The Exorcist Paperback – February 1, 1994

It's no wonder horror enthusiasts continue to sanctify and adore this book. It has not been canonized with mere surreptitious praise, for Blatty performed a rare feat, a paradigmic shift in horror fiction. There was horror before The Exorcist and that which came after. He forced us all to peer into those dark corners of our life experience and shiver at the unknown. And what he unfolds in us is deep and frightening. To call this book a demon story is like calling The Old Man and the Sea a fish story. The only real problem is the movie, the 1973 film. We've all seen it. The film not only didn't diminish the literature, as most book-to-screenplays routinely do, but it amplified, it illuminated, it brought the book home, and brought the book into our psychies. Few screenplays have managed that: Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Godfather perhaps.I too, like so many who now remember, dared the chill night air, and stood in a line of eager cinema-goers; a queue two and a half blocks long complete with hotdog vendors and hippie flower girls selling whatever they were selling that night. Like most youngsters of the era, I liked to be swept into a scene, in the thrall of the human condition, and then shocked and assaulted by creatures of a really good writer's imagination. I'm not unique by any means. I mean...the line was long. But as an adult, a work of fiction has never startled me, never thrown my head back in fright, never made me bite my nails, never done what the visual intensity of a film can still do to my emotional makeup. The written word has another, more settled, more careful, circumspect connection with a reader than does the film version. And if you've seen the film before you've read the book, the film may dominate the writing. Of course, some books simply cannot be adapted to the screen: flights of fiction-slash-philosopy such as The Brothers Karamozov, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, or Gravity's Rainbow. Then there occur those books which are made and remade into film, each generation re-attempting to convey the richness of the textual narrative, reinterpreting to a modern ear, using the newest cinematic tools at hand: Beau Gest, The Four Feathers, Hamlet, Lord of the Rings (actually Peter Jackson may have hit the mark with this book.) I cannot envision another remake of The Exorcist. The character cast of the '73 film is already set in stone in my visual cortex, so much so that it illustrated Mr. Blatty's narrative as I read the book. The strong correspondence between book and film gives the reader no quarter to create the characters, architecture, or landscapes in his own mind. Thus the faces of 13 year old Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, or the wonderful, late Lee J. Cobb cannot help but come to mind as one pours through the book. The filmmaker's perspectives of Blatty's beloved Georgetown, and not my own experience there, sets the textual backdrops. But this may merely represent the weaknesses of this reviewer's imagination and not trouble that of another reader. On to the book. The tale begins in Iraq. ( The first generation that read this book would not come preconditioned with the baggage with which today's reader is burdened. In 1971, Iraq meant bible lands, nomads astride camels and deeply ancient mysteries. ) Father Lankester Merrin, an archaeologist-priest exhausted with life, has just completed a dig and is now faced with returning home to the states. But his heart is heavy with an "inchoate presentiment" of impending evil, evil which he believes he will be called to face and overcome. Having long ago stripped off a youthful fancy that Lucifer, the one-time angel of God, the angel of light, was still trying to get back to God the Father, he now knew that evil sought no such return. Evil is pure evil, and will always come up against the light and against any goodness in this world, and once encountered, must be fought. In his dig he had come upon a clue to his dreadful prescience of an impending confrontation, a small talisman against Pazuzu, a demon bringing sickness and disease. Before he leaves Iraq, to know at least the face of his enemy, Merrin seeks out and finds the full scale icon of Pazuzu in the ancient ruins of the palace of Ashurbanipal. Though Mr. Blatty doesn't explain his reference to Ashurbanipal, the student of history, or anyone with an encyclopedia, could easily find out why the author alludes to this ancient Assyrian king. Ashurbanipal ruled his world by sheer terror and the dread of his evil passing. By his own words he would routinely flay the skins from his living enemies and drape them from their own battlements and corpse mounds. He took their people into slavery, but not before he had thrown their infant and adolescent children alive into great human bonfires. Therefore one can sense the horrible character of the demon god Pazuzu, evidenced by the evil king that revered him. And Merrin knew. "He bowed his head. He knew. It was coming." The exorcism brings the cast of characters to a face-to-face encounter with all of their own alternate realities, whether it's Father Karras's penury and loss of faith, or Chris MacNeil's illusory world of luxury, fame, and wealth. Pazuzu, Satan, Lucifer, devil or demon; whatever invests the life of Regan, soon infects everyone else concerned, and all the previous cares and woes of the world drop away as they face this stark and dominant truth about our existence. Why do we continue to honor and praise this story? Because it deserves praise and merits honor. Blatty changed horror as we understood it. How often does that happen?

Loved reading!

Most of us are probably familiar with the movie “The Exorcist,” the 1973 movie based on this novel by William Peter Blatty. This 2011, 40th anniversary edition of the novel is a revised version by the author. He said of it, “The 40th Anniversary Edition of ‘The Exorcist’ will have a touch of new material in it as part of an all-around polish of the dialogue and prose. First time around I never had the time (meaning the funds) to do a second draft, and this, finally, is it. With forty years to think about it, a few little changes were inevitable – plus one new character in a totally new very spooky scene. This is the version I would like to be remembered for.”The novel is very cinematic; the movie turned out to be very faithful to the book. The places and characters are well drawn. Over fifty years old now, the novel’s plot is not as taut as one might expect from a thriller, but it holds up well. The shock value of the language has considerably lessened as American discourse has coarsened over the intervening years. I suspect, too, that belief in possession is not as prevalent now, and so perhaps the subject matter is not as scary or shocking as it once was.The story is nonetheless compelling. It is based on a real-life exorcism of a boy from Maryland, an anonymous individual who even church authorities are unsure was actually possessed. Set in Georgetown, the story follows the apparent possession of the young daughter of a movie star, Chris MacNeil, who is shooting a movie on campus. When foul play is suspected in the death of the director of the movie, a police detective, Lt. Kinderman, picks up the trail. A troubled young Jesuit, Fr. Karras, who is himself a psychiatrist, is brought in eventually—much later in the story than you might think—to investigate. Eventually, he teams up with an exorcist, Fr. Merrin, who is modeled after the famous French Jesuit paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin, to perform an exorcism.As a former Jesuit scholastic (one who studied for the priesthood in that order), I was particularly drawn to the priest characters. Blatty, a Roman Catholic, did a remarkable job capturing what Jesuit priests are like. Fr. Karras, with his struggles over his faith, is particularly well written. All of the characters, except for the actor’s much put-upon personal assistant, Sharon, are well developed. (One wonders why Sharon sticks with her job given the literal crap she has to put up with.) A side character, Lt. Kinderman, stands out as a Columbo-like character, with many of the TV detective’s mannerisms and modus operandi. I pictured Peter Falk (even though the character is supposed to have been obese) in the role, but in the movie Kinderman was played by Lee J. Cobb.Whether or not one buys into the reality of exorcism, this is an enjoyable novel, a bit of escapism that asks some still relevant questions about the nature of faith and the reality of the divine and personified evil.

The Exorcist is an absolute masterpiece that delves deep into the realms of horror and the supernatural. Blatty's storytelling prowess is on full display as he weaves a chilling tale of possession and the battle between good and evil. The characters are richly developed, with their personal struggles adding an emotional depth that resonates throughout the narrative. The atmospheric descriptions and meticulous attention to detail create an immersive experience, drawing readers into a world where the lines between reality and the supernatural blur. The suspense is masterfully built, leading to moments of sheer terror that will have you gripping the edge of your seat. A true classic of the horror genre, "The Exorcist" is a haunting and thought-provoking exploration of the unknown, leaving an indelible mark on the reader's psyche.

Familiar, as everyone is, with the iconic movie adaptation, it took me a long time before reading the original novel out of a false assumption I wouldn't care for it. In actuality, I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.Is it then, as the book's cover declares, "the most terrifying novel ever written"? No, I wouldn't say so. While this is a horror novel, and does have a number of uncanny and shocking scenes, this is more of a tragedy and dark drama, and it's sadness the book will make you feel moreso than fear.This is far from a problem though. The Exorcist is an excellent character study and character-focused story which is essentially about a very sick child and her mother's desperate and tormenting attempts to get her the help she needs no matter how little help the two of them seem to find. It's supernatural, sure, but there are so many grounded angles by which you can read this struggle - physical, psychological, and yes, spiritual - and it's really compelling to read.I will say, for the clout this book has, it does have more issues than it probably should - the overuse of certain words, character dialogue having too many of the same quirks so that the author's voice comes through moreso than the character's voices in many scenes - and the epilogue, I feel, could and should have been more relevant to the central characters.Overall though, as I said above, I got a lot more out of this book than I expected. It definitely deserves its classic status and I highly recommend it to anyone with a fascination towards occult horror, or just those who get value out of a great character focused narrative.

I never thought the novel version of the historic horror movie could ever top it,i was wrong as though i have read a couple more books that i enjoyed a bit more no novel i have read can top this for tension,frights and sheer disturbing moments and even the toughest of people will be shocked at some of the things in this story.The plot is very famous and is about a young girl named Regan who starts behaving strangely and there are strange noises in her room and the house where she and her mum Chris live.Soon after Regan soon starts complaining of someone hurting her and Chris starts to see a strange difference in Regan's personality as someone other than her seems to be speaking through her somehow and this personality often sounds threatening as if it will hurt Regan somehow from inside her.After no one including doctors seem to help or stop this weird disorder Chris turns to the church as she reads in a book about possession where somebody gets taken over by a demonic presence and thinks the church could perform a exorcism on young Regan.Called in to help is Father Karras who tries his best not to listen to any of the things the presence comes out with but its very hard as this thing seems to know all personal moments in peoples lives and after getting pushed to the limit Karras has to call in back up in the form of old timer Father Merrin and together they try and eject the evil presence from Regan.The problem is as well the Devil which is so say the culprit there is Lt William Kinderman who is investigating a murder that took place outside the house and he is determined to get in the house and interview people and that includes young Regan.Can they stop this terrible evil before Kinderman finds everything out.After seeing the classic movie i knew the story line but this novel takes the incredible plot to the next level as we learn much more of the story than a film can do.We get to know more about the characters mainly Father Karras who is a very troubled individual and a very lonely one and the chapters just about him are excellently written.We get to know more too about the supporting characters like the housekeepers Karl and his wife Willi with a major story involving them that i can't remember was in the movie.We also have the sneaky and annoying Lt Kinderman who may be a character i didn't take to much but his hunting down suspects to the murder is really engrossing stuff i can tell you.Of course we have the mother and daughter main characters and their love for one another even when the possession is at its most nasty is incredible and proof of no matter what her daughter is going through Chris loves her more than anything even when Regan's head is twisting round,walking spider like down the stairs and swearing like a trooper(even if it isn't really Regan),her struggle is quite draining even when you are just reading it and its much more testing than it is in the movie and you feel every emotion she has.This novel is much scarier most the time than the film even if seeing it is more creepier.The reason its more scarier is it has more time to creep you out than a movie can.There is a lot more scary moments added in the book than the movie and i generally got more chilled as you can read every word and imagine every moment and not miss things like you can in a movie.The scariest moments for me have to belong to when the demon shows up with its nasty tongue and its obscene language and the way the writer writes it makes you truly disturbed as he describes how it glares at people in the room and how it flies things about and read peoples minds there is much more contained in the novel and more to the story that could ever be put into a movie.Even before the demon shows up the build up is very nailbiting and the early scenes with Chris and Regan are sad as we all know what is on the horizon and she turns from a kind,funny and sweat young girl who loves her mum dearly into a nasty,grumpy and uncaring person with a coarse mouth who turns her mum into a nervous wreck even if its the demon doing it.We also get to know the other characters better than the movie version with long sequences on both Fathers especially Kerras(his story is very interesting)as well as Karl,Willi,Kinderman,sarcastic filmmaker Burke Dennings and Sharon and they get a lot more moments and lines than the film versions do and some other characters are involved as well.This novel version also makes this scary even when not in the house or in a scene with Regan involved as there are very creepy scenes involving Karras in his room along with unnerving sequences with Father Merrin and a standout chapter involving Karl.All the main scenes from the film are included(Regan disturbing the party,spider walk,pea soup ,head twisting,horrific bed shaking and some incredible language with one horrible line that everyone remembers)along with new ones which includes other characters and its so gripping nearly all the way through that you may not be able to put it down easily.Only one main niggle for me the sequences with Merrin on archaeologist digs is quite dragging and glad they got them over with early.The only other small niggle is Kinderman and Dennings as i couldn't really take to either characters really even though Kinderman's scenes are quite gripping especially towards the end.This is a breathtaking novel certainly not for the easily scared and faint of hearts and no novel or even movie/tv work has come close to the sheer terror,creepiness and gripping nature of this story and Blatty deserves just for this book alone be known as a legend.Just try looking at dark rooms,staircases and beds the same way again after reading this groundbreaking masterpiece.

When I was growing up, just when internet was a baby on diapers, and all social media weren’t even on the map yet. And when the challenges were made mouth to mouth and with no media to corroborate our achievements. There was this unwritten challenge between teens around that time. If you were man enough, you would see THE EXORCIST all by yourself and with the lights off. That was the ultimate test to prove your manhood (of course we then heard about sex, but that’s a whole different story). So, I was gonna prove all the world that I was already a man and watch that movie with the correct steps provided by the world. Of course I had to wait until we could afford a VCR and that I had the legal age to rent it by myself. So, I didn’t have to wait that long and I was able to convince the lady on the video store to rent it cause my father asked for it, and she fell for that.I was home alone. Lights were out. I prepared myself with the universal shield we all have bearded at least once in our lives to protect us against the most unspeakable horrors the universe had for us. A blanket. And hit play on the remote.Two hours later, when the credits started to roll up the screen. I was simply... A little disappointed to be honest. I mean, it is still to this day a great horror movie. But it wasn’t, and i bet it isn’t for the new generations, as scary as advertised.The main point with this comparison is that I felt exactly the same with the book. Maybe even worse, cause I wasn’t afraid at any point at all. I kept expecting something to amaze me or read something really shocking. The story takes eons for it to start. You have to read first all about the boring life of an actress named Chris. Which happen to be Reagan’s mother, the possessed girl. Speaking about Reagan, reading her felt so much surreal. Her dialogs made feel the book so outdated. It was like you were reading a 6 year old instead of an 11. I don’t know if it’s the translation (I read it in spanish), or if Blatty really wanted her to sound like that, or if the 11 year old girls of the 60’s really talked like that. Although, Blatty maybe made her like this to create a more naive and pure vessel for Pazuzu to inhabit. To make you feel more empathy for the profanation of a pure and innocent girl. Still, whatever the case was, it gave the feeling of reading a very old book.Blatty wants to make clear since the beginning the lack of faith and selfless life Chris has, so you can notice that being away from God, playing Ouija and mocking religion is bad for you and bad things can happen.People always talk shit about this story, about the possession of a little girl and how it could affect you to watch so much evil. That, if you open that door, you are inviting demons and Satan himself to enter into your life. But it’s undeniable that they don’t have any clue of what they’re saying. It’s obvious that that wasn’t Blatty’s intention. This is a read of hope, of reassuring your faith. It’s a story about good defeating evil. And how good Christians will never have to deal with such demons if they’re close to God. Just keep in mind that you will receive a psychiatric, biologist, neurologist, and religious lecture, for about 95% of the book before something interesting starts to happen. And when it finally comes, it goes so damn quick that I didn’t enjoy it at all. This book could easily have been 100 pages shorter and still be effective.Still there is no doubt that this is a very interesting read, but you have to be patient for it to have a reward. I will say that this is one book you have to read at least once in your life.But, and since Blatty was the one who adapted the script for the big screen, I think this is one of those strange cases where watching the movie is best for the overall experience. You are not loosing nothing in the translation. If only, you’re getting the same experience in less time.

This book, which was recommended by my daughter on her YouTube channel 'The Contented narrative' kept me on the edge of my seat. Very enthralling.