Steven LaChance Blog

This is an excerpt from my book, Confrontation with the Devil, dealing with the 1949 exorcism case of Roland Doe. This is the case which inspired, The Exorcist.

It was a quiet and routine day for Roland. However, as the night went on, a five-hour session of spells took place. It began when Roland was alone in the bathroom. There were 135 minutes “of great physical violence.” Father Bishop described the events of the night. 

This continued with shorter spells until 1:20 a.m.: violence, spitting, nonsense jumbling of Latin questions, singing “Blue Danube,” “Ave Maria,” and so forth. There was filthy talk and movements and filthy attacks on those at the bedside concerning masturbation and contraceptives, sexual relations of priests and nuns. Irritated and impatient after the long struggle, Fathers Hughes and Canning arrived with the Blessed Sacrament about 11:00 p.m. The house was blessed by Father Hughes. R twice threw a pillow in the direction of the Blessed Sacrament. He took one sedative, spat it out, and then finally swallowed it.

Let’s visualize for just a moment what the boy’s appearance looked like at this point. The effects of sleep deprivation on his appearance would have been horrifying. His eyes would have been sunken and red. Dark circles would have resonated from his eyes. The body would show signs of the constant stress and malnourishment. Then there is the issue of the brandings and scratches all over the boy’s body. Roland’s body would be covered with them at this point. Twenty of these brandings and scratches happened in one night. Not only would they be unsightly, but they would have also been painful as well. Just stop for a moment and consider the horror of his appearance. It is impossible to not sympathize with this child when you stop to really con-sider what he might have looked like from the abuse of the possession and the utter agony and pain of his experience.

Excerpt from, Confrontation with Evil by Steven LaChance.