(Possession) The Exorcism of Roland Doe: The True Story Behind The Exorcist

Long before The Exorcist terrified moviegoers, a quiet middle-class family in 1940s Maryland claimed something unholy had taken hold of their son. In this episode, we revisit the chilling, real-life case that inspired William Peter Blatty’s novel — the 1949 exorcism of a boy known only by the pseudonym Roland Doe.

We’ll retrace the case from its first strange knocks and flying objects in the family’s home, to the desperate search for help that led Jesuit priests to St. Louis, Missouri — where one of the most documented exorcisms in modern history unfolded.

Drawing on eyewitness diaries, press coverage, and later Church records, we’ll separate fact from folklore and ask: what really happened in that room? Was Roland’s possession spiritual, psychological, or something science still can’t explain?

📚 Recommended Resources

• Thomas B. Allen, Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism (1993)
• William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist (1971)
• The 1949 Exorcism Diary (transcripts archived by St. Louis University)
• “Diary of an Exorcist” – article, Washington Post Magazine (1998)
• American Psychological Association Journal: studies on dissociative disorders and possession-like states.

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