The first time I saw the movie The Exorcist, I couldn’t sleep for a week. Of course I was only five or six at the time, and had an older brother who thought I should get desensitized to horror younger. Looking back, it was probably a good idea because I haven’t seen a movie that disturbed me for years now, save for The Exorcist. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it; it still gets to me. It doesn’t help that I had a college professor who taught us all about the true story.
The true story of The Exorcist begins in a small suburb of Washington D.C. where a 13-year old boy and his family began to experience some strange things. Both the city where the event happened and the house where it happened have never been properly identified. Some claim it happened in one city, while others believe another and hundreds of people swear they can show you the actual house, yet no one connected to the case has ever actually stepped forward to say the truth.
Due to his young age, the boy has never been identified either though history has labeled him Robbie Doe. The family of the boy began hearing scratching on the walls and sought an exterminator, who could find nothing wrong. Later they noticed that things in the house seemed to move on its own. Then Robbie began experiencing odd things. His bed would shake, blankets were yanked out of his hand, and invisible forces seemed to push him down.
The family began to think something was wrong, and wondered if it might be their deceased Aunt Tillie. The woman had a strong interest in the occult and had died not long before the experiences started. Finally the family asked for help in the form of a rabbi and two Lutheran ministers. Robbie started screaming in a strange language at the rabbi, who announced the boy was speaking Hebrew. Later researchers would claim the language was actually Aramaic. The ministers decided to try praying over Robbie, even taking him to church, but the noises and behavior continued.
Robbie was also taken to the home of one of the ministers, where the man experienced the shaking bed for himself. When he attempted to have the boy sleep in a nearby chair, the chair too began shaking violently. The boy would experience problems when he attempted to sleep on the floor as well.
The poor boy was treated to a number of tests during this time. Psychologists and doctors ran a battery of tests, but could find nothing wrong. A parapsychologist interceded and decided that he was exhibiting signs of a poltergeist. When Robbie began turning up with bright red scratches on his body, the family decided to ask the Catholic Church for help.
A priest by the name of Father Hughes arrived at the house, where he heard the boy speaking in Latin. This priest supposedly performed an exorcism at Georgetown Hospital. During the procedure Robbie kicked at the priest, and cut him with a loose metal spring from the bed. The priest was so devastated that he suffered a nervous breakdown.
Others say that historical records prove this incident wrong. They claim to have seen the boy’s medical records, which show he was hospitalized for numerous tests during this time. They also claim that Church records show the priest continued to work in parishes around the area, and never had anything to do with the exorcism nor did he have a breakdown. It has also been said that Father Hughes never saw the house himself, but met with the boy briefly when his mother brought him to the church.
The days leading up to the exorcism were particularly bad for Robbie. The scratches grew worse and began to take on the appearance of letters. His mother suggested taking the boy to her hometown of St. Louis, and in response something scratched Louis on his stomach. The mother also suggested sending him back to school, and the word NO appeared on his body. She quickly dropped the idea. After visiting the local Catholic Church, the occurrences once again sped up.
This time things began moving on their own. His family attempted to use blessed candles, only to see things fly across the room to put them out. They witnessed many things coming across the room, and even saw the kitchen table flip over when he walked in the room. Some even attempted to baptize him into the Catholic Church, but reportedly the boy freaked out at the idea.
While in St. Louis, a family member sought help from a Reverend Bishop. Bishop attempted to bless the boy and it seemed to work for a few minutes, but the behavior began again once he left the room. He returned a few nights later with a Father Bowdern, but nothing seemed to work. A large bookcase in the room tipped over on its own, Robbie experienced deep scratches, and other things in the room moved around.
The two men had seen enough and finally spoke to someone higher up in the Church to ask for permission to perform an exorcism. Much to their surprise, the Church agreed. No one seems to know how long the process lasted, but Robbie did spend some time in a St. Louis hospital, as well as a local Catholic Church. Father Bowdern, Father Bishop, and Father Lawrence Kenny are all believed to be present during the exorcism. Others, including some seminary students are believed to have been present as witnesses and to help with the exorcism.
During the exorcism, Robbie experienced the shaking bed and strange scratches and welts appeared on his body. He became so violent that witnesses had to hold down his body, and odd words appeared scratched into his skin. Robbie continued to speak in different language and started vomiting on the priests in the room. He spat on them, and physically attacked the men. It’s interesting to note that they only performed the exorcism at night, and during the day Robbie was perfectly normal and claimed to not remember any of the nocturnal events.
When nothing seemed to work, plans were pushed through to baptize him into the Catholic Church. He took classes during the day and things seemed fine until they reached his communion. Robbie began screaming and hit the men who attempted to carry him into the church. Following that event, the boy was sent back to his hometown in Maryland.
Once in Maryland he was sent back to the hospital where the exorcism continued. This time the boy announced that the demon inside him was St. Michael the Archangel and continued to have muscle spasms. Then as soon as it started, it seemed to be over. He claimed that he saw a vision of St. Michael and that the demon had fled his body. After all the time the priests spent and the horrors his family saw, the exorcism and the rumored possession was over.
Even today there is a lot of debate over the case and what actually happened to Robbie. Many point out that the boy was labeled a troublemaker in school and was frequently in trouble prior to the event. Those people believe that the boy faked the entire event to gain attention and to get out of school. Another popular theory states that Robbie was in the early stages of schizophrenia and managed to make others believe his delusional fantasies.
Following the exorcism, Robbie reportedly had a happy and normal childhood. After moving back to Maryland, he busied himself with his everyday life, and never again spoke of what he experienced during that time. Some say the boy never remembered any of the things that happened during the exorcism or the things he did to the priests. He did however hold onto his newfound Catholic faith, perhaps his way of saying thank you to the priests who helped change his life.
One man who claimed to be present at the exorcism later claimed that he didn’t believe the boy was possessed. Father Halloran is one of the few people to speak out on the exorcism, and he stated that the punches were what you would expect from a younger boy. He also believed that the boy picked up enough Latin from the priests to throw it back at them as a strange language. Some have said that Halloran was never actually there, and he proved it by confusing dates and mixing up his stories as well as later stating that he did believe Robbie was possessed.
The story of the exorcism and young Robbie went public due to the first Lutheran minister called in on the case. The man told some in his church what happened, though he did not use their real last name. Eventually the story spread and the minister spoke to several reporters. One of those stories would later inspire William Peter Blatty, a student a Georgetown University. Using articles and a so-called diary he found written about the events, he crafted a story that would thrill and terrify readers and movie watchers for decades: The Exorcist.
Whether or not you believe the true story, there is no doubt that it had a lasting impression on American culture for years to come. Personally I have my doubts, if only because there have been so few facts released. It seems that someone at some point would have identified the true boy, if he ever in fact existed and if he truly was possessed.
Sources:
http://www.siue.edu/ALESTLE/library/fall1996/oct.31.96/exorcism.html
http://www.madghoul.com/arcanum/exorcist
