The Truth Behind The Story

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We all grew up watching scary movies during Halloween and never thought in a million years these movies could be real. Some famous horror movies such as The Exorcist and The Nightmare on Elm Street are, in fact, based on true people.

One of the famous horror movies called The Exorcist is actually a novel written by William Peter Blatty. This story is actually based on a young boy named Roland Doe from Cottage City, Maryland, who had an exorcism performed upon him in 1949. An exorcist is a ritual, usually performed by a priest that attempts to get a demon or evil spirit to exit a vessel.

Roland and his aunt, Harriet, were very close as he grew up. Harriet was a spiritualist who introduced Roland to many things, including an Ouija board, an object known for communicating with spirits and seeing them. Harriet died in 1949 and that was when Rolands life took a turn for the worst.

Roland began hearing supernatural things such as scratching a door and walls, water dripping from pipes continuously and his mattress moving in his sleep. His family were worried for the boy and sought help from a priest, Father E. Albert Hughes. After a failed exorcism, they seeked help at St. Louis where more priests, Father Walter H. Halloran and Rev. William Bowdern attempted to save the boy by performing another exorcist.

The priest said objects would fly around the room, and Roland would react in the presence of holy things such as a cross and more. It is also believed that a mark in the shape of an X formed upon his chest. The boy endured this exorcism for a month until finally being released from the “demon” and ended up being fine and lived a normal life. This horrifying experience soon would become one of the top horror films ever.

Many may know the movie called “The Amityville Horror,” originally filmed in 1977.  This true story starts with a family of seven, moving into a house located on 112 Ocean Ave, Amityville, New York, in 1974. The beginning of a amazing life leads to a terrible ending.

When the Defeo family moved in, they discovered there had been previous murders years ago in the house, so they called a priest to call away any negative energy before beginning their life. 

According to Ronald Defeo, the father, he said the priest was told by an unknown spirit to “Get out!”

Even with this warning, the family decided to stay and start their life. 

As they go about their everyday life, they began hearing and experiencing paranormal things. The things that happened during the first couple of days were slamming of doors and smelling random odors.  Defeo would also wake up in the middle of the night around 3:15 A.M. and claim to see figures in the distance. making out faces and people within the figures. 

On Nov. 13, 1974, after 28 days since the move in, Ronald Defeo Jr., the oldest of the five children, alerted police that his family had been murdered. Ronald Defeo came forward for commiting the crime and pleaded reason of insanity. 

When being taken away, Defeo said, “I couldn’t care less what happens to me or the rest of my life.”

Many people still wonder if it was the spirit that led him to do the terrible thing he did or was the true demon his insanity.