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Behind The Exorcist: The 1949 Boy and the Wrong House

In August 1949 the Evening Star reported that a priest had freed “a 14-year-old Mount Rainier, Md., boy” from the devil. That phrase sent curiosity seekers to the wrong town for half a century. The family actually lived one town over, in Cottage City.

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A packed lawn of concertgoers at dusk facing the lit Merriweather Post Pavilion stage, with trees behind.Merriweather vs. Wolf Trap: The Fight Over the Symphony’s Summer HomeOct 27FBI agent Gene Harding standing in the front doorway of 4407 W Street NW talking with a reporter in February 1980The Abscam House: How the FBI Secretly Rented a Post Reporter’s Home on W Street NWOct 26Rock Spring Club, a three-story frame clubhouse with striped awnings on Conduit Road, about 1897Conduit Road Roadhouses: DC’s Vice Strip Over the LineOct 23Councilman Marion Barry lying in a hospital bed with a bandage and monitor leads on his chest, gesturing as he speaks.The 1977 Hanafi Siege: 39 Hours That Held Washington HostageOct 22Entrance of the Tabard Inn at 1739 N Street NW under its "Hotel Tabard Inn" marquee, photographed by Theodor HorydczakTabard Inn History: Sold in 1927, Bought Back in 1930Oct 21EpisodeA D.C. streetcar crosses the Foundry Branch trestle with Georgetown University spires behind, 1948Foundry Branch Trestle: DC’s Last Streetcar BridgeOct 20Episode

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