1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: No, lie. This is kind of a dark spine shiller 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: of a story from decades ago. It's one of the 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: most infamous exorcisms in modern history. It was the inspiration 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: for one of Hollywood's most iconic horror movies, The Exorcist. 5 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: But the real story is even more disturbing and to 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: this day still shrouded in mystery. I'm Patty Steele. The 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: terrifying exorcism of a fourteen year old boy who went 8 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: on to become a NASA engineer. That's next on the backstory. 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: We're back with the backstory. We all know the story 10 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: of the Exorcist, the terrifying voice, the rotating neck yack, 11 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: the projectile green pea soup vomit. But here's a thing. 12 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: There's actually a true story that inspired both the novel 13 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: and the movie. Okay, it's the winter of nineteen forty nine. 14 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: Roland Doe, whose real name Ronald Hunkler, was protected for many, 15 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: many years. As a fourteen year old boy living with 16 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: his family in Cottage City, Maryland, just outside Washington, d C. 17 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: Now at the time, he was devastated by the death 18 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: of his much loved aunt, Harriet. She wasn't just an 19 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: aunt to him. She also introduced him to the world 20 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: of spiritualism and the paranormal. She taught Ronald how to 21 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: use a Wigi board to communicate with spirits. Then Aunt 22 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: Harriet dies suddenly. Ronald is broken hearted and decides to 23 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: use the Wuci board to reach out to her. This 24 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: is where it gets really weird. Instead of feeling comforted, 25 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: strange stuff begins to happen, small things at first. There 26 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: are scratching noises sort of echoing through the walls of 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: the family's home. The noise is faint at first, but 28 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: as the days go on, it gets louder and more persistent. 29 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: What is it? It sounds like something or someone is 30 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: clawing at the walls from inside them. They call an exterminator, 31 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: but they can't stop it, and they begin to realize 32 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: that something much much stranger is going on now. It 33 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: amps up. Furniture begins moving across the room on its own, 34 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,399 Speaker 1: chairs fall over, and all sorts of household objects fly 35 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: off shelves with no one touching them. Worse yet, Ronald's 36 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: bed shakes violently during the night, as if something is 37 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: trying to throw him out of it. The family's terrified 38 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: has no idea what to do. Ronald becomes more of 39 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: a focus for whatever or whoever is doing something in 40 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: this house. He sits in a room, stays perfectly still, 41 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 1: and yet dishes suddenly crashed to the floor, and the 42 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: air in the room becomes insanely cold. The family tries 43 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: to ignore it, but it only gets worse, so the 44 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: Hunklers turn to their Lutheran pastor, Reverend Schultz. He hears 45 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: the stories, but like most people skeptical, he decides to 46 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: check out what's going on in person by going to 47 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: the house. He later said he witnessed something that changed 48 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: his life forever. He was sitting with Ronald, he saw 49 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: the boy's chair slide across the floor by itself. Books 50 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: start flying off the shelves, and then the scratching noise 51 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: fills the room. A pastor is shocked and suggests the 52 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: family ask for help from the Catholic church. The Hunklers 53 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: reach out and Pastor Schultz gives his account, so the 54 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: church begins an investigation. They assigned Father Albert Hughes to 55 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: the case, and he agrees to perform an exorcism. It 56 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: becomes an incredibly harrowing experience for him. Father Hughes meets 57 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: with Ronald at Georgetown University Hospital to perform the exorcism, 58 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: but as soon as it begins, Ronald's whole demeanor changes. 59 00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: He becomes violent. He screams, curses, thrashes around. Father Hughes 60 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: tries to restrain him, but Ronald breaks free, pulls a 61 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: metal bedspring from the bed, and slashes the priest's arm 62 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: with it. Father Hughes, who's badly wounded, has to abandon 63 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:16,600 Speaker 1: the exorcism. He later said he had encountered something truly evil, 64 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: beyond human comprehension, So what's next. Ronald's situation gets worse. 65 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: He becomes more erratic and disturbing. He slips into trances 66 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: and speaks in strange voices that sound deep, guttural, and nasty. 67 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: He starts reacting violently whenever a crucifix or holy water 68 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: is brought near him. Finally, deep scratches appear on his 69 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: body that form words across his rib cage is scratched 70 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: the name Lewis. His mother has family in Saint Louis, 71 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: and she decides she'll move Ronald there temporarily, hoping that 72 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: a change of environment will fix things. She and her 73 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: husband question when they should leave and watch as the 74 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: word Saturday suddenly appears scratched into their son's hip. When 75 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: they question how long they should stay, the words three 76 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: and a half weeks appear. They claim no one, including Ronald, 77 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: had scratched those words into him. Does the move help? 78 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: No such luck. At his relatives home in Saint Louis, 79 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: it gets even worse. The relatives, who were devout Catholics, 80 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: reach out to the church again and are connected to 81 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: a Jesuit priest named Father William Bowden. He's asked to 82 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: perform an exorcism on Ronald, and he knows it's a 83 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: dangerous undertaking. They're rarely performed, but after hearing the stories 84 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: and witnessing some spooky phenomena himself, Father Boden agrees to help. 85 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: The series of exorcisms begin in March of nineteen forty nine. 86 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: They last for several weeks, probably three and a half weeks, 87 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: and are documented in meticulous detail by Father Bowden and 88 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: another priest, Father Ray Bishop, who keeps a diary detailing 89 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: what happens. Those details are enough to send chills down 90 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: your spine. The exorcisms take place at the home of 91 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 1: Ronald's relatives and also at the Alexian Brother's Hospital in 92 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: Saint Louis. Folks watching include a number of priests and doctors, 93 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: say Ronald's behavior is terrifying. His body convulses and contorts, 94 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: bending in ways that seem kind of impossible. He speaks 95 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:32,359 Speaker 1: in Latin, a language he's never even study any chance, blasphemous, nasty, 96 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: and mocking words. Suddenly, words start appearing scratched into Ronald's 97 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: skin again. The words hell and evil appear carved across 98 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: his chest and arms, and the witnesses say they saw 99 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: these scratches appear in real time. During the exorcisms. Father 100 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: Boden and the other priests believe there's a demonic presence, 101 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: and they pray and recite ancient rites to drive it away. 102 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: They say Ronald's voice would take a low course, growling tone, 103 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: and then shift into a high pitched childlike voice, taunting 104 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: and ridiculing them. The room would fill with strange smells, 105 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: like sulfur and rotting flesh that seemed to come out 106 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: of nowhere. He'd scream when they placed crucifixes and rosaries 107 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: around him, and when they sprinkled him with holy water, 108 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: he'd thrash and convulse like it was burning his skin. 109 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: The exorcisms go on for weeks, each lasting for hours 110 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: at a time, but the priests refused to give up. Then, 111 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: on April eighteenth, nineteen forty nine, during one of the 112 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: final exorcism sessions at the hospital, something odd happened. Ronald 113 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: was screaming and thrashing when suddenly he stops. The room 114 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: is still, and then a different calmvoice says, I am Archangel, Michael. 115 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: He commands the demon to leave. The priests say there 116 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: was a sudden, violent thrashing from Ronald and a loud, 117 00:07:55,240 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: ear piercing scream, and then it was over. Ronald collapsed, 118 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: exhausted but calm. When he woke up, he was at peace, 119 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: as if he'd just woken up from a nightmare. He 120 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: calmly said he's gone, and that was it. Ronald went home, 121 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:15,679 Speaker 1: back to school, and for the rest of his life 122 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: never had another episode. More than two decades later, the 123 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: author William Blattie, who had studied the story at Georgetown University, 124 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: decided to adapt it for his nineteen seventy one novel 125 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: The Exorcist. It was a huge success, as was the 126 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,200 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three movie The film had a twelve million 127 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: dollar budget, but has taken in over four hundred and 128 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: forty million dollars over the years. But what happened to 129 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: Ronald Hunkler? Some skeptics say he may have had epilepsy 130 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: or a severe mental illness, possibly schizophrenia, but he had 131 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: no history of that, either before or after the alleged possession. 132 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: Or maybe he was acting out around all those powerful 133 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: religious people surrounding him. But there are questions that don't 134 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: seem to have answers, like how did Ronald speak fluent 135 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: Latin when he'd never studied the language? What caused the 136 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: scratches to appear on his skin as others watched? And 137 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: what about the furniture and the other objects moving around 138 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: and levitating on their own? Again, the rest of Ronald's 139 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: life had no connection to that horrifying past. He grew up, 140 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: and he became a prominent engineer for NASA, whose work 141 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: on the Apollo space missions of the nineteen sixties included 142 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: the first moon landing in nineteen sixty nine. He also 143 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: patented technology that helped space shuttles with stand extreme heat. 144 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: After Ronald died in twenty twenty one, a close friend 145 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: said he was always afraid his coworkers at NASA would 146 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: find out about his past. He lived with terrible worry 147 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: about it. He retired from NASA in two thousand and one. 148 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: While Ronald Hunkler never publicly admitted to being Roland Doe, 149 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: he did get married and he named his first son, Michael, 150 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: after the archangel the priests claimed had driven out his demon. 151 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: I hope you like the Backstory with Patty Steele. I 152 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: would love it if you'd subscribe or follow for free 153 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,439 Speaker 1: to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to 154 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: dm me if you have a story you'd like me 155 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram 156 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production 157 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel 158 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. 159 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free 160 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 1: to reach out to me with comments and even story 161 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook 162 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 1: at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with 163 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The pieces of history you didn't know you 164 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: needed to know.