Haunted Wisconsin

The Possession of Carl Seige

Can an evil spirit take over an individual’s mind, body, and soul? People have always thought so. In every culture, in every period of history, demonic possession has been recognized. Loud, obscene curses and bile issue from the victim’s mouth, body contorting and eyes gleaming with hatred. Often, it’s all accompanied by paranormal manifestations—pounding in the walls, the levitation of furniture, and the presence of fireballs. The causes of demonic possession are little understood. Since possession closely resembles some forms of mental illness, medical treatment is usually tried first. For intractable cases that do not respond to medication, the religious rite of exorcism may be performed to cast out the “demons.” No one knows how many exorcisms are performed in this country in any given year because the possessed usually insist upon anonymity and church records are closely held by church authorities. But the possession of Watertown’s Carl Seige became something of a cause célèbre. He was harassed by demons for twenty years and the whole town knew it. His exorcism and the other lurid details of his sensational case were reported breathlessly by Wisconsin newspapers and reprinted by periodicals nationwide. The case remains one of the most often cited reports of “demonic possession.” According to the contemporary accounts, the diabolical manifestations first began when Carl was five years old and living with his family in their native Germany. One day one of Carl’s sisters found a duck egg under a tree just 169 The Possession of Carl Seige outside the door of their small cabin. With typical childlike curiosity, she picked it up and took it to her mother. Mrs. Seige noticed that the egg had a small pinhole in one end. She cautioned her daughter to put the egg back where she had found it. The girl did so. At that moment, the family dog appeared, seized the egg, and ate it. Immediately, he was struck blind and, raging with fright, ran in wide circles through the yard. The child fled, screaming. The dog was promptly shot. A short time later, the little girl was seized with blindness and spasms and soon was bedridden. She lingered in agony for a year before she died. Carl was attacked with blindness and severe pains that continued for a number of months, leaving him with a limp and a withered, twisted hand. His sight was partially restored, and he survived. But when Carl turned twelve years old, he endured more physical anguish. Uncontrollable seizures set in, his head was jerked like a puppet by unseen forces, his shoulders twisted, and he was often thrown violently to the ground where he struck out at all who tried to approach him. He frothed at the mouth, his eyes filled with malevolence. If a “fit” overtook him while he was eating, his hands struck his dinner plate, scattering food all over the floor. Sometimes one of these spells would last an entire day. Between attacks, he prayed for deliverance and made the sign of the cross. His prayers went unanswered. So did those of his pious Lutheran family. German doctors, using roots and herbs and all the medicines available at that time, were unable to cure, or even alleviate, the dreadful symptoms of Carl’s strange malady. Finally, in the spring of 1867, when Carl was twenty-four years old, the despairing family—father, mother, three sons, and five daughters—immigrated to Watertown, Wisconsin, a community with a sizeable German population. But their troubles followed them. The sixteen-year-old Seige daughter, a beautiful young woman, was sent to live in the home of the local Lutheran minister to help with the housework and to care for the family’s several children. Before long, she became pregnant by the minister and bore a son. In sorrow and shame, she returned to her own family. But her return precipitated a series of terrifying events. Her brother’s demonic symptoms greatly increased. Now the violence was focused upon the baby. Screaming that he intended to kill the infant, Carl would spring toward the child with eyes wild in his pale face, froth glistening on his lips. His terrorstricken sister sheltered the infant as best she could during these tantrums. She slept only fitfully at night, keeping the infant close by; during the day she never let him out of her sight. As fears and tensions mounted, the whole family suffered strange, recurring illnesses marked by dizziness and severe...