Michael Taylor (born 21 September 1944) became notable in England in 1974 as a result of the Ossett murder case and his alleged

demonic possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and reli ...

Exorcism

Taylor lived in

Ossett Ossett is a market town in the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated between Dewsbury, Horbury and Wakefield. At the 2011 Census, the population was ...

, West Yorkshire, working as a butcher. In 1974, Taylor's wife, Christine, stated to a Christian Fellowship Group to which Taylor belonged, that his relationship with the lay leader of the group, Marie Robinson, was "

carnal Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act u ...

" in nature. Michael Taylor admitted that he felt evil within him and eventually attacked Robinson verbally, who screamed back at him. During the next meeting, Michael Taylor received an

absolution Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pra ...

, but nevertheless, his behaviour continued to become more erratic. As a result, the local

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

called in other ministers experienced in

deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapted ...

in preparation to cast out the

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

residing within the man. The

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

, which occurred on 5–6 October 1974 at St. Thomas's Church in

Gawber Gawber is an area of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The area falls within the Darton West ward of the Barnsley MBC. There is a primary school, Gawber Primary School, a preschool, Gawber Pre-School, and a church, St Thomas. The origin of ...

, was headed by Father Peter Vincent, the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest of St. Thomas's, and was aided by a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

clergyman, the Rev. Raymond Smith. According to Bill Ellis, an authority on folklore and the occult in contemporary culture, the exorcists believed that they had: "In an all-night ceremony...invoked and cast out at least forty demons, including those of incest, bestiality, blasphemy, and lewdness. At the end, exhausted, they allowed Taylor to go home, although they felt that at least three demons—insanity, murder, and violence—were still left in him."

Murder

While at home, Taylor brutally murdered his wife, Christine. He attacked her with his bare hands, tearing her eyes and tongue out and almost tearing her face off, then strangling their

poodle , nickname = , stock = , country = Germany or France (see history) , height = , maleheight = , femaleheight = , weight = , maleweight = , femaleweight = , coat ...

. He was found by a policeman, naked in the street, covered with blood. At his trial in March, Taylor was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

on the grounds of

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

. He was sent to

Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...

for two years, then spent another two years in a secure ward in Bradford before being released. The bizarre nature of the case attracted significant publicity.

In popular culture

Taylor's case makes a prominent appearance in

David Peace David Peace (born 1967) is an English writer. Best known for his UK-set novels Red Riding Quartet (1999–2002), '' GB84'' (2004), ''The Damned Utd'' (2006), and '' Red or Dead'' (2013), Peace was named one of the Best of Young British Novel ...

's novel ''Nineteen Seventy-Seven'', the second of Peace's ''

Red Riding ''Red Riding'' is a British crime drama limited series written by Tony Grisoni and based on the book series of the same name by David Peace. The series comprises the novels ''Nineteen Seventy-Four'' (1999), ''Nineteen Seventy-Seven'' (2000), '' ...

Quartet.'' Taylor, renamed Michael Williams, is exorcised by Father Martin Laws, the series' main villain, and afterward kills his wife Carol by driving a nail into her skull. Jack Whitehead, one of the two protagonists, witnesses the exorcism of Williams and the murder of Carol Williams, his ex-wife, which as in real life takes place in Ossett. Taylor's case is mentioned in the 2021 film '' The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It'', which is based on another case in which a killer claimed demonic possession, that of

Arne Cheyenne Johnson The trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, also known as the "Devil Made Me Do It" case, is the first known court case in the United States in which the defense sought to prove innocence based upon the claim of demonic possession and denial of person ...

, who killed his landlord with a pocket knife in a fit of rage in 1981.

References

External links

''St. Petersburg Times'':
Exorcism approval rocks Anglicans {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Michael 1940s births 1974 murders in the United Kingdom English butchers Exorcised people People acquitted of murder People acquitted by reason of insanity People from Ossett Living people Uxoricides Year of birth missing (living people) Demonic possession

Exorcism

Murder

In popular culture

See also

References

External links