The Loretto Possession & The Killer Who Inspired Scream
In this Devil’s Night two-part episode of Para(normal), Nicolina and Marie travel back to the origins of one of Denver’s first recorded hauntings and unravel the true crime that would decades later inspire one of Hollywood’s most chilling slashers.
First: The Loretto Possession.
When the Sisters of Loretto founded St. Mary’s Academy, they came to teach—until a mysterious new boarder arrived. What followed terrified them and became known in church archives as “The Sighting of Spirits and the Devil”—the earliest ghost story ever written in Denver.
Then: The Real Killer Behind Scream.
In 1990, college student Danny Rolling murdered five students in Gainesville, Florida—crimes so brutal they paralyzed an entire town. His taunting phone calls, voyeuristic stalking, and theatrical crimes inspired screenwriter Kevin Williamson to write Scream—the movie that changed horror forever.
Two stories.
One century apart.
Both proof that sometimes…the monsters are real.
Sources & References
- The Sighting of Spirits and the Devil, Sister Joanna Walsh (Loretto Archives, Denver)
- Operation Sacred Rescue — MSU Denver RED (2022)
- Loretto Heights and the Sisters Who Built It — Denverite (2017)
- Gainesville Ripper Case Files, FBI & Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement
- Inside the Mind of Danny Rolling, Court TV (1994)
- The Making of Scream, Kevin Williamson Interview, Entertainment Weekly (1997)
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