A graphic shows what is said to be the only house standing after Hurricane Ike. It is also said to be the site of an exorcism in 1988. Is this true or false?
The photo is real but the story is false.
Let’s first take a look at what is being claimed. In the meme below, we read, “The only house still standing from Hurricane Ike in 2008. This is the same house that an exorcism took place back in ’88. Coincidence?”
This meme is often circulated by social media “fact” pages.The Real Story
The assertion that the house pictured above is the only remaining building in the area after Hurricane Ike is true. The photo above shows the home of Warren and Pat Adams of Gilchrist, Texas which was the only remaining house in the area after Hurricane Ike pounded the town in 2008. The house in the photo above was built after the couple lost their first home to Hurricane Rita in 2005.
Because the house was built after 2005, the statement that this is the “same house” where an exorcism occurred back in 1988, however, cannot be true. Further, there are no reports of an exorcism occurring in the previous house.
One reason why so many other homes were destroyed in the area is because those older structures were built before modern building codes were implemented, and were not elevated to the proper height. There were other homes on the other side of town which also survived the storm, but cannot be seen in this photo.
It took the Adamses a year to repair the damage after the 2008 storm.
Video
We have prepared a short video below to summarize the information contained in this article.
Bottom Line
The house in the photo was the only building in the area to survive Hurricane Ike in 2008, but the structure did not exist in 1988, and could not have been the same house where an alleged 1988 exorcism may have taken place. One reason why many neighboring homes did not survive is because they were much older than this house, which was only built in 2005.
Updated May 14, 2016
Originally published August 2013