10 Petrifying Details Surrounding The Exorcism Of Roland Doe, The Real-Life Inspiration For “The Exorcist”

6 /10 Aunt Tillie

Roland’s mother suspected there was a correlation between the death of his Aunt Tillie on January 26 and the strange occurrences in the family home.

Aunt Tillie was the one who introduced an Ouija Board game to Roland earlier in the month, and since then, unexplainable events such as the scratching noises and objects falling started to happen.

At one point during a seemingly ghost apparition, Mrs. Doe asked the invisible being to knock four times if it was the spirit of Tillie, after which it did just that, followed by claw-scratching on Roland’s mattress.

5 /10 Chair Tipping Over

Reverend Shultz, a local Lutheran minister, arranged to have Roland Doe spend a night at his parsonage on February 17. Roland arrived at around 9:20 p.m. and left the following day.

The reverend reportedly witnessed a chair where Roland sat tipping over and heard scratching noises during the stay.

Before the night ended, he also claimed to have seen bed vibrations and a pallet of blankets on which Roland sat moving on its own.

This event corroborated the story published in The Washington Post on August 10, although the publication didn’t name any specific account source.

4 /10 Skin Markings

Nine days later, on February 26 and four consecutive nights, scratches and markings appeared on Roland’s body. After the fourth night, some words appeared and seemed to have been scratched on the boy’s skin by claws.

Mrs. Doe was present when this event took place, although it remains unclear what the exact words or shapes of the marking were.

The family then consulted Father Albert Hughes of St. James Catholic Church in Mount Rainier.

He suggested the family use holy water and blessed candles in addition to special prayers; none worked as expected.

3 /10 Enter Father Bishop And Bowdern

Father Raymond Bishop of St. Louis University became involved in the case starting on March 9, whereas Father Bowdern, a St. Francis Xavier Church pastor, followed suit two days later.

Soon after family members left the two alone with Roland on March 11, everyone heard a loud noise coming from his room.

When they entered the room, they found a tipped-over bench and a bookcase moving about.

A crucifix placed by the Fathers under the boy’s pillow was now on the edge of the bed. The madness only stopped when some relatives yelled, asking “Aunt Tillie” to stop.

2 /10 Ongoing Exorcism

Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter allowed Father Bowdern to perform the formal rite of exorcism on March 16. Father Bowdern and a Jesuit scholastic named Walter Halloran began the tradition that night.

Since this is an ongoing process, Roland Doe was moved back and forth between his aunt’s home in Normandy, Missouri, a nearby rectory, and Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis.

As the proceeding continued, markings appeared on Roland’s body, accompanied by outbursts of vomiting, urinating, cursing, and citing of Latin phrases. At one point, a portrait of the devil also appeared on the boy’s calf.

1 /10 A Fallen Angel Cast Out

The final rite of exorcism on Roland Doe took place on April 18 by Father Bowdern, assisted by Farther Raymond Bishop in St. Louis.

As Bowdern kept on reciting and demanding to know who the demon was, the boy screamed that he was a fallen angel.

Then out of nowhere, Roland said that he was St. Michael, commanding Satan and other evil spirits to leave his body. The boy then pronounced, “He is gone.”

About twelve days later, Roland left St. Louis and returned to Maryland. The demonic possession was over.