Exorcism of 1949 continues to fascinate St. Louis

Exorcism of 1949 continues to fascinate St. Louis

Just in time for Halloween...

...Jesuit scholars have joined a whole new generation of horror buffs in St. Louis to recount the supernatural incident. The university hosted a panel discussion Tuesday on the exorcism, which involved the treatment of an unidentified suburban Washington, D.C., boy. About 500 people crammed into Pius XII Library, with some spilling into the library aisles, leaning against pillars or sitting on desks.

The incident in 1949 involved a 13 year old boy known as "Robbie" or "Roland Doe" who was said to be possed by "malevolent spirits". The movie "The Exoricist" is loosely based upon the events that took place. "The Exorcist" is a 1973 film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel by the same name.

There is an ATS thread from Zazzafrazz about the 1949 exorcism here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Don't believe in possesion and exorcisms? The guest speaker at the conference is not completely convinced either...

The university scholars and guest speaker Thomas Allen, author of a 1993 account of the events at the school's former Alexian Brothers Hospital, emphasized that definitive proof that the boy known only as "Robbie" was possessed by malevolent spirits is unattainable. Maybe he instead suffered from mental illness or sexual abuse - or fabricated the entire experience.

However, the man who performed the exorcism was convinced that it was the "real thing".

One man described living near the suburban St. Louis home where the 13-year-old boy arrived in the winter of 1949 (his Lutheran mother was a St. Louis native who married a Catholic). Another said she was a distant cousin of Father William Bowdern, who led the exorcism ritual after consulting with the archbishop of St. Louis but remained publicly silent about his experiences - though he did tell Allen it was "the real thing."

Everyone loves to bash on the Catholic church but where's the first place you turn to when you're being possesed by a demonic entity?

"If the devil can convince us he does not exist, then half the battle is won," said the Rev. Paul Stark

The identity of the boy known as "Robbie" or "Roland Doe" remains unknown to the public. Father Bowdern, who performed the exorcism, died in 1983.

For your viewing pleasure:







Happy Halloween, ATS!

A few years ago, maybe 10, I saw a documentary about exorcisms, and in it, it said the Church will only make one when all scientific possibilities are explored. If nothing can be done scientifically, then and only then will the Church agree to have one performed, ironically with the benediction of the civil authorities.

And exorcisms can take weeks to months before being successful, if at all.

In it, they also said that exorcisms were on a steady rise since a few years before. If I remember well, it went from something like 3 a year to 45 a month. One wonders what's going on...

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When I was young ( it was at the end of the 70's or beginning of 80's ), there was a French exorcist who was presented on TV ( I don't remember his name, sorry, it was on TVA, Montréal ), and he was explaining his work. During the show, he showed a Polaroid picture of him holding a small golden cross above someone being exorcised, and on the picture, there was a colored-withe ray of light going from the cross to the forehead of the exorcised.

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That said, do I believe or think exorcisms are real? Well I keep telling myself that it is considered such a rare event, and it has been practiced by all religions worldwide, at all times. Knowing that, and that it has never been a game changer politically nor religiously, what was there left to gain from it?

I mean, the Ancients ALSO used herbs and such to treat ailments. So even then, there was a differentiation between being sick, and being possessed...

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I didn't know about the St-Louis event and even less knew it had inspired the story of The Exorcist. I'll look more into it with your links, thanks.

Reading the case study or "Exorcist Diary" is fun too.

reply to post by Blarneystoner



There is more to this world than meets the eye for sure....Not sure if you ever watch ghost adventures, but they are a ghost hunting team and had a new episode about a month ago where they are actually in that home and film an episode at the exact house. You can check it out here if interested.

www.youtube.com...

I could be completely wrong but, from what I've seen, these possessions are probably just psychosis or schizophrenia.

Happy Halloween, ATS!