This information on
The Exorcist has been available for some time, but I only recently 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 last 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. His name genuinely seems to have two spellings!
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.
MIKE'S BIG BLOG O' RAINY DAY FUN! (Fascinating, yes, I sat up half the night reading.)
Photo on Mike Madonna’s Facebook page.
Mike Madonna - Mike Madonna's Photos | Facebook 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.
Troy Taylor | Facebook 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, a Lutheran pastor who was the first clergyman to observe the boy. A lengthy article described his observations, and, according to a 1949 newspaper article referenced here,
www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html he 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.
The Real Story Behind the Exorcist: A Study of the Haunted Boy and Other True-Life Horror Legends from Around the Nation's Capital: Mark Opsasnick: 9781425741341: Amazon.com: Books 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.
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.
Thinking about all this leaves me with a lot of questions, starting with Reverend Luther Miles Schulze. The 1949 newspaper article referenced here
www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html has him giving a talk making light of the events, yet an uncredited article for
The Parapsychology Bulletin (August 1949, Number 14), a periodical of the New York-based Parapsychology Foundation, titled “Report Of A Poltergeist” appeared publishing his name. Well, why was this article published and what did it say? So, you’re an adult with a responsible community position, a child/teenager comes to your house and pulls a mischievous prank, and you go to a Parapsychology Foundation? To say what? Beware of pranksters? Without seeing this article, it would seem to me that there is more to this.
Then there are the priests. Why would people who present themselves as professionals allow themselves to be yanked around for months by a highly-strung young man staging an elaborate act? At what point would they not simply walk off, saying, “He needs help other than ours”? Who leaked this story to the press, and why did Father Halloran continue to discuss it for decades afterwards? If absolutely nothing paranormal happened, why would professional people risk their reputations by taking a
non-story to the press?
As for the subject and any of his family members not wanting to discuss it, that proves absolutely nothing. If he
was possessed, would they advertise it? If not, yes, they’d be embarrassed, and either way it was not their finest hour and they’d want to put it behind them. Their behavior in no way proves anything paranormal either did, or did not, happen.
Lastly, there is the mysterious matter of Brother Greg Hollewinske, a dying cleric who should be making his peace with God, coming forward and absolutely swearing he witnessed profoundly paranormal phenomena. His possible involvement bears further looking into.
I have come to no
bottom line conclusion here, except that there is
an awful lot of smoke for no fire. Certainly the exaggerated events did not occur as depicted in the book and movie, but it seems to me something out of the ordinary
did in fact happen.
All the nonsense peddled about the Exorcist events makes me think of one of my favorite subjects, Chicago’s famous hitchhiking ghost, Resurrection Mary. Notice I say “subject,” not “story,” “myth,” or “legend.” There is just too much good evidence for the events, about which I have posted here:
Resurrection Mary, Chicago's Famous Hitchhiking Ghost, page 1
Resurrection Mary - Famous Haunts - Ghoststudy Community
Resurrection Mary Deserves Her Own Thread! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards - Forums
Another obituary showing that the purported witness was a distinguished and decorated hero! Hardly the sort to spout sensationalism. He came from a large family and has a brother and sister still living!
Gregory Hollewinske Obituary - Sunset Funeral Home | San Antonio TX
Now for the million dollar challenge: I just so happen to have the names and addresses of Brother Hollewinske's brother and sister. Thing is, in all this time I simply haven't come up with a tactful way to ask, "In your opinion was your brother a reliable witness?" In the opinion of Mike Madonna at least, he was probably whacked out on painkillers under whose influence one might well say anything! You are such a warm and wonderful group of people, perhaps one among you has the courage to PM me for these addresses and approach these relatives yourself? Bonus points also to anyone who can supply inside info on Resurrection Mary!
I noticed because I came back to say I thought it was a cool story, it happened in the state I was born and raised in, so I thought I would Tweet it to my whopping 74 Twitter followers. 
Used a couple hashtags, someone saw it, an author, turned around and retweeted it to her approx 8000 followers. O.O
