Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, the Boy Who Inspired The Exorcist: The Story Behind the Myth

Before Regan MacNeil walked backward down the stairs, twisted her head and spoke in a demonic voice on screen, there was a 13-year-old American boy whose story became the raw material for The Exorcist.

For decades, he was known as Robbie Mannheim or Ronald Doe, names used to protect his identity. Later, his real name emerged as Ronald Edwin Hunkeler. In early 1949, his Maryland home became the setting for events his family could not explain. Accounts described Ronald as a quiet, thin boy who enjoyed board games and had no history of physical problems.

The family later connected the events to a Ouija board given to Ronald by his aunt Harriet, a spiritualist with whom he was close. On January 15, while Ronald was at home with his grandmother, they heard dripping that they could not locate. A picture of Christ began to shake, followed by scratching sounds behind the wall and beneath the beds.

Ronald’s father initially thought rats were responsible. He lifted floorboards and wall panels but found nothing. Eleven days later, Harriet died. Ronald was deeply affected and began using the Ouija board more often, apparently trying to contact her. The scratching stopped for a time, but footsteps began circling his bed at night.

During one night, Ronald’s mother asked aloud whether Harriet was present and requested three knocks as an answer. According to the family account, a force pushed the bed, followed by three knocks on the floor. The disturbances then moved beyond Ronald’s room. At school, his desk allegedly shook and struck nearby desks. Relatives at home said objects were thrown, furniture toppled and an armchair lifted while Ronald sat in it. During a visit 64 kilometers away, the rocking chair holding him began to spin with his feet off the floor.

His parents suspected that he might be causing the episodes and took him to a doctor, psychologist and psychiatrist before turning to the church. Records collected about the case said the evaluations found no clinical explanation and described Ronald as healthy, though tense. The family also consulted a medium and later sought religious help. Lutheran pastor Luther Miles Schulze said he witnessed further phenomena, though he initially suspected Ronald was staging them. The case was documented for months and eventually reached William Peter Blatty, who later transformed it into The Exorcist.