 "Photo: AHHHHH!-mad Aljuryyed")
The neighborhood of Bel-Nor that sits across the street from the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus has a secret sitting at 8435 Roanoke Drive.
The three-bedroom brick colonial house that stands there is the house that William Peter Blatty’s novel “The Exorcist” (later made into a film) was based upon
It was in this house where the beginning stages of the exorcism allegedly took place, to have been continued at the Alexian Brothers Hospital and St. Francis Xavier College Church on the Saint Louis University campus in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
The boy and his family were living at the house in Bel-Nor before the exorcism had begun, making the house the last-standing remnant of the story as the church rectory and Alexian Brothers Hospital are no longer standing.
The first two weeks of the exorcism is said to have taken place at Roanoke Dr., where Jesuit priests Father William Bowdern, Father Raymond Bishop, Father William Van Roo and Father Walter Halloran attempted to free the young boy from the demon. There are few details regarding specifics of the process as all of the priests refused to talk about it, saying that it would be a violation of the boy’s privacy.
Father Halloran, who died in March of 2005, was the only witness of the exorcism who would provide any sort of insight to what actually happened.
Halloran is said to have kept a detailed journal of the happenings or the exorcism, but he would always stop short of providing any sort of detail that could help to identify the little boy who was allegedly possessed.
However, Halloran allowed author Thomas B. Allen to utilize his account of the exorcism (so long as he kept the boy’s identity anonymous) in his book Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism.
According to Allen, the family of the boy first became concerned when they heard “odd noises” at their home in Washington D.C., where they lived before moving to St. Louis.
The boy is said to have first been possessed on January 15, 1949, and freed of the demon on April 19th of the same year.
Although the possessed boy’s identity still remains unknown, numerous efforts have been made to reveal it. In an article for the Riverfront Times, Allen said that a television show offered him a reward if he would release the name of the boy.
“Soon after the book came out, a television show offered me $15,000 if I’d identify the kid,” Allen said. “I passed on it.”
Allen also said that while he was conducting research for his book, he sent the boy two letters and never received a response.
Allen said that since he “never heard back from him, [he has] to respect his privacy.” No credible media has ever reported the actual name of the boy, but in 1998 Mark Opsasnick researched the story and came to the conclusion that the allegedly possessed boy originally lived in Cottage City, Md., and came to St. Louis for “treatment.”
Opsasnick published his “findings” in Strange Magazine, and while he never specifically notes the child’s name, he lets the reader know how he came to find it: using a trail of census reports, municipal directories and libraries.
The Riverfront Times followed Opsasnick’s trail and came to the conclusion that the possessed boy was Ronald Hunkeler, nephew to Edwin Hunkeler and his wife who owned the house in Bel-Nor.
Ronald Hunkeler is said to reside somewhere along the East Coast. He is 74-years-old now, and is rumored to have selected the name of “Michael” for his first son after the “archangel who rescued him from Satan’s clutches.” Hunkeler returned to Alexian Brothers in St. Louis in August of 1951, but has not been back since.
UM-St. Louis students appear to have mixed opinions regarding the home of the possessed boy being so close to campus.
Jonas A. Kersulis, freshmen, electrical engineering, said that since his arrival on campus he has not heard the rumors that the possessed boy was residing in Bel-Nor for the beginning stages of the exorcism before being transferred downtown.
Sophomore Edwin Vance Butler, liberal studies, said that the only thing he really knew about the exorcism is that it was performed by Catholic priests, and the boy was rumored to have lived in Bel-Nor.
Because of the proximity to UM-St. Louis campus, numerous students select Bel-Nor as their place of residence despite the old house on Roanoke Dr.
Ryan Penfield, junior, business management, said that he is not concerned with the rumors regarding the house because he does not believe the boy resided there, although he knows he was treated in St. Louis.
Michael David Bittner, student at UM-Columbia and former resident of St. Louis, expressed a different opinion. Bittner said that he does not believe the exorcism ever actually happened in St. Louis, much less in Bel-Nor near the university campus.
“I’m not an expert, but I really don’t think it happened,” Bittner said. “I just think it has been exaggerated over the years.”
1 comments