William S. Bowdern

Father William S. Bowdern, S.J. (February 13, 1897 - April 25, 1983) was a Jesuit Roman Catholic priest, also the lead exorcist in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, in the exorcism of a thirteen-year-old Lutheran boy who became possessed after using a Ouija Board. This was the case on which William Peter Blatty based his novel "The Exorcist". He was assisted by fellow Jesuit priest Father Walter Halloran.

Father Bowdern was the author of "The Problems of Courtship and Marriage" printed by Our Sunday Visitor in 1939.

When author William Peter Blatty was investigating the reported case of exorcism in St. Louis he received a letter from Father Bowdern saying that, although Blatty's intentions were good, he would not assist in the project because of a vow he had made to protect the boy's identity. He further wrote that the, "only thing I can tell you is that the case I was involved in was the real thing. I had no doubt about it then, and have no doubt about it now." Blatty would eventually write a fictional account of an exorcism based on the information he learned from the case which Bowdern was the lead exorcist in 1949.

In 2000, a TV-movie titled "Possessed" (which was taken from Thomas B. Allen's book with the same name) was made about that case. Father Bowdern's character was played by Timothy Dalton.

References

* [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi William S. Bowdern Birthdate]

External links

* [http://www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html The Haunted Boy of Cottage City. The Cold Facts Behind the Story That Inspired "The Exorcist]
* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/42/story_4274_1.html Movie 'Exorcist' Got It Right, Say Priests Who Cast Out Demons]
* [http://www.prairieghosts.com/exorcist.html The St.Louis Exorcism Case!The Story that Became the Exorcist!]
* [http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/035/035914p1.html?fromint=1 Interview in which Father Bowdern is mentioned.]

Further reading

* "Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism," Thomas B. Allen, 1993, ISBN 0-553-47177-5

Related film

* "Possessed" (Showtime/Regent Entertainment 2000) - Based on Thomas B. Allen book, above. Director: Steven E. de Souza. Father William S. Bowdern played by Timothy Dalton.