Dare to join us as we peel back the veil on a tale of terror that transcends the screen, the true story of Roland Doe that seeded the cinematic horror masterpiece, "The Exorcist." Our latest episode follows the disturbing events that unfolded in a Maryland home, where young Roland's innocence was overshadowed by an invisible menace, thrusting his family into an abyss of supernatural fright. Venture through the chronicles of a child marked by unseen forces, furniture moving of its own accord, and ominous inscriptions upon the skin, as we recount the desperate pleas for help that led to the church's door.
As nightfall embraces us, we shift the lens to the legacy left by Roland's ordeal—the film that still haunts our collective nightmares. We dissect the eerie parallels between fact and fiction, revealing how "The Exorcist" drew its spine-chilling realism from the shadows of this very real exorcism. Wrapping up, we extend an eerie invitation to continue exploring the dark corners of this narrative with us online—where together, we confront the terrors that stalk the night. So close the curtains, steady your resolve, and prepare for a journey that may forever alter your gaze into the unseen world.
Speaker 1:
Well, hello, my little creepies. Oh, yes, it's that time again. We talk about UFOs and Bigfoot, paranormal true crime and conspiracy stories and all things creepy. Yes, this is the Creepy Show. You can find us online at creepyshow and I'm your host, the Master of Creep.
Speaker 2:
Tonight's story, roland Doe. Now the name Roland Doe is a fictitious name given to a boy who was born in 1935. He was believed to be possessed by Satan. Roland's family was living in Cottage City, maryland. Roland was an only child who depended on adults for friends. He didn't usually play with other children but he did spend a lot of time with his Aunt Harriet. Roland's Aunt Harriet was a lot of fun because she was into spirits. She would spend time with Roland playing on the Ouija board. Harriet would tell Roland spooky stories and conduct paranormal experiments paranormal experiments. But one day Aunt Harriet passed away and this had a dramatic effect on Roland's entire family.
Speaker 2:
Strange paranormal events started happening at Roland's house. It seemed that Roland had some kind of connection with his dead aunt. When Roland would walk into a room, something unexplainable would happen, such as furniture moving on its own, books would fly off the shelves and drawers would pop open. At first they confronted Roland because they believed that he was rigging things to move, that he was rigging things to move like a practical joke of some kind. But Roland goes into a very deep depression. After all, his favorite aunt was dead and Roland had no one to play with. His mom and dad just didn't share in Roland's paranormal interest, so he felt all alone and completely isolated. Not only did his mom and dad not relate to Roland, but they started showing signs of animosity because of Roland's interest in the spirit world. They believed that Roland was trying to scare them into believing that evil spirits were lurking about Roland's. Mom and dad would sit down and interrogate Roland on several occasions. They would often go into Roland's room and do a complete search for anything suspicious, like wires or strings or something they could make books fly off of shelves or furniture move on their own. Nothing was found, nothing that would explain all of the weird stuff that was going on. Roland's mom and dad got rid of all of the paranormal stuff, such as books and Roland's Ouija board.
Speaker 2:
Roland's mental health starts to deteriorate under all of the pressure. With no evidence of wrongdoing on Roland's part, his mom and dad had no choice but to believe that something evil was living with them and it had a deep connection with Roland. They turned to their religion and invited their pastor, luther Miles Schultz, a Lutheran priest, to come over to the house. Luther recommended that Roland should come home with him and this would give the family a day of rest while the priest got a chance to observe Roland overnight. It was a night of spirit unrest. During the night Luther witnessed furniture moving and things flying off the shelf and smashing against the wall. Luther also noticed that some of the rooms in his house got freezing cold. In a matter of a few seconds there were knocking sounds like someone was using hammers between the walls. Luther had several Jesus crosses above all of the bedroom doors and as soon as Roland entered the house all of the crosses fell to the floor. There was simply no way that Roland could have rigged all of this. Luther took Roland back home early in the next morning and the family noticed that Luther looked like he had aged 10 years in one night. Aged 10 years in one night. Luther said that this is beyond his ability to help or even understand. Luther recommended that the family contact a Catholic priest. So the family contacted the Catholic Church and after meeting with the family, it was decided that an exorcism was needed to be performed. So in 1949, roland was checked into Georgetown University Hospital under an assumed name which was Roland Doe. A Roman Catholic priest by the name of Edward Hughes was assigned to help perform the exorcism. Hughes served as an assistant pastor from June 16, 1948 to June 18, 1960 at St James Church at Mount Rainier, maryland.
Speaker 2:
Now the exorcist itself was dramatic. Roland was strapped down because he seemed dangerous to the attendant physicians as well as the priest who was conducting the exorcism. During the procedure, roland pulled one hand out of his restraints. Roland pulled one hand out of his restraints. He reached under the bed and broke off a mattress spring. He used the spring to slash the arm of Edward Hughes. Because of this injury, the exorcism ritual had to be halted.
Speaker 2:
Roland's family was advised to try again at a later date. They were directed to William S Bodern, an associate of College Church. He and a colleague visited Roland where he was strapped to the bed. They witnessed Roland's bed shaking violently and objects flying from shelves. Roland was speaking in a very low, guttural voice and seemed to fear anything sacred. Bodern was granted permission from the archbishop to perform another exorcism. This time the exorcism took place at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St Louis, missouri. Two other priests assisted Bodern in the exorcism. They were Walter Halloran and William Van Roo. Now Halloran stated that during the exorcism, words such as evil and hell, along with other various marks, appeared on Roland's body. Also, his mattress began to shake and somehow, during all of this, roland managed to break Halloran's nose.
Speaker 2:
After the exorcism, roland Doe ended up having a normal life, married with kids. In fact, roland is alive and well and has never spoken publicly about this case. Do you remember the movie the Exorcist? Well, this is the Roland Doe case. This true case inspired William Peter Blatty to write a novel in 1971 called the Exorcist. It was turned into a movie in 1973. One of the main differences is in the movie they turned Roland Doe into a girl played by Linda Blair. Many of the special effects in the movie are a reenactment of actual events. We hope you have enjoyed tonight's show. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1:
As the casket closes on another creepy episode, we bid you farewell to the shadows that danced upon your fears. Oh, and thank you for joining us on this creepy journey into the unknown, where the darkness whispers secrets and the silence echoes within your soul. Find us online for some extra creepy content at creepyshow and if you happen to make it through the night, don't forget to share this podcast With someone you want to terrorize. Good night, my little creepies. Sleep with one eye open, for the night is long and full of horror.