The St. Louis Exorcism case

Record summary

The 1949 exorcism case associated with the pseudonym Roland Doe was reported through Catholic and journalistic accounts and later inspired William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist. Allegations included disturbances, bodily marks, and ritual intervention, but the surviving record is mediated by clergy, family testimony, and later recollection. It matters for comparing religious interpretation, medical or psychological alternatives, institutional authority, and literary transformation. Researchers should identify the real individual only through responsibly documented sources and avoid treating the exorcism narrative as established fact.