Talking discovery+’s Roland Doe Shock Docs with Troy Taylor

The Exorcism of Roland Doe Shock Docs special started streaming on February 5 on discovery+. Among the experts interviewed in the film is Troy Taylor, who is the founder of American Hauntings Ink, which offers books, ghost tours, events, and weekend excursions. (It’s one of the companies on our Ghost Hunting Event Companies & Haunted Places page. In fact, top of the list for Ghost Hunting Event Companies.)

Troy has personally authored more than 130 books on ghosts, hauntings, true crime, the unexplained, and the supernatural in America, including The Devil Came to St. Louis, which was about the case of Roland Doe.

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Troy was very generous and once again sat down to talk with me about the Roland Doe Shock Docs special and his part in it. Specifically, how he came to know about the case of Roland Doe, and how it led him to digging into how it inspired William Peter Blatty to write the book that inspired the iconic horror movie The Exorcist.

But Troy’s main interest was the real-life case, and that’s what his book focuses on.

I found it very interesting that it stemmed from Troy’s time living in St. Louis once upon a time. While there, he heard stories about a possessed boy who’d had an exorcism that intrigued him to investigate more. I was also surprised to hear that normally exorcisms don’t excite Troy either. (They’re really not my bag.)

However, something about this case…well, it sucks a person in, doesn’t it?

How It All Began

During his research, Troy had the opportunity to talk with many of the people who were involved in the actual case, including the boy himself –who is now an 80-something-year-old man who’s lived not only a long life but also a very productive one free from any further demonic possessions. (Thank goodness.)

Troy explained that it started as a haunted house story. The family was living in Cottage City, Maryland, when the activity first began.

Since they were originally from Missouri, they decided to return home and live with family in the St. Louis suburb of Bel-Nor to see if things got better. It didn’t.

Roland’s cousin asked for one of his professors at  St. Louis University, Raymond J. Bishop, to come to the house because he was also a Jesuit priest. He did and then reached out to William S. Bowdern. They witnessed a book case move, things flying around, and both decided this was something more serious and invasive than a haunted house.

They got permission to do the exorcism, which they started at the house, but then moved to the rectory at the church. However, Roland was so violent they then decided to move him to The Alexian Brothers Hospital where they could better control them. He was admitted in a secure mental wing and the exorcism continued. It lasted a period of six weeks for five to six hours every night.

As Troy put it, it’s everything you’d want in a movie because it makes such a compelling story.

Yes. Whether it’s the real version or Blatty’s version, which very much mirrors the real story except for some minor tweaks, the exorcism of Roland Doe is super compelling indeed!

Either Way, A Book Was Inevitable

Raymond J. Bishop was the one who decided to document the case because once they got permission to go ahead with the exorcism, they discovered there wasn’t a lot of information about how to do it. They thought they’d use Roland’s case to create a sort of exorcism manual.

Which, in a way they sort of did, but it was not how they’d planned. It was also not published like how they’d hope, because the Catholic church wanted this case kept under wraps. And for many years it was.

But not everything was recorded. As Troy put it, Roland spewed such vile, blasphemous words that Bishop felt no one needed to be subjected to that, even in writing.

Then, years later, Blatty learned about the case, that it was documented, got his hands on it and the rest is history.

Hoax?

Troy even addresses the skepticism many have expressed about whether or not this case is even real.

Who knows?

Well, the exorcism part happened, but was Roland faking it? Was he experiencing a temporary psychotic break? Did he have some other health or neurological condition that could explain any of the behavior? Were any of the priests exaggerating what they saw when they described objects moving or furniture levitating?

Perhaps.

Troy admits he’s not even sure himself, but he also admits we’ll never know for sure. The only people who do were the ones who were there. Most are now dead. Roland himself, who Troy had a chance to talk with once upon a time, apologized in advance for disappointing him. He remembers nothing of the events that are said to have transpired.

What Happened to Roland Doe?

As long as he’s living, Troy won’t reveal his name. (However, he did give plenty of hints for anyone savvy enough to do some research to find him.)

Troy did say that he went on to live “a normal…above normal…life.”

He finished school, went to college, married, and had a family. He went ot work in the space industry, and in fact holds a patent in his name for the shielding that NASA puts on rockets.

As Troy put it, he grew up to be “an actual rocket scientist.”

In other words, after his possession, he lived happily ever after, but if you’re interested in watching the Roland Doe Shock Docs special, you can now stream The Exorcism of Roland Doe on discovery+ and see Troy Taylor in action for yourself.

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What’s your take on exorcisms? Do they interest you or not so much?