JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Real Story Behind The Ritual and the Woman Who Inspired The Exorcist.

  • Published In: Time.com, 2025. P. N.PAG 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: McCluskey, Megan 3 of 3

Abstract

The article focuses on the 2023 film *The Ritual*, which dramatizes the 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt, a case that inspired the 1973 horror film *The Exorcist*. The movie centers on the conflict between two Catholic priests involved in Schmidt's exorcism, portraying her condition as demonic possession rather than mental illness, based on a 1935 Catholic Church booklet titled *Begone Satan!*. Schmidt's exorcism, one of the last officially sanctioned by the Church, involved multiple sessions and claims of possession by several spirits, though interpretations of the events vary between religious faith and scientific skepticism. The film acknowledges this ambiguity while highlighting Schmidt's profound suffering and the efforts to alleviate it.

Additional Information

  • Source:Time.com. 2025/06, pN.PAG
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Social Sciences and Humanities
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:2476-2679
  • Accession Number:185788330
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Time.com is the property of TIME USA, LLC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Looking to go deeper into this topic? Look for more articles on EBSCOhost.