On July 1, 1976, Anneliese Michel, 23. died at her home in Germany from the effects of weekly exorcisms performed upon her. The exorcisms were performed at her own request after years of treatment with psychotropic drugs for severe psychiatric disturbances failed to cure her; as her condition worsened, she began to believe she was possessed by demons. Raised a devout Catholic, she believed that exorcism was her only hope, and spent five years getting permission from the Church. After her death, her parents and the two exorcists were convicted of negligent homicide.

There are people—I won’t go so far as to call them “masochists”—who do things like bending their fingers back as far as they can, or digging their fingernails into their skin nearly to the point of drawing blood, or holding their breath until they come close to passing out. Ask them why in the world they would want to intentionally cause themselves pain, and they’ll tell you, “Because it feels so good when I stop.”