From Csicop on the events on which The Exorcist was based:
“Journalist Mark Opsasnick investigated the case and concluded that the Mount Rainier story, as popularly held (and which Blatty used as a basis for the novel), could not be true. For one thing, the family that occupied the home at the time the alleged possession took place did not have a boy there, demon-possessed or otherwise: the occupants were childless. Long-time neighbors denied that anything horrific or supernatural had ever occurred there. There was, however, an actual exorcism done (not in Mount Rainier but in Garden City, Maryland), though virtually all of the gory and sensational details were embellished or made up. Simple spitting became Technicolor, projectile vomiting; (normal) shaking of a bed became thunderous quaking and levitation; the boy’s low growl became a gravelly, Satanic voice. And so on. Those interested in the full details can find them in articles by Opsasnick. One is “The Haunted Boy,” published in Fortean Times, Number 123, page 34; another is in Strange Magazine, 1998, Number 20.”
The piece last mentioned is online at Strangemag.com and is well worth reading.
As for the show The Curse of the Exorcist, it has many siblings, equally full of crap. To name but a few which I’ve seen: The Curse of The Omen, The Curse of Poltergeist, the Curse of Superman. Each week seems to bring a new curse.
In fact, Breakdancing Duck, it took me about 3 seconds to google on “linda blair spinal injury”, and hits immediately came up. Just a hint: If you’re going to post something about others getting their facts straight, you might want to bone up on your own, lest you come off as the ignorant fool that you are.
A couple of corrections to statements in this thread: The real incident that William Peter Blatty based his novel on took place in 1949, not 1947. It took place in Cottage City, Maryland, not Garden City (which I don’t think even exists). Blatty chose to move the events of the story to Georgetown in D.C. mostly, I suspect, because he hadn’t even visited Cottage City, let alone met the boy or the priest who did the exorcism. He knew nothing of the case except what he read in the newspaper article. He was a student at Georgetown University in 1949. He placed the events of his novel in a house that he lived in while he was a student (and then he got the filmmakers to do the exterior shots in the film at that house). The house and its stairway leading down to the street below are still there, incidentally.
We are not embarrassed about it. It just so happens that I believe there are demons, and that they are vicious little monsters who enjoy tormenting people. It’s not as common as once thought, but it does happen.
During my college years, I spent two years at Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - the university’s run by the Jesuits. One of my theology professors (I forget the name) was a priest, and told my class that there used to be some extra training that priests could attend for exorcisms. He also said that he had gone to such training and had been present at a small number of exorcisms. He also said that the training had been discontinued and that the Church was seeking to distance itself as much as possible from the “e” word, to the extent that many younger priests (he was in his 50s) might not be aware any training was ever offered at any time. He also told us it was very unlikely that the Church would recognize any current individuals as possessed or any current exorcisms as valid. From what he said, it seemed definitely to be an embarrassment to the Church and something it was trying to actively discourage and distance itself from. This was in 1996.
However, it’s a mixed bag - I also heard of John Paul’s testimony, and don’t forget that it came out after her death that an exorcism was once performed on Mother Theresa (which still just strikes me as obsurd, but there you are).
Although one thing does stick out to me – In what you quoted, Blair merely injured her back. In what I remember from the TV show, she said that she fractured her spine and has been living with problems from that her whole life. Now it’s possible that I’m conflating the two things, but I doubt it. I have a pretty strong memory of Blair saying that about herself. I remember her saying that she wasn’t the type to ask to go to the hospital, and her mother wasn’t the type to sue. So she just continued acting. And I remember thinking that it seems weird that she’d continue to act with a fractured spine. So I’m pretty sure I’m accurate in my recall. Of course, it’s possible that Blair herself isn’t.
The Showtime movie Possessed was supposedly based on the same incident as The Exorcist.
Try watching Psycho again. I just watched it a few days ago for the I-don’t-know-how-manyth time and the shower scene still freaks me out.
Blatty wrote a novel, Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing, which is loosely based on his experiences getting The Exorcist made. I think I paid a dollar for it at the dollar store. I suppose it was worth that.
I stand corrected. I accidentally saw it a few years back, and it freaked me out far more than the first time I saw it, some 20 years before. And it wasn’t just the shower scene. For some reason, the whole movie had an unsettling feel to it.
