St. Louis house associated with the making of 'The Exorcist': this doesn't mean the house is haunted

Father Edward Albert Hughes is reportedly the first priest who attempted to perform an exorcism on Roland Doe in Washington, D.C.Photo byCloudswrest, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Exorcism is sometimes an uncomfortable word to read or say because it opens a door to topics of the unknown.

When The Exorcist was released, besides generating a lot of profit, it also introduced many conversations based on anxiety, curiosity, and misinformation. Much of the conversation included speculation and the house in St. Louis, Missouri was one of the locations where exorcisms were said to have occurred.

I remember the film and I never read the book. I was curious about the house in St. Louis that was allegedly part of the life event in 1949.

The 1940s when the unexplained allegedly began

Initially, Ronald Edwin Hunkeler was then-known by pseudonyms, Roland Doe and Robbie Mannheim, to protect his identity as a minor. It was during the late 1940s when Catholic priests allegedly performed a series of exorcisms on this then-anonymous boy who lived in Maryland and briefly in St. Louis.

The young boy was 13 or 14 depending on whose story you read. The popular description of this teenager's experience was demonic possession. It's also been said this was a teenager growing up in a dysfunctional home who was prone to violent behavior.

A Catholic attending priest, Raymond J. Bishop, recorded the St. Louis events. Much later in 1971, author, William Peter Blatty, wrote The Exorcist based on those events. Two years later, the horror film with the same name was released as being based on a true story.

In 2021, The Skeptical Inquirer magazine ran the article, Demoniac: Who Is Roland Doe, the Boy Who Inspired The Exorcist? (The Skeptical Inquirer is published by the Center for Inquiry headquartered in Amherst, New York.)

This article reported on the true identity of the 13-year-old boy involved with the exorcism story and who was the subject of the film, The Exorcist. The article indicated the identity of the boy was Ronald Edwin Hunkeler (b. June 1, 1935, d. May 10, 2020). The article also concluded that "the true story is neither chilling nor likely true."

There were several reportings the teenager was from Mount Rainier, Maryland, and later, it was shown the boy was really from Cottage City. Some say it was initially misinformation and others suggest it was to protect the identity of the boy and his family.

In 1998, a well-investigated and researched accounting of the alleged exorcism comes in five parts by Mark Oksasnick in The Haunted Boy of Cottage City. Oksasnick also published a book in 2006: The Real Story Behind the Exorcist: A Study of the Haunted Boy and Other True-Life Horror Legends from Around the Nation's Capital. Clearly, Oksasnick performed extensive research and investigation about every aspect of this event.

Articles first appeared in 1949 of the occurrence. In 1950, a diary was purported to have circulated that had a handful of copies. In Part 2 of Oksasnick's article, there is a timeline referencing details that occurred and who was involved.

As far as whether the first exorcism allegedly occurred at 3210 Bunker Hill Rd., Mount Rainier, Maryland, or not, was researched by Oksasnick. He discussed why that was a myth in Part 3 of his article. Oksasnick had debunked the myth that the young teenager had ever lived in a house at that address because the owners of the house didn't have children.

Hunkeler graduated from a private Catholic school named Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. According to the boy's high school yearbook, he resided in Cottage City, Maryland. It's believed Mount Rainier was listed as the town the boy was from as a smokescreen.

Interestingly, in Part 4 of Oksasnick's writing, he located people in or from the Cottage City neighborhood who knew the boy and his family. After reading Part 4, I was convinced the teenager had a dysfunctional childhood which also affected his behavior.

After reading the final segment (Part 5) of Oksasnick's article, the occurrence of a demonic possession of Hunkeler is questionable. There were many players to this story and several may have had an agenda married to a profit with the exception of the priests involved.

What seems to be clear is that something did happen and dependent on what your beliefs are will frame your opinion about the boy's experiences.

St. Louis location

The Hunkeler family had ties to St. Louis. Hunkeler's aunt (father's sister), , Mathilda L. “Aunt Tillie” Hendricks, and uncle lived there. Hunkler's father, Edwin Charles Hunkeler, was born in St. Louis and died in 1976 at age 75-76. His mother, Odell Charlotte Coppage Hunkeler, died in 1956 at age 52-53.

Aunt Tillie died on January 26, 1949, at age 54. This was less than two months prior to Ronald and his mother arriving in St. Louis.

It's been written Ronald and his mother arrived in the suburb of Bel-Nor in St. Louis on March 9, 1949.

Aunt Tillie was identified as a spiritualist who taught Ronald how to use an Ouija Board and according to the St. Louis University website, that was when strange things started happening. Ronald was said to be grief-stricken from his aunt's death and had allegedly tried to contact her with the Ouija Board.

First, the German Lutheran family contacted their minister, Reverend Luther Schulze, for help. The boy was also taken to Georgetown University for help to no avail.

People Magazine reported in August 2024 that according to Hunkeler's companion, he lived in fear. He didn't want to be discovered as the boy who inspired the movie. He worried a lot and during the Halloween holiday, they would leave the house. Hunkeler's companion said Hunkeler was just a bad boy.

Written works

Besides books, there are YouTube videos, articles, and blogs on what happened in 1949.

In 2006, Troy Taylor wrote a book, The Devil Came to St. Louis: The True Story of the 1949 Exorcism. This would not be the only book written on the documented and reported Hunkeler exorcism.

There is diary-like documentation by Father Bishop about Ronald's exorcism. The diary wasn't meant to be shared with the public but it's out there. Initially, it was reported there were six copies of the diary and later became digitalized on the internet. Visit here to see a transcription of the diary.

Author Steven A. LaChance wrote about the event in his book, Confrontation with Evil: An In-Depth Review of the 1949 Possession that Inspired The Exorcist, published in 2017.

Thomas B. Allen's book published in 2000, The Possession: The Ultimate Fear is Knowing that it Really Happened, is said to have the full version of the diary included. According to a University News article (a news site for Saint Louis University), Allen is an expert on what occurred.

The house in Bel-Nor

According to an owner of the house from 1991-1999, he never experienced anything associated to a disturbance in the house and even said the house had been blessed enough during the exorcism, that it was probably the safetest house in the area.

In 2005, the Riverfront Times ran a piece about the exorcism which included a conversation with the previous house owner.

According to the realtor.com website, the house (image can be seen here) has been sold in 1984, 1986, 1991, 1999, and 2005 is the last listed date of being sold.

While there haven't been any reports of hauntings at the Ben-Nor house, according to True Title Company, the house may cause some anxiety for real estate agents.

Who's alive?

According to the Find-a-Grave record, Ronald Edwin Hunkeler died on May 10, 2020, at age 84. His remains were cremated. The record indicates he had two sisters and was an engineer for about 40 years at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His death was caused by a stroke at home. There's a claim he communicated he wasn't possessed and that he was a bad boy. Hunkeler never wanted to be interviewed.

Father E. Albert Hughes was a Roman Catholic priest said to have conducted an exorcism on Hunkeler at Georgetown University Hospital. It's been suggested, however, this wasn't fact-checked, but it's been written in many places he served as an assistant in the exorcism. Father Hughes died on October 12, 1980, at age 62.

Rev. Fr. William Sporing Bowdern.Photo byFind-a-Grave record.

Chief Exorcist, Father William Bowdern, died on April 25, 1983, at age 86.

Father Walter H. Halloran worked with Father Bowdern. He died on March 1, 2005, at age 83.

Father Raymond Bishop died on February 19, 1978, at age 72. Father Bishop kept a diary of the event. Father Bishop taught at St. Louis University in 1949. Allegedly, he was approached by a female student asking him to help her 13-year-old cousin, Robbie Mannheim (Hunkeler).

The female student allegedly indicated her cousin was having supernatural experiences after using the Ouija Board. Also, he had already had an unsuccessful exorcism in Maryland.

As the story goes, Father Bishop reached out to Father William S. Bowdern who was also a friend and they performed an exorcism. Father Bishop's diary of the event was an internal Church document. The sole intent of the diary was to document the case for Church records, which gives the diary more credibility as a truthful record. According to the diary, the exorcism occurred in a St. Louis suburb at three locations:

• The home of Ronald's aunt and uncle in Bel-Nor;
• The Rectory of the St. Xavier College Church; and
• Alexian Brothers Hospital (where it is said the exorcism was concluded).

Later during the 1950s, Father Bishop was sent to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and he taught there for over 20 years.

Without a doubt, The Exorcist is a classic horror film.

The two-story brick house in Bel-Nor linked to the real-life story is privately owned and it's assumed the current owners aren't interrupted in the home by any unusual occurrences.

Thanks for reading and sharing.