Laura Wright 
Hollyweird
Few horror movies have acquired a reputation quite like The Exorcist. The film quickly gained notoriety after its release, and with that notoriety came a host of urban legends and rumors that the production itself had somehow been cursed.
It is no secret that The Exorcist stirred tremendous controversy when it appeared in theaters in 1973. More intriguing, however, are the strange occurrences associated with its production. Filming was plagued by accidents, misfortune, injuries, delays, and even deaths.
Taken individually, these incidents might be dismissed as unfortunate coincidences. Taken together, they helped create one of Hollywood’s most enduring stories of a supposedly cursed film.
From Bestselling Novel to Horror Classic
The Exorcist was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by author Peter Blatty.
Blatty stated that he based his story on an exorcism from the 1940s. He collected unemployment while writing the novel, but the resulting book became an unbelievable success. The Exorcist remained on bestseller lists for 55 weeks.
Transforming the novel into a movie, however, would prove neither smooth nor particularly optimistic.
The finished film eventually won two Academy Awards, but its success came at a tremendous price to members of the cast and crew.
A Troubled Production
The original budget for The Exorcist was supposed to be $4 million. By the time the movie was completed, the cost had soared to $12 million.
Filming was originally scheduled to take 85 days. Instead, production in America alone stretched to 224 days.
The archaeological dig shown during the film’s opening was actually filmed at the ancient city of Nineveh in Hatra, Iraq.
After the long and difficult production, The Exorcist was finally released on December 26, 1973.
Yet some of the strangest stories associated with the movie occurred before it ever reached theaters.
The Mysterious Fires
One of the most famous incidents involved the set of the MacNeil home.
The original set burned down during production and had to be reconstructed. No one could pinpoint exactly what had caused the fire.
The unexplained blaze contributed enormously to the atmosphere surrounding the production. Many members of the crew already considered the experience of working on The Exorcist simply creepy.
In all, stories surrounding the production would eventually include two mysterious fires.
Deaths Associated With The Exorcist
Numerous deaths have been linked with the filming of The Exorcist.
Jack MacGowran, who played Burke Dennings, died from complications of the flu less than a month after the film’s release, on January 31, 1973.
A night watchman also died while patrolling the set, and Linda Blair’s grandfather died during this period.
Valsiliki Maliaros, who played Father Karras’s mother, died on February 9, 1973. Max von Sydow’s brother was another death associated with the period surrounding the production.
Other people sometimes claimed as victims of the supposed curse include a crewman involved with the refrigeration of the bedroom set, a cameraman’s newborn child, and actor Lee J. Cobb.
Claims surrounding these latter deaths cannot be substantiated.
Likewise, Valsiliki Maliaros had enjoyed a long and full life before dying at 90 years of age. Not every death associated with the movie necessarily provides convincing evidence of anything unusual.
Nevertheless, the number of deaths became an important part of the growing legend.
Ellen Burstyn’s Terrifying Injury
Death was not the only misfortune associated with the production.
Ellen Burstyn, who played Regan’s mother, Chris MacNeil, sustained permanent spinal injuries while filming the scene in which she is thrown from her daughter’s bed.
The scream audiences hear as Burstyn is thrown backward came from very real pain.
The moment remained in the finished film, making one of its frightening scenes disturbing for an entirely different reason.
Linda Blair’s Injuries
Linda Blair also suffered back injuries while making The Exorcist.
Blair was only 13 years old at the time, and the role required her to sacrifice a considerable portion of her young life to the production.
Unfortunately, her ordeal did not end when filming stopped.
Death Threats Against Linda Blair
Following the release of The Exorcist, Linda Blair became the target of severe death threats.
The threats against the adolescent actress became serious enough that Warner Brothers hired bodyguards to protect her.
The protection continued for months after the movie’s release.
Blair had portrayed a fictional child possessed by a demonic entity. Yet some of the frightening consequences she experienced because of the role were very real.
Audiences React to The Exorcist
The release of The Exorcist became another media circus.
Religious leaders warned people against seeing the film. Their warnings were often dismissed, but audiences themselves sometimes experienced extraordinary reactions inside theaters.
So many moviegoers reportedly became physically ill while watching the film that “Exorcist vomit bags” were commonly distributed to audience members.
Viewers complained of a variety of physical ailments after seeing the movie. Some people even blamed The Exorcist for heart attacks.
Whether these reactions resulted from genuine physical distress, fear, suggestion, publicity, or some combination of all four, they added another layer to the film’s already notorious reputation.
Was The Exorcist Really Cursed?
The production of The Exorcist was undeniably difficult.
Its budget tripled. An 85-day filming schedule stretched to 224 days in America alone. A major set mysteriously burned and had to be rebuilt. Members of the cast suffered injuries, several deaths became associated with the production, and a 13-year-old actress required bodyguards because of death threats after the movie reached theaters.
Then came the extraordinary audience reactions, religious controversy, illnesses, and stories that followed the film wherever it was shown.
None of these events necessarily proves the existence of a curse. Some have obvious explanations, while others may have become connected to the movie simply because The Exorcist was already notorious.
But when so many accidents, deaths, injuries, and unexplained incidents become associated with a film about demonic possession, legends are almost inevitable.
So, was The Exorcist really cursed?
Or was it nothing more than a strange and unsettling string of coincidences?
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