Clara Germana Cele’s True Ownership Story Needs a Movie
In a movie theater and when the words “based on a true story” appear, it might create a little more interest for the non-horror, but not much else. For horror fans, those words carry more weight than almost any other storyline. Horror films based on true stories have become one of the most successful productions of the genre, and this is due to various elements. In any case, the thought of watching something terrible actually happen (especially with supernatural events) creates a terrifying thrill.
Exorcisms have a way of confusing people that no other device in horror stories has. Maybe it’s such a scary idea: having your body taken over by a dark entity, or the fact that far too many exorcisms are reported every year, let alone in history, and that churches actually hire exorcists. Despite this, exorcism films are almost as popular as the horror film genre itself. This passion has led people to look for real cases, and some are better than others, like Clara Germana Cele.
Find out why this particular story should be adapted for the big screen, and why now might be the perfect time to do so.
What happened to Clara Germana Cele
Gate of Lions
The exorcism ceremony of Clara Germana Selin took place in 1906 in South Africa. Clara was a Jaffre girl born in 1890 and spent her entire life at St. Michael’s Anglican Mission. The girl was an orphan, and not much is known about her life except for the most famous documented exorcisms, mainly because of the number of people who allegedly witnessed them: 170, who confirmed all the events.
Clara was 16 years old, something changed in her. People’s attention was first noticed on August 20, 1906, when Clara took off her clothes while running in the parsonage, talking to someone who was not there. Clara seems to be back to normal when she finds a nun looking after her, but she begs him to bring Father Horner Erasmus because the Devil will kill him for what he did.
Apparently, Clara herself made a deal with the devil. Reports say he can levitate, speak multiple languages he’s never learned, and has clairvoyance—he can tell people around him things they don’t know about their lives. He made several animal noises at once, contorted his body in ways impossible for a human, and became increasingly aggressive after religious images were in the room. When Clara was asked what the entity inside her was, she replied in a deep male voice, “I am Satan.”
A well-documented exorcism
Warner Bros.
The exorcism ceremony took place on September 11 in front of a large group of people. At one point, he bit a nun who got too close to him. Apparently, the bite mark had only two holes, as if it had been bitten by a snake. After the exorcism, everything seemed normal because Clara had regained her identity. But his health was not what it used to be. Then suddenly, in 1907, Clara looked better than ever. That is, until a strange sound came from the lips of a nun. When the nun entered her room, she had confirmation: Clara was in the air again.
The second exorcism lasted two days. Not much information after the second exorcism. Reports state that the girl returned to a normal lifestyle and led a sexless life for almost six years until she died suddenly of heart failure in 1912 at the age of 22. The story is tedious and has some interesting cinematic aspects. . This would be a great horror movie, especially in the right hands.
Blumhouse and James Wan
Cinema District
The horror movies of 2022 are perhaps one of the best in recent years for fans of this genre. A variety of well-crafted horror films have been released, from Smiley to Barbarian, and the surprise success of the slasher Horror 2 (which grossed over $10 million at the box office on a $250,000 budget) is testament to the genre’s love. There’s still a lot more to come from this genre, especially since two major horror-oriented production companies are able to merge by early next year.
Blumhouse Productions has become one of the biggest horror production companies, producing Paranormal Activity, Get Out, The Black Phone and many other hits. Another name behind one of the biggest horror movie franchises, The Conjuring, is writer and director James Wan. Wan created the cinematic world of The Conjuring, which currently has one film in development (The Conjuring 4) and one in the works (The Nun 2). He is also partially responsible for two other huge franchises, Saw and Insidious, and often focuses on ownership. James Wan’s production company Atomic Monster has been involved in some of his projects.
One of the biggest announcements of the year is that these two genre powerhouses are in advanced talks to merge their production companies. This could lead to a great horror movie production with their partner Universal Studios (teamed up for Insidious). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, and now is a great time to make more horror movies, especially those based on true events like the Clara Germana Cele case.
It’s safe to say that Wan knows how to take a real-life horror story (even an exorcism, as seen in many of his films) and create a great horror film. Since nothing is certain, fans can only hope and wonder what this merger could mean for the horror genre and if stories like Cele (which could very well translate to the big screen) will be seen on the big screen later.
