This Disturbing Event In Missouri Is So Creepy It Inspired A Movie
By Liz Oliver|Published August 16, 2018
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Liz Oliver
Author
Liz is a Missouri native with a B.A. in English from Mizzou and a M.A. in Non-Profit Administration from Lindenwood University. She works for a STL metro-area community college and enjoys writing, traveling, and indoor cycling. Her true passion is forcing her encyclopedic knowledge of Missouri facts on uninterested strangers from across the globe!
People love a good horror movie. One of the highest grossing horror movies of all time was 1973’s The Exorcist. This grotesque film had viewers on the edge of their seat as they watched a teen girl become possessed by demons. She spit and cursed at priests, spewed green vomit, and did a back bend down a flight of stairs under her possession. This movie has caused nightmares for hundreds of people, but it seems much more frightening when you learn that it’s a true story (obviously enhanced a bit for the big screen) and occurred right here in Missouri.
You may be surprised to learn that the blockbuster hit, The Exorcist, was based of events reported to have happened in St. Louis in 1949.
According to records, a teen boy from Maryland was given an Ouija board from an aunt. He began to display demonic traits. He became incredibly strong, could contort his body, and obscenities would appear on his body.
The teen was sent to his religious aunt and uncles home in St. Louis and that is where the an began. Inside a stately brick home in north St. Louis, priests from St. Louis University were called to visit the boy.
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Leading the charge on the teen's exorcism was the late Rev. William S. Bowdern. Although Bowdern never personally acknowledged that he led the exorcism, his brother and many colleagues vouch for the story.
Eventually, the boy's condition became so desperate that he was taken to a 19th-century ward at the old Alexian Brothers Hospital. Many priests and theologians visited the boy in the hospital. It took multiple men to hold the boy down as priests prayed over him. After 12 weeks, the boy was finally released from his possession and was able to return home to Maryland.
The hospital was demolished in 1976 and the room where the exorcism was performed was only entered once after. Right before demolition, men opened the room and removed a diary and furniture was extracted.
No one was ever supposed to hear about the events that happened inside the home and the hospital room.
Unfortunately, the story was released by a Washington paper and the idea for The Exorcist was born. The movie was released on December 26, 1973, and the film continues to scare people today!
Sitting quietly in the same quaint neighborhood, the home where the Exorcist occurred still stands today. The teen who survived the exorcism went on to lead a normal life.
