Posted on 10/31/2013 2:49:45 PM PDT by lowbridge
Linda Blair’s head-rotating, pea soup-vomiting portrayal of demonic possession is the stuff of movie legend, but the events that form the basis of “The Exorcist” and the book of the same name were actually inspired by a month-long demon-purging over a young boy in 1949.
Questions remain surrounding the boy’s true identity. Known by the pseudonym ”Robbie Mannheim,” his real name has never been released to the public and only a few people know of his whereabouts. Last year, university archivist David Waide told KSDK-TV that Robbie is still alive and is believed to be 78 years old.
Robbie’s Plight
Robbie’s story began at his home in Maryland in 1949 when he was 13 years old. His family said mysterious marks and welts began appearing on his body and that his bed would shake and the furniture would randomly move around his room.
Robbie’s aunt, a spiritualist, had apparently introduced him to the Ouija board before the strange occurrences began. The unexplained phenomenon that followed terrified the family so much that Robbie’s parents took him to a doctor. He was given a clean bill of health, but that clearly wasn’t the end of the story.
When the problems didn’t cease, Robbie’s parents took him to St. Louis to see relatives in the hope that it would solve his problems, but it did not.
Robbie’s cousin, a student at Saint Louis University, told Jesuits at the school about his ongoing plight, and they decided to help. That’s when the exorcism that has captivated the imaginations of millions of Americans took place.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
You know you’re going for a slow ride on Hell boat down the Misery river when someone cracks open a devil-board ......
Interesting fact. Ouija board: Oui and Ja.
Just say ‘No’ to Satan! (But happy Halloween.)
I know the story well. Thanks for posting.
The boy later started Rush’s favorite Yuletide music group, Mannheim Steamroller.
Ghost Adventures had their 100th episode at the MO home of the exorcism 2 weeks ago. Good show, scary EVP’s. It would have been better if the show was done at the hospital room , but it has been sealed shut for decades including the wing.
“After his exorcism, according to Father Bishop’s diary, the boy became ‘a fine young man’
Roland apparently married, raised children and maintained a long and productive career with the US government before retiring, reportedly to suburban Maryland. He has never spoken publicly about the case.
Analysts of Roland Doe’s case in later years believe he likely suffered from a mental health issue such as schizophrenia or Tourette’s Syndrome that was far less understood in the 1940s.”
Tourette’s. Ya, right. That is all it was.
Mental illness is not the source of deep scratches down legs, or a back, or on someone’s face.
I find it fascinating that the scratches, in every case, come in threes.
Good effects, scary night scenes with night goggles, bogus findings.............
Ghosts do not exist......If they do then heaven does not so take your pick.
"Whoa! Did you see that?????"
I was visiting the Catholic college I graduated from shortly after the movie came out. I was talking with one of the priests I knew and the topic of the movie came up. He told me that he knew the priest who did exorcism and that it was a real case of possession. This is not something I would have expected one of my former professors to say unless he really believed it. I later mentioned this to a colleague at work and he said he knew the younger priest involved in the case. Both said that while the movie had many sensational things happening, there was no rational explanation for what actually occurred during those weeks of exorcism.
Thanks for your post. From what I have read, the movie was sensationalized, but not much.
“Good effects, scary night scenes with night goggles, bogus findings.............”
Who gives a shit. I produce TV 7 shows here in Hollywood and don’t give a flying F what people think as long as viewers are in Nielsen’s top 25 in their respective demographics for contract renewal. One of them is a Nick Tv show which places top 3 all the time and I’ve never seen 15 minutes of any episode of it.
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