Exorcist House is the eleventh episode of Season 8 of Ghost Adventures. For their 100th episode, Zak, Nick and Aaron visit St. Louis to investigate the notorious Exorcist House, the site of the most famous possession in paranormal history, which was later portrayed in a critically acclaimed book and movie. The guys dig even deeper to learn about the original exorcism that occurred on March 16, 1949. The team submit their EVP evidence to Fr. Jack Ashcraft, an exorcist, for his analysis later, after both the priest and Zak are hit with dehydration at the exact same time, keeping the exorcist from making the trip to the house as planned.
Preliminary Investigation[]
In the late 1940s, in the United States, priests of the Roman Catholic Church performed a series of exorcisms on an anonymous boy, documented under the pseudonym "Roland Doe" or "Robbie Mannheim". The 14-year-old boy (born circa 1935), was the alleged victim of demonic possession, and the events were recorded by the attending priest, Raymond Bishop. Subsequent supernatural claims surrounding the events were used as elements in the 1971 novel The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty and the 1973 film adaptation.
In mid-1949, several newspaper articles printed anonymous reports of an alleged possession and exorcism. The source for these reports is thought to be the family's former pastor, Luther Miles Schulze. According to one account, a total of "forty-eight people witnessed this exorcism, nine of them Jesuits. According to author Thomas B. Allen, Jesuit priest Father Walter H. Halloran was one of the last surviving eyewitnesses of the events and participated in the exorcism. Allen wrote that a diary kept by attending priest Father Raymond Bishop detailed the exorcism performed on the pseudonymously identified "Roland Doe" aka "Robbie". Speaking in 2013, Allen "emphasized that definitive proof that the boy known only as "Robbie" was possessed by malevolent spirits is unattainable. Maybe he instead suffered from mental illness or sexual abuse—or fabricated the entire experience." According to Allen, Halloran also "expressed his skepticism about potential paranormal events before his death." When asked in an interview to make a statement on whether the boy had been possessed, Halloran responded saying "No, I can’t go on record. I never made an absolute statement about the things because I didn’t feel I was qualified." Roland was born into a German Lutheran family. During the 1940s the family lived in Cottage City, Maryland. According to Allen, Roland was an only child and depended upon adults in his household for playmates, primarily his Aunt Harriet. His aunt, who was a spiritualist, introduced Roland to the Ouija board when he expressed interest in it.
According to Thomas B. Allen, after Aunt Harriet's death the family experienced strange noises, furniture moving on its own accord and ordinary objects flying or levitating when the boy was nearby. The family turned to their Lutheran pastor, Luther Miles Schulze, for help. Long interested in parapsychology, Schulze arranged for the boy to spend a night in his home in order to observe him. When parapsychologist J.B. Rhine learned that Schulze claimed he witnessed household objects and furniture seemingly moving by themselves, Rhine "wondered if Schulze 'unconsciously exaggerated' some of the facts."[1] Schulze advised the boy's parents to "see a Catholic priest".
According to the traditional story, the boy then underwent a number of exorcisms. Edward Hughes, a Roman Catholic priest, conducted an exorcism on Roland at Georgetown University Hospital, a Jesuit institution. During the exorcism, the boy allegedly slipped one of his hands out of the restraints, broke a bedspring from under the mattress, and used it as an impromptu weapon, slashing the priest's arm and resulting in the exorcism ritual being halted. The family traveled to St. Louis, where Roland's cousin contacted one of his professors at St. Louis University, Raymond J. Bishop, who in turn spoke to William S. Bowdern, an associate of College Church. Together, both priests visited Roland in his relatives' home, where they allegedly observed a shaking bed, flying objects, the boy speaking in a guttural voice, and exhibiting an aversion to anything sacred. Bowdern was granted permission from the archbishop to perform another exorcism. The exorcism took place at The Alexian Brothers Hospital in South St Louis, Missouri., which was later razed.
Before the next exorcism ritual began, another priest, Walter Halloran, was called to the psychiatric wing of the hospital, where he was asked to assist Bowdern. William Van Roo, a third Jesuit priest, was also there to assist. Halloran stated that during this scene words such as "evil" and "hell", along with other various marks, appeared on the teenager's body. Allegedly, during the Litany of the Saints portion of the exorcism ritual, the boy's mattress began to shake. Moreover, Roland broke Halloran's nose during the process. Halloran told a reporter that after the rite was over, the anonymous subject of the exorcism went on to lead "a rather ordinary life."
Lockdown[]
Evidence[]
- Other Phenomena: During interviews, the upstairs window cracks without an explanation.
Notes[]
According to Zak Bagans through Twitter, the investigation of the house was the scariest lockdown ever, claiming it was 100 times worse than Bobby Mackeys.