53 - Exorcism: The death of Christine Taylor

Update: 2019-10-27

Description

This week, we delve into the world of the paranormal - sort of.

In 1974, in the small town of Ossett, northern England, Michael and Christine Taylor found religion. They became born again after attending a small Fellowship meeting in their community.

The meetings had a profound effect on Michael, and he began to act oddly. His behaviour led local clergy to suspect that Michael had been possessed by demons, and so an exorcism was in order. But, before the end of that process, someone would be dead.

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Theme Music:

Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“BossaBossa” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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Sources:

Marc Heal, The Sussex Devils (Manchester: Unbound, 2015) ch. 4-5. Purchase here

Peter Deeley, “Exorcised man was 'brainwashed'” in The Observer (30 March 1974), p.2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/257858183/

“Evangelist tells of terror” in The Guardian (23 April 1975) p. 7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735511/

John Hudson, “'Charismatic' group gets a warning from bishop” in The Guardian (23 April 1975) p. 7 https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735511/

Peter Cole, “What possessed Michael Taylor” in The Guardian (27 march 1975) p. 15. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259714848

Letters to the Editor, Peter Thompson “Exorcism for offenders – new dimension for the doctors” in The Guardian (4 August 1975) https://www.newspapers.com/image/259824796/

Baden Hickman, “Exorcism inquiry ordered” in The Guardian (3 April 1975) p. 6 https://www.newspapers.com/image/259719053/

Malcolm Pithers, “My night of 20 exorcisms – by vicar” in The Guardian (23 April 1975) p. 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735299/

Robert Shields, “Casting out devils” in The Guardian (27 April 1975) p. 11 https://www.newspapers.com/image/257860004/

Malcolm Pithers, “Exorcism 'was a mistake'” in The Guardian (22 April 1975) p.p. 1, 28. https://www.newspapers.com/image/259734212/ and https://www.newspapers.com/image/259735268/

“Killing after exorcism is not a crime, coroner decides” in The Guardian (24 April 1975) p 6, p32 https://www.newspapers.com/image/259736392/; https://www.newspapers.com/image/259737339/

C Torrington, Demonic Possession: Extraordinary true life experiences (Arcturus Publishing, 2016)

Brent Swancer, “Demons and Death: The strange case of Michael Taylor” from Mysteriousuniverse.org https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/12/demons-and-death-the-strange-case-of-michael-taylor/ (29 December 2015)

“1974 exorcist 'killer' back before court” in The Wakefield Expresshttps://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/1974-exorcist-killer-back-before-court-1-931236 (8 July 2005)