Boy who inspired The Exorcist became a NASA engineer, said he faked it

[zep73]

The secret identity of the boy, who experienced the real life events inspiring the infamous movie, has been revealed. His name was Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, and he eventually became a NASA engineer, famous for inventing "space shuttle panels resistant to extreme heat, helping the Apollo missions of the 1960s that put US astronauts on the moon in 1969."

Hunkeler himself denied anything supernatural had happened to him as a boy:

Quote

According to Hunkeler’s companion, the man himself never believed that he was the victim of satanic possession and he shunned religion.

“He said he wasn’t possessed, it was all concocted,” said the companion. “He said, ‘I was just a bad boy.'”

Full Monty: https://nypost.com/2021/12/20/is-the-exorcist-a-true-story-what-happened-to-ronald-hunkeler/

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by zep73

[zep73]

On 12/23/2021 at 7:36 PM, zep73 said:

famous for inventing "space shuttle panels resistant to extreme heat, helping the Apollo missions of the 1960s that put US astronauts on the moon in 1969."

I managed to find it on NASA's website

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20100035762/downloads/20100035762.pdf

[moonman]

It's surprising how quiet this topic is. The biggest, most publicized "possession" was a fake all along, and not a peep from anyone.

The same guy invented the heat tiles on the shuttle - that's crazy. This guy is a space AND paranormal celebrity.

Edited January 10, 2022 by moonman

[Abramelin]

4 minutes ago, moonman said:

It's surprising how quiet this topic is. The biggest, most publicized "possession" was a fake all along, and not a peep from anyone.

The same guy invented the heat tiles on the shuttle - that's crazy. This guy is a space AND paranormal celebrity.

You expected he would have said it all really happened?

I'm not suggesting that it all was a real event, just that it is not a thing to publicly announce that he once believed it really happened.

Imagine, your safety in space is in the hands of someone who had been exorcised...

[moonman]

2 hours ago, Abramelin said:

You expected he would have said it all really happened?

I'm not suggesting that it all was a real event, just that it is not a thing to publicly announce that he once believed it really happened.

Imagine, your safety in space is in the hands of someone who had been exorcised...

His partner said that's what he always claimed, so I would assume that to be true, yes. It wasn't admitting anything publicly, somebody else dug it all up.

The heat tiles are long proven to work, it doesn't matter who invented them at this point.

Edited January 10, 2022 by moonman

[little_dreamer]

Thanks for the article.  It's just one of many well known cases from decades ago that have gone from paranormal to non-paranormal origin. 

[HollyDolly]

 This is what I think.  Some of it may have been faked, but not all of it. Certainly when the thing started it may very well have been true poltergeist activity. The aunt and the boy  used an ouija board and who knows what they were in contact with. Also the writing on Robbie's body, did anyone take photos of it??  Could through mental telephafy he caused the words to appear on his body? It might be possible, like stigmatas. Only a few geniune cases, like  the first, with  St.Francis of Assi, St.Padre Pio, and a few other saints have been the real deal. So maybe he mentally  caused them. For a fake, he sure got a lot of people invovled.

[Piney]

On 11/1/2022 at 12:39 PM, HollyDolly said:

 This is what I think.  Some of it may have been faked, but not all of it. Certainly when the thing started it may very well have been true poltergeist activity. The aunt and the boy  used an ouija board and who knows what they were in contact with. Also the writing on Robbie's body, did anyone take photos of it??  Could through mental telephafy he caused the words to appear on his body? It might be possible, like stigmatas. Only a few geniune cases, like  the first, with  St.Francis of Assi, St.Padre Pio, and a few other saints have been the real deal. So maybe he mentally  caused them. For a fake, he sure got a lot of people invovled.

Padre Pio was a outright fraud and the Ouija board is a Milton Bradley game.....

[Piney]

On 12/25/2021 at 3:11 PM, zep73 said:

I managed to find it on NASA's website

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20100035762/downloads/20100035762.pdf

He invented Corelle Corningware? 

[+Desertrat56]

On 1/10/2022 at 12:53 PM, moonman said:

It's surprising how quiet this topic is. The biggest, most publicized "possession" was a fake all along, and not a peep from anyone.

The same guy invented the heat tiles on the shuttle - that's crazy. This guy is a space AND paranormal celebrity.

Probably because everyone knew it was a made up story.   It was a horror movie and the character was a girl, not a boy.    It wasn't considered the biggest most publicized possession, it was considered a scary story.   I don't know anyone who saw that movie and thought it was based on a true story.

[+Desertrat56]

On 1/10/2022 at 1:04 PM, Abramelin said:

You expected he would have said it all really happened?

I'm not suggesting that it all was a real event, just that it is not a thing to publicly announce that he once believed it really happened.

Imagine, your safety in space is in the hands of someone who had been exorcised...

I suspect it could have happened, the part about the parents calling a priest to the house for an exorcism because he spit his peas up, but the rest seems way too silly.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Desertrat56

[+Desertrat56]

19 minutes ago, Piney said:

He invented Corelle Corningware? 

No, that is different.  Corning does a lot of stuff.  My cousin's husband worked for them for decades.   It was all about the tiles for places that needed heat resistant material.

[Piney]

26 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

No, that is different.  Corning does a lot of stuff.  My cousin's husband worked for them for decades.   It was all about the tiles for places that needed heat resistant material.

I was told Owens-Corning held the patent a while back.

[+Desertrat56]

2 minutes ago, Piney said:

I was told Owens-Corning held the patent a while back.

Yes, it is Owens-Corning.  I am multi-tasking and that makes me stupid.

[Piney]

50 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

Yes, it is Owens-Corning.  I am multi-tasking and that makes me stupid.

I'm always doing that and becoming that too. 

[Guyver]

On 12/23/2021 at 10:36 AM, zep73 said:

The secret identity of the boy, who experienced the real life events inspiring the infamous movie, has been revealed. His name was Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, and he eventually became a NASA engineer, famous for inventing "space shuttle panels resistant to extreme heat, helping the Apollo missions of the 1960s that put US astronauts on the moon in 1969."

Hunkeler himself denied anything supernatural had happened to him as a boy:

Full Monty: https://nypost.com/2021/12/20/is-the-exorcist-a-true-story-what-happened-to-ronald-hunkeler/

 

Maybe he had a mental block?  It’s common.  People who often suffer traumatic injuries can’t remember it.

[zep73]

5 minutes ago, Guyver said:

Maybe he had a mental block?  It’s common.  People who often suffer traumatic injuries can’t remember it.

No one has ever been possessed, for the simple reason that there are no invisible entities that can do that. If he had trauma it was from something natural.

[Alchopwn]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:36 AM, zep73 said:

Hunkeler himself denied anything supernatural had happened to him as a boy:

Full Monty: https://nypost.com/2021/12/20/is-the-exorcist-a-true-story-what-happened-to-ronald-hunkeler/

Sounds like the devil made him do it. 

[Alchopwn]

On 12/3/2022 at 4:44 PM, Guyver said:

Maybe he had a mental block?  It’s common.  People who often suffer traumatic injuries can’t remember it.

You can find mental blocks in mindcraft:

[kartikg]

On 1/11/2022 at 1:34 AM, Abramelin said:

You expected he would have said it all really happened?

I'm not suggesting that it all was a real event, just that it is not a thing to publicly announce that he once believed it really happened.

Imagine, your safety in space is in the hands of someone who had been exorcised...

Exactly, his statement is to reassure everyone and most importantly his employer. 

[Gilbert Syndrome]

On 12/23/2021 at 6:36 PM, zep73 said:

The secret identity of the boy, who experienced the real life events inspiring the infamous movie, has been revealed. His name was Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, and he eventually became a NASA engineer, famous for inventing "space shuttle panels resistant to extreme heat, helping the Apollo missions of the 1960s that put US astronauts on the moon in 1969."

Hunkeler himself denied anything supernatural had happened to him as a boy:

Full Monty: https://nypost.com/2021/12/20/is-the-exorcist-a-true-story-what-happened-to-ronald-hunkeler/

 

Tbf, Blatty was supposedly inspired by various accounts of exorcism. Off the top of my head, one he and Freidkin cited involved a foreign girl, iirc. The documentary, Leap of Faith, is an excellent watch for anyone interested in the movie. 

Edited January 5 by Gilbert Syndrome

[Gilbert Syndrome]

On 12/3/2022 at 5:55 AM, zep73 said:

No one has ever been possessed, for the simple reason that there are no invisible entities that can do that. If he had trauma it was from something natural.

True, although all you really need is for a person to believe that they're possessed. 

[+joc]

On 12/2/2022 at 11:55 PM, zep73 said:

No one has ever been possessed, for the simple reason that there are no invisible entities that can do that. If he had trauma it was from something natural.

We can't see the air...well okay, the people in LA can see the air...but most of us can't.   So, how do we know that all the Entities aren't all using similiar cloaking devices...just hanging out there in the clouds...laughing their asses off at us.  

[psyche101]

On 11/2/2022 at 2:39 AM, HollyDolly said:

 This is what I think.  Some of it may have been faked, but not all of it. Certainly when the thing started it may very well have been true poltergeist activity. The aunt and the boy  used an ouija board and who knows what they were in contact with. Also the writing on Robbie's body, did anyone take photos of it??  Could through mental telephafy he caused the words to appear on his body? It might be possible, like stigmatas. Only a few geniune cases, like  the first, with  St.Francis of Assi, St.Padre Pio, and a few other saints have been the real deal. So maybe he mentally  caused them. For a fake, he sure got a lot of people invovled.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcism_of_Roland_Doe

 

[Freez1]

If he faked it all he’s definitely going to need a bunch of the heating tiles where he’s going.