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What is the full story about the exorcism in Saint Louis?

'''There is a story that usually gets mentioned around Halloween in St. Louis. Like many tales, it is blown up and out of proportion, and the details are shaky at best.

The only true rumor usually heard is that it was a boy who was possessed. This is the true story of the exorcism that took place, partly in St. Louis.

The novel and film "The Exorcist" were both very popular years ago, and they were partly based on the events which took place nearly fifty years ago. Many of the details were "Hollywood-ized," so in 1993, author Thomas B. Allen released a book called "Possessed". In it he wrote in great detail about the exorcism which took place in 1949.

The story begins with the boy and his family living in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. According to Allen, the boy's aunt had started to teach him how to use a Ouija board.

Soon after, she died. A few nights after her death, the family started to notice strange sounds, first a dripping, and then a scratching sound under the floorboards.

The family was convinced that it was the dead aunt attempting to contact them. They spoke to her, and asked for a sign. A wave of pressure was sent into the members of the family and then into the floor.

Soon after this night, stranger things began to happen. Items would move around the room. The mattress the boy was on would shake slowly at first, and then violently. His desk would fall over at school.

At first, everyone thought these were pranks, but they started to become convinced otherwise after the events continued for some time.

The family called in Reverend Luther Schultze, a Lutheran minister, because they now believed there was a poltergeist tormenting their son.

The boy was now having awful nightmares where he would tear at the sheets and thrash in agony all night. Scratches started to appear on the boy's body, and that is when Schultze decided it was more of a job for the Catholics.

Father Albert Hughes attempted to take on the exorcism. One night, after he was tied down, the boy was able to free one of his arms from restraint. He somehow got a bedspring loose, and cut a huge gash into Hughes' arm. Hughes left the exorcism and soon after had a breakdown.

The family decided that they needed to get away from home, and maybe a trip to stay with family in St. Louis would help the boy's condition. Strange events continued to take place in St. Louis, however, and the family decided the boy needed more religious help.

Father Raymond Bishop was called in to help. He contacted a close friend, Father William Bowdern, to assist him. Neither man was very familiar with the act of exorcism, so they began studying.

Meanwhile, the boy was fine during the day, but at night was still having terrors. He was falling deeper into possession.

Bowdern was told by the Archbishop not to discuss the case with anyone. He asked Walter Halloran, an academic at St. Louis University, to drive him to the house where the boy was staying.

Bishop kept a diary of the events, in order to help in future exorcisms. Bowdern started the exorcism by reciting prayers from "The Roman Ritual".

Once he began, the boy needed to be held down much of the time. The boy would scream out in pain at the prayers. Each time the name of God was mentioned, in any form, deep scratches or welts would appear on the boy's chest and stomach.

At one point, the word HELL was scratched onto the boy's chest, but upside down so when the boy looked down he could read it. The boy would spit at the people in the room.

"He was an utter marksman at a distance of four or five feet," said Halloran. "His eyes were closed, and he'd spit right in your face." The prayers would continue until dawn for many nights, and then the boy would fall into a natural sleep. The boy was getting worse.

The demon inside him was now singing and yelling at the priests in the room. He would curse and make sexual references about the men in the room.

There were also a couple of incidents in the daytime when the possession showed itself. Halloran took the boy one afternoon to get some fresh air. He took him to an area to see the stations of the cross.

"Because of the state of possession, he took off running," said Halloran. "He ran to the bluffs, towards the edge, where there was a big drop below. I finally caught him. I have no idea if he would've awakened before he got to the edge or not."

To give the family some rest, Bowdern took the boy to Alexian Brothers Hospital for a night. That night, the boy was tied to the bed, and the exorcism continued without any outbursts from the boy.

Soon after, the possession went back to its previous state. One night, the boy broke Halloran's nose.

In Bishop's diary he was also recorded as saying to Bowdern, "I'm in hell. I see you. You're in hell. It's 1957." The remark seemed to have some effect on Bowdern.

The priests moved the boy back to Alexian Brothers Hospital. He started to demand to know when the demon would leave the boy's body.

Again, scratches would appear on the boy's body. One spelled HELL, the other SPITE. Numbers also appeared on his chest, but the priests had learned not to trust the devil.

The voice, which was not the boy's but came from his body, said, "I will not go until a certain word is pronounced, and this boy will never say it."

On an evening night the still conscious boy said he wanted to pray. The priest had taught him many Catholic prayers during the ordeal, and they began to recite.

They placed religious medals around his neck, and a crucifix in his hand. The boy complained that the medals became hot and hurt him, but they would not remove them. His tongue began to flick around like a snake, and he started spitting.

It was reported that there was a sudden silence in the room. A voice, unlike the priests had ever heard, came from the boy saying, "Satan! Satan! I am Saint Michael, and I command you, Satan, and the other evil spirits to leave the body now in the name of Dominus. Immediately! Now! Now! Now!"

Bishop's diary said that after those words were spoken, the most violent contortions of the exorcism began. After the boy stopped twisting, he sat up, and calmly said, "He's gone". The boy spoke of his dream where an angel with a sword battled a demon of fire, and spoke one word, "Dominus".

Bowdern was convinced that "Dominus" was the word which the boy could never say to escape the demon.

The exorcism had taken a great toll on Bowdern. According to his great-nephew Steve O'Brien, he had lost over forty pounds throughout the ordeal. He did not die in 1957, however. He lived until 1983.

O'Brien said that Bowdern talked about the devil predicting that he would die a violent death. Bowdern did suffer a hemorrhage, which did not kill him instantly, but left him suffering for some time.

The boy is still alive today, but does not live in St. Louis. The information, including his real name, has never been released to the public, in order to protect the family. The room in Alexian Brothers was locked for many years, until the wing was torn down. A worker broke the door down, and discovered Bishop's diary in a desk, which Halloran confirmed.

Halloran, who became a priest, is also still living, and he stated that he would be willing to participate in another exorcism, if he was called to. It would not be on top of the list for things he wanted to do, though. '''

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