In 1973 audiences watched as a man was sent as a last resort to save a young girls life. This movie would forever change how we see demonic possession and horror films, there was no going back. The Exorcist showed a glimpse into a nightmare of religious consciousness that those could only read about. But what many do not know is the story behind the movie.
Without going into complete details about the author of the screenplay, William Peter Blatty, we will speak about what influenced him to write The Exorcist. This is about the story Blatty heard while in college that both scared and changed him.
----------------------------------------------------- Priest Frees Mt. Rainier Boy Reported Held in Devil's Grip
By Bill Brinkley Post Reporter Friday, Aug. 20, 1949
In what is perhaps one of the most remarkable experiences of its kind in recent religious history, a 14-year-old Mount Rainier boy has been freed by a Catholic priest of possession by the devil, Catholic sources reported yesterday.
Only after between 20 and 30 performances of the ancient ritual of exorcism, here and in St. Louis, was the devil finally cast out of the boy, it was said.
In all except the last of these, the boy broke into a violent tantrum of screaming, cursing and voicing of Latin phrases-a language he had never studied-whenever the priest reached the climactic point of the ritual, “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, I cast thee (the devil) out.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/features/dcmovies/exorcism1949.htm
Bringing this forward to the present we still have another incident to discuss. There is another story regarding a case of exorcism.
The last recorded exorcism happened in 2012 to Latoya Ammons family in what is known as the Indiana house Portal to Hell. With over 800 pages of documents from county police, hospital, child services, and other mental health services there is a considerable amount of witnesses corroborating what happened.
The house was sold to Ghost Adventures star and creator Zak Bagans who used it in creating the documentary movie Demon House. After claiming that the documentary was cursed due to illness, deaths, and possessions Bagans has the house destroyed. You can watch the video for yourself, however due to the history of his previous content having been cited for bad “performance” value it should be noted that any possible irony that he bought a real demon portal without thinking it through would result in him leveling it or burning it with fire.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/27/family-possessed-seeks-exorcism/4939953/
I’m not going to give you a link to the trailer for the Zak Bagans documentary or where you can stream it. I’ve seen it and yes there are parts that can be compelling, while others are probably chopped up while editing. I have no doubt they scripted some things but found themselves in a situation where things were not planned and off camera.
So where do you stand on demonic possessions? If you or a family member were to be in a situation similar to anyone in these two cases would you seek out the Catholic Church for help?