Helen Francesca Leahey (born 4 October 1987) is a Welsh musician and voice over artist who is notable for her deep voice. [1] She is the first Guinness World Record holder (2018) for 'Lowest Vocal Note by a Female'. [2] In 2017 she appeared on The Voice of Germany [3] and in 2022 The Voice UK. [4] In 2023, Leahey was the primary source for the demon in the movie The Exorcist: Believer . [5]
Leahey owns her own music label 'Deintra' [6] and has recorded three albums to date. Train Tracks, Auf Wiedersehen and Spirits. [7]
Supervising sound editor Rich Bologna explained the sculpting of the supernatural sound for the movie The Exorcist: Believer and Leahey's part in it:
"The demon in the film is a woman, so David (Gordon Green) found this great voice actor, a Welsh woman named Helen Leahey, who lives in Cologne, Germany. So we did a preliminary recording session with her even before there was a working cut of the film. She recorded some amazing stuff. Because she speaks Welsh, she did a version of the Welsh National Anthem backward. She transcribed it backward phonetically, and then performed it. We were all blown away. What a first impression! We used most of her performance for the demon voice, and David also hired an additional voice actor J. Moliere. But her voice is the primary source." [8]
The original demon voice for the 1973 horror film The Exorcist was recorded by Oscar winner Mercedes McCambridge. [9]
Leahey was born in St. Asaph, Wales, [10] UK to Liverpudlian Charles Joseph Leahey and Dr. Christiane Ulmer-Leahey (née Ulmer) from Mainz, Germany. She is of English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Sardinian, Scandinavian and German descent. Her father was a musician and her mother is a retired school director and published author. [11]
Leahey completed her Bachelor in History and Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool (2010) [12] and her Master in International Journalism at Falmouth University (2012). [13] During her studies and afterwards, Leahey became a member of various Irish folk bands [14] and finally founded the music project DILLIGARA where she collaborates with various artists. [15] Before going into higher education Leahey studied a BTEC in Performing Arts at the former Yale College, Wrexham, Wales. [16]
In Christianity, deliverance ministry refers to groups that perform practices to cleanse people of demons and evil spirits. These groups attribute certain people's physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional problems to the activities of these evil spirits in their lives. Not all Christians accept the doctrines and practices of these ministries.
The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Linda Blair, and follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests.
Regan Teresa MacNeil is a fictional character in the 1971 novel The Exorcist and one of the supporting characters in its 1973 film adaptation and the 1977 film Exorcist II: The Heretic, while being one of the main protagonists in the first season of the television series The Exorcist (2016–2017). She was portrayed by Linda Blair in both films and by Geena Davis in the television series. Blair reprised the role in the 2023 film, The Exorcist: Believer.
Anna Elisabeth "Anneliese" Michel was a German woman who underwent 67 Catholic exorcism rites during the year before her death. She died of malnutrition, for which her parents and priest were convicted of negligent homicide. She was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis and had a history of psychiatric treatment that proved ineffective.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a 2005 American supernatural horror legal drama film directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson. The film is loosely based on the book The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel by Felicitas D. Goodman, which tells the story of Anneliese Michel, and follows a self-proclaimed agnostic (Linney) who acts as defense counsel representing a parish priest (Wilkinson) accused of negligent homicide after performing an exorcism.
The Borderlands line, also known as the Bidston–Wrexham or Wrexham–Bidston line, is a railway line between Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula in England and Wrexham Central in the north-east of Wales. Passenger train services are part of the Wales & Borders franchise and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester line at Wrexham General. Parts of the line in Wales are used by freight trains, serving Deeside Industrial Park and the Hanson Cement works to the south of Buckley.
Exorcism is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions.
Azazel is a fictional character that appears on The CW Television Network's drama and horror television series Supernatural. He serves as the main antagonist during the first two seasons. As a demon Prince of Hell, he feeds his blood to infants so that they will grow up to develop demonic abilities, while also manipulating and deceiving others into carrying out his ambitions, often through self-serving and one-sided deals of his construction. His goal of using one such child to release Lucifer is not revealed until much later in the series. Azazel is referred to by nicknames such as "The Yellow-Eyed Demon," or "Yellow Eyes" throughout the first two seasons, his true name not being revealed until the third season. Due to the character's demonic nature of taking different hosts, Azazel has been played by numerous actors but Fredric Lehne is the main default portrayer. All the incarnations have maintained his sadistic sense of humor and irony. Azazel's popularity and importance towards the franchise even led him to be the main antagonist and the analogue to Lucifer in the anime adaptation, as the "Yellow-Eyed Demon," in reference to the nickname he had in the original first two seasons.
The Rite is a 2011 supernatural horror film directed by Mikael Håfström and written by Michael Petroni. It is loosely based on Matt Baglio's book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, which itself is based on actual events as witnessed and recounted by American then-exorcist-in-training Father Gary Thomas and his experiences of being sent to Rome to be trained and work daily with veteran clergy of the practice.
In the late 1940s, in the United States, priests of the Catholic Church performed a series of exorcisms on an anonymous boy, documented under the pseudonym "Roland Doe" or "Robbie Mannheim". The 14-year-old boy was alleged to be a victim of demonic possession, and the events were recorded by the attending priest, Raymond J. Bishop. Subsequent supernatural claims surrounding the events were used as elements in William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel The Exorcist. In December 2021, The Skeptical Inquirer reported the purported true identity of Roland Doe/Robbie Mannheim as Ronald Edwin Hunkeler.
In Christianity, exorcism involves the practice of casting out one or more demons from a person whom they are believed to have possessed. The person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the Christian Church, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use prayers and religious material, such as set formulas, gestures, symbols, icons, or amulets. The exorcist often invokes God, Jesus, angels and archangels, and various saints to aid with the exorcism. Christian exorcists most commonly cast out demons in Jesus' name.
The Catholic Church authorizes the use of exorcism for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession. In Roman Catholicism, exorcism is a sacramental but not a sacrament, unlike baptism or confession. Unlike a sacrament, exorcism's "integrity and efficacy do not depend ... on the rigid use of an unchanging formula or on the ordered sequence of prescribed actions. Its efficacy depends on two elements: authorization from valid and licit Church authorities, and the faith of the exorcist." The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism."
The Exorcist is an American horror media franchise that originated with William Peter Blatty's 1971 horror novel of the same name and most prominently featured in a 1973 film adaptation of the novel, and many subsequent prequels and sequels. All of these installments focus on fictional accounts of people possessed by Pazuzu, the main antagonist of the series, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter this possession.
The Antichrist, also released as The Tempter, is a 1974 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Carla Gravina, Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, Umberto Orsini, Alida Valli, Remo Girone, Anita Strindberg, and George Coulouris. The musical score was composed by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai. It is widely regarded as a cash-in on The Exorcist, a similarly-themed and widely-successful American film released the previous year. It is considered a cult film.
"Treehouse of Horror XXVIII" is the fourth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, the 28th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 622nd episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 22, 2017.
The Exorcist's 2nd Meter, also known as The Exorcist's Meter 2.0, is a 2020 Hong Kong supernatural television drama produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). Serving as the second season to 2017's The Exorcist's Meter, Kenneth Ma, Mandy Wong and Moon Lau return to reprise their roles, while Hubert Wu portrays an entirely new character.
The Exorcist: Believer is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by David Gordon Green, who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler from a story by Scott Teems, Danny McBride, and Green. The sixth installment in The Exorcist franchise, it serves as a direct sequel to The Exorcist (1973). The film stars Leslie Odom Jr., Lidya Jewett, Olivia O‘Neill in her film debut, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, and Ann Dowd. Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair reprise their roles from the original film. Its plot follows a photographer who must confront the nadir of evil when his daughter and her best friend are possessed.
The Pope's Exorcist is a 2023 supernatural horror film directed by Julius Avery from a screenplay by Michael Petroni and Evan Spiliotopoulos, based on the 1990 book An Exorcist Tells His Story and the 1992 book An Exorcist: More Stories by Father Gabriele Amorth. The film stars Russell Crowe as Amorth, with Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, and Franco Nero in supporting roles.