A Study on the Falling Sickness: Observations and Conclusions – Isabel Bailey

March 21, 2026

Patient History:
Mabel Braithwaite is an eighteen-year-old girl who has suffered regular, severe convulsions for the last three months. John and Lindsey Braithwaite, Mabel’s parents, came to St Benedict’s Priory seeking help for their daughter after the third episode. They described Mabel as previously happy, healthy and a dutiful servant to both family and the church.
However, over the last three months, her behaviour has severely regressed. She has become petulant, hostile and openly rebellious to all superiors. Upon asking Mabel about these changes, she both unequivocally rejected notions of behavioural shifts and simultaneously blamed ‘hallucinations terrorising [her]’ – exposing an inconsistency in this false narrative she has concocted in an effort to victimise herself. I have no choice but to believe, due to observations during convulsions and concerning conversations, that Mabel is suffering from the falling sickness and is therefore currently a servant of the Devil. Pubescent females are typically weaker and more malleable, making them gravely susceptible to Satan’s schemes. St Benedict’s intends on doing everything in its power, with the help of the Lord, to save Mabel’s soul before she is permanently condemned to the life of a Jezebel. The rest of this report details how I have come to this diagnosis and the priory’s intended treatment plan to fight this most severe spiritual attack.
Observations:
Since admission to the priory ten weeks ago, there have been fifty-five separate convulsive episodes recorded by the nurses monitoring Mabel. I have borne witness to thirty-one, and they have been increasing in frequency. Despite this troubling development, there are consistent symptoms across every episode:
1) Mabel loses complete control of her body, seizing up and collapsing to the floor for between three and five minutes. These falls onto stone and tiled surfaces have left her with significant bruising and, on one occasion, four weeks ago, a broken elbow and multiple chipped teeth. The frequency of the convulsions has resulted in Mabel never properly healing from any of these physical injuries. Her left elbow is just as swollen and painful as it was the day it was broken. One nurse has suggested amputation; something being considered with increasing gravity after every new episode.
2) She experiences foaming at the mouth and frequently vomits up thick, vibrant yellow bile. Recently, she has also been regurgitating significant amounts of blood.
3) Mabel’s eyes roll into the back of her head, leaving only the white sclera visible. However, they are becoming increasingly bloodshot and have taken on a pinkish tint. The surging red ocular veins are now permanently visible, even when Mabel is lucid. Once she stops fitting and is able to properly open her eyes again, they are foggy and glazed over. Her vivid aquamarine irises are surrounded by thick rings of blood that are slowly encroaching and staining what was previously blue, red.
4) Her tongue causes several issues. She bites down on it when fitting, explaining why she has been regurgitating blood. This leaves it swollen and makes it difficult for her to talk and eat in the following days. Additionally, there are sometimes concerns about her swallowing her tongue and blocking the airways. On one occasion, a nurse stuck a finger down Mabel’s throat in an attempt to bring the tongue forward and allow her to breathe. Suddenly, Mabel’s jaw clamped shut, biting off the nurse’s finger as if it were a carrot. Another two nurses had to come into the room, one forcibly wrenching Mabel’s mouth open whilst the other removed the amputated finger amidst the blood, vomit and bile. Mabel remained unconscious and convulsing the entire time this was happening.
5) When she is not foaming at the mouth, Mabel slurs in often incomprehensible tongues. Nurses have understood the odd word every so often, as have I. During one severe episode, ‘repent’, ‘mercy’, ‘Lord’, ‘listen’ and ‘vengeance’ were all hissed between spurts of bile and blood erupting from her lips.
6) Mabel wakes up from episodes with absolutely no recollection of them happening. However, their increased frequency has meant that over time, Mabel has become more aware of what an episode does to her body. She now comes to scared but not confused. The extent of her peripheral amnesia has decreased; she is more coherent and able to engage in a shorter time after regaining consciousness compared to when the convulsions first started. However, she still has no idea what occurs during the episodes themselves; for example, she was completely unaware of biting off the nurse’s finger. Instead, the next time the nurse visited her, Mabel immediately inquired as to why the nurse’s hand was bandaged up and if she was alright. The nurse did not react kindly to this questioning and was subsequently removed from Mabel’s care.
Other symptoms:
I deemed it important to have regular conversations with Mabel since her admittance to St Benedict’s. Despite her intensely disagreeable demeanour and lack of cooperation, I have still managed to coax out more helpful information. They spell out greater concern. It is evident that her mental state is similarly, if not more, disturbed and corrupted than her physical one. During our weekly meetings, I have identified more symptoms that support my initial diagnosis:
1) Mabel brought up a recurring sensation of feeling as if something currently happening to her had also happened to her previously in the exact same way. She described it as an ‘out of body experience’, calling it ‘confusing’, but unconvincingly stressed that she was still conscious and aware of her surroundings. I informed Mabel that this was called ‘déjà vu’. She found comfort in knowing this was a ‘real thing’ and that she wasn’t ‘going crazy’. That was, until I mentioned that this was a form of possession and a common symptom of the falling sickness. She instantaneously transformed into this rabid creature, swearing and blaspheming whilst lunging for my throat. Thankfully, she is so frail and bruised that I had no issues in restraining her.
2) Mabel admitted to hallucinating and ‘seeing things’. She once claimed to see a leviathan hiding in the bathtub and refused to bathe for the next two weeks, even after convulsing. She had to be held down and scrubbed with a damp rag to clean off the bile. Mabel screeched and called the nuns helping her ‘whorish bitches’. She went on to describe her vision as often being splotchy. Marred with black spots and ‘translucent bumps’ that make her feel like she is looking through a window pelted by rain during a storm. It is ‘disorientating and relentless’ and can ‘last for hours’; the only respite for her is sleep.
3) Whilst her vision isn’t splotchy during sleep, she has vivid, demonic dreams. She speaks to ‘angels’ who have turned Mabel against humanity, convincing her that she is being poorly treated and abused. When asked if she agreed with them, Mabel bluntly replied ‘obviously’. When I requested she expand upon that answer, she simply gestured to her bruise-covered body and said, ‘look at me’. When I countered by arguing that the injuries were caused by convulsions, not any of us, Mabel rolled her eyes, stating ‘well you haven’t exactly helped, have you?’ She then hobbled back to her room, prematurely ending our meeting.
Conclusions:
It is obvious that these convulsions and sinister behaviour are evidence for Mabel’s possession; her body and spirit are a tool for Satan. She embodies violence; becoming his weapon, being used to harm not only herself, but others. Almost every word hissed is blasphemous, every thought infected by the demonic whisperings from the underworld. Her behaviour exceeds typical pubescent female rebellion; it would not surprise me if she were the reincarnation of Eve herself. His visits to Mabel are more frequent, and this has been reflected in her escalating viciousness.
Mabel is weak to the Devil’s bribes – how else am I to explain her convulsion after mass? Fitting at the altar with rosary beads in hand that instantly broke when she fell, the foaming, typically yellow bile stained a deep burgundy. She blatantly rejected the body and blood of Christ. The Devil can be subtle in his messaging sometimes, but he does not hide behind Mabel. He speaks through her. Via tongues and thinly veiled metaphors, ordering repentance to Satan, not from him.
I reject those who claim Mabel’s condition is medical. There is an unequivocally supernatural aspect; she gains super strength when convulsing. She was easy to restrain when trying to attack me in a meeting, but is strong enough to bite through a finger with little effort during an episode. The Devil is a powerful being – his energy surges through Mabel during these possessions. It is a frightful prospect that we must stop with great urgency. Additionally, her condition has only intensified since arriving at St Benedict’s. Is she Satan’s proxy for infiltrating our Lord’s holy place?
Treatment:
Given this extreme spiritual warfare being waged within Mabel’s being, we have no choice but to act in a swift, harsh manner in return. The Devil has not pulled any punches; neither shall we. I have arrived at several courses of action, some of which shall be happening immediately, others are contingent on the development of her condition:
1) The pivotal treatment option that all other methods are dependent on is exorcism. The severity of these convulsions has led me to write to the Cardinal, requesting one of His Eminency’s finest come to St Benedict’s and advise me. She is my child to save, but I will need guidance.
2) Henceforth, Mabel is to be put in restraints at every given opportunity. We will install straps to her bedframe and secure her in place, and when not on bedrest, Mabel will be in a secure wheelchair. When collapsing to the floor, she is drawn closer to her master. I will do everything in my God-given power to stop their scheming.
3) If, even after restraint, Mabel’s elbow refuses to heal, we will amputate her left arm to the shoulder. Her flailing limbs have injured our dutiful nurses, and she has also tried to attack and strangle me in the past. Not only will amputation alleviate some of Mabel’s pain, but it will also weaken her as a weapon of the Devil. I’m sure it will also give solace and provide some comfort for our now nine-fingered nurse.
4) Every episode has left Mabel’s eyes increasingly permanently bloodshot. Once her eyes are fully red, she will not be able to see anything but blood; it will shape her world. Then she will be too far gone. She will look at the world as if it is already hell, acting accordingly. Better to have no eyes than those only capable of seeing hellfire. If necessary, we may take the step to mercifully relieve Mabel of her vision.
5) Removal of the tongue may also be considered. As mentioned in the Observation section, it has caused numerous issues. There are grave concerns about her swallowing it, which means she will not be able to breathe. We want Mabel to live a life, one liberated and free of the Devil – she has to be alive for that to happen. I will not let her suffocate, and she may have to be tongueless to enable this. Removal may also benefit Mabel from a spiritual perspective. The tongue is what lets us speak, and as of late, she is only able to speak blasphemous language. If speech will only further condemn her to hell, we would be doing Mabel a favour by making sure she cannot trespass in this manner ever again.
I take no joy in these most grave considerations, but I do not want Mabel to die and burn in the fiery pits of hell for eternity. I will not fail. The Devil shall not win.

Signed: Prior Benedict Alexander
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3