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The Exorcist
The Real Story Behind the Movie


     Followingis the account written by Fr. William Saunders, the account re-told by MichaelBrown with some added material and finally an interview by the priest thatassisted in the real exorcism.  What these accounts include and prove :
      -demonic possession resulting fromtoying with the occult 
      -classic phenomena associated with realpossession :
           objects flying across the room, 
            the bedlevitating, 
            superhumanstrength of the possessed 
            withdiabolical profane voices often speaking in languages foreign to the possessedperson, 
            wordsappearing in blood on the body 
           coldspots inthe room
    -the victim displayed great fear andcontempt of the holy, in itself proving the power of such :  
           the Eucharist
           the mention of Mary
           the rosary
           holy water
           the mention of ordination of priests and the priests themselves
           St. Michael the archangel 
      -the child was referred from a protestant churchand baptized into the Catholic church which has the full power ofexorcism 
      -the final victory over evil climaxed with aloud bang heard throughout the hospital by personnel and 
      -a vision of St. Michael in a heavenly lightwitnessed by priests praying in a nearby church

Straight Answers
By Fr. William Saunders
 HERALD Columnist


      I was watching the movie "The Exorcist" withsome of my friends. Can the devil really possess someone?  Does the Churchreally do exorcisms? I heard that the movie is based on a real story. Is thattrue? - An eighth grade student in Annandale.


      Last week, Straight Answers addressed the issuesof diabolical possession and exorcism. Concerning both the book and the movieversions, The Exorcist was based on a true account of diabolicalpossession. One must remember that the book and especially the movie havecertain sensational, "hollywoodesque" elements which are purely fictional.


      The true story began in January 1949 andinvolved a 13-year-old boy named Robbie who lived with his parents andgrandmother in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. Robbie was very close to his aunt whovisited the family frequently from St. Louis, Missouri. She was a medium andattempted to communicate with the spirit world. Not only did she sparkRobbie's interest in this practice, she also taught him how to use the Ouijaboard.


      Strange phenomena began happening on Jan. 10,1949. The family heard scratching on the walls; however, exterminators found noevidence of pests of any kind. Objects moved by themselves: a table would turnover, a chair would move across the room, a vase would fly through the air, anda picture of  Christ would shake. At night, Robbie felt scratching in hisbed, and he suffered nightmares frequently.


      After the aunt died suddenly on Jan. 26, Robbiecontinued to use the Ouija board to communicate with her and others. Thestrange phenomena also continued. Moreover, Robbie's disposition changed - hebecome unsettled, agitated, and angry.


      In February, his parents took Robbie to visittheir Lutheran minister,  Rev. Schulze. Being interested inparapsychology, he thought perhaps a poltergeist was tormenting the family.Pastor Schulze allowed Robbie to move into his house for observation for acouple of days. The minister witnessed chairs and other objects moving bythemselves. After he saw the bed shake, he moved the mattress to thefloor, where it glided along by itself.    Pastor Schulze becamesuspicious of the presence of evil.


      Upon Pastor Schulze's recommendation, the familytook Robbie to the Mental Hygiene Clinic of the University of Marylandfor  testing. After two rounds of testing, nothing abnormal wasdiscovered. Pastor Schulze then advised the family  to contact the localCatholic priest.


      Robbie and his parents visited Father Hughes ofSt. James Catholic Church in Mt. Rainier. While interviewing  Robbie,Father Hughes saw the telephone and other objects in his office move bythemselves. Robbie also cast obscene and blasphemous remarks at him in astrange, diabolical voice. The room became eerily frigid. Father Hughes wasconvinced that Robbie was possessed. After reviewing the facts of the case andthe medical evidence, Cardinal O'Boyle authorized an exorcism.


      Robbie was admitted to Georgetown hospital,where Father Hughes began the ritual of exorcism. The boy became violent, withspitting and projectile vomiting. He cast obscenities and blasphemies atFather Hughes. Although restrained to the bed, Robbie broke loose and wrenchedout a metal spring with which he slashed Father Hughes from his left shoulderto wrist. The wound required over 100 stitches to close it. Robbie seemed calmafter this attack, not remembering the ordeal. He was then released and senthome.


      The strange phenomena soon resumed at theirhome. One night, when Robbie was changing for bed, he screamed. A bloody wordhad been scratched on his chest, Louis. His mother asked if this meant, "St.Louis," and another bloody  word appeared, yes.


      Almost immediately, the family journeyed tovisit their cousin in St. Louis, Missouri. The same strange phenomena began tohappen. The cousin, a student at St. Louis University, talked with one ofher priest professors, Father Bishop, S.J., about the situation. Father Bishopthen contacted one of his close friends, Father Bowdern, S.J., pastor of St.Francis Xavier Church.


      The two priests and a young Jesuit scholasticwent to interview Robbie on March 9, 1949. They noticed bloody zig-zigscratches on his chest. They heard scraping sounds. They saw alarge bookcase move and turn around by itself and a stool move across thefloor. Robbie's bed would shake as he lay on it.


      He hurled obscenities and blasphemies at them.The priests knew they were confronting evil.


      They petitioned Cardinal Ritter for permissionto perform an exorcism. After reviewing all of the evidence including medicaland psychiatric exams, he granted permission on March 16.


      As the priests began the Rite of Exorcism,Robbie became violent.  He made howling and growling noises. The bed shookup and down. On his chest appeared bloody scratches with the words hell anddevil, and even an image of Satan. Robbie spit at the priests as he hurledobscenities and blasphemies, with intermittent fiendish laughter.


      For his own safety and for the family's welfare,Robbie was then transferred to the Alexian Brothers Hospital and placed in thepsychiatric ward. Father Bowdern, continued to perform the exorcism. Withthe family's consent, Robbie was baptized a Catholic. When Father Bowdern triedto give him First Holy Communion, Robbie five times spit out the Sacred Host;they then paused to say the Rosary, and Robbie finally received the HolyEucharist.


      On April 18, Easter Monday, the exorcism came toa climax.  As Father Bowdern continued the ritual, the demon recognizedthe presence of St. Michael the Archangel, and was expelled from Robbie. Asound like a gunshot was heard throughout the hospital. After this wholeordeal, Robbie remembered nothing of the diabolical phenomena, except thevision of  St. Michael. Certainly, this story is frightening, butis nevertheless true.


      So to answer the reader's original questions,yes, the devil really can possess someone, and yes, the Church really doesexorcisms. Be on guard! Stay away from anything dealing with the occult,including Ouija boards. Use the weapons of  the holy arsenal that protectus from evil: pray, attend Mass, receive Holy Communion, live by thecommandments and the teachings of the Church, and confess sins frequently. Ifwe rely on this holy arsenal for God's graces, we have no need to fear:the love of God will always triumph over evil.

Fr. Saunders is deanof the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College
and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria

 

Michael Brown's Commentary:
From www.spiritdaily.com


Although the famous movie and thepopular media didn't describe it, the famous case behind The Exorcist wasfinally won when a statue of the Archangel Michael was placed next to the bedof the possessed boy (in real life it was a male named Rob) and pleas were madefor the great angel to take the case before the throne of God.   

While in the movie evil seems to win, terrorizingan exorcist, in real life the priests were plenty awed but stuck it out andwith the intervention of Michael the great nemesis of Satan (Revelation 12:7)-- freed the boy from the horrid grip of full-blown satanic possession.

This was not a standard demonic infestation. Itwas the highest order of possession and was traced back to the boy's aunt, aspiritualist who had introduced him to the Ouija board, the "game" in whichpeople try to communicate with the dead (but in actuality are often talking todemons.)

Whatever was at the root, it began during thewinter of 1949 in a Washington, D.C. suburb called Cottage City when strangenoises, including a scratching in the wall, joined a shaking of the wall behinda picture of Jesus. Soon the boy's bed was shaking and there were other strangefurniture movements, eerie cold spots, and the inexplicable tossing about ofobjects. At the first the boy's family took the matter to a minister at St.Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Washington, but when the ministersensed an actual diabolical presence he recommended that the parents seek helpin the Catholic Church, which had formal procedures for exorcism.

After initial attempts at delivering the boy atGeorgetown University Hospital (where, indeed, the case seemed too much for ayoung priest), the matter shifted to St. Louis, where a priest named William S.Bowdern from St. Francis Xavier Church headed a team that watched aghast asbloody red marks materialized on the boy -- marks that spelled words like"hell" and a vial of holy water flew and hit a dresser.

At one point a crucifix with relics moved fromunder the boy's pillow to the foot of the bed and a relic of Saint MargaretMary, the mystic who saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus, vanished. There wasspitting. There was "fiendish" laughter. There was a guttural voice that spokewith great hate from the beleaguered 13-year-old boy.

After weeks attempting to free him, the priestsdecided to baptize the boy, and on the way Rob struggled madly to take controlof the steering wheel and crash the car. It was a clear indication of how thesacraments were hated by forces of evil. Finally Rob was baptized, but the nextday, when the priests tried to give him holy Communion, the boy refused it,spitting it out for two hours -- until a Rosary was said. The exorcism took sixweeks to accomplish, and the climax came at the Alexian Brothers Hospital inSt. Louis. There on Holy Thursday a small statue of Michael was placed on a bedstand next to the boy, and the following Monday -- Easter Monday -- as thepriest prayed for the angel's intervention - as prayer intensified, with neardesperation the boy's voice suddenly changed into a clear, commanding, anddignified voice from heaven. "Satan, I am St. Michael," said the voice that nowcame from the boy, "and I command you Satan to the leave the body in the nameof Dominus (the Lord). Now. Now. Now!"

At that precise moment what sounded like a loudgunshot was heard throughout the hospital. The boy sat up, had a vision of thearchangel, and announced with near befuddlement but certainly terrific reliefthat the evil force was "gone."

At the same time, priests at St. Francis XavierChurch saw a light illuminate the sanctuary from the dome high over the altarand in the light a vision of Michael. (This entire series of events isdocumented by the video, In the Grip of Evil, that we are making available (atwww.spiritdaily.com) although we always recommend prayer, Bible reading, andfor Catholics the use of holy water before reviewing any material that involvesevil spirits).

An interview with the priest involved in the casebehind The Exorcist We tracked down Father Walter H. Halloran, a Jesuit whoassisted in the famous excorcism that served as the model for the blockbustermovie, The Exorcist. Now living in San Diego, where he is assistant pastor atSt. Martin of Tours Church, Father Halloran still vividly remembers the case,which took place in 1949 and involved a young boy named Rob (not a girl) fromthe Washington- Baltimore area, with the final exorcism conducted in St. Louis,where the boy had relatives. Father Halloran assisted the main exorcist, FatherWilliam S. Bowdern of St. Francis Xavier Church in St. Louis. Father Halloransays the boy was 11. Others say 13. But everyone agrees on one thing: it washair-raising. Here's our short talk:

SD: Father, how many times were you present inthe exorcism sessions?

Fr. Halloran: I suppose every night for threeweeks.

SD: Did you have any insight into the origin ofthe problem?

Fr. H: In a way he was a victim to the frame ofmind of the aunt (who was into spiritualism).

SD: What happened at the end? We're told theArchangel Michael manifested.

Fr. H: I was taken off five days before theconclusion, but from what I understand there was a very loud sound, a boom --sort of like a sonic boom -- and then the boy opened his eyes and said St.Michael came and that it was over. At the same time this took place there wereabout six or seven priests over in the college church saying their office andthere was a huge boom over there and the whole church was completely lit up.Father Bowdern, who was doing the exorcism, and the boy were at the rectory.There was a very, very bright light that lit up the whole church.

SD: What was the most striking physical phenomenathat you witnessed yourself during the exorcisms?

Fr. H: I think the markings on the boy's body. Ididn't think there was any way they could have been self-induced, the marks,the scratches, the words, the numbers and that sort of thing that appeared inblood red]. When the evil spirit took over the child, there seemed to benothing he could do about it. There were a couple of times when something verydangerous might have happened and he had no recollection whatsoever of anythingthat took place when he was in one of these sieges. And that affected me, thepower that someone or something has over someone.

SD: Did you see anything fly across the room orfurniture move?

Fr. H: Yeah. The first night I was there I waskneeling at the bed on which the boy was lying and the bed started going up anddown and then I just about got hit with a holy water bottle that was sitting onthe dresser and came flying across the room and just missed me by an inch ortwo.

SD: How high was the bed going?

Fr. H: Oh, I'd say eight inches.

SD: Was there any particular prayer that the evilspirit seemed to react to the most?

Fr. H: Yes. It was more elements or words orphrases in each prayer. Whenever the Blessed Mother's name would be invoked ormentioned, the child would get very, very agitated and when Our Lord's name -Christ, Our Lord, or Jesus --when that was said, and the same thing withMichael the Archangel. And then he'd become very, very agitated with holywater. With some of the prayers you sprinkle the person with holy water andhe'd become wild, physically wild, flying around and that sort of thing.

SD: Flailing around with his hands, that sort ofthing?

Fr. H: Yeah.

SD: Did you see the 'Exorcist' movie?

Fr. H: I saw it right after it came out. I wentwith Father Bowdern and I thought it was a typical Hollywood, glitzy thing,real bizarre, trying to bring people to be fearful or to scream. I wasdisappointed with it. I thought it was a mess. And Father Bowdern did too. Hegave sort of a running negative commentary throughout the whole movie. Ithought the two of us were going to be thrown out of the theatre.

SD: So there was no neck craning around?

Fr. H: No. It was just ridiculous, and the grossone where the little girl is ing with a crucifix. It just didn't happen, that'sall, and the huge amount of green vomit: Nonsense.

SD: There was some spitting, though, wasn'tthere?

Fr. H: Yeah, there was spitting, and when I thinkback on it, it amazes me, his accuracy. He'd spit right in your eye from abouteight feet away.

SD: I understand at one point you saved the boy'slife. He was ready to go over a cliff, wasn't he?

Fr. H: Yeah. I took him out to the retreat housein St. Louis, a very pretty place, to get out of the hospital and get somefresh air, and he didn't know anything about the Stations of the Cross and so Iasked if he wanted to learn and he's says, oh sure. He was an affable littlekid. Not many 11-year-old would say they were interested in finding out aboutthe Stations of the Cross, but he was. And I explained what each one signifiedand we got to the 12th station and I said, this commemorates Christ dying onthe cross and with that he took off and ran toward the edge of a bluff thatdropped down about 150, 200 feet down to the tracks and I hollered at him andnothing happened so I ran and for once in my life I made a decent tackle.

SD: Did you have any manifestation afterward, orwas that the end of it? Did you come under demonic attack afterwards?

Fr. H: No, I never did.

SD: Did you fast during that whole thing?

Fr. H: On and off I did.

SD: Bread and water?

Fr. H: No, things like just taking a cup ofcoffee and a piece of toast and skipping a meal and at that time we were stillpracticing abstinenence during Lent.

SD: Did Father Bowdern fast?

Fr. H: He did quite a bit, and sometimes he wouldgo off because he was getting worn out the exorcism lasted six weeks].

SD: How old were you?

Fr. H: About 28.

SD: Anything else that sticks out in your mindwhen you think back about Rob?

Fr. H: Well, when they baptized him -- it was aconditional baptism, because he had been baptized a Lutheran as a baby -- whenthey went through the ceremony again, on the way down to the church from hisuncle's home, he kept grabbing the steering wheel of the car. He had the car upon the boulevard and some close calls of hitting or being hit by other cars.Then when they were giving him first Holy Communion, and I was present forthis, he really fought that, he was flailing around and he'd open his mouth andthen as soon as Father Bowdern came close with a Host, he'd swing at him. And Iwas supposed to be holding him all this time. But he'd relax and I'd relax alittle bit and then he'd get an arm free and the voice would keep yelling, "No!He will not receive" or -- and his eyes were closed! -- he'd take a swing atFather Bowdern in the groin and say, "How's that for a nutcracker?" And then itmust have been 15 or 20 minutes of this carrying on and he relaxed and receivedHoly Communion.

SD: Did you fear for your life.

Fr. H: No, not really. But I wondered why me,what purpose I was there for. There was one time he asked us to stop and tookhis pajama top off and he was covered with these marks, scratches, and he saidthey hurt. It was Holy Thursday and I was telling him about Holy Thursday andhe started writhing around in pain and he said, look, I can't stand this. Heseemed more affected; when I said things like "the Blessed Sacrament" ormentioned the ordination of priests and things like that.

SD: What a confirmation of the power of ourfaith, and the powers that struggle with each other on this earth.

Fr. H: Yes. That's what affected me most, and Iguess that's why I was so disappointed with the movies.

SD: Do you think it was Satan or a demon?

Fr. H: During the rite when it was asked its namethe only answer I can remember that was given was "legion," which reminds us ofthe swineherd running into the lake.

The boy eventually married and settled back onthe East Coast after attending Loyola High School in Baltimore. Father Bowderndied more than thirty years after the exorcism, in 1983. Meanwhile the movie,re-released last fall, became one of the most famous of all time. FatherHalloran is featured in the video In the Grip of Evil, an excellent docu-dramaand one that, like anything dealing with evil, should be preceded with prayer,Bible reading, and holy water.

 

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