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Average Rating:  out of 27 Reviews
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Price: $16.95
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Sale: $9.70
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Manufacturer: iUniverse.com
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780595132645
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Thomas B. Allen
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Publisher: iUniverse.com
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Edition: Updated
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Dewey Decimal Number: 235
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Publication Date: 2000-09-15
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Reading Level: 332
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Description: "The Exorcist", a 1973 movie about a twelve-year-old girl possessed by the Devil, frightened people more than any horror film ever did. Many moviegoers sought therapy to rid themselves of fears they could not explain. Psychiatrists coined the term "cinematic neurosis" for patients who left the movie feeling a terrifying presence of demons. At the Washington premiere, a young woman stood outside the theater, trembling. "I come out here in the sunlight," she said, "and I see people's eyes, and they frighten me." Among the few moviegoers unmoved by the horror were two priests, Father William S. Bowdern and Father Walter Halloran, members of the Jesuit community at St. Louis University. "Billy came out shaking his head about the little girl bouncing on the bed and urinating on the crucifix," Halloran remembers. "He was kind of angry. 'There is a good message that can be given by this thing,' he said. The message was the fact that evil spirits operate in our world." Bowdern and Halloran knew that the movie was fictional veneer masking a terrible reality. Night after night in March and April 1949, Bowdern had been an exorcist, with Halloran assisting. Bowdern fervently believed that he had driven a demon from a tormented soul. The victim had been a thirteen-year-old boy strangely lured to St. Louis from a Maryland suburb of Washington. Bowdern's exorcism had been the inspiration for the movie. The true story of this possession, told in Possessed, is based on a diary kept by a Jesuit priest assisting Father Bowdern. The diary, the most complete account of an exorcism since the Middle Ages, is published for the first time in this revised edition of Possessed.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Excellent Book |
Date: 2007-12-11 |
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Details: This book was written by an investigative reporter, who gained access to the files and participants of the real-life 1947 exorcism on which the novel "The Exorcist" was based. Very well-written and researched. He discusses in the end the possibility of a mental illness, but allows the reader to draw his own conclusion. My conclusion - it was a genuine case of possession. |
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Review Summary: Pray Before Reading This True Story! |
Date: 2007-11-20 |
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Details: For background, I'm a Catholic, 55 yrs old, and an attorney who has seen about everything one can see after 27 years of practice. I'm no one to believe what people tell me without some skepticism and research into whatever is brought before me. But I've also been exposed to some things I can't explain readily without admitting the possibility of the unseen world being present, good or evil. For example, I once spent an hour in a County Jail Interview Cell, interviewing a self-admitted murderer, accused of stabbing a person 47 times with an icepick. We'd had murder and other serious felony cases before. We were to see if we wanted to take his case. (We didn't.) When my partner and I went into this cell, I felt an unspoken, non-vocal, non-"voice in my head" warning inside me that I should get away from the prisoner. Now, mind you, that guy was just sitting in a chair, in lockup, shackled, was physically smaller and older than I, and indicated that he wanted me to represent him. Sheriff's Deputies were available, had I needed them. So, I felt no fear that he would or could hurt me, but by just coming into the cell, I felt a bit unnerved. During the interview, the prisoner proudly told me that after the stabbing, he stood over his victim, and said "that's number 23". That unspoken warning, and a perceptible chill inside that cell, (it was in July, and the temperature on the thermostat a few feet away from the cell read 72 fahrenheit), was the first time I felt I was exposed to something I could not explain by my senses. Before, I had simply believed that what my Church instructed me about the Occult was true; but after, I had evidence as to the practical possibility that the existence of demons and things we cannot perceive in the sensory world is true, after all. So, call me a believer, but don't call me a patsy either. I give all books I read the "smell test". This one passed the test, for reasons I give below.
I first picked this book up two years ago, after having read Malachi Martin's book Hostage to the Devil, and having seen many of Hollywood's movies, which never come close to the truth, except for the movie version of this book, and a recent movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This book was possible only because the author was able to obtain a transcript of the actual rite of exorcism performed by the priests upon a child in St. Louis. The Catholic Church, for understandable reasons, does not enter into this sacrament easily, and does its best to keep the proceedings secret, not for arcane purposes, but to protect the privacy of the possessed person. The book follows the steps of investigation which followed before the rite was approved. It then examines the three stages of diabolic possession of a person, and follows the attempts and finally the successful ritual which followed.
I found the author's writing and presentation not sensational(he has a sensational subject matter anyway) and well suited to the general public. I also feel that the subject matter is very appropriate in this day where the human race reaches technical innovation one after another, which gives some the impression that people "invented" God and the Devil to explain things they could not in their primitive state of life otherwise explain. The book also mentions that before any rite is performed, the victim is given psychiatric and medical tests to detect any underlying disease or mental problem, which may be the real cause of the person's behavior or at least a contributing factor to it. Today, more testing is performed than when the case in this book occurred, but at all times there are signs of demonic possession which are hard to explain if present, unless something or someone from the unseen world has become present. The tests the Church performs to determine whether such signs are present was treated in the book well. To those and to the general public, it makes a very timely read and, given its' adherence to an actual Catholic rite of exorcism, helps to de-mystify the sacrament, how the Church actually handles cases brought before it, and then gives reasons for what is done and why it is done.
Given the plethora of books about this topic, and the scarcity of access to Church records(there is always a tape recording, and perhaps a video one, too) of exorcisms, I think it is valuable to read an account of an actual exorcism rite, successfully performed, to compare with the ones done by non-Catholic exorcists(and I don't make judgment upon the sincerity or truth of the more public accounts of those doing it outside of the Church, or by defrocked Catholic bishops or priests) and the "Hollywood" versions we are bombarded with before Halloween. Just say a pray, if you believe in God, before reading this, as you will find yourself tested or intrigued by the subject matter, which can be dangerous when one considers that demons are described by most Christian churches as spiritual beings having great preternatural skills and which can sift a human mind like wheat, unless we invoke God's protection against them. |
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Review Summary: Essential inaccuracies |
Date: 2007-07-05 |
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Details: Perhaps the most important thing to know about this account of the "true" story that inspired The Exorcist is that the real boy in question did not live in Mt. Ranier. So all the facts presented here about that house, about those neighbors, or relating to that location - it's at best derived from erroneous sources, such as the early 1980's reports that first mentioned the abandoned Mt. Ranier lot, and at worst it's all fabricated. The real story can be easily found via Google searches. Knowing this, the rest of this account then falls into serious question, rendering the book virtually meaningless to anyone seeking the truth behind the Exorcist inspiration. It may make a good read, but it doesn't do much to present the true story. Try Google, and happy searching. |
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Review Summary: Just what the heck is up with those Ouija boards anyway? |
Date: 2007-04-07 |
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Details: This pioneering book and the story that it is based upon helped William Peter Blatty write The Exorcist.We all know what that did for cinematic history,don't we.Here, the subject of possesion is a boy in 1940's middle America who via an aunt and a Ouija board embark on the downward spiral toward increasingly volatile,abberant behaviors.One would think possibly schizoaffective or perhaps schizophrenic behaviors with psychotic aggression but perhaps not.Untreatable by local medicine and repelling local clergy he is referred to a different priest who with the help of other accolytes and assistant priests of a Jesuit variety embark on the long journey that is the ancient rite of exorcism.The story is clearly defined with just a sense of some holding back with regard to the true nature of the reality of the situation.The normal waxing and waning inherent in the ritual,the problems that can crop up that only insiders could know, as well as the continued path toward final expulsion are readily apparent and one gets the maximum treatment with full Roman Ritual furor.It is a story that perplexes the imagination but holds one fast as if the book were glued to your fingers.There are periods of fearful wonder and tactile and olfactory components along with the violence which are clearly felt.All does work out in the end,a rarity in these cases, but the story remains and leaves perplexing questions and doubts.There is the recorded event closely guarded by the church.The priests involved maintained silence until late in the case history.Both Blatty and Friedkin's'hollywoodization' if you will, does make more of the scene than is reported.Nonetheless,this exists as it is.Take it for what it's worth.Skip the movie of the same name,it stinks.Read the book,make your own judgements. If this is your stuff your money won't be wasted.The final opinion lies with you.Otherwise, enjoy some intense stuff. |
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Review Summary: High entertainment value |
Date: 2003-11-26 |
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Details: Whether or not Allen misses and distorts some of the historical information contained within his narrative, this work is still ultimately entertaining. It provides an extensive look at traditional demoniac psychology/experience, which is invaluable regardless of whether or not we believe in possession. It also provides an interesting look at Christianity's handling of demons and exorcism over the centuries, and even if there are historical inaccuracies, this aspect of the book is undeniably valuable. I am also impressed with Allen's style; he makes no attempt at sensational, horrific, "scary" language. It seems to me that Allen's goal is to provide an honest, impartial account. He leaves the reasoning to us. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, this book has something to offer. |
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