ID:188547
 
I was reading up on paranormal stuff in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GHOSTS by DANIEL COHEN and came across the exorcist. Here's word by word from the book:



The story called The Exorcist of the demonic possession of a young girl was an extremely popular novel by William Peter Blatty. It was made into an even more popular film-the first of the modern cycle of horror blockbusters. A good part of the appeal of the book and the film was the claim that it was "based on" a real case. The writer and film's producer acknowledged that certain changes had been made in order to make the story more dramatic and exciting.

The changes were extensive indeed, and in fact, they entirely altered the nature of the original account, and The Exorcist book and film must be considered entirely works of fiction with no claim at all to a factual basis.

In the book and film the "possessed" subject was a girl, whereas in the real case it was a boy. Beyond that the available facts on the original case are scanty. Very few accurate records were kept, and not everything about the case has been made public. Some of those who were involved in events have since died, while others just don't want to talk about it anymore.

Here is what we do know. The case begin early in 1948; the "possessed" subject was a fourteen-year-old boy called Douglas Deen who lived with his family in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

The first manifestation he family noticed were strange nosies coming from the boy's room. The family suspected mice and called in the exterminator. No mice were found, and the noises continued.

Gradually the disturbances became more violent. Furniture was moved back and forth; a heavy bowl fell off the top of the refrigerator for no apparent reason. A pictured seemed to jump off the wall. The disturbances centered the boy's room where his bed shock and trembled, sometimes all night long.

The Deens at first tried to ignore the disturbances, but as they continiued and got worse, they became worried and begin to discuss the situation with their neighbors. Neighbors tried to laugh off the story, but after they spent a night in the Deen house, they stopped laughing and became convinced that something very strange was going on.

The family called in the minister of the church, The reverend Winston. The minister admitted that he was highly skeptical but willing to investigate closely. He spent the entire night on February 18, 1949, with Douglas Deen. Later the Reverend Winston described what happened that night to a meeting of the Society of Parasychology in Washington D.C.


Later they tried to call a Roman Catholic Priest to perform an anicent ritue on the room, He did it well over thirty times at night, And noticed the boy would scream and shout in a voice that was not his. Finally in may 1949 the boy did not react violently when he performed the ritue, and the exorcism that was performed had driven the demons out.

So basically it was a minor case, Nothing too crazy sep the novel writer and film makers butchered it up to make it more frightening.

Well, You learn something new everyday!

Siientx wrote:

So basically it was a minor case, Nothing too crazy sep the novel writer and film makers butchered it up to make it more frightening.

Well, You learn something new everyday!

COOL!

How did he get demented or what ever....?
In response to Nave
Nave wrote:
How did he get demented or what ever....?

It all started when he used "reply with quote" and included the entire multi-paragraph text when he only had a simple question to ask. Clearly such behaviour is an invitation for demons to possess your body and claim your eternal soul.
In response to Nave
At first it was poltergeist activitiy when stuff moved;

Definition provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information here.

poltergeist:

Noun
A ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder.
Etymology
German : poltern, to make noises (from Middle High German boldern) + Geist, ghost (from Middle High German, from Old High German).


then it was a mix of demon and poltergeist activity. The demons would control the boy and cause him to shout out stuff whereas the poltergeists would create the noise and movement of stuff. I believe.
In response to Shadowdarke
Ha ha. Good one Shadow. :P
In response to Siientx
Siientx wrote:
At first it was poltergeist activitiy when stuff moved;

Definition provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information here.

poltergeist:

Noun
A ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder.
Etymology
German : poltern, to make noises (from Middle High German boldern) + Geist, ghost (from Middle High German, from Old High German).


then it was a mix of demon and poltergeist activity. The demons would control the boy and cause him to shout out stuff whereas the poltergeists would create the noise and movement of stuff. I believe.


Why did they pick him?
In response to Nave
How do i know? Get the book.
In response to Siientx
Using vulgarities, no matter how obscured, is not acceptable here. Please refrain from this behavior in the future. Thank you.

~X
Wasn't there a movie based on this on one of those cable movie channels? Possession or something I believe it was called, sounds like they got it pretty accurate with your story, except instead of keeping the boy at the house after they tried the ritual a ton of times, they moved him to this Romanian church where a bunch of monks set up a large crucifix over a bed in this high up tower, where they spent a few days freeing him of the "demons". For someone so interested in this stuff, couldn't you also see the posibility of it being simply a psychological disorder that caused him to act demented, and perhaps he had some sort of psychic ability that was triggered by this, I don't believe in this stuff anymore, but if I did, I would look at it more that way.(Wow, talk about a run on sentence.)
In response to Kusanagi
From the book:

The boy was taken to Georgetown hospital for a full mental phsyical examination. The tests' revealed no phsyical abnormalities. Visits to the psychiatrist did not make the disturbances which centered on the fourteen-year-old boy disappear.
In response to Siientx
Siientx wrote:
From the book:

Visits to the psychiatrist did not make the disturbances which centered on the fourteen-year-old boy disappear.

Hehe, I can see it now:

Psycholgist: "So, tell me about your childhood."
Boy: "GHWHEUAHD!"
Psychologyst jots down some notes.
Psychologist: "Intersting. How does this make you feel?"
Boy: "IJDJENOIFIHF!!!"
Psychologyst jots down some notes.
Psychologist: "Facsinating."

Yeah, I can see that being real productive.

~X
In response to Xooxer
LOL!
In response to Siientx
I wouldn't totally rely on the ability of psychologists in that time period.
In response to Kusanagi
I wouldn't totally rely on the ability of psychologists in this time period either. I get a little jumpy when anyone prescribes mind altering drugs and calls what they do "an inexact science".
In response to Shadowdarke
Shadowdarke wrote:
I wouldn't totally rely on the ability of psychologists in this time period either. I get a little jumpy when anyone prescribes mind altering drugs and calls what they do "an inexact science".

As someone with tangential academic interest in this stuff, I do have to point out that I think the term "psychologist" is being mis-used here (or at least in this thread in general). Psychologists are the guys who sit around in labs watching rats run through mazes; it's a term which denotes someone more involved in research than in clinical practice. Psychiatrists are the guys with little pointy beards and Austrian accents talking to people on couches and accusing them of having dirty thoughts about their parents (or their parents of having dirty thoughts about them). Just thought I'd clear that up; people seemed to be mixing up their stereotypes.

(Of course, it's entirely possible for someone to practice both as a psychologist and a psychiatrist, but I hear it's really difficult to keep the rats from wandering off the couch.)
In response to Siientx
Noun
A ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder.

Rappings? WTF? OMG! Jackson ghost! XD
In response to Siientx
I read this thread, and the subject amused me.

So, I did some quick research, and found the story. It's a lot more in depth than the one told here. It's a lot more personal. I suggest reading it.

http://www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html
In response to Kritic
Kritic wrote:
Noun
A ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder.

Rappings? WTF? OMG! Jackson ghost! XD

The word you're looking for is "raping", though you definitely shouldn't be. "Rapping" is an onomatopoeia.