The terrifying true story of a ‘possessed’ 13-year-old who made objects FLY and inspired The Exorcist movies
The exorcism of a 13-year-old boy in the 40s triggered the films and a new Syfy TV show
THE Exorcist is a cult horror film which has been terrifying audiences since 1973.
It features spooky scenes including one where the demon-possessed 12-year-old girl’s head moved all the way around her neck.
Now a new TV show, on Syfy, sees another two priests attempting to rid another young girl from her demons.
But did you know The Exorcist is actually based on a true story?
Back in 1949, priests in the States performed exorcisms on an anonymous 13-year-old boy known as Roland Doe.
![Linda Blair / The Exorcist / 1973 directed by William Friedkin [Warner Bros. Pictures]](http://mcb777.site/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nintchdbpict000277992638.jpg?w=960)
Priest Raymond Bishop thought the teenager, from Maryland, was possessed by a demon – and he was assisted by 26-year-old priest Walter Halloran.
The boy had written in his diary that his family were spooked by strange noises, levitating objects, and furniture which moved of its own accord.
During his attempted exorcisms, the priest reported that he saw a shaking bed, flying objects, the boy speaking in a guttural voice, and being terrified of anything sacred or religious.
Speaking of his colleague a year before Walter died in 2005, he said: “He was kind of like a bulldog. If he got a hold of something he would follow it to the very end.
“We went to see the Archbishop in St Louis to get permission to do the exorcism.
“Before we started prayers we had a bottle of holy water. I put it on the dresser and was kneeling there at the front of the bed and all of a sudden this bottle whizzes past my head and crashed into the wall.
“That was the first clue that I had that this was a case of exorcism.
“I’m convinced that the situation of Roland and the things he went through was all genuine, there was not any deception on his part.”
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British psychologist Professor Christopher French told the : “If we accept the case at face value then it seems to include lots of elements that characterise possession cases.
“But we know from mountains of research on witness testimonies that in general they are not that accurate.”
This case remains a mystery, and the Catholic Church continue to receive thousands of requests for exorcisms every single year.
Demons are definitely real for millions of people – so keep that in mind when you sit down to watch The Exorcist.
The show is on Syfy every Wednesday at 9pm.