The Haunted Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis
Posted: 06.27.2024 | Updated: 06.27.2024
In 1346, the Black Death coursed its way through Europe, leaving in its wake piles of dead and countless victims stricken from their cities, left to rot on the outskirts of their homes. From the devastation wrought by the plague rose a band of men who tirelessly worked to help the less fortunate. Those brothers who survived the dark period looked to St. Alexius as their patron, and before long, the Alexian Brothers were formed and welcomed into the Catholic Church. But this isn’t their story. Instead, this one removes us far from medieval Europe and plants us in 20th-century St. Louis at the front door of the Alexian Brothers Hospital. Their penchant for spreading good and caring for the destitute and ill seemed fitting for a mighty peculiar case that drove a desperate family from Washington, D.C., to St. Louis for help with an impossibility. The family’s young boy had contracted an incurable affliction—one that caused his body to contort, his voice to fluctuate, and inanimate objects nearby to suddenly move with life. Little did it know that on April 18, 1949, the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis would become the battleground for a literal fight between good and evil. With the soul of a 14-year-old boy at risk, men of faith gathered at the St. Louis hospital and made history—a history that would go on to catch the eye of a creative visionary.Is The Exorcist a true story based in St. Louis?
Many horrifying tales of Hollywood do have their roots in reality, and The Exorcist isn’t an exception. Keep reading to learn about that one time a devil came down to Missouri and sparked the genius of author Wiliam Peter Blatty. To discover some of St. Louis’s most haunted locations in person, take a ghost tour with St. Louis Ghosts!
The Curious Case of Ronald Doe
Cottage City, Maryland, late-1940s. The noise of World War II was mostly subsiding, leaving a world that would take time to acclimate to. Along with a budding conflict with the Soviet Union, the United States was about to enter a period of godliness as American families learned to embrace tradition in the wake of the chaos of war. For one East Coast family, there was no question about the importance of religion and faith, especially as darkness descended upon their household. A teenage boy, initially documented as “Roland Doe” but later revealed to be Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, was like any other, driven by his curiosities and known for a strong emotional attachment to his family. He lived near Washington, D.C., but kept close contact with his family ties in St. Louis, specifically an aunt that he was particularly close to. Roland’s aunt, known only as “Aunt Harriet” (or “Aunt Tillie,” depending on the source), had her fingers on the pulse of spiritualism and the occult. It was through Aunt Harriet that Roland had his first experience with an Ouija board, and this is where his horror story unknowingly begins. Sadly, their interactions ended abruptly when Aunt Harriet passed away. Roland was left without that comforting close bond, so he sought it out the only way he knew how. With planchet in hand, he attempted to contact her through an Ouija board. Unfortunately, his call to the other side went unanswered. Or so he thought.A Haunting Emerges in Cottage City
According to the journal of Reverand Raymond J. Bishop of St. Louis University’s Department of Education, the incidents that plagued Ronald’s family began on January 15, 1949. It started with a continuous dripping sound, audible to the boy and his grandmother. The events of that night grew more intense. As Bishop notes, a picture of Christ shook, and a noticeable scratching sound started to emanate beneath the grandmother’s bed. The scratching continued intermittently for over a week, eventually stopping only for a more troubling noise to pick up in the boy’s bedroom. Bishop described the new noise as “squeaking shoes” that ran the length of the bed over and over. Activity within the home progressed as time wore on, and though Ronald’s mother received distinct affirmative answers when she asked the presence if Aunt Harriet was the source of the noise, something malicious was brewing in the Cottage City home. Just over a month after the noises started and the household came alive with a paranormal presence, Roland developed scratch marks all over his body. They appeared with no apparent source for four nights, first as random markings. Things became far more worrisome on the fifth night. No longer were there random scratches all over the boy’s body. They were clear instructions to travel to St. Louis. One night, he awoke with “Louis” scribed into his flesh, followed the next few nights by “Saturday” and “3 1/12 weeks,” The entity was setting a deadline for their trip. The writings persisted, leaving the boy’s body tender and raw but always with an answer or direction that best suited the whims of whatever maligned demon had latched on. Not wanting to disobey the writings, Roland and his family moved to St. Louis, and it was there that the battle for the boy’s soul truly began.An Exorcism in St. Louis
Do exorcism movies glorify the act of extracting a stubborn entity from the human shell it’s inhabited? Over two months, the exorcism of Roland would all but prove beyond doubt that these ceremonies are violent and incredibly dangerous for the affected subject. Hoping to minimize the boy’s suffering, religious scholars, educated Jesuits, and Alexian Brothers lent aid as they could. Roland was moved from facility to facility - first across Washington, D.C., then to St. Louise. At one point, Roland attempted to kill himself by jumping into the Mississippi River, but was it an act meant to end his torment or further hurt those closest to the boy? He was eventually contained within the walls of the Alexian Brothers Hospital, and it’s here that the strongest front against Ronald’s malevolent assailant was attempted. By this time, his case had caught Bishop’s attention, and the priest sought assistance from pastor William Bowdern of St. Francis Xavier College Church. With approval from the St. Louis Archbishop, Bowdern and Bishop committed to performing an exorcism on R. Ronald's condition worsened as prayer was offered by others called upon by Bowdern and Bishop. The entity within him physically fought against the religious influence, even as three grown men held his arms, legs, and head down. The prayer continued, and whatever had a hold on Roland grew angrier and more violent. It spat at holy men and religious objects, writhed when sprinkled with holy water, carved a cross into the boy’s body, and tried to manipulate the room by releasing Roland from its grip so the boy could plead to those surrounding him. Hope seemed a foolish thing to have as Bowdern continued his assault against the demon, but on Easter morning in 1949, the battle came to an abrupt end.Imprinting on the Alexian Brothers Hospital
Notes on how the vile fiend was bested are not entirely clear, but it’s believed that St. Michael himself was heard coming from Ronald. It was a stark contrast from the entity, demanding that the boy’s body be free of all evil spirits. When he came to, Roland confirmed what all had heard—the Archangel St. Michael fought the Devil and won. Many accounts retell the horrific two months that Roland suffered, trapped under the weight of something truly wicked. While some events may change from one account to the next, they all amount to the same hellish experience for young Roland that concluded within the confines of the Alexian Brothers Hospital on South Broadway. In the years since the exorcism, the wing where it took place was demolished, and the building was eventually renamed the South City Hospital. Regardless of the changes, the imprint of that emotionally taxing event remained part of its core. Could it be part of why the hospital abruptly closed in 2023? Was there a malicious darkness trapped within that guided the facility down a path to dissolution? Be sure to also check our blog and socials on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for even more information about the case that inspired The Exorcist. To discover the horrors that haunt St. Louis, book a ghost tour with St. Louis Ghosts! Sources:http://www.alexianbrothers.org/aboutus/congregation-of-alexian-brothers-history/ https://www.slu.edu/news/2019/october/slu-legends-lore-exorcism.php https://books.google.com/books?id=iqEcAgAAQBAJ&q=harriet#v=snippet&q=harriet&f=false https://fox4kc.com/news/read-the-st-louis-diary-that-inspired-the-exorcist/ https://www.stlpr.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2013-10-30/heard-of-the-exorcist-this-st-louis-event-inspired-itBook A St Louis Ghosts Tour And See For Yourself
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