According to University archivists John Waide and Randy McGuire, almost every Halloween sparks interest in a diabolical episode in Saint Louis University’s history.
The archivists say that records show that more than 60 years ago SLU housed a supposedly demonically possessed boy whose story would inspire the film The Exorcist. Rumors have spread about the incident ever since, and now Waide and McGuire want to set the record straight.
“People always want to go with the story they believe most,” Waide said. “Sometimes stories get exaggerated over time.”
On Tuesday, Waide and McGuire gave a talk on the history of SLU’s connection to the exorcism. The presentation was held in the Grand Hall on the fourth floor of DuBourg Hall, which has been falsely rumored to have been the site of the exorcism.
The possessed boy, whom Waide and McGuire referred to as Robbie, only spent about four or five days at SLU. He grew up in Cottage Hill, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C. According to Waide, in January 1949, scratching sounds began to plague Robbie’s room and other strange things started to happen.
His bed shook, and objects mysteriously relocated themselves to various places in the house. These strange happenings also occurred at Robbie’s school; his desk would shake, and his books would move. Strange scratches began to appear all over Robbie’s body.
The first scratch seemed like the word “HELL” written across his chest. Another scratch that looked like “LOUIS” suggested to his parents that they bring him to St. Louis, where Robbie had an aunt and uncle who lived in Bel-Noir, a St. Louis neighborhood.
After his arrival in St. Louis, Robbie came under the care of two Jesuits: Walter Halloran and William Bowdern, the pastor of St. Francis Xavier College Church. Robbie spent a few nights at SLU in the College Church rectory before the final days of the exorcism, which took place in the Alexian Brother’s Hospital in South City. The hospital has since burned down and been replaced by St. Alexius Hospital. The rectory where the boy stayed also no longer stands and was replaced with the new rectory that stands today.
There is no evidence that Robbie ever stayed in DuBourg Hall. Despite this, there have been persistent rumors that he was kept on the fourth floor of DuBourg or a room in Verhaegen Hall.
In 2005, the Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle-Tacoma came to SLU to investigate the supposedly haunted room in Verhaegen Hall.
“At the time, there were priests occupying the top floor of DuBourg and might have heard the screams of the boy from where he was kept in the College Church rectory. But it is unlikely that he went in DuBourg or Verhaegen,” Waide said.
Cassie Lohrum, a senior in Parks College, accompanied the A.G.H.O.S.T. team during their investigation of the Verhaegen room.
“It was really creepy,” Lohrum said. “There were dead pigeons on the floor. There was paint peeling off the wall. We could only go up the steps one at a time.”
The purpose of the investigation was to search for evidence of supernatural forces.
“[The ghost hunters] had tools to sense electromagnetic fields. The meter on the electromagnetic field detector was bouncing back and forth, and it was never stable,” Lohrum said.
“There was a hand print on the ceiling and what looked like blood streaks on the wall. And the sensors didn’t react there or anywhere else, but [the sensors] went crazy in the [Verhaegen] room.”
According to Lohrum, the A.G.H.O.S.T. team claimed the boy involved in the exorcism had stayed in that room.
“Even if there is no connection to the exorcism, it was still exciting,” she said.
“The room is really grungy,” said Waide, who went in the room himself. “They haven’t renovated it, probably because it’s just too small. There’s not much you can do with that space.”
According to Waide, there was never a time when SLU tried to hide the fact that it had connections with the exorcism.
“After [the exorcism] occurred in 1949, I don’t think anyone intentionally kept it a secret,” Waide said. “I think out of respect for all involved, nothing was said. Father Bowdern believed [the boy] was possessed and would never say anything. The point is, SLU never tried to hide it, but nothing was said of the boy involved out of respect to his family.”
While the reality of Robbie’s demonic possession can never be known for certain, Waide said that the priests’ experiences suggest that story should not be dismissed easily.
“Father Bowdern was an army chaplain in World War II. He was a tough guy, and so was Father Halloran, who was a paratrooper chaplain in Vietnam,” Waide said. “The people who had been through this had been around in their time.”
St. Louis author Eileen Dreyer, Bowdern’s great-niece, attended Tuesday’s talk. She said that she has fond memories of her exorcising uncle.
“He was great,” Dreyer said. “He taught me more about faith than anyone else in the world. . He saw [the exorcism] as a challenge. That was who he was; he was a great man. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to that little boy.”
Waide attested to the veracity of the priests’ work and the importance in the Catholic Rite of Exorcism to have an honest person to be the exorcist.
“The Devil will be able to control the exorcist if he isn’t an honest or capable person,” said Waide. “Father Bowdern was committed. He lost 50 to 70 pounds during the whole ordeal. He wanted to see it through until the end.”
