The Exorcism That Still Haunts America

Podcast Episode Summary

How did the archaic practice of exorcism become so commonplace that literally thousands are performed each year in the United States alone?  Many would lay the blame at the foot of the popular 1970s novel and movie "The Exorcist". Many people claimed that they themselves were possessed after viewing the film.  At the very least, an entire nation became aware of a practice that had been performed only once in this country until 1949.

This exorcism, performed in a post war Washington, DC suburb, became the inspiration for the aforementioned novel.  This week's guest, Tom Allen, has written his book "Possessed" which chronicles the day to day events of this extraordinary event.  Amazingly, Tom was able to obtain a copy of the diary of Father Halloran, one of the attending priests.

Was this a titanic struggle between Satan and God or the psychotic thrashings of a fevered and tortured young mind?