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In 1973, the movie The Exorcist terrified audiences, but few were aware the movie was based on an actual case. 

In Mt. Rainier, Maryland, 3210 Bunker Hill Road was once the site of a home. The home has been demolished, but the corner is still called the “Devil’s Lot”.   In 1949  a 13 year old boy who lived in the home tried to contact a deceased aunt through an Ouija board. Later, several unexplained events occurred and the family sought help from a Catholic Priest.

Father Hughes, 29 years old at the time, was stunned by what he witnessed: the bed shook, objects moved around the room and the child spat and swore obscenities.  Father Hughes conducted an exorcism.  He prayed to the saints for help and asked God to deliver the boy from the demons that consumed him.  The boy broke the straps holding him down and attacked the priest, ending the ritual.  Scratches appeared on the boy’s abdomen, revealing the letters LOUIS.

The parents took this as a sign to go to St Louis, where they had family.  Once again, they sought help from the church and once again, the request to conduct an exorcism was granted.  Father Bowdern performed the ritual with the help Rev Walter Halloran. recalls the events that followed.

“A bottle of holy water flew across the room…and crashed against the wall”

During the exorcism, the child’s body would exhibit scratches and welts, which would spell words or form images.  “Long welts down his arms, his legs, across his abdomen, on his chest.  One time one of his splotches looked like the hooded figure of the devil.”

Night after night, the priests prayed over the boy and placed religious artifacts in the room. The priests recorded the events in a diary each night and it was signed by each witness.  The boy would take religious instruction during the day, and at night the ritual continued.

During the exorcism, the priests are prohibited from conversing with the demon, however, they must demand answers to the following questions “What is your name?” and “What is the day and hour you will depart?”  The boy claimed he was “Satan” and “Legjon”.

In a deep mature voice, the child said “Satan, I command you to leave n the name of Dominus. Leave now.”  The boy then struggled and convulsed and a bright light filled the room.

The boy told about a vision of a beautiful angel who carried a sword of light and batted demons.  When he awoke the following day, he had no memory of the exorcism.

According to Reverend Charles Kraft, Ellyn Kearney was demonized; tortured by the demon called “Death” Kraft is an expert in Deliverance, an Evangelical version of Exorcism.  The demons are identified and named ‘fear’, ‘anger’, ‘depression’, and then they are cast out of the victim.

Skeptics believe the behavior witnessed during exorcisms is brought on by the exorcism rite. Suggestion creates and cures the symptoms of possession.  Others believe the behavior is physiological. Voices, paranoid delusions and hallucinations are all symptoms of Schizophrenia.

Even extreme stress can alter perceptions and expectations. Psychical manifestations, such as moving objects, may be nothing more that a trick of the brain.  

Exorcism relies on the mystic and superstitions of religion, whereas science relies on logic and methods.  Some combine both spiritual and scientific beliefs into a model of treating possessions with hypnosis or therapeutic methods.