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History Fix
In each episode of History Fix, I discuss lesser known stories from history that you won't be able to stop thinking about. Need your history fix? You've come to the right place.
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History Fix
Ep. 85: The Exorcist: How a Real Life Story Inspired the Cult Classic Horror Film
This week, I'll explore the peculiar true story that inspired William Peter Blatty to write the book and screenplay for the 1973 hit film "The Exorcist." This is the story of a boy around 14 years old who experienced something truly bizarre back in 1949. And unlike Regan in the exorcist, whose story is completely fabricated, this one is well documented, with lots of credible witnesses. And while we’ve known his story for quite some time, we only just learned his identity a few years ago. And he’s not at all what you’d expect. Let’s fix that.
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Sources:
- Father Raymond Bishop's Case Files
- The Washington Post "Priest Frees Mount Rainier Boy Reported Held in Devil's Grip"
- Skeptical Inquirer "Who is Roland Doe, the Boy Who Inspired the Exorcist?"
- Saint Louis University "SLU Legends and Lore: the 1949 St. Louis Exorcism"
- The Guardian "Boy whose case inspired The Exorcist is named by US magazine"
- Wikipedia "The Exorcist"
- Collider "What is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time?"
- The American Society of Cinematographers "Owen Roizman on Filming The Exorcist"
- The New York Post "Deaths, injuries, and a fire: How the original "Exorcist" set was its own horror movie"
- The New York Post "What really happened to Ronald Hunkeler, who inspired 'The Exorcist?'"