Inside The Harrowing Exorcism Of Roland Doe, The True Story Behind The Movie "The Exorcist"

[alien_head]

In 1949, priests performed an exorcism on a boy referred to as "Roland Doe," a.k.a. Ronald Hunkeler, in a chilling ordeal that became the real-life inspiration for "The Exorcist." This story, the true story of The Exorcist, begins in the late 1940s in suburban Washington, D.C., with a German-American family.

Their 13-year-old boy, believed to be named Ronald Hunkeler (later referred to pseudonymously as “Roland Doe” or “Robbie Mannheim”), was despondent over the loss of his beloved Aunt Harriet. Harriet was a spiritualist who’d taught him many things — including how to use a Ouija board.
Roland Doe Exorcist

In early January 1949, shortly after Harriet’s death, Ronald Hunkeler began to experience strange things. He heard scratching sounds coming from the floors and walls of his room. Water dripped inexplicably from pipes and walls. Most troubling of all was that his mattress would suddenly move.

Disturbed, Ronald’s family sought the help of every expert they knew. The family consulted doctors, psychiatrists, and their local Lutheran minister, but they were no help. The minister suggested that the family seek the assistance of the Jesuits.

Father E. Albert Hughes, the local Catholic priest, asked his superiors’ permission to perform an exorcism on the boy in late February of 1949. The church granted Hughes’ request.

For the exorcism, Hughes strapped the boy to the mattress and began his recitations. But he had to stop the rite when Ronald broke off a piece of mattress spring and slashed the priest across his shoulders, leaving the exorcism unfinished.

A few days later, red scratches appeared on the boy. One of the scratches formed the word ‘LOUIS,’ which indicated to Ronald’s mother that the family needed to go to St. Louis, where the Hunkelers had relatives, to find a way to save their son.

A cousin of the family was attending St. Louis University at the time of Ronald’s struggles. She put the Hunkelers in touch with Father Walter H. Halloran and Rev. William Bowdern. After consulting with the university’s president, these two Jesuits agreed to perform an exorcism on young Ronald with the help of several assistants.

The men gathered at the residence on Roanoke Drive in early March of 1949. There, the exorcists witnessed scratching on the boy’s body and the mattress moving violently. These were the same types of things that had happened in Maryland when the first exorcism failed.

Amid these bizarre happenings, Bowdern and Halloran, according to their reports, noticed a pattern in Ronald’s behavior. He was calm and normal during the day. But at night, after settling in for bed, he would exhibit strange behavior, including screaming and wild outbursts.

Ronald would also enter a trance-like state and start making sounds in a guttural voice. The priests also said they saw objects mysteriously flying in the boy’s presence and noted that he would react violently when he saw any sacred object presented by the attending Jesuits.

At one point during this weeks-long ordeal, Bowdern reportedly saw an “X” appear in scratches on Ronald’s chest, which the priest believed signified the number 10.

In another incident, a pitchfork-shaped pattern of red lines moved from the boy’s thigh and snaked down towards his ankle. These types of things happened every night for more than a month. Once, a red X appeared on Ronald’s chest, leading the priests to believe he was possessed by 10 demons.

The two priests never gave up as they continued the exorcism night after night. On the evening of March 20, the exorcism reached an unhealthy new level. Ronald urinated all over his bed and began shouting and cursing at the priests. Now, Ronald’s parents had had enough. They took him to Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis for more serious treatment.

Finally, on April 18, a “miracle” occurred in Ronald’s room at Alexian Brothers. It was the Monday after Easter, and Ronald awoke with seizures. He yelled at the priests, saying that Satan would always be with him. The priests laid holy relics, crucifixes, medals, and rosaries on the boy.

At 10:45 p.m. that evening, the attending priests called on St. Michael to expel Satan from Ronald’s body. They shouted at Satan, saying that St. Michael would battle him for Ronald’s soul. Seven minutes later, Ronald came out of his trance and said, “He’s gone.” The boy recounted how he had a vision that St. Michael vanquishing Satan on a great battlefield.

According to Bowdern and Halloran, the strange occurrences and behavior ceased after that. And, despite providing the true story of The Exorcist, Ronald Hunkeler went on live a completely normal life from that moment forward.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/roland- ... true-story

[jasmine]

“The Exorcist” is usually referred to as one of the most frightening films ever made. The movie was released in 1973 and it continues to be one of the best horror movies. That might be due to the fact that the movie is based on true events. The movie was adapted from a book and the book is based on true events that occurred in 1949 and 1964 related to exorcism.

[jeremydeth]

This was one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Till this day, it still scares me when I think about it. I heard years ago that it was based of a real story. Now after reading this, it makes me ask...where all these people lying about what they witnessed? To me it seems highly unlikely they were. So, maybe there is some truth to people being possessed by a demon or something else.