The Exorcist, known for its cinematic achievements and also hailed as the scariest movie was based on a true story. The 1973 horror movie centered around the real-life exorcism of Roland Doe and had set standards in Hollywood for what a truly terrifying movie could be.
It was also nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award and contributed to an impressive total of 10 Oscar nominations. The storyline revolves around a 12-year-old girl called Regan( Linda Blair) who gets possessed by an ancient demon. William Peter Blatty originally published the book in 1971, The Exorcist, and the writer based his novel and the screenplay for the movie considering a real-life exorcism that took place in 1949. A teenager called Roland Doe was allegedly possessed by an evil spirit. We share all the details of the real events that inspired The Exorcist:
Who Was Roland Doe and What Happened During His Exorcism?
Roland Doe, a Maryland boy when he was 14 started to experience a strange phenomenon like scratching behind bedroom walls. As per The Guardian, Doe’s family got in contact with their minister Reverend Luther Schulze.
In March 1949, Schulze got in touch with the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University and wrote to them that “chairs moved with [Doe] and one threw him out [of it.] His bed shook whenever he was in it.”
Schulze went on saying that “a picture of Christ on the wall shook” when Doe came closer. The Does took Roland to the Georgetown University Hospital but were unable to help him. After this, the family sought help from the Catholic Church for an exorcism, trusting it could free their son from his scary symptoms. Further, an August 20, 1949 story in the Washington Post revealed that in his hometown and St. Louis, Mo., Doe underwent around 20 and 30 performances of the ancient ritual of exorcism. It also stated that Doe was freed by a Catholic priest of possession by the devil and felt it to be the most remarkable experience in religious history.
It was found in some of the reported instances that words would appear etched into Doe’s skin and his bed would slide across the floor or hit a wall when he was asleep. It woke him up. Further, the boy broke into a violent tantrum of screaming and cursing. He even voiced Latin phrases-a language even though he had never studied. When the priest reached the climactic point of the ritual he uttered ‘In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I cast thee (the devil) out.’
Even though the article used the church representatives as sources some further questioned the authenticity of the report and how it was represented in the book and film. In 2023, film critic Nat Segaloff shared with Vanity Fair during the 50th anniversary of the movie’s release, that the events took place over a few months in 1949, and it was not like the movie.
The author of The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear said, “Definitely no projectile vomiting, levitation or head-spinning, but there may have been tipping chairs, shaking beds, and words appearing etched on the boy’s body—possibly self-inflicted. Some people think he was faking it to get out of school and mimicking Latin prayers to make fun of the priest.”
The Fate of Roland Doe: What Happened After the Exorcism?
Doe went back into a quiet life after witnessing exorcism at the age of 14 due to the anonymity granted by the fake name used in the press. Doe died in 2020, at age 85, and his identity was revealed publicly as Ronald Edwin Hunkeler. When he grew up, he became an engineer for NASA and helped with the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and other space missions. Hunkeler’s companion, a 29-year-old woman shared with the New York Post on condition of anonymity that Doe was always afraid he would be found out as the boy who inspired The Exorcist.
She said, “On Halloween, we always left the house because he figured someone would come to his residence and know where he lived and never let him have peace. He had a terrible life from worry, worry, worry.” She elaborated that Hunkeler’s experience wasn’t purely a demonic possession. “He said he wasn’t possessed, it was all concocted, and was just a bad boy.'”
Is Doe’s home haunted? Let’s find out
Exorcism: Live!, a paranormal reality show in 2015 went to the St. Louis home where Doe lived while receiving treatment in 1949. They investigated the home with psychic mediums and religious professionals and then “exorcised” any spirits lingering in the house. Producer Jodi Tovay told PEOPLE that their theory was that after Roland was exorcised, in St. Louis all the demonic activity went into the house and remained there ever since.
Tovay said that, “Other parts of St. Louis are haunted too. … At one point Roland was taken to the local St. Louis hospital and was exorcised there as well.” She also alleged there were plenty of outrageous stories from the hospital employees who worked there at the time. She said, “Whenever they tried to tear down the wing that Roland was in, the wrecking ball went out of control and hit another building!”
Was the original Exorcist movie cursed?
After the movie’s release the reactions from the public were intense, some even vomited and fainted in the theatre. After seeing Regan’s head spinning on her neck, the audience had visceral reactions. Blair faced backlash for playing the possessed main character.
The Exorcist had the reputation of being cursed as during the production there were unusual problems in the set. A fire broke out in the set before the cameras started rolling which led to a six-week rebuilding delay. Actors Blair and Max Von Sydow lost family members within a short span while filming the movie. There were reports that other crew members had injuries including Blair and Ellen Bursty who played the role of Regan’s mother. Lastly, Director William Friedkin had brought a priest to set to bless the production. Friedkin told the Castle of Frankenstein in 1974 that they were plagued by strange and sinister things from the beginning and it was the hardest thing he ever did in his life.
Is The Exorcist: Believer based on real-life possessions?
Christopher Chacon, who consulted on possession cases and their representation in films, mentioned that the possessions depicted in the 2023 sequel The Exorcist: Believer were credible. He revealed in an interview with PEOPLE, that he has observed similar phenomena in real life too. Chacon said that these were real phenomena and the elements we incorporated into The Exorcist: Believer were highly authentic and based on genuine experiences people had.
Christopher Chacon, after getting firsthand experience with these phenomena, explained that even though scientific tools can be used to examine them, advanced technology often falls short of fully capturing their complexity. He has observed various occurrences, like objects moving on their own, dramatic fluctuations in magnetic fields, and temperature changes of 70 to 80 degrees.
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