Is The Exorcist based on a true story? Real-life tale of Roland Doe’s possession that’s more terrifying than the film and TV show

by Jo-Anne Rowney 21 October 2017 | Excerpted from The Mirror UK

As The Exorcist returns to the small screen we look at the terrifying true tale behind the story and how close it is to the movie

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The cult film The Exorcist terrified the world more than 40 years ago, but the 1973 movie about the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl, held more truth than we realised.

It is a story that has gone on to inspire films and TV shows alike – the latest being Syfy’s The Exorcist, where two priests attempt to purge another girl of her demons 40 years after the events of the movie.

We have William Peter Blatty to thank for bringing the tale to the masses. In 1949, the author sat reading the Washington Post when he saw an article about a Maryland boy, named as Roland Doe to protect his identity.

The story grabbed his attention, so much so that he went on to write his novel, which in turn became the cult movie we all know and love.

But what actually happened to Roland Doe?

It all began with a 13-year-old boy,

At Long Last, Here’s a Doc About What It’s Actually Like To Be an Exorcist

ALAN SCHERSTUHL | OCTOBER 11, 2017 | Excerpted from The Houston Press
The biggest shock in Federica Di Giacomo’s Deliver Us, a doc tracking the everyday toil of exorcists in Sicily, comes when the priests, at last enjoying a respite from the writhing/spitting/yowling parishioners who occupy their days, admit to each other what

Filipino exorcist tells priests to bless religious objects properly

October 16 2017 Excerpted from UCA News
Even rosaries bought in church stores can become an ‘object of curse’ if not properly blessed, he says
One of the country’s leading exorcists reminded Catholic priests to perform the blessing of sacramentals, or religious objects, properly to avoid “demonic infestation.”

Demonic Howls Erupt During Apparition

September 18, 2017 | Spirit Daily
On September 2, 2017, Mirjana Soldo received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross in the presence of a very large crowd.
During this apparition, a rather common phenomenon occurred once again. But on this day, it was on a scale I had never seen before. People in large numbers began to howl blasphemies and yell like animals as soon as the Blessed Mother appeared. This went on for some time, and then everything gradually calmed down. When people who are tormented by demons are in the presence of Our Lady these demons sometimes manifest their anger in this way.
A priest who was there with us told me at the end of the apparition that he had perceived the coming of the Mother of God within his soul, and the luminous cloud on which she stands. This cloud slowly moved downward, pushing the demons down into the abyss, which unleashed their revolt and even prompted them to fight against each other. This priest belongs to a team that works with an exorcist every week, and he has the gift of seeing in spirit what is happening in the invisible realm. These realities are not new; the Gospel reveals a number of them to us. However in our days, with the growing number of harmful practices and the serious sins that are being committed, many people are opening their doors to Satan and his angels without being aware of it. Let us therefore pray a great deal to the Mother of God, because she was chosen by God to crush the head of the serpent. She is the best exorcist after Jesus! The Rosary prayer is a very powerful weapon against the forces of evil.
An exorcist from the diocese of Milano, Don Ambrogio Villa, reported what Satan said during a recent exorcism. Summoned to answer the questions which the priest asked him, Satan said: “For us (demons), Medjugorje is our hell on earth!” (See PS 1). No surprise there! Given the intensity of prayers surrounding the daily visits of Our Lady, given the evenings of adoration with people in their thousands, given the many sincere confessions, conversions and reconciliations, it isn’t surprising that the enemy of humankind feels awful there. But we must keep watch! He is doing everything he can to oppose the plan of the Mother of God and to destroy it. This is why our Heavenly Mother is counting on us today more than ever. She asked us again this month at the Blue Cross with Ivan, to pray for the plans she has for Medjugorje and for her projects. “I need your prayers to help the world,” she said at the very beginning of the apparitions. Let’s not let her down, because a lot of what will happen depends on our prayers and our fasting! It actually depends on our good will to live her messages or to ignore them.

Understanding demonic possession

Posted at Sep 02 2017 ABS-CBN News
In this day and age, cases of demonic possession are usually dismissed as mere superstition.
But for the Catholic Church, dealing with the presence of the devil requires the special ministry of exorcism. However, not all cases of demonic possession manifest the full control of the devil.
In some, the devil may simply influence the life or body of the person.
Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo, the sole exorcist in the Diocese of Cubao, Quezon City explains different

Do you believe in the Devil? If not, he’s winning

BY RICARDO SALUDO ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2017 The Manila Times

Wendell Talibong has one of the toughest, most dangerous jobs on earth.
The fortysomething battles ruthless enemies impervious to any weapon made by man, whose sole goal is to enslave, corrupt, and destroy people, body, mind, heart and soul.
One time, while Talibong was hurrying to his home city of Ozamiz to succor an elderly woman under a repeat assault, the enemy thrashed his vehicle with a coconut tree trunk thrown like a projectile.
His teenage son suffered grave head injuries, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Miraculously, the boy revived,

Real Life Exorcisms performed by Sicilian Priest

‘I am talking to you, Satan’: Real life EXORCISMS and group purgings are performed by Sicily’s notorious priest in chilling documentary footage
By Kelly Mclaughlin For Mailonline | UPDATED: 7 September 2017

An 80-year-old priest in Sicily has become the region’s most in-demand exorcist by ‘freeing’ people from possession in group purging sessions at weekly masses.
Franciscan Father Cataldo Migliazzo is able to perform exorcisms on several people at a time at his church in Palermo.
The priest was featured in an Italian documentary last year titled Deliver Us (Liberami), which will open in cinemas next month.
At the start of a special service used for purgings, he tells

Vatican Probes Brazilian Exorcists Who ‘Made a Pact With Satan’

BY FELIX N. CODILLA III , CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR
Jun 20, 2017

The Vatican is looking into a group of exorcists who made a pact with Satan on climate change and the death of Pope Francis. This came about after a video of the Brazil-based group, known as Heralds of the Gospel, emerged online that revealed chilling information of a cataclysmic event and the pontiff’s death.

The devil worshippers look up to their former leader, Dr. Plinio Correa de Oliveira, who they believe is in close contact with Satan, after his death in 1995. Currently, they are led by 77-year-old João Scognamiglio Clá Dias who reportedly resigned as superior general last week but continues to be the “father” of the institute.

The footage was taken at an occasion called “a gathering of priests to share experiences of exorcism” that was attended by about 60 of the occult’s priests. In the video, Dias was shown listening to one member read from a transcript of a purported conversation between the exorcists and the devil.

The transcript described

US Exorcists: Demonic Activity on the Rise

A look at the growing need to battle the devil.

by Patti Armstrong for the National Catholic Register
INDIANAPOLIS — There is an alarming increase in demonic activity being reported by those who work in exorcism ministry, said the exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Although steps are being taken to increase the number of exorcists, demand is still outpacing supply.

Father Vincent Lampert has been an exorcist for the

How can you tell if someone is demon-possessed?

Rome, Italy, Nov 10, 2016  from Info-Europa.com

Recognizing the difference between a person who’s possessed and a person struggling with a mental illness or other infirmity is a vital part of the ministry of exorcism, according to a long-time exorcist and priest. Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, told CNA’s Italian agency ACI Stampa that typically, a person is not possessed but is