A few blocks from my home is the spot where the most famous exorcism in American history took place, the one William Peter Blatty used as the basis for his novel The Exorcist. Most of "the rite" took place in the psychiatric ward of Alexian Brothers Hospital in 1949. The hospital no longer exists. (Cue ghostly music.) It was long ago destroyed by the malevolent forces of the Midwest Wrecking Company. However, if you go to the site and stand on what's now a very black and ominous parking lot, you will not only be told to leave before police are summoned, you will notice a crack in the pavement that resists all attempts to seal it. A crack, legend has it, that extends all the way to Hell (Cue crazy demonic laughing).
When I'm not staring at cracks in parking lot pavements, I sometimes wonder if there hasn't been a recent spike in Satanic meddling. How else might one explain the persistence of North Korea, the popularity of Two and a Half Men, and the three-hour Monday morning staff meeting, except, to quote Pope John Paul II, "the devil is still alive and active in the world"?
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