Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. This week, I’m sharing my review of the book upon which The Exorcist was based, Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism by Thomas B. Allen.
Possessed was published in June 1993 by Doubleday and is 259 pages long.
The Plot
The book follows the reported possession and exorcism in 1949 of a 14-year-old boy (referred to under a pseudonym to protect privacy) whose disturbing behaviour—violent outbursts, strange markings on his body, alleged supernatural events—led his family to seek help from Catholic priests. What begins as concern about adolescent instability slowly escalates into a full religious crisis.
Jesuit priests, including Father William Bowdern, conduct a prolonged series of exorcism rituals over several weeks. Allen documents the physical and psychological strain on both the boy and the clergy, detailing reported phenomena such as levitation, guttural voices, and symbolic scratches appearing on the boy’s skin. The story culminates in a final, climactic ritual that the Church later deemed successful.
Characters
“Robbie” (Pseudonym for the Boy)
Robbie is the teenager at the centre of the book, whose behaviour sparked the case. Allen portrays him less as a horror character and more as a distressed young person caught in a web of belief, fear, and expectation.
Father William Bowdern
Father William Bowdern is the lead priest conducting the exorcism. Allen depicts him as serious, disciplined, and spiritually steadfast, but also physically exhausted and emotionally tested by the ordeal.
Father Raymond Bishop
Father Raymond Bishop is often described as more reflective and academic. He kept detailed notes of the exorcism sessions—these diaries form a major source for Allen’s reconstruction. His documentation lends the book its historical grounding.
The Boy’s Family
The family are, naturally, concerned, frightened, and devout; the family’s role underscores how belief systems shape interpretation. Their desperation and faith drive a lot of the action forward.
Writing Style
Allen writes in a journalistic, suspense-forward style, with short scenes, strong cliff-hangers, and an eye for the unsettling detail that keeps you turning pages. The pacing is one of the book’s biggest strengths: even readers, like me, who don’t“believe” will likely feel the momentum.
The trade-off is that the book can feel more like a narrative reconstruction than a fully documented case file. You’re often living inside the story of the exorcism—its atmosphere, its dread, its escalation—more than you’re being walked step-by-step through competing evidence and methodological uncertainty. Allen does acknowledge scepticism and the limits of proof, which helps—but the overall reading experience still leans toward “dark true tale” rather than “careful investigation.”
Final Thoughts
Possessed is worth a read if you’re interested in the real case behind The Exorcist, Catholic exorcism practice, or the boundary between belief and psychiatry. It offers a detailed, sometimes chilling reconstruction supported by primary sources—but the hybrid style and repetitive structure keep it from being a truly gripping narrative.
It’s less a rollercoaster of terror and more a long, unsettling case file. It’s thought-provoking, occasionally gripping, but not entirely satisfying as either pure history or pure storytelling.
I’m giving Possessed a 5/10. While I don’t believe in the paranormal or in possession, this was somewhat of a compelling read.
Have you read this one? What did you think?
As ever, thanks for stopping by and reading my review!
Until next time,
George
© 2026 GLT
Categories: Book Reviews, Reading
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