The
Exorcist, while it has taken many dramatic liberties, has its roots firmly
in an actual reported case of apparent possession that happened in 1949.
Blatty was a junior at university when he came across a Washington Post
report that gave details of the apparent possession. The young man
was immediately fascinated, and the account stayed with him. He wrote
a paper on exorcism and many years later, working as a comedy writer, Blatty
decided to write a novel about possession based on the case.
What actually happened is often debated, but the closest examination of the case came in a 1993 book by Thomas Allen entitled 'Possessed'. Working from the diaries of the priest that performed the possession, Allen's chilling documentation provided the clearest picture yet of what happened.
Events began on January 15th, 1949, in Mount Rainier Maryland. Like in the film, rapping and scratching noises were heard in the house, apparently from above. An exhaustive search found nothing and the father assumed rats were responsible (sound familiar?). Events took a turn for the worse after the death of an aunt with whom the young boy concerned was particularly close. This aunt was a medium and dabbled with the occult, often showing him how to work an ouija board. Disturbing poltergeist activity occured, involving the shaking of the boy's bed and numerous different noises.
One month after the events began, the supernatural phenomena was occuring on a regular basis. The family sent the young boy to stay with their Lutheran Minister for the night, and apparently the man was subject to a barrage of poltergeist activity not dissimilar to that occuring in his own home. The minister ordered to the family to seek help from a Catholic priest, who knew more about possession. An abortive exorcism was performed on the young boy, but only caused events to become even more strange.
Lettering began to appear on the boy's body, spelling out words such as 'Louis', 'Saturday', and '3and a half weeks'. The family then went to stay with relatives, in a house previously occupied by the boy's deceased aunt. The strange events continued, and the family were encouraged by their relatives to seek religious counsel, in the form of Jesuit priests Fr. Raymond Bishop and Fr. William Bowdern. While the two priests considered the fact that the boy might be possessed, seances were performed by the family, where they claim to have got in touch with the deceased aunt.
An exorcism was granted, and performed on the 16th March of that year. While the ritual took place, Robbie subjected those present to a barrage of abuse and strange behaviour. He spat in people's faces, cursed them, simulated masturbation and urinated, at one poin screaming that his penis was burning. Welts and lettering appeared on the young boys body, sometimes spelling out words such as 'Hell' and 'Go'. This first exorcism did nothing, and the priests accompanied the boy home to Mt Rainer where futher exorcisms were performed, eliciting the same behaviour from the boy.
It was on the 18th of April that year that the 'possession' ceased after the boy apparently took on the persona of a saint and screamed for the demon to leave his body.
So there you have it. There are a number of psychological reasons for the boy acting in such a way, and many reasons have been given. Blatty though, firmly believes this was the real thing. The similarities to the film and this case are obvious, though it is clear some of Regan's behaviour is down to Blatty's imagination. If this tale is to be accepted as a real case of possession however, then The Exorcist is the most realistic account of one taking place and being dealt with.
WANTED: A scan of the cover to Thomas Allen's Possessed and any possible pictures of any locales the exorcism took place in. If you have any of these or know where to find them, let me know.