From The Real-Life ‘Conjuring’ To A Satanic Nun, Explore 9 Horrifying Tales Of Demonic Possession

Published October 25, 2022
Updated February 12, 2025

From a 19-year-old who stabbed his landlord because the "devil made him do it" to the woman who underwent a series of exorcisms across 23 days, these are nine of the most harrowing cases of alleged demonic possession in history.

There are some things in the world — bumps in the night, shadows in the corner of the eye — that seem to escape explanation. But the people in the stories below insist that the strange events they experienced were nothing short of demonic possession.

Some, like Latoya Ammons, had multiple witnesses — nurses, priests, and even police — to back up their stories. Others enlisted the help of paranormal investigators like Ed and Lorraine Warren, who also swear that the strange events in question actually happened.

These nine stories of demonic possession are chilling examples of the inexplicable, from people talking in tongues to random murders.

Nicole Aubrey And The ‘Miracle Of Laon’

Nicole Aubrey's Demonic Possession

API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesA depiction of Nicole Aubrey’s exorcism in Laon, France.

In November 1565, a French teenager named Nicole Aubrey (sometimes spelled Obry) started to suffer from a mysterious ailment in Vervins, France. She reportedly spoke in a “gruff” voice, refused to eat, and was racked with convulsions reportedly so violent that it took 12 or 15 men to hold her down.

Priests in Vervins determined that Aubrey was being possessed by a demon and tried to exorcise her. But they found that Aubrey’s demon was no run-of-the-mill evil spirit — it was “Beelzebub, the Prince of the Huguenots.”

Amidst the highly charged atmosphere between French Catholics and French Huguenots, or Protestants, Aubrey’s alleged demonic possession became more than a provincial affair. The Bishop of Laon himself was called to exorcise Aubrey and, when he failed, the teenager was transferred to Laon.

Town Of Laon

Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesThe town of Laon, France, and its majestic cathedral, photographed in 1895.

There, Aubrey’s alleged demonic possession became something of a public spectacle. According to Gizmodo, she was transferred every day from the convent where she was staying to the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Laon. As a rapt crowd listened, her demon gave sermons on the evil of the Huguenots.

“I with my obstinate Huguenots will do Him [Christ] more evil than the Jews did!” Aubrey is said to have roared. She also reportedly told the crowd that local Huguenots had taken a communion wafer, cut it up, and burned it.

Ultimately, priests were successful in their attempts to exorcise the “demon.” According to The Crime of Crimes: Demonology and Politics in France, 1560-1620, one eyewitness said that the demon finally left Aubrey’s body after producing smoke, thunder, and a thick fog that “encircled the belltowers of the church.”

It’s unknown what happened to Aubrey after that. But her alleged demonic possession caused waves in Laon, ratcheting up tensions between local Catholics and Protestants. The event — called the Miracle of Laon — even inspired copycat “possessions” elsewhere in France.

author
Kaleena Fraga
author
A senior staff writer for All That's Interesting since 2021 and co-host of the History Uncovered Podcast, Kaleena Fraga graduated with a dual degree in American History and French Language and Literature from Oberlin College. She previously ran the presidential history blog History First, and has had work published in The Washington Post, Gastro Obscura, and elsewhere. She has published more than 1,200 pieces on topics including history and archaeology. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.
editor
Jaclyn Anglis
editor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Jaclyn Anglis is the senior managing editor at All That's Interesting, where she has worked since 2019. She holds a Master's degree in journalism from the City University of New York and a dual Bachelor's degree in English writing and history from DePauw University. In a career that spans 11 years, she has also worked with the New York Daily News, Bustle, and Bauer Xcel Media. Her interests include American history, true crime, modern history, and science.
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Fraga, Kaleena. "From The Real-Life ‘Conjuring’ To A Satanic Nun, Explore 9 Horrifying Tales Of Demonic Possession." AllThatsInteresting.com, October 25, 2022, https://allthatsinteresting.com/demonic-possession. Accessed July 23, 2025.