IsThe ExorcistBased on a True Story? All About the Real Events That Inspired the Horror Film

Mar. 15, 2025

‘The Exorcist’.Photo:Allstar Picture Library Ltd / Alamy

Allstar Picture Library Ltd / Alamy

Hailed as one of the scariest movies ever made, groundbreaking in its cinematic achievements and its subject matter,The Exorcistis based on a true, harrowing story.

The Exorcistset standards in Hollywood for what truly terrifying movies could be. To this day, it’s one of only a small number of horror films nominated for a Best PictureAcademy Award, one of10 total Oscar nominationsthe movie received.

Here’s everything to know about the real events that inspiredThe Exorcist.

Who was Roland Doe?

Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist’.Warner Bros/Hoya Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

Warner Bros/Hoya Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

When he was 14, a Maryland boy known in the press as Roland Doe began experiencing strange phenomena, like hearing scratching behind his bedroom walls. Doe’s family contacted their minister, Reverend Luther Schulze, for guidance, according toThe Guardian.

Schulze contacted the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University in March 1949, writing that “chairs moved with [Doe] and one threw him out [of it.] His bed shook whenever he was in it.” Schulze added that “a picture of Christ on the wall shook” when Doe would come near.

The Does brought Roland to the Georgetown University Hospital, where they were unable to help him. Eventually, the family turned to the Catholic Church for an exorcism, believing it could free their son from his scary symptoms.

In some of the alleged instances, words would appear etched into Doe’s skin and his bed would allegedly slide across the floor or hit a wall while he was asleep, waking him up.

The story added, “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.’ ”

However, despite that article (which used only church representatives as sources), some question the veracity of the reports and how they were represented in the resulting book and film.

“The events happened over a few months in 1949, and they weren’t anything like the movie,” film critic Nat Segaloff toldVanity Fairin 2023, on the 50th anniversary of the movie’s release.

The author ofThe Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fearcontinued, “Definitely no projectile vomiting, levitation or head-spinning, but there may have been tipping chairs, shaking beds and words appearing etched on the boy’s body—possibly self-inflicted. Some people think he was faking it to get out of school and mimicking Latin prayers to make fun of the priest.”

What happened to Roland Doe?

‘The Exorcist’.Allstar Picture Library Limited. / Alamy

Allstar Picture Library Limited. / Alamy

As an adult, he became an engineer for NASA and helped with the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and other space missions. According to Hunkeler’s companion, a 29-year-old woman who spoke to theNew York Poston condition of anonymity, he never escaped the fear that he would be found out as the boy who inspiredThe Exorcist.

“On Halloween, we always left the house because he figured someone would come to his residence and know where he lived and never let him have peace,” she said. “He had a terrible life from worry, worry, worry.”

She also said that Hunkeler’s experience wasn’t necessarily demonic possession. “He said he wasn’t possessed, it was all concocted,” the companion added. “He said, ‘I was just a bad boy.' ”

Is Doe’s home haunted?

‘The Exorcist’.Allstar Picture Library Ltd / Alamy

In 2015, the paranormal reality showExorcism: Live!went to the St. Louis home Doe lived in while receiving treatment in 1949. Their goal was to investigate the home with psychic mediums and religious professionals, then “exorcise” any spirits lingering in the house.

“Our theory is that after Roland was exorcised,all the demonic activity went into the housein St. Louis and has remained there ever since,” producer Jodi Tovay told PEOPLE. “Other parts of St. Louis are haunted too. … At one point Roland was taken to the local St. Louis hospital and was exorcised there as well."

She continued, alleging, “There were lots of outrageous stories from the hospital employees who worked there at the time, and when they tried to tear down the wing that Roland was in, the wrecking ball went out of control and hit another building!”

Was the originalExorcistmovie cursed?

Ellen Burstyn in ‘The Exorcist’.Warner Bros/Hoya Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

Once the movie was released, reactions from the public were intense. Many people had visceral reactions to seeingThe Exorcist,with some accounts saying audience members fainted or vomited in the theater after seeing things like Regan’s head spinning on her neck.Blair, who played the possessed main character, reportedly faced backlash for playing the role.

During production, there were many unusual problems — leading to a reputation forThe Exorcistbeing cursed. Before the cameras started rolling, a fire broke out on set, resulting in a six-week rebuilding delay. Actors Blair and Max Von Sydow also lost family members within a short span while filming the movie.

Other crew members suffered injuries, as did Blair andEllen Burstyn, who played Regan’s mother. Director William Friedkin eventually brought a priest to set to bless the production.

IsTheExorcist: Believerbased on true events?

Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist’.RGR Collection / Alamy

RGR Collection / Alamy

According to Christopher Chacon, whoconsults on possession casesand their portrayals in movies, the possessions portrayed in the film’s 2023 sequel,TheExorcist: Believer,are credible, and he told PEOPLE he’d seen evidence of them in real life.

“These are real phenomena,” Chacon said. “All the elements we put inTheExorcist: Believerare very authentic and [based on] these experiences that people have encountered.”

“I’ve seen it demonstrated and take place in real life,” he added. “Not only that, but we’re able to scientifically assess it and analyze it. And even with state-of-the-art technology, you still have no answers because you’re dealing with something that science can’t measure in every way.”

source: people.com