Blumhardt and the Exorcism of Gottliebin Dittus – 2
In this part, we see Blumhardt begin a paranormal investigation, discovering some strange phenomena which required him to halt the investigation. He then has to deal pastorally with the paranormal tourism which had started to become an issue for the village.
Paranormal Investigation, Blumhardt Style
– After two weeks of peace in the Dittus household, the family once more began to be disturbed by the thumping sounds. This time during both day and night, following Göttliebin around the house. Further to the sooty pieces of paper and three crown coins, other odd objects and curious powders were discovered appearing around the place too. The family physician, Dr Späth, twice stayed overnight in an attempt to observe these occurrences, before reporting that the situation was worse than he imagined.
By this point, the noises in the house were so loud that they were beginning to draw a crowd to see this strange spectacle. People were not just coming from the village though, but from out of town, as word spread.
As minister in pastoral oversight of the area, Blumhardt felt compelled to step in and put an end to this ‘freak show’ before it got out of hand. He pulled together a team of investigators, all of reputable stature: the local mayor, six village councillors, and a relative of Göttliebin, Mose Stanger.
The evening of Thursday, 9th June, 1842 saw the team enter the household and begin their investigation. They were immediately greeted with spontaneous banging and knocking from around the house, but the focus seemed to be in Göttliebin’s bedroom.
Within three hours, 25 thumps were recorded, powerful enough to lift a chair, make plaster dust fall from the ceiling and windows to rattle! To villagers outside it sounded like fireworks exploding! During all this, a persistent, gentle tapping drew to them investigating underneath the bed, but nothing was discovered there.
Curiously, the sounds from the bedroom appeared loudest when the investigation team were gathered in the sitting room.
Another Apparition Baffles Blumhardt
At 1am, Göttliebin told Blumhardt she could hear the sound of an approaching apparition, shuffling along the floor. She wanted to identify it to Blumhardt, but he was worried something might actually appear which he couldn’t explain, so refused her request. At this point, Blumhardt called a halt to the paranormal investigation for the night. It seems he needed to regroup and reflect upon the proceedings, having not encountered this kind of phenomenon before.
The morning saw crowds gathered around the Dittus home, and Blumhardt was summoned to discover an unconscious Göttliebin. When she revived, she reported that she’d seen the apparition of the woman with the dead child again, at which she’d fainted. Further investigation of the house unearthed paraphernalia associated with folk-magic, including what were later identified as bird bones.
A Plan is Formulated
Realising the need for some space to be inserted into the situation, Blumhardt decided that it would be a good idea for Göttliebin to find alternative accommodation whilst he carried on investigating the paranormal phenomena. It was agreed that she should stay locally, with the family of her godfather during this time. At this point they didn’t realise this would entail staying a year there.
Feeling a great burden now for the whole disturbed Dittus family, and being reminded by a passing preacher that he shouldn’t neglect his pastoral duty to them, Blumhardt and the mayor met to pray for wisdom and discernment regarding these matters. They both resolved to maintain a view of the matter that lay purely within the bounds of their understanding of Scripture.
For the next couple of weeks people from all over came to the house to try and get an experience of what had been happening [1]. Even a few Catholic priests attempted to gain entry to see what the fuss was about. All, however, were denied access by Blumhardt and the village policeman, and eventually the interest waned.
Göttliebin‘s New Home
After a little while of settling in at her new home, Göttliebin began to experience strange happenings once more. At one point she ended up in what appeared to be an epileptic fit, but lasting several hours. Dr Späth was called to help, and although experienced in the symptoms of epilepsy, he hadn’t seen anything like this kind of behaviour before. He was most disturbed that whilst this was happening, she instantly sat up and asked for a drink of water, bringing to an end that episode.
A little while later, Blumhardt and two helpers visited Göttliebin, but found her in convulsions again, whereupon he prayed: ‘Lord Jesus, help me!” and the convulsions immediately ceased. Then, her convulsions would begin again, followed by immediate cessation at his prayer. This cycle lasted a few hours, finally ending when Göttliebin managed to pray the same prayer.
Next Time – Things get worse for Gottliebin, requiring the initiation of the process of a major exorcism. Blumhardt encounters spirits, the apparent origin of which cause him to question his theological knowledge to that point. He goes back to Scripture theologically reflecting upon passages like Luke 8 (the Gadarean Demoniac) in light of his experiences up to this point.
Bibliography
Zuendel, F. (1999) The Awakening – One Man’s Battle with Darkness, Farmington, PA: The Plough Publishing House
Footnotes
[1] Paranormal tourism has always drawn crowds as people seek to experience something beyond our own mundane existences.
