In 1993, a 49-year-old woman named Joan Vollmer died during a four-day exorcism in her farmhouse in rural Victoria. She was subjected to torture at the hands of her husband and the local Christian community.
Joan had a history of schizophrenia and had a hospital stay a few years before. But when Joan started displaying strange behaviors, such as dancing outside, acting like a dog and a pig, and using provocative language that was out of character, her husband’s first thought was that she was possessed.
Instead of seeking medical help, her husband, Ralph, called his neighbors and their spiritual leader for guidance. They came to the conclusion that Joan had 10 demons in her body, and those demons needed to be expelled.
Joan and Ralph lived in Antwerp, a tiny town located northwest of Melbourne. It had a population of just 63 residents. The town was settled in 1846 by Europeans. By 1859, two Protestant missionaries had built a church for the local community. The church is long closed.
At first, Ralph had tried to handle his wife on his own by locking her in the basement and then tying her to the bed. She screamed throughout the night.
Later, he had four neighbors/church members come over for assistance, and they started an intense prayer session while Joan was tied to a chair with pairs of her own stockings.
She was denied food and water, and when she tried to close her eyes, they pried them back open so the demons could be confronted by the Lord.
Joan put up a violent struggle, causing 28-year-old David Klingner to restrain her even further. He slapped her face repeatedly in an attempt to cast out the demons.
After three days, the group believed they had gotten rid of most of the demons. There were just “two strong male evil spirits” left. On the fourth day, 23-year-old Matthew Nuske, whose mother claimed he had special gifts, took the reins.
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Upon his instruction, the group used a hammer to destroy Joan’s belongings, including her garden beds and an outdoor greenhouse, because they were supposedly all possessed by evil spirits.
Then, he wrapped the outside of the house seven times with cling wrap to protect them from any other spirits in the area.
From there, they beat her and slammed her head against the wall. They sat on her to “squeeze” the demons out of her body as she begged them to stop.
The enormous amount of pressure being placed on her neck caused her to suffer a fatal heart attack. When they finally released her, she was hissing and frothing at the mouth.
She died after four days of torture. The group celebrated because they thought they had expelled the demons. They waited for her resurrection and prayed over her dead body for two days.
Leah Clugston, the 78-year-old spiritual advisor, claimed that she was called by the Lord to place her hands on Joan’s decaying body and order her to rise.
When this did not work, she called a local Baptist minister for guidance. The minister arrived to find them calmly eating lunch while Joan’s body lay nearby. He called a doctor, who then notified the police.
When the police interrogated the group, they assured authorities that they had successfully performed an exorcism. Ralph even invited the media to Joan’s funeral to witness her resurrection. However, she didn’t rise from the dead, and her body was lowered into her grave for good. Ralph wept in grief and confusion.
Ralph, David, Matthew, and John Reichenbach, who was one of the neighbors present at the exorcism, were charged with manslaughter and false imprisonment.
Ralph received no jail time, while the others were sentenced to three to four months. The four of them genuinely thought they were doing right by Joan and that they were harming the demons, not her.
Soon, Ralph moved to Queensland to live with his new wife. To this day, the farmhouse where Joan died still sits empty and unoccupied.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
