The Exorcist is probably the movie that has caused the most nightmares in history. The worst thing is that behind this terrifying story, there is a chilling real case.
This film, directed by William Friedkin, is one of the most chilling stories in the film industry since its release in 1973. All thanks to Roland Doe and his terrifying real story.
Roland Doe, the Boy Who Inspired The Exorcist
It all happened when William Blatty, author of the novel, learned of a case of possession, where the victim was a 14-year-old boy named Roland Doe. This event took place in Cottage City in Maryland, in 1949, after the boy asked for a strange gift for his birthday: a Ouija board.
Perhaps, by that time, Roland found it amusing that people claimed they could contact the dead through this device. He was so insistent that one of his aunts, who was involved in spiritualism, gave it to him.
So far so good; however, things took a chilling turn when she passed away. Some say the boy tried to contact her, but something went wrong. Little by little, Roland began to take on a terrifying appearance, and his manner was aggressive, even with his mother. What this young man never knew was that he had attracted a demon into his life.
Roland Doe’s Exorcism
Seeing all these changes, Roland Doe’s family sought out doctors to tell them what was happening to their son, but there was no answer, and things only got worse. Suddenly, in a moment of desperation, they found Father Raymond J. Bishop, who immediately knew what was happening and performed a series of unsuccessful exorcisms.
Despite their efforts, little Roland showed marks on his body that formed the word “LOUIS,” so the family acted immediately and went to St. Louis University where they met Father Walter H. Halloran and Reverend William Bowdern. Finally, it was these two priests, along with the help of another priest by the name of William Van Roo, who performed another exorcism on her, which they deemed successful.
But Who Was Roland Doe?
Although for a long time, we were told the story of Roland Doe as you just read it, The Skeptical Inquirer and The Guardian revealed a version, that no one knew. In December 2021, they conducted an investigation into this young man who inspired The Exorcist, in which they discovered that his real name was Ronald Edwin Hunkeler.
He was born on June 1, 1935, and died on May 10, 2020. In addition, over the years, several aspects of the story were disproved, such as that he did not change the tone of his voice, he did not have supernatural strength, and that if he spoke in Latin it was because he imitated the Catholic fathers when they performed the rituals.
From “The Exorcist Kid” to NASA
The most interesting thing of all is that Roland had a normal life, and one could even say successful since he worked as an engineer for NASA, where he contributed to the Apollo Program, and in 2001 he retired. Sadly, this young man was branded as “The Exorcist’s Child” until the day he died in 2020. He claims that every Halloween he would leave his house so that he would not be disturbed.
This story was written in Spanish by Nayeli Párraga in Cultura Colectiva