In the late-1940s, a boy who was living a normal life had his fate turned around when he went through several near death experiences. He then endured a nearly-two-month process of exorcisms from several priests for the small mistake he had made. The priests that had performed these exorcisms gave this 14-year-old boy the pseudonym “Roland Doe.” What led Roland to this moment? His beloved aunt had given him an Ouija board as a gift and had taught him how to contact spirits with it. However, she had died shortly after teaching him. Roland, heartbroken about his deceased loved one, decided to contact her from the afterlife. However he contacted a demon instead.1
Before being possessed, Roland used an Ouija (Wee-gee) Board, which is a board usually made of wood with the alphabet spelled on it, as well as the words “yes” and “no,” and it may have numbers “0-9.” The board comes with a pointer that spirits are able to move onto each letter to make words to talk to you. Although it has been rumored that the Ouija Board had just appeared from nowhere, some say the first one was created in Maryland in the 1890s. After many disputes and law suits over what this board was in the 1920s, it was decided that it was not a religious device, but simply a board game instead. Yet, it was still used by mediums as a professional tool to contact spirits.2 The Ouija Board is also a type of seance, which is a French word for “session,” and this refers to the practice of gathering together as a group to receive messages from ghosts or listen to spirits. However in cases that aren’t led by professionals, they may lead into possession by demons.3
The teenage boy Roland Doe started getting marks and scratches all over his body while at home, which led his family to realize there was a problem. These scratches ended up turning into words. The first word happened to be “LOUIS,” relating to his worried mother’s hometown of St. Louis. Once there, the family contacted a medium to talk to this demon that was living in her child. However as the medium was conducting a seance, more marks appeared upon his skin. The marks ended up turning into letters again, which bore the words “NO SCHOOL.” Upon seeing this, the medium contacted a Jesuit Priest by the name of Father Raymond Bishop, who happened to be a priest at St. Louis University, to perform a blessing on the possessed child. However while Bishop was praying to the child, Roland’s bed began to shake and tremble while deep bloody gashes started appearing on Roland Doe’s chest. After witnessing this event, the priest immediately called upon the Archbishop to perform a full exorcism.4
The Catholic Church believes that the devil finds all of the souls he can to torment and bring them to sin. The Church also believes some people will become possessed with demons from hell. A big problem with exorcisms in the eighteenth century to today is that many scientists and skeptics believe that people who become possessed by Satan are faking it and it is just some mental disease. However some cases of exorcisms have shown unbelievable occurrences that have happened while the people are possessed. Therefore, possession, which is a demon taking away your soul and body in order to spread evil and hate, was and still is too difficult and too complex to be equated with any modern physical illness. There is also no space in the Catholic tradition to deny the existence of demons because of the presence of the devil in the Bible and the prayers that expel demons.5 Catholics believe the devil’s existence is rooted in the first story in the Bible, which tells of Adam and Eve disobeying God and giving in to the snake’s (the devil’s) lies and took forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. This temptation to sin is the easiest form that the devil takes in order to make people become less faithful. Catholics also believe in St. Micheal, who is a defender of the church and people and is hated by demons and the devil all over Hell. There are even prayers in the Bible that talk about the Devil and getting rid of him and his temptation. “Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man”(Psalms 71:4) is a scripture in Psalms that is a prayer for those in need of God to come and save them from the wicked hands of the Devil.6
The tantrums that Roland Doe suffered and the exorcisms that followed after Father William Bowdern went horrifically. A crucifix in Roland Doe’s room began to tremble, at the same time his bed shook, and the vial of holy water that was supposed to be protecting the teenage boy shattered into a million different pieces sending glass shards everywhere. All throughout the exorcism there were continuous markings that other priests believed couldn’t have been self-induced. The explicit language that Roland Doe had shouted and babbled at night reeked of sexual abuse as a child. However, the words he was using should not have been known for a child his age. This suggests it couldn’t have just been a mental disease. It became so bad sometimes that the priests believed they needed to baptize the boy. However, while on the way to the church, Roland tried to swerve the car off the road with the intent to crash and kill. The weirdest part about the events that occurred to Roland Doe is that during the morning, he was completely normal, but as soon as night fell, it was almost like he fell into a trance.7
Ever since creation of the world, in the Catholic view, there has always been the threat of the devil. In fact, Satan even means “opponent,” and it is believed that he is the opponent of God and his children. Many Catholics even believe that if people don’t believe that Satan exists then he has even more power over you. Catholics believe that in order to truly get rid of demons inside of the possessed, they have to acknowledge the demon inside of them and pray to God to get rid of this wicked spirit.8 However for those that are not able to do that by themselves, they need to call upon a priest to undergo an exorcism. The purpose of an exorcism is to dispel or frighten away demons or spirits that were contracted from a seance or another unnatural occurrence. Traditionally, most exorcisms are are carried out by Catholics with the use of holy objects, incense, and loud noises of all kinds (mostly prayer).9 In contrast, Protestants believe that possession is associated with personal guilt so their methods include fasting and many personal prayers. Regardless, whenever a person that is possessed gets to a certain point where they lose control, there is nothing that they can do for themselves any more and they must call upon priests for help.10
Roland Doe was finally cured in 1949 during a lightning storm. He had no memory of what happened over the past months of torture he endured. He did move on past these experiences and had three kids and a successful career. Unfortunately, one of the priests that tried to cure him not only was on the brink of insanity by the end of the exorcisms but had also become possessed as well. On this priest’s death bed it is claimed that he used explicit words against a nurse and tried to choke her to death. Although many researchers of this case believe that this was just a mental illness, it can not be confirmed because of the events that occurred to the young teenager. It is even said that the spot where Roland had the exorcist is permanently cracked into the concrete.11 This case also inspired The Exorcist, which was a novel published in 1971 that was also made into a movie. However instead of a 14-year-old boy, the novel was written with him being a 12-year-old girl. Despite that small change, the events that occurred in the exorcisms were just as gruesome and horrible, including the girl levitating, her head spinning, and projecting vomit at the priests. Nonetheless, the events that occurred on those frightful nights gave many people nightmares for decades, and if Roland hadn’t lost his memory he probably would have lived his life in a mental hospital.12
- Caroline Iggulden, “The Exorcists of Roland Doe,” The Sun, February 20, 2017. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019, s.v. “Ouija Boards,” John L. Crow. ↵
- Patrick McNamara, Spirit Possession And Exorcism: History, Psychology, And Neurobiology (Praeger, 2011), 34. ↵
- Caroline Iggulden, “The Exorcists of Roland Doe,” The Sun, February 20, 2017. ↵
- Moshe Sluhovsky, “The Devil Within: Possession and Exorcism in the Christian West,” Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, no. 1 (2014): 113. ↵
- Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments: King James Version. (American Bible Society, 2010). ↵
- Caroline Iggulden, “The Exorcists of Roland Doe,” The Sun, February 20, 2017. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2018, s.v. “Satan,” Rebecca Kraft. ↵
- Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2019, s.v. “Exorcism.” ↵
- Moshe Sluhovsky, “The Devil Within: Possession and Exorcism in the Christian West,” Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, no. 1 (2014): 113. ↵
- Caroline Iggulden, “The Exorcists of Roland Doe,” The Sun, February 20, 2017. ↵
- Michael Cuneo, American Exorcisms (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 7-9. ↵
73 comments
Elizabeth Santos
Exorcism stories and the use of Ouija boards always give me the chills! I wonder why family would gift an impressionable child such a scary gift. I appreciate the author for mentioning different perspectives regarding exorcisms from the medical and spiritual viewpoints. In cases like these, I am always drawn to the paranormal explanations. Especially the part where his words were clearly above average for his age, leads me to believe that there was in fact a malicious spirit that took the boy over.
Justine Ruiz
This was a very interesting article to read because it talked about the religious and mental aspects of an exorcism. I learned that Satan’s name actually means opponent, which as a Catholic, I was never taught in private school or church. I cannot believe that Roland’s aunt was the one to give him a Ouija board. What kind of relative or adult gives a child a game that is known for contacting spirits? It’s kind of ironic how she passed away shortly after giving him the Ouija board and she was the reason for his possession. This little boy went through a lot and it was sad to realize this specific demon was harming the poor child. I found it kind of freaky that he had no recollection of ever being possessed once the exorcism was completed. How did he not feel the gashes in his body? How was his body not sore? How was he not able to remember any of those months even though the demon only came out to play at night? It was ugly learning that the priest who helped get rid of the spirit ended up getting possessed and eventually dying because of it. Priests do so much for people and don’t receive enough credit. I’m glad to learn that Roland continued to stay possessed-free while having three kids and a great career. Great article!
Amanda Gutierrez
Very interesting article! I didn’t know the Ouija Board has existed for such a long time. I really liked the thorough history of the Ouija board before the introduction of Ronald Doe as it gave me a better understanding of the exorcism. Overall, this was very well written and intriguing article! Great job!
Nadia Manitzas
To know the Ouija board has been around for such along time has me baffled. I was raised a Catholic and fully believe that there is a heaven and hell. The fact that the devil tries to make his way onto this earth by the form of possessions is terrifying. Many kids don’t understand the danger of the broad the consequences that can come along with it if they mess with it. Roland Doe was lucky to make it out alive and have his memory back after the exorcism was performed. If it wasn’t for the big man upstairs, Roland would have been stuck in a mental institution. Never mess with the dead and their spirts for you never know what monster you could be waking up.
Adrianna Hernandez
When I started reading the article I was amazed at how the Ouija Board has been around for a long time. I personally believe in paranormal although I’ve never experienced any hauntings myself. I know some friends and relatives who have had haunting experiences. It sort of but not really surprised me how back then they would relate being possessed to a mental disease. I never knew they had made a movie based off of Roland Doe’s exorcism.
Nathan Castillo
I loved reading this article. I found it interesting to learn about exorcisms or anything that relates to unholy matter, not that I am like that, but it was cool to get another view point of how possessions take a big toll on people around you, especially the people that try to help you. It is horrible to hear about how someone gets possessed and the background information of how that comes to be is very interesting. It honestly creeps me out how someone can be dragged to that state and to have a horrible experience with that. Very good article.
Micheal Baladez
Growing up with horror in and of itself being a vital part of my personality, I have known that the Ouija board has been around for a really long time. Yet, I have always had a fascination as to how these “children’s toys” were able to connect with the ethereal. Because of these facts, I personally believe in certain paranormal activities and may have had a few interactions with the ethereal myself. However, because of my upbringing in a rather religious household, I was never able to touch a Ouija board and was confused as to how some people could use it just for “gits and shiggles”. It is perplexing to think about how the family may have felt, not quite knowing if it was only a mental illness or if he was actually possessed. Moreover, the total amount of public criticism and ridicule the family might have gotten for even creating the notion that their boy was possessed by an ethereal being must have been staggering. But, what is more astounding to know was how helpful the Catholic Church/ The Vatican is when it comes to exorcisms. Although there is proof that paranormal activities do take place in real life, there are many individuals who are skeptical about “strange” topics like these. I believe that with the spread of the story of Ronald Doe will quell at least some of the skeptics.
Alyssa Ramos
The Ouija board has been around for a long time, and I have always wondered how this “toy” is able to contact spirits. I personally believe in the paranormal and I have had some haunting experiences myself. I learned at a young age to never touch a Ouija board and some people use it just for laughs and giggles, when it should be handled with serious care. I wonder how the family felt, not knowing if it was just a mental illness or if he was possessed. The amount of criticism this family might have gotten for expressing that their boy was possessed by an evil entity. The Catholic Church is very helpful with exorcisms and especially the Vatican church. There are many believers and skeptics about topics like this, and I feel like the only ones who know the true story of Ronald Doe are the ones who were there.
Alexis Lopez
It’s really interesting to learn the history of the Quija board. I did not know of how it all started or about the lawsuits that came with the game. I also that it was a good idea to explain the meaning of the Quija board by doing this we could understand more about the exorcism of Roland Doe. I thought the article was very detailed and I was able to picture the certain events that happened. I had never heard about the story of Roland Doe and how they made a movie based on his events.
Camille Kwan
WOW! when I first began reading the article I was so fascinated on how the Ouija Board works and how many non catholics beloved that it did not work and it was just s “board game”. The fact that it was actually able to talk to a demon that ended up inhabiting a young boy is mind blowing. The devil is compelling when he prays on our minds that are so weak. How could someone not believe in the devil? The devil is always so tempting and is literally everywhere. He is always pushing you to make the wrong choice, but how can people not see that? The priest that died and put his life on the line for this innocent boy just shows how God worked through this priest to show us Gods love and mercy. Overall, I learned so many things about possession and the consequences and the steps to get rid of demons, as well as, learning that satin is the ultimate challenger and wall in between us and heaven.