The Exorcist

No cover

William Peter Blatty: The Exorcist (1971)

English language

Published Feb. 27, 1971

OCLC Number:
402163
Goodreads:
897831

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5 stars (1 review)

The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel by American writer William Peter Blatty. The book details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. Published by Harper & Row, the novel was the basis of a highly successful film adaptation released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty, and part of The Exorcist franchise. The novel was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University. As a result, the novel takes place in Washington, D.C., near the campus of Georgetown University. In September 2011, the novel was reprinted by Harper Collins to celebrate its fortieth anniversary, with slight revisions made by Blatty as well as interior title artwork by Jeremy Caniglia.

1 edition

The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty

5 stars

Reading a classic scary story is always a chancy thing. Some scary stories have been so superseded by subsequent stories that they seem quaint in comparison and we wonder what all the fuss was about. Dracula comes to mind here. The ones that stick around often have something else that makes them stick in the brain. Frankenstein doesn’t have much power to freak us out these days but has plenty of food for thought when it comes to the ethics of science. William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist is the rare book that has both. Fifty-two years after its first appearance, The Exorcist still holds enough terror to make it a perfect Halloween read for me...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.

Subjects

  • exorcism in Christianity