Exorcism Of Roland Doe

What is an exorcism well is a practice where it cast out or gets rid of demons, jinn and other malevolent spirits, the practice of exorcism is as old as religion itself.

Tonight, we will be exploring exorcism in the Christian religion as its where the darkest, and controversial cases lie.

If you're a fan of anything horror like me then you also grew up with The Exorcist (1973) movie, you know that movie where the girl is levitating and vomiting pea green puke? but where you are aware that this story is based on the case of 14-year-old boy named Roland Roe/ Roland Hunkeler in the late 1940s?

If not buckle in, we are in for a ride.

Roland was born into a German Lutheran family, living in Cottage City Maryland, as an only child he was particularly close to his aunt Harriet who was a spiritualist. It was she who taught him to use the Ouija board.

Sometime after Aun

t Harriet death in January 1949, Roland started to experience strange things, it started small he heard sounds (knocks) coming from the walls and floors, then it escalated to his mattress moving on its own.

His parents concern contacted the local catholic priest.

Father E. Albert Hughes took the teen in his parish and in late February 1949 the catholic church gave Hughes permission to do an exorcism.

Hughes strapped the boy to a mattress and began the ritual however it had to be cut short due to Roland breaking off a piece of the mattress spring and slashing Hughes on the shoulder stopping the exorcism. (Father Hughes seen below)

This however was not the end of the story a few days later, red scratches appeared on Roland abdomen that spelled out LOUIS, this fueled the family to send their son to St. Louis for help. In St. Louis a family member helps the family to get in contact with two Jesuit priest Father Walter H. Halloran and Rev. William Bowdern.

Halloran and Bowdern witness to lots of unexplained phenomenon, from scratches on Roland, his bed levitating, sometime during this whole long ordeal Roland starts to get X scratched in his body which the priest believed it meant 10.

One of the most disturbing things to happen Roland a pitchfork-shaped pattern of red lines moved from the boy’s thigh and snaked down towards his ankle... these occurrences happened every single night for weeks, it all escalated and on March 20, 1949, after Roland urinated all over his bed his parents had enough and took him to the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis.

Finally, after all of this on April 18 at 10:45pm a "miracle" happened after a day of seizures. The two-priest laid holy relics, crucifixes, medals, and rosaries on the boy.

The two priests in their desperation called in St. Micheal for assistance to expel the demons out of Roland body and save his soul. Seven minutes after this Roland come out of his trance and said to the two priest "He is gone". Later he recounted how he had a dream that, St. Michael fought with Satan on a great battlefield.

Roland went on to have a long and healthy life, but his story influenced Hollywood and opened the doors for the common folk to the possibility that maybe there are things out there that we yet don't understand.

And with this I bid you good night sweet dreams.