Stuff You Missed in History Class

Episode: Loudun Possessions

Hosts: Holly Fry & Tracy V. Wilson

Air Date: October 6, 2025

Main Theme

In this episode, Holly and Tracy unravel the infamous case of the Loudun possessions in 17th-century France. The story, set in a period of political, religious, and social upheaval, revolves around alleged demonic possession in a convent, the downfall of a controversial priest, mass hysteria, and the intertwining of supernatural claims with power struggles and gender dynamics. The hosts explore primary events, their historical context, aftermath, and modern interpretations, providing a thorough look at one of Europe’s most debated witchcraft and possession cases.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origins of the Loudun Possessions

• The First Visitation
  • On September 22, 1632, three nuns at the Ursuline convent in Loudun, France, reported being visited by a spirit—always appearing as a member of the clergy.

    "This was the beginning of the most famous possession and witchcraft case that France and really most of Europe had ever experienced." – Tracy (03:01)

• Escalation of Events
  • Reports of abnormal occurrences: voices, invisible assaults, fits of giggling, and even spectral skeletons wandering the convent. (03:45)
  • A mysterious incident: the Mother Superior, Jeanne des Anges, receives hawthorn berries from a “spirit hand,” leading to convulsions and irrational behavior among the nuns. (04:16)

    “I never saw a definitive explanation as to whether they consumed those hawthorns…” – Holly (04:59)

2. Socio-Political Backdrop

• Loudun in Turmoil
  • Loudun recently suffered a plague, religious wars, and ongoing Catholic-Protestant friction.

    "Under King Louis iii, the French government wanted to tear down the walls that surrounded the city of Loudun... The Catholic population was all for this. But the Huguenot Protestants saw it as a way to ensure Catholicism... dominated their day to day lives." – Holly (05:13)

3. Enter Urbain Grandier

• Background
  • Urbain Grandier, a well-educated, charismatic priest, defied convention with anti-royalist views, Protestant sympathies, and opposition to clerical celibacy. (06:45–07:56)
  • Known for sexual liaisons, especially with women in Loudun, leading to scandal and deep local resentment. (08:53)
  • Publicly accused, tried twice—once ecclesiastically and once civilly—for sexual conduct, blasphemy, and turning the church into a brothel. Initially punished, later acquitted after evidence of witness tampering. (10:02–12:21)

    "He could 100% be a jerk." – Holly (08:53)

4. The Possessions Amplified

• Role of Jeanne des Anges
  • Like Grandier, she became Mother Superior at a young age. Her intense experiences and leadership made her the focus. (17:31)
• Demonic Diagnoses and Public Exorcisms
  • Criteria for possession: speaking foreign languages, clairvoyance, unnatural strength, levitation—all open to interpretation. (18:04)

    "Of course, those are also the same list of qualifiers to determine if you had some sort of divine interaction... a matter of interpretation..." – Holly (18:36)

  • Exorcisms evolved from private rituals to grand public spectacles, sometimes on scaffolds in the town square—becoming a spectacle and even a tourist attraction. (18:36–20:10)
• Accusations and Evidence
  • Jeanne and other nuns directly accused Grandier, presenting a “contract with the devil” he allegedly signed in blood. (20:10)
  • Church silenced dissent by legal decree—critics risked execution. (21:09)

5. Grandier’s Fate and Continuing Turmoil

• Political Manipulation and Execution
  • Grandier’s allies silenced; Cardinal Richelieu dispatched a commission. Grandier was found guilty of sorcery and burned at the stake on August 18, 1634. (22:11)
• Aftermath in Loudun
  • Public debate stifled; church authorities justified their actions, while Jeanne continued to display odd behavior—even regretting her testimony and attempting suicide. (23:02–23:35)

    "She also attempted suicide at least once and possibly twice... it was perceived as proof that she was still possessed." – Tracy (23:35)

6. Father Jean-Joseph Surin’s Role

• A New Approach
  • Surin, a young, devout priest, implemented a more therapeutic, personal strategy. Sessions with Jeanne resembled proto-talk therapy, focusing on her self-agency. (24:39)

    "A lot of the interactions between Jean and Saurain actually sounds almost like modern talk therapy..." – Holly (24:39)

  • Continued exorcisms, quieter than before; over several years, Jeanne was declared free of demons, and began displaying “holy” scars: Jesus, Maria, Joseph, and Francis de Sales inscribed on her arm. (25:48)
• Personal Consequences
  • Surin’s mental and physical health declined after claiming Jeanne's demons had entered him; he suffered hallucinations and attempted suicide. Both he and Jeanne died in 1665. (27:55)

    “During my ministry, the devil passed from the body of the possessed person and entered into mine.” – Father Surin (Letter, cited at 27:55)

7. New Accounts and Modern Interpretations

• Critical Reappraisals
  • In 1693, Protestant pastor Nicolas Aubin published an account blaming political intrigue for Grandier’s death, claiming the nuns were coached. (33:36)
  • Monsieur Danielle’s eyewitness account also dismissed the sorcery claims as baseless and politically motivated. (34:42)
• Magic and the Church
  • Danielle traced the Church’s historic use and prohibition of magic, noting the psychological power of words and rituals. (35:08)

    “In every word there is a magical influence, and that each word is in itself the breath of the internal and moving spirit…” – Danielle (Quoted by Tracy, 35:08)

• Sociological and Psychological Analysis
  • Grandier as scapegoat—his execution “purged” collective anxieties in a traumatized town. (36:40)
  • Aldous Huxley’s 1952 book "The Devils of Loudun" is regarded as a definitive modern analysis. (37:26)
  • French scholar Michel de Certeau and others interpret the possessions as mass hysteria emerging amid major societal shifts, giving women a unique voice in a patriarchal system. (37:42–38:32)
  • Historian Moshe Sluhovsky’s research (2002) emphasizes that Loudun was only one among many cases of convent group possessions, most unconnected to witchcraft trials. He suggests these events expressed complex internal and social tensions among women living in isolated, strict religious environments. (39:07)

    “These instances of mass possession are a form of, quote, female monastic spirituality… expressions of the very many tensions at play in fairly isolated communities.” – Tracy (40:53)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 03:01 | "This was the beginning of the most famous possession and witchcraft case that France and really most of Europe had ever experienced." | Tracy | | 08:53 | "Yeah, there's nobody that's like, what? He was so kind. They're like, oh, yeah, he could 100% be a jerk." | Holly | | 18:36 | “Those are also the same list of qualifiers to determine if you had some sort of divine interaction… it was really a matter of interpretation…” | Holly | | 20:10 | "Diagrams were created showing where each of them was most tightly lodged. And Jeanne became the star of the show..." | Tracy | | 21:09 | "Anyone publicly criticizing the nuns’ claims or the way the Church was handling the sorcery investigation could be put to death." | Holly | | 24:39 | "A lot of the interactions between Jean and Saurain actually sounds almost like modern talk therapy, with Jeanne learning to find her own strength, which in turn was said to be weakening her demons..." | Holly | | 27:55 | “During my ministry, the devil passed from the body of the possessed person and entered into mine.” | Father Surin (via Holly) | | 35:08 | “In every word there is a magical influence, and that each word is in itself the breath of the internal and moving spirit.” | Danielle (via Tracy) | | 40:53 | “These instances of mass possession are a form of, quote, female monastic spirituality… expressions of the very many tensions at play in fairly isolated communities.” | Tracy |

Segment Timestamps

• Historical context and initial possessions – 02:30–06:45
• Urbain Grandier’s background, conflict, and trials – 06:45–13:13
• Mother Superior Jeanne des Anges and rise of possession claims – 17:31–20:10
• The exorcisms and Grandier’s execution – 20:10–23:02
• Aftermath, Surin’s involvement, and psychological approaches – 23:35–29:14
• Alternate narratives and sociological/psychological reanalysis – 33:36–41:41

Episode Takeaways

• The Loudun possessions represent a confluence of individual ambition, social hysteria, gendered power dynamics, and brutal state religion.
• The story exposes how accusations of witchcraft and possession were frequently tools for manipulating public opinion and removing political undesirables.
• Modern historians and scholars generally view the events as examples of group psychosis and mass hysteria, catalyzed by both internal pressures within the convent and external social anxieties.
• The case’s legacy continues to inspire research on the intersections of religion, psychology, gender, and authority—the lines between “possession,” agency, and manipulation remain fervently debated.

Overall Tone

The hosts blend scholarly rigor, dark humor, and an accessible conversational style. They consistently emphasize the tangled interplay between documented facts, unreliable sources, and modern reinterpretations—reminding listeners that history is often as much about who tells the story as it is about what “really” happened.