The Halloween candy is gone, the costumes have been donated, and the ghosts and goblins have gone back into hiding. And yet, the case of Anneliese Michel, a German teenager whose story unfolded in the late 1960s and early ’70s, still haunts me.

Anneliese was a shy, devout Catholic girl living in a farmhouse in Klingenberg, Germany. Then something happened that left her family, doctors, and eventually the Church scrambling to figure out what was going on.

It started with strange moods, tremors, and behavior that nobody could explain. (Could she be a hippie?) Before long, things took a decidedly unpleasant turn. Anneliese began tearing off her clothes (well, it was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius), knocking crucifixes off walls, and destroying rosaries.

She crawled under tables, growled, and barked like a dog. Was she a furry? On other occasions, she reportedly performed hundreds of squats in a row. The Huz (short for husband) once held the Guinness World Record in squats per 24 hours. I'm good with a stroll.

Food became another problem. She refused to eat, claiming she wasn’t allowed. Instead, she reportedly consumed spiders, flies, and even coal. How delicious!

Her doctors believed she was suffering from epilepsy and other psychiatric problems. Epilepsy? Perhaps not the whole story. Psychiatric problems? Possibly. Ultimately, her neurological tests gave no clear answer.

In desperation, her parents, believing something more sinister was afoot — like a cloven foot — enlisted two Catholic priests to perform an official exorcism. And yes, formal exorcisms can still be performed today, but only after a thorough medical, psychological, and spiritual evaluation, and only with the permission of the local bishop.

Anneliese continued to convulse, see disturbing visions, hear voices, and experience dramatic changes in behavior. The recordings of the exorcism sessions are unsettling, leaving room for questions. They don't prove possession, but who among us can say with absolute certainty what was happening to her?

Over the course of several months, the priests conducted sixty-seven sessions during which Anneliese reportedly contorted her face, spoke in strange voices, and exhibited increasingly disturbing behavior. The tragedy culminated on June 30, 1976. By then, Anneliese was desperately weak and unable to stand. Her final recorded words included pleas for absolution and an expression of fear to her mother. The following morning, she died.

Her death sparked a legal investigation, and her parents and the two priests were eventually convicted of negligent homicide. All four received six-month prison sentences, but those sentences were suspended, so none served time behind bars. Naturally, Hollywood took an interest. The story inspired the 2005 film The Exorcism of Emily Rose, starring Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, and Jennifer Carpenter. Apparently, real-life tragedies aren't unsettling enough without adding a soundtrack and dramatic lighting.

What stays with me is that Anneliese was surrounded by people who believed they were trying to help her. We all have our ways of dealing with things we don't understand. And sometimes, despite our best efforts, we simply cannot save one another.