Fascinating Sources on Original 1949 Exorcist Case!
This information on The Exorcist has been available for some time, but I just discovered it thanks to a helpful post on a message board I frequent, where I asked about it after seeing the St. Louis house featured on the 100th episode of Ghost Adventures which ran on Halloween. Of course William Peter Blatty is at no fault as his work is fiction and not passed off as fact. This concerns numerous stories told about the real case. Many sources state that despite extreme efforts by fans of the book and movie, the real boy involved in the original 1949 events has never been identified. What!? They know the address, but they don’t know who lived there? What is that?
This article seems like great detective work. www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html But it sure doesn't explain this: www.examiner.com/article/the-true-story-behind-the-exorcist
Here is the segment of Unexplained Files featuring reenactments and the actual interview with the self-proclaimed witness, whose name they spell wrong: http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/the-unexplained-files/the-unexplained-files-videos/the-real-story-behind-the-exorcist.htm
Many items appear online "outing" the real boy, including name, address, and high school yearbook photo. Googling his name also results in some recent photos of him. This is just one such page. www.infobarrel.com/The_Exorcist_Legacy_of_Ronald_Edwin_Hunkeler
Much more information here. (Fascinating, yes, I sat up half the night reading.) mikesbigblogorainydayfunexorcistkid.blogspot.com/
Photo on Mike Madonna’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=827400067301259&set=pb.100000938203531.-2207520000.1415252934.&type=3&theater This image, supplied by a classmate of the actual boy, is the only picture that has surfaced taken closest to the time of the exorcism.
Strange, this lengthy obituary of Brother Greg Hollewinske states that he did indeed work at the right hospital, presumably at the right time, but doesn't say a thing about him being a retired Catholic monk! www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=130731720
Facebook page of Troy Taylor, author of The Devil Came to St. Louis. https://www.facebook.com/authortt He is the one who found Brother Hollewinske for his Unexplained Files appearance. He states on a post dated July 31 that he took him at his word. He remains open-minded about what happened in 1949, which he says was worth the twenty years of research he put into it. So far I've found no further statements regarding Brother Hollewinske, and would be very interested to learn of anyone who knew him and can comment one way or another on his level of involvement or lack thereof.
Further information: writeup on Reverend Luther Miles Schulze, wikibin.org/articles/luther-miles-schulze.html a Lutheran pastor who was the first clergyman to observe the boy. He wrote a lengthy article describing his observations, and, according to a 1949 newspaper article referenced here, www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html gave a talk on the subject. The newspaper article describes him as laughing as he related the events and claiming he told the boy to cut the comedy. Unfortunately neither the text of the pastor's talk nor his article seem to be available online, so no checking whether what he actually said and wrote contradict the newspaper article.
Internet Movie Database page for Walter H. Halloran, the one priest documented to have participated who was willing to speak publicly. www.imdb.com/name/nm0356726/?ref_=rvi_nm This lists programs in which he appeared describing his experiences, which can then be checked for availability on You Tube.
Amazon.com entry for the book The Real Story Behind the Exorcist, by Mark Opsasnick, who did the groundbreaking research on the case. http://www.amazon.com/The-Real-Story-Behind-Exorcist/dp/1425741347/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415167680&sr=8-3&keywords=Mark+Opsasnick Of course no one should review a book they haven’t read, but can we please give this guy some love in the comments? I commented on remarks posted about him and Reverend Luther Miles Schulze which seem unfounded to a degree bordering on slander. Several other much less well-researched books have garnered way better reviews. For those relying solely on Amazon reviews, this is extremely misleading!
I hope I am not doing a public disservice in providing this information, as personally I believe there is something to these things. I'd hate to contribute to someone saying, "Well, if the most famous case ever is this questionable, it must be fine to play with Ouija boards and so on," which IMHO it's emphatically not!
In case all this proves too much, this cracks me up every time I think of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RifxYTpS39o When Tim Conway ad libs that she is now all good including “a little of her left knee,” you can see Bernadette Peters crack up.