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Roland Doe, The Ouija, and the Diary of an Exorcism

Published

9 years ago

November 17, 2014

Roland Doe (aka Robbie Mannheim), is a name that most people might not be familiar with, but his story is truly one that is important in the living realms of true-life horror history. His story can be read for free. It is documented in a diary left by Father Raymond Bishop; his Exorcist.

But before Roland Doe’s story can be told, another one should be examined first.

In 1919, William Fuld purchased the copyright to a mysterious parlor game that could apparently contact the dead through the fingers of the living; the Ouija board.

After an aggressive marketing campaign, Fuld enjoyed revenue from the success of the Ouija, or “talking board”. The popularity of the game among social circles at the time, made it an acceptable and respectable gift to give family members curious to see who, or what, it could contact.

Such is the case with the well-meaning Aunt Harriet who gave a board to her nephew Roland Doe in 1949. Harriet died and thereafter a series of events threatened the life of her 13-year-old nephew in what would arguably become the most terrifying first-hand account of demonic possession ever documented.

After Aunt Harriet’s death, it is suspected that Roland Doe tried to contact her through the Ouija board. But in his efforts to do so, he may have contacted a more sinister paranormal parasite that took refuge in the boy’s soul.

From that point, reports of alleged poltergeist activity in the family’s house in Cottage City Maryland soon made the local papers. News of flying blankets lifting up into mid-air and hovering across the room, beds shaking uncontrollably on their own, and pictures of Christ shaking powerfully against the wall, made for good, but unbelievable reading.

Roland was also becoming more affected. His mother reported that Roland was getting scratched and lacerated by unseen claws. Concerned, the Doe’s took Roland to several hospitals where, according to documented evidence by staff members, the phenomena continued.

Vibrating beds, mysterious rashes on Roland’s abdomen that spelled out the word “Hell”, incredible strength and speaking in foreign tongues, Roland’s actions became so bizarre that Father Hughes of St. James Catholic Church performed a perhaps unapproved and unsuccessful exorcism.

With her son in and out of hospitals, Mrs. Doe moved to St. Louis Missouri hoping that the change of location would cure him of his “illness”. However, Roland’s seizures continued and even in their new environment paranormal phenomenon continued to plague the Doe family.

An astute cousin decided to take action and recommended that Roland see a professor from St. Louis University. Enter Father Raymond Bishop. He arrived at the home and became witness to the scratches forming on Roland’s skin, the objects thrown across the room by an invisible force and furniture trembling beneath the boy.

Finally, the Catholic Church allowed Father Bishop to perform another Exorcism. With Father William Bowdern and Jesuit scholar Walter Halloran by his side, Father Bishop begins the rite of removing the demon from Roland’s body.

Excerpt from Father Bishop’s Diary:

“Monday April 11: The evening gave every reason for expecting quiet. While the Fathers were reciting The Rosary R [Roland] felt a sting on his chest, but upon examination only a blotch of red was observable. The Rosary was continued until R was struck more sharply by a branding on his chest. The letters were in caps and read in the direction of R’s crotch. “EXIT” seemed quite clear. On another branding, a large arrow followed up the word “EXIT” and pointed to R’s penis. The word “EXIT” appeared at three different times in different parts of R’s body.”

According to the diary, the exorcism continued inside a room at the Alexian Brother’s Hospital of St. Louis until Roland himself saw a vision of St. Michael who produced a divine sword and demanded the demon vacate its tormented host. Some accounts say that Roland was taken to a Catholic Church in the last stage of the exorcism, and some say he stayed in the hospital.

Those that say he was remained in the hospital ward recall a huge clap that could be heard throughout the building; the demon fled and Roland was free from its rule. A few weeks later, Roland left the hospital, with no further signs of turmoil.

The staff reported that the room in which Father Bishop performed the exorcism never felt the same after Roland left, and it was locked for good. It remained sealed for many years and nobody dared wander inside.

Cold and wreaking of a foul-smelling odor, the exorcism room and it’s wing, were set to be demolished in 1978. However, just before the room was destroyed, workers found a copy of Father Bishop’s diary in which the story of Roland Doe was detailed.

Father Bishop’s diary was the basis for William Peter Blatty’s novel “The Exorcist” and William Friedkin’s film of the same name. Although Hollywood has taken its liberties with the story, the fact that Father Bishop documented his experience and it was corroborated by other witnesses gives it some merit.

This diary can be read here:

https://archive.ksdk.com/assetpool/documents/121026010134_SLU-exorcism-case-study.pdf

From William Fuld’s mass production of the Ouija board in 1919, to Aunt Harriet’s presentation of one to her nephew Roland in 1949, and finally Father Raymond Bishop’s diary, the story of Roland Doe has been told and retold through the years with some variations.

Perhaps the power of the Ouija board lies not only in how much power its users wish to give it, but also in how much power it wishes to give its users. Either one of those aspects affected the life of Roland Doe and the history of horror itself.

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News

A24 Joins Blockbuster Movie Club With Their Biggest Opening Ever

Published

1 hour ago

April 16, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Everyone welcome A24 to the big leagues! Their latest film Civil War has broken a few records over the weekend. First, it’s the highest-grossing R-rated film of the year. Second, it’s the highest-grossing opening weekend A24 film ever.

Although reviews of the action film are polarizing, it certainly captured the curiosity of moviegoers. Even if the ambiguous screenplay didn’t blow them away, they seemed to find it entertaining. Furthermore, a lot of ticket buyers lauded the film’s sound design and IMAX presentation.

While not a straight-out horror movie, it does weave a thread on the hem of the genre thanks to its disturbing subject matter and graphic violence.

It’s about time A24 came out of the independent movie trenches and into the blockbuster category. While their features are embraced by a niche group, it was time they swung for the fences to generate a bigger payday to compete with behemoth studios such as Warner Bros. and Universal who have been making money hand over fist over the past few years.

While Civil War’s $25 million opening isn’t exactly a windfall in blockbuster terms it’s still solid enough in the mainstream movie-going climate to predict further success, if not by word of mouth, then by curiosity.

A24’s biggest money maker to date is Everything Everywhere All at Once with an over $77 million domestic haul. Then it’s Talk to Me with over $48 million domestically.

It’s not all good news. The film was made in-house for $50 million so if it tanks by week two, it could turn into a box office failure. That could be a possibility as the guys behind the Scream reboot, Radio Silence, will be on the marquee themselves for their vampire flick Abigail on April 19. That film has already generated some good buzz.

Even worse for Civil War, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s own actioneer The Fall Guy is ready to usurp Civil War’s IMAX real estate on May 3.

Whatever happens, A24 has proven over the weekend that with the right subject matter, an increased budget, and a streamlined ad campaign, they have now entered the blockbuster chat.

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News

Melissa Barrera Says Her ‘Scream’ Contract Never Included a Third Movie

Published

19 hours ago

April 15, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The Scream franchise has done a major overhaul to its original script for Scream VII after its two main leads departed production. Jenna Ortega who played Tara Carpenter left because she was overly booked and blessed while her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired after making political comments on social media.

But Barrera isn’t regretting any of it. In fact, she is happy where the character arc left off. She played Samantha Carpenter, the latest focus of the Ghostface killer.

Barrera did an exclusive interview with Collider. During their talk, the 33-year-old says she fulfilled her contract and her character Samantha’s arc finished at a good spot, even though it was meant to be a trilogy.

“I feel like the ending of [ Scream VI ] was a very good ending, and so I don’t feel like ‘Ugh, I got left in the middle.’ No, I think people, the fans, were wanting a third movie to continue that arc, and apparently, the plan was a trilogy, even though I was only contracted for two movies.

So, I did my two movies, and I’m fine. I’m good with that. I got two – that’s more than most people get. When you’re on a TV show, and it gets canceled, you can’t harp on things, you gotta move on.

That’s the nature of this industry too, I get excited for the next job, I get excited for the next skin I get to put on. It’s exciting to create a different character. So yeah, I feel good. I did what I set out to do. It was always meant to be two movies for me, ’cause that was my contract, and so everything is perfect.”

The entire production of the original seventh entry has moved on from the Carpenter’s storyline. With a new director and new script, production will resume, including the return of Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox.

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News

Read Reviews For ‘Abigail’ The Latest From Radio Silence

Published

23 hours ago

April 15, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The review embargo has lifted for the vampire horror movie Abigail and the reviews are abundantly positive.

Matt Bettinelli– Olpin and Tyler Gillett of Radio Silence are getting early praise for their latest horror movie which opens on April 19. Unless you’re Barbie or Oppenheimer the name of the game in Hollywood is about what kind of box office numbers you pull on opening weekend and how much they drop thereafter. Abigail could be this year’s sleeper.

Radio Silence is no stranger to opening big, their Scream reboot and sequel packed fans into seats on their respective opening dates. The duo are currently working on another reboot, that of 1981’s Kurt Russel cult favorite Escape From New York.

^Abigail

Now that ticket sales for GodzillaxKong, Dune 2, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire have gathered patina, Abigail could knock A24’s current powerhouse Civil War from the top spot, especially if ticket buyers base their purchase off reviews. If it is successful, it could be temporary, since Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s action comedy The Fall Guy opens on May 3, just two weeks later.

We have gathered pull quotes (good & bad) from some genre critics on Rotten Tomatoes (score for Abigail currently sits at 85%) to give you an indicator of how they are skewing ahead of its release this weekend. First, the good:

“Abigail is a fun, bloody ride. It also has the most lovable ensemble of morally grey characters this year. The film introduces a new favorite monster into the genre and gives her room to take the biggest swings possible. I lived!” — Sharai Bohannon: A Nightmare On Fierce Street Podcast

“The standout is Weir, commanding the screen despite her small stature and effortlessly switching from apparently helpless, terrified child to savage predator with a mordant sense of humor.” — Michael Gingold: Rue Morgue Magazine

“‘Abigail’ sets the bar as the most fun you can have with a horror movie of the year. In other words, “Abigail” is horror on pointe.” — BJ Colangelo: Slashfilm

“In what may become one of the greatest vampire movies of all time, Abigail provides an extremely bloody, fun, humorous & fresh take on the subgenre.” — Jordan Williams: Screen Rant

“Radio Silence have proven themselves as one of the most exciting, and crucially, fun, voices in the horror genre and Abigail takes this to the next level.” — Rosie Fletcher: Den of Geek

Now, the not-so-good:

“It’s not badly made, just uninspired and played out.” — Simon Abrams: RogerEbert.com

A ‘Ready or Not’ redux running on half the steam, this one-location misfire has plenty of parts that work but its namesake isn’t among them.” –Alison Foreman: indieWire

Let us know if you are planning to see Abigail. If or when you do, give us your hot take in the comments.

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