenty one year old Anna Lisa 364 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: is a little taken by surprise at how lucid and determined, 365 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: albeit a little pale, she seems considering everything he's heard 366 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: about her predicament. I am looking for people who believe me, 367 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: she tells him, wasting little time in pleasantries. At first, 368 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 1: her conviction seems reassuring, but after an hour of examination, 369 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: Father Alt and Father Wrath are left in little doubt 370 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 1: that Annalisa is indeed in the grip of a terrifying possession. However, 371 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: not wanting to cause any alarm to Annalisa or her family, 372 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: the pair decide to keep their judgment to themselves and 373 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 1: agree to simply observe her over the coming weeks and 374 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: months before deciding what they should do next. In the meantime, 375 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: ann Elisa is encouraged to continue living her life as 376 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: she has always done. Around this time, she gains entry 377 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 1: onto the University of Wurtzburg's teacher training course. In November, 378 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: Galvanized by her regular consultations with father Aldt, she travels 379 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: to Wurtzburg to begin her studies. After moving into the 380 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: university's dark, five story dormitory, she spends the next few 381 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: months attending lectures and making new friends. There are ups 382 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 1: and downs with Annalisa, sometimes stay entire days in her 383 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 1: room to lethargic to even speak to anyone, But on 384 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: one of her better nights, she is dragged to a 385 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: dance at the dormitory as euphoric rock and roll shimmers 386 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 1: from the speakers. A young man with soft, pale skin 387 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: and dark wavy hair watches from the edge of the 388 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: hall as Anna Lisa dances blissfully under the smoky haze 389 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:31,080 Speaker 1: and dimmed lights. He introduces himself as Peter. She likes 390 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: his eyes and his gentle self assurance and something about 391 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 1: him puts her immediately at ease. They agree to meet 392 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: up again, and in the days that follow, Peter grows 393 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: ever more fond of the enigmatic young woman from Klingenberg, 394 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,560 Speaker 1: and in those first flushes of young love, it seems 395 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: that an Eliza might finally be able to put her 396 00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: troubles of the past behind her. But all that was 397 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 1: about to change in more horrific and terrifying ways than 398 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: anybody could ever have imagined. You've been listening to Unexplained, 399 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: Season seven, episode six, look Me in the Eye, Part 400 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:23,640 Speaker 1: one of three. This episode was written by Richard mc 401 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: lean smith. Unexplained. The book and audio book, with stories 402 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: never before featured on the show, is now available to 403 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 1: buy world wide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, 404 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show 405 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts, and feel free to get 406 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories 407 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,640 Speaker 1: you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation 408 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,320 Speaker 1: of your own you'd like to share. You can find 409 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: out more at Unexplained podcast dot com and reach us 410 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook 411 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:09,840 Speaker 1: dot com forward Slash Unexplained podcast