The Exorcist was inspired by terrifying real teen boy who broke a priest’s nose as the words ‘hell’ and ‘devil’ appeared as welts on his chest
The spooky tale has haunted the public for generations
THE Exorcist is one of the highest grossing horror films of all time.
The psychological thriller was adapted from William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name – but not many fans will know that the spooky story is based on real life events.
Chillingly, the tale was created in reference to Roland Doe, a 14-year-old “possessed” boy who was exorcised by priests in the 1940s.
The studious Baltimore kid was raised in a German-American Protestant family.
According to urban legend, his life changed forever when he used a Ouija board following the death of his beloved Aunt Harriet in 1949.
Newspaper snippets from the time report that the Doe family then began noticing some strange activity in their house.
Not only did they recall hearing unexplained scratching noises from their walls, they also claim that furniture was being moved and objects were hurled through the air.
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Roland’s paranormal experiences didn’t end there, as it was reported that his desk at school kept swinging and hitting other pupils.
Newspaper articles also claimed that Doe suffered violent outbursts, blackouts and bouts of insanity.
His desperate parents turned to their Lutheran church minister for help as they convinced themselves that their boy had been possessed by his dead aunt.
When a priest was sent around to visit the family, Roland reportedly cried out in perfect Latin: “O sacerdos Christi tu scis me esse diabolum (O Priest of Christ, you know that I am the Devil).”
The fearful Doe family admitted their son to the Jesuit-run Georgetown University Hospital, where priests attempted to exorcise the demon believed to be inside him.
According to the legend, this wasn’t an easy task.
Reports accused Roland of spookily slipping out of his restraints and brutally lashing out at the priests.
During one attempt to banish the demon, Father Walter H. Halloran said he could see the words “hell” and “evil” appearing on the teen’s body as the mattress shook.
One account stated that “forty-eight people witnessed this exorcism”, where the priest’s nose was allegedly broken during Roland’s violent convulsions.
Thankfully, the Doe family’s problems seemed to have ended after this episode, with one report revealing the boy went on to have “a rather ordinary life”.
But the spooky tale has still been carried through folklore for generations.
Many studies have since debunked any evidence that Roland could’ve been possessed.
Author Thomas B. Allen believed that he “was just a deeply disturbed boy”, while writer Mark Opsanick accused Doe of putting on the bad behaviour for attention and to get out of school.
Opsanick said: "To psychiatrists, Rob Doe suffered from mental illness. To priests this was a case of demonic possession.
“To writers and film/video producers this was a great story to exploit for profit.”
The spooky story has also become the subject of a new TV show on Syfy, which airs every Wednesday at 9pm.
Even though the story has been widely discredited, alleged new cases of exorcism continue to hit the headlines.
Disturbing snaps showed 'possessed' women howling in an 'exorcism school'.
And a man appeared to spurt blood during a similar grisly ritual.