STLegends: The Exorcist

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Many are aware of St. Louis’s ties to the infamous exorcism that inspired the book The Exorcist and the subsequent cult-classic horror movie. But many say the events surrounding the exorcism, not the event itself, are why the story has had a lasting impact.

The Exorcism

The story began in Maryland in 1949. A boy named Robbie was around 13 years old when the family began experiencing odd events around the house. The family reported hearing scratching and thumping in the walls.

Around the same time, the boy’s aunt, who was into spiritual and esoteric practices, died. The strange events then intensified.

The boy’s family reached out to their Lutheran priest, who eventually referred them to the Catholic church when they started fearing demonic possession.

However, the Archdiocese in Washington was skeptical.

The story goes that the word “Louis” was scratched into the boy, and with the mother having family from St. Louis, it was taken as a sign to relocate for help.

They eventually took him to the Alexius Brothers in South St. Louis. At this hospital, an exorcism was performed, and the strange behavior stopped.

Mental health or possession?

It’s said that Robbie had behavioral problems before the strange events started happening, adding to some people’s belief that the situation had more to do with mental health struggles than a spiritual struggle.

Of those involved, Father Walter Halloran, who was a young man at that time, helped Father William Bowdern during the exorcism. Later in life, Father Halloran would say in reflection that while he could not say it was not a possession, he thought it had more to do with this boy’s mental state than it did with an actual spiritual event.

The St. Alexius Hospital also served as the state’s first psychiatric hospital, focusing on mental illnesses and alcoholism. The historic hospital has since been demolished.

Hidden by the church, found by a novelist

The exorcism was kept secret for many years afterward.

There was an official report that was investigated by the Archdiocese, with Archbishop Joseph Ritter asking that it be sealed. Those who were involved were sworn to secrecy — for the sake of the family and their privacy, as well as out of concern for how it would look for the church if it turned out to be a hoax.

The initial doubt from Washington and then the order issued from the Archdiocese of St. Louis added to the intrigue surrounding the case, including for William Blatty.

Blatty, who wrote The Exorcist, was a student of one of the priests at Georgetown who was initially involved in the exorcism. The professor would later bring it up in class and talk about the report.

The more Blatty learned about the events of the exorcism, the more fascinated he became with the story.

In 2008, Blatty attended an event at St. Louis University, saying that many were missing the true point of his book.

“What was the name of the book that I wrote? ‘The Exorcist.’ What’s the name of the movie? ‘The Exorcist.’ What does everybody talk about? Heads spinning around and spider walks downstairs and spitting and all that,” John Waide, the Archivist Emeritus at St. Louis University, recalled Blatty saying. “Everybody’s missing the point.”

“The name of the book and the name of the movie is The Exorcist: C-I-S-T. It’s about the priests,” Waide recalled Blatty saying. “It’s about, not necessarily that they’re Catholic priests, but what these guys do — they want to help. That’s the point of the whole thing, is that if you see somebody in trouble, you don’t just sit there and watch the guy suffer. They worked with him in the way they thought best, which was to support the exorcism.”