Roland Doe and the True Story of the St. Louis Exorcism

by Jodie Bares

In the winter of 1973, audiences flocked to local movie theaters to see a horror movie about a little girl being possessed by the Devil and the men that were in charge of casting out the said demon.  However, what if I were to tell you that The Exorcist was not just creative story telling by Hollywood screenwriters; but was indeed based in fact?  The film, which was first released as a novel written by William Peter Blatty in 1971, was inspired by a true story of the demonic possession of Roland Doe (the alias media and other publications have used when discussing the story) and the men that were responsible for exterminating the evil dwelling inside him.

To understand the story fully, we must first look at what exorcism is.  The Catholic Encyclopedia defines exorcism as, “the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; (2) the means employed for this purpose, especially the solemn and authoritative adjuration of the demon, in the name of God, or any of the higher power in which he is subject.”  The act of exorcism is depicted in the Bible and is where most of the knowledge comes from.

According to “How Exorcism Works”, The Roman Catholic Church practices three types of exorcism:

• Baptismal exorcism - blessing an infant prior to baptism to cleanse it of evil resulting from original sin
• Simple exorcism - blessing a place or thing to rid it of evil influence
• Real exorcism - performing the Rite of Exorcism to rid a human being of diabolical possession

Real exorcism is what is shown primarily in horror films where priests from the Catholic church act as the “ghostbusters” driving the spirit out using the form of prayer, reading scriptures, brandishing the victim with holy water, and exposing them to religious iconography.

So, like every disease or ailment, there are also symptoms that manifest within the victim.  These symptoms include:

• Being able to respond in previous unknown languages (ie. knowing only English but being able to reply in Latin or French) 
• Physical strength that greatly surpasses the original strength of the victim 
• Becoming extremely agitated or even violent when exposed to religious icons

Roland Doe’s story begins in Maryland where he was born in 1935.  By most accounts, it is said that the boy did not have a very stable family life.  When he was thirteen, his favorite Aunt, Tillie, came to visit for a time where she introduced the boy to the Ouija board.  Over the course of her stay, they held seances and it is thought that upon preparing to leave, she left the “toy” with young Roland.  Not long after the visit, Aunt Tillie died in St. Louis, and it is suspected that Roland tried to contact her via the Ouija board. But, instead of letting in the soul of his beloved Aunt Tillie, he let in something much more sinister.

The possession started as scratching in the walls and dishes and other things around the house started to move or go missing altogether.  After some time, though, things got much worse.  Roland’s bed suddenly started to move around at night and unseen hands pulled his bedding away. At one point, he was even seen levitating over the mattress.  His parents went to their Lutheran church concerned about what their son was going through, and they were recommended to convert to Catholicism after the priest himself witnessed the horrors surrounding young Roland. 

Things only got worse when the Catholics were brought in. The Catholics first tried a baptismal, and they only did it once.  It is stated that while his uncle was driving to the church, Roland began to strangle him shouting loudly, “"You son of a b****, you think I'm going to be baptized but you are going to be fooled!" Then Roland began talking to the priests in Latin (a language he never studied), he swore violently every time he was within inches of any religious artifact, and nobody really knew what to do about it.  Some thought he had a kind of nervous disorder while others began to think it might possibly be possession.  This went on in Maryland for three years. 

After three years and no change in condition, his parents thought that maybe it would be a good idea to move.  Their thinking was that maybe if they left Maryland, whatever was troubling their son would leave. Unfortunately, things only got worse again.  This is where William Bowdern enters the story.  He first tried to exorcise the boy in the family home in Normandy, Missouri with no success.

Later, Bowdern felt it necessary to carry it out in a more restrained place and moved the boy to the Alexian Brothers Hospital.  As stated above, they began a real exorcism that encompassed reading scriptures, holy artifacts and the like.  The boy would get an evil look about him, levitate, throw up violently, curse, lash out; anything he could do to get Bowdern and his assistants to stop the exorcism. 

After months and months of trying to cast out the demon, on the night of April 18th, during a marathon session of scripture reading and holy water, Roland began to rage, his body shaking all over.  A white light filled the room and after what seemed like an eternity, the boy stopped convulsing.  He turned to the priest and announced that it had left.  The room, however, was filled with a disgusting odor that nothing seemed to be able to penetrate.  Even open windows and a breeze would do nothing to squash out the smell, that witnesses said smelt of death and decomposition.  

After a few days of rest in the hospital, Roland told William Bowdern what had happened during those final moments of the exorcism.  He told how the archangel Michael came down and entered his body and engaged in a great battle with the demon possessing him. He said that it was almost a losing battle but in the end Michael drove him out using a heavenly sword and cast the demon back into a black swirling pit.  

So what do you think?  Did the Devil really come to St. Louis in 1949?

The St. Louis Exorcism house in Normandy

Works Cited: 

“Exorcism.” CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Exorcism, www.newadvent.org/cathen/05709a.htm.

Layton, Julia. “How Exorcism Works.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Sept. 2005, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/exorcism.htm.

Taylor, Troy. “ST. LOUIS EXORCISM CASE!” ST. LOUIS EXORCISM CASE!, www.prairieghosts.com/exorcist.html.