This Exorcism Consultant Opened Up About The Creepiest Case He Ever Worked On
The Subject Seemed To Have Uncanny Knowledge
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistGallagher was brought into meet "Julia," a woman who dressed in flowing black robes and put on black eye shadow that went back to her temples. She referred to herself as "the high priestess of a satanic cult," which made Gallagher immediately skeptical of her claims. His skepticism began to fade when he met Julia and she immediately began to point out the secret weaknesses of everyone in the room. After that she began to guess the way that people whom she'd never met had died. Gallagher says that Julia knew that his mother had passed away from ovarian cancer and that the possessed woman was known to speak multiple languages during exorcisms.
Julia's Possession Was Different Than A Normal Case
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistOne of the major criticisms lobbed at Dr. Gallagher's relationship with Julia is his insistence that she wasn't simply dealing with a major mental episode. He claims that it was much more likely that she was possessed by a demonic entity than it was that she was dealing with a psychotic episode, as Julia's trances were much more intense than a simple disassociation. He wrote in the New Oxford Review: "Mentally troubled individuals often 'dissociate,' but Julia's trances were accompanied by an unusual phenomenon: Out of her mouth would come various threats, taunts and scatological language, phrases like 'Leave her alone, you idiot,' 'She's ours,' 'Leave, you imbecile priest,' or just 'Leave.'" Gallagher continues, saying that Julia made sure to be as sacrilegious during her trances.
Julia Reportedly Levitated As Objects Moved By Themselves
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistWhen Julia's exorcism finally occurred, it allegedly had all the trappings of your classic Hollywood film. The room grew cold in the middle of the summer. Julia taunted Gallagher's team of priests and nurses in voices that didn't belong to her. She began to make guttural, animalistic noises. Supposedly, objects moved around the room at will, and to top it all off, when Julia came out of each one of her "trances" she didn't remember anything that had happened. According to one source, Julia took on an extreme strength, making it so six people had to hold her down. The source also claims that she levitated, however in Dr. Gallagher's article for The Washington Post he says that he never saw anything like that happen.
Julia And Dr. Gallagher Faced Off
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistBefore Dr. Gallagher's first meeting with Julia, he experienced an incredibly strange evening that would be a precursor for what followed. Gallagher claimed, "The night before I first saw her, our cats went wild in the middle of the night. When I met her the next day, she asked me: ‘Dr. Gallagher, how did you like those cats?” That's not the most auspicious beginning for a relationship, but it seems par for the course when you're dealing with demons. Gallagher continued, "I told her if she was ever involved in doing anything like that again, I would refuse to assess her for her exorcist."
That wasn't the only time that Julia messed with Dr. Gallagher's head from thousands of miles away. He claims that one day when he was on the phone with Julia's exorcist, they suddenly heard her voice coming through the receiver. Gallagher says that she was "screaming at the priest in a demonic voice.”
Julia Seemingly Displayed Psychic Abilities
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistAside from Julia's voices and the horrible things she would say to everyone during her eight exorcisms, she also had a penchant for describing things about the team assembled to help her that no one should know. During Julia's trances she would display psychic abilities that absolutely freaked everyone out. In one case, she locked in on a priest who wasn't even in the house and began to described where he was at and how he was feeling. Another priest who was directly involved with Julia's case was consistently reported on when Julia was in a trance. Despite not knowing that the priest suffered from a chronic illness, she would discuss how he was feeling, what he was doing, and even what he was wearing.
The Demon Appeared To Be Incredibly Intelligent
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistEvery case of demonic possession is different. Some demons are lower creatures who are simply lashing out at the corporeal world, while others are incredibly crafty creatures who want nothing more than to cause chaos. The demon inhabiting Julia was definitely an intelligent being that seemed hell-bent on destroying the faith of every member of the exorcism team. Proving the demon's intelligence, it allegedly knew when the priests were trying to trick it by throwing regular water at her and would only react to genuine holy water. She was also able to reveal the facts about the past of the attendees and provide a family history of everyone in the room.
Julia Sought Out Exorcism
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistIn most cases of exorcism, it's usually the family or a loved one who seeks out the Catholic church in order to free their friend or family member from the clutches of demonic possession. In the case of Julia, it was the woman herself who went to a local priest. Gallagher believes that she was "conflicted" and that she "wanted to be relieved of the possession." Gallagher later said that the whole case was strange because Julia continued to be involved with a Satanic cult throughout her work with the Catholic church.
"Julia was perfectly aware that she was possessed and she did not like that. It turned out that she refused to leave the cult, so she was not someone who was going to be helped. But she was also afraid of the cult. She was torn.”
Dr. Gallagher Differentiated Between Demons And Mental Illness
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistDr. Gallagher is open about how most of the patients he sees who may be possessed by a demon are dealing with a psychotic episode. Most of the people who believe they're being assaulted by demons are actually dealing with dissociative identity syndromes. Priests call this “pseudo-possession,” but make no mistake - that's a mental disorder.
According to Dr. Gallagher, real possessions have tell-tale signs that are incredibly hard to fake; things like levitation and having what he calls "uncommon knowledge." Gallagher admits that he's never seen a person levitate, although he believes that some of his associates have witnessed this feat. After studying a patient, he'll let priests know whether or not the symptoms put off by the person he's studying can be medically explained or not and leave it at that. However, in the case of Julia, things weren't so cut and dried.
Dr. Richard Gallagher Began His Life As A Skeptic
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistDr. Richard Gallagher is an Ivy-League trained - at Princeton and Yale - psychiatrist working in Westchester County, New York, with a private practice. In an article in The Washington Post, he describes himself as a practicing Catholic and an admitted skeptic who doesn't believe in "hocus pocus." He believes this is why he was brought onto Julia's case. According to Gallagher, everyone involved didn't want this case to be about demonic possession, but they couldn't help it. Gallagher said, "The priest who had asked for my opinion of this bizarre case was the most experienced exorcist in the country at the time, an erudite and sensible man." Could it be that they were all having this faith tested by this alleged demon?
The Exorcism Was Ultimately Called Off
Photo: Warner Bros. / The ExorcistAccording to Dr. Gallagher, he and his team of exorcists weren't able to fully help Julia because she called off the exorcism. He claimed that she was conflicted about receiving help from the church. She said that she enjoyed the power she received when she channeled the demonic entity possessing her body. Gallagher said that she was "playing both sides," which seems like a reductive way of looking at the situation.
Gallagher stated, "Exorcism is not some kind of magical incantation. Normally, a person has to make their own sincere spiritual efforts, too." After calling off the exorcism, Gallagher said that he only heard from Julia one more time. She said that she was dying of cancer and was thinking about continuing her exorcism. Sadly he never heard from her again.
