My ‘Exorcist’ Journey: A Tribute to a Classic Film and St. Louis’ Urban Legend

My ‘Exorcist’ Journey

A Tribute to a Classic Film and St. Louis’ Urban Legend

 

“Well, like you say… as far as God goes, I am a nonbeliever. Still am. But when it comes to a devil – well, that’s something else. I could buy that. I do, in fact. I do. And it isn’t just what happened to Rags. I mean, generally.” She shrugged. “You come to God and you have to figure if there is one, then he must need a million years’ sleep every night or else he tends to get irritable. Know what I mean? He never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does lots of commercials.”

 – The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty

October is upon us once again, and throughout this season a big theme you’ll find us talking about here and on the podcast is horror and urban legends that have taken place in St. Louis.

If you are from the Saint Louis area, chances are you already are familiar with the story of the famous exorcism case that inspired William Peter Blatty’s novel and the 1973 film of the same name.

If you’re Catholic and from Saint Louis, you’re even more familiar.

The Exorcist is my favorite horror film. Prior to seeing it, I was mostly into the Universal Monster classics and anything I was allowed to watch as a kid. But The Exorcist was a door opener to what horror could represent, with William Freidkin and WIlliam Peter Blaty’s sincere approach, and the bigger ideas and themes it could make us think about.

Growing up in Florissant, a predominantly Catholic area in St. Louis, I’d heard many of the stories of “The Scariest Movie Ever Made.” My parents would tell me about how horrifying it was and to stay away from it. “Don’t play with Ouija boards. Don’t play with Tarot cards. Don’t watch The Exorcist. Don’t go to the house where it happened!” It almost felt mythical, like some old relic you’re supposed to stay away from, and yet when you finally saw it, it was like a rite of passage, in so doing a tradition of carrying it on like a game of telephone or a campfire story, to be shared with the next unsuspecting watchers.”I finally saw The Exorcist!” you could tell your friends. At family gatherings you’d mostly hear adults talking about it.

My earliest memory involving the film was being at a supermarket in the 90’s with my family while on vacation. I think it was an issue of Entertainment Weekly on the newsstand with Regan on the cover in full possession mode that made my agnostic uncle SHRIEK upon looking at it, afterward telling me that it is from “the scariest movie ever made”. My mom would tell me “That’s Linda Blair.” That name became so eponymous with the film, this film I had never seen, that I would memorize the name. Linda Blair. The Exorcist.

Other than that, I became somewhat familiar with the movie through pop culture references such as the Leslie Nielsen spoof “Repossessed”, and even seeing a life like wax replica of the possessed Regan in a horror-themed area of a wax museum in Branson MO, but my first experience actually seeing footage from the film was in “The Burbs”, which shows Tom Hanks’ character flipping through TV channels and coming across the scene where the possessed Regan vomits all over Father Karras. I remember seeing that and thinking “ what is this movie?”

It being kind of a Saint Louis urban legend, even if you hadn’t seen the movie, you knew that our town was the focal point of the events, even though people in the rest of the country tend to refer to it as a Maryland case. It started there, but it culminated in St. Louis. Now it’s our big horror story, and you’d always be hearing about it, whether it be through family or when Dave Glover would periodically come to the house where the boy stayed and do his live Halloween special on the radio, and the bogus “live exorcism” at the house that was on Destination America a few years back.

In 2001 “The Version You’ve Never Seen” came out, featuring many alterations and deleted scenes added back in. My dad, funny enough, another family member on the list who said to stay away from this horrible movie and that nobody should ever watch such a thing, bought the DVD. And then he’d sell it. And then he’d purchase it again. And so on (my sister did something similar with the book – she’d buy it, get freaked out, get rid of it, then buy it again). And so during my weekend stays at my dad’s house as a kid (per post-divorce visitation guidelines), there would always be a copy of The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen. Of course, at that point, I hadn’t seen any version, and one night I got curious enough that I just had to see what this movie was all about. I remember one night I felt brave enough, waiting until he went to sleep, sneaking downstairs with his copy of the DVD and finally putting it in. To my surprise, I wasn’t quite as terrified – I was but I more intrigued and was also surprisingly moved. This wasn’t the evil, sleazy, gory, mean-spirited evil film that people had warned me about – this was about the triumph of good over evil in impossible circumstances.

I bought William Peter Blatty’s book which the film is based on and fell in love with it. When I turned 18, I bought my own copy of the DVD. The version I chose was the Version You’ve Never Seen. After reading what the original cut was lacking, at the time, I never wanted to see any other version. Of course, I eventually did and now own both but there is a fundamental moment in  TVYNS that really brought forth the theme of the film for me. There is a scene with the titular characters Father Merrin and Father Karras sitting on the stairs outside of Regan’s bedroom mid-exorcism, where the faith-broken Karras asks. “Why this girl? It doesn’t make sense.” Merrin responds “I think the point is to make us despair. To make us feel animal and ugly. To reject the possibility that God could love us.”

I would watch it often, even falling asleep listening to the audio commentary by William Friedkin as he (to many’s dismay) explains quite literally everything going on in the film, but his insight reaffirmed my own affirmations of what the film is really about.

“He takes a walk onto this promontory wherein you have the ancient confrontation of Good vs. Evil. Father Merrin representing the forces of goodness, the demon Pazuzu who has unleashed the dogs of war and chaos, and Pazuzu faces his own enemy, Father Merrin, in a symbolic face-off between good and evil.”

– William Friedkin, “The Exorcist” audio commentary

The mythological aspect of the film was something that deeply resonated with me and it was something that never occurred to me to be an element of the film. The film begins in Iraq, where Father Lancaster Merrin (Max Von Sydow) is involved with an archaeological dig site and has premonitions of the demon Pazuzu, a demon he has faced in the past. It is after this premonition that he realizes that he must face the demon once more. I loved seeing the setup in the film in such an ancient site. Furthermore, I love how Merrin is never seen again until an hour and forty-five minutes into the film, where after the approval for the Exorcism is summoned, he knows the battle must continue – and end.

“The moment is at hand where he will once again have to face his life long enemy, and will he be able to do it this time? The demon too knows that Merrin is coming, to do battle, once again, on a new battlefield, with his own enemy.”

– WIlliam Friedkin, ‘The Exorcist’ audio commentary

Contrary to popular belief, Father Merrin is not “The Exorcist” – at least in my perspective. He exemplifies the mythological struggle of the film, but it is the character development of Karras that represents the film as a whole. Father Karras is a priest who is struck with grief over the sudden death of his mother and suffers a crisis of faith, and the first person to carry the weight on his shoulders and take on the responsibility of carrying out the exorcism, until the experienced Father Merrin is brought along – of course, in the end, Karras is the one to accomplish the task. Miller’s performance shows a man who is tormented throughout, presented with overwhelmingly paranormal evidence, but in the face of it he can’t let himself believe any of it due to the ugliness of the world. In Blatty’s book he gets deep into the thoughts of Karras, whose cynical world view challenges the notion that there could ever be a God.

 

The need to rend food with the teeth and then defecate. My mother’s nine First Fridays. Stinking socks. Thalidomide babies. An item in the paper about a young altar boy waiting at a bus stop; set on by strangers; sprayed with kerosene; ignited. No. Too emotional. Vague. Existential. More rooted in logic was the silence of God. In the world there was evil. And much of the evil resulted from doubt; from an honest confusion among men of good will. Would a reasonable God refuse to end it? Not reveal Himself? Not speak?

– William Peter Blatty, ‘The Exorcist

As an angsty 18 year old with mixed feelings emerging regarding religion in general, Father Karras was a hero to me. Not to mention, he was a hero in black. And as a gothy late teen, of course that was appealing to me.

“What’s interesting visually is that these two men in black – black color in a garment being sort of the symbol of evil whenever you see it on film, these two men dressed in black are the good guys – and the little innocent child is the demon.”

– William Friedkin, ‘The Exorcist’ audio commentary

I had doubts about God, I had my own notions on religion in general, and among my Father’s side of the family I was somewhat of an outcast. I didn’t go to Mass every Sunday. I didn’t even get confirmed. I still haven’t. I had such conflicting emotions living in a cynical world, that I wanted to believe but I didn’t know if I could. Everyone wants there to be a Heaven, right? Everyone wants there to be someone watching out for us.

I could relate heavily to Father Karras because I was feeling everything that he was feeling. Since I first picked up the book (it’s still my favorite book), and read everything Karras was feeling, thinking – I thought it was me.  It was cathartic. He was a character that was almost mythical in himself – a superhero in a cassock. Here was a priest who gives his life to save a little girl – and overcomes his own darkest emotions. A priest who recognizes the problems within the church. The man who invites the ancient evil to possess himself in order to save the life of an innocent.

And to a naive teen watching a priest who smoked cigarettes and boxed regularly – a cool priest.

They don’t make priests like that anymore.

I have noticed, in recent years, my parents revisit the film more often, probably thanks to me. My mother and I watch it every October.  My father has a newly rekindled interest in the exorcist and the real life exorcism case that took place here in St. Louis. After a recent look at our family history he discovered that, through marriage, we are related through marriage to the exorcist who performed the original exorcism that the film and book are based on, named Father William Bowdern. This amazed me and I felt even closer to this story than ever before. Here was the real life priest who influenced both of the great priest characters including Karras, the character I related to so much. That was crazy to me and meant a lot. We may not be related by blood, but in my mind, he’s family.

Father William S. Bowdern

The grave of Father Bowdern at Calvary Cemetery in Saint Louis, MO

The Exorcist is still terrifying, moving and a cinematic achievement. It was exactly what I needed in an existential crisis. Indeed, to this day, when existential thoughts reoccur, I often revisit this film to ease my mind.

As far as religion goes, I’m not sure exactly where I stand. I’m not angry about my upbringing, but I have been upset at the church for many things, what I deem to be the “man made rules of religion.” I still remember my last mass I ever attended willingly – during the 2016 election when a priest spoke during his homily essentially telling everyone present how to vote. I wanted none of that. I wasn’t going to be deemed a sinner for my own political beliefs. I guess you could call me a “Cafeteria Catholic” – I have belief and admiration in the rituals and prayers, but there are many of the organized aspects I disagree with. To this day I have a strange curiosity in the archaic, broken system of the church, though I’ve drawn away from the dogma and tone deaf rules that have been made. There’s a beauty in the articulation of the words of prayer – in the architecture of holy places. There’s a beauty in the feeling of spiritual presence. I am not a heavily church-going person, though there is some semblance of belief deeply rooted in my being.

If you’re not aware (though if you’re from St. Louis I’d be surprised), the story is inspired by a real life case that began in Maryland with a young boy and culminated in St. Louis.

The St. Louis Exorcism

In 1949, a young boy famously referred to as “Roland Doe”,  inhibited signs of possession.

The boy’s aunt, a St. Louis native, would visit often, spending a lot of time with her nephew. She was interested in spiritualism and ouija boards and got him interested in the subject. After her passing, he attempted to contact her, after which the family began experiencing strange phenomena.

First it was dripping sounds. Then it was sounds in the attic, and then it was scratching under the grandmother’s bed which they assumed to be rats. The floorboards were ripped open without any sign of rodents. Every night at 7 pm until after midnight, the sounds would continue, and eventually the sounds reached the young boy’s room. This time, he heard footsteps walking toward his room and eventually in it.

One night they felt what could only be described as something trying to claw its way out of the bed, eventually making the bed shake erratically.

By this point, things got even worse. Furniture would violently move across the house, and the boy would begin acting unlike himself, shouting obscenities and becoming unhinged. They decided to see a priest at their Lutheran parish and he stayed a night with the boy and his mother to see for himself. To his dismay,  he recommended they see a Catholic priest due to their experience with the subject.

A young priest met with the boy and he saw the signs right away. 

The boy began speaking languages he didn’t know, including fluent Latin. This was proof enough for Hughes and he sought approval to perform an exorcism, and admitted the boy to a Catholic hospital. He prematurely began an exorcism, and he was injured in the process after being slashed by a bed spring, suffered a nervous breakdown, and knew he couldn’t perform it again. Writing appeared on the boys chest, much like in the film, when the famous “help me” scratches show up on the little girls chest, in the real case it actually said “Louis”. They put two and two together and realized they needed to go to St. Louis.

The family packed up and left for St. Louis and they stayed at a relatives house on Roanoke Street in the neighborhood of Bel-Nor in St. Louis.

The famous “Exorcist House” in Bel-Nor, Saint Louis MO.

They met Father Raymond Bishop, an academic Jesuit who was a little skeptical of the situation. He visited the house they were staying at and witnessed the symptoms for himself. Bishop informed his friend, Father William Bowdern, a middle aged Jesuit who was a parishioner at St Louis University’s St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in St. Louis, MO

Bowdern sought approval from the archbishop and he was granted it on the condition that the case was kept confidential. 

He began the exorcism and with the most powerful prayers in the Roman Ritual, he demanded the demon be cast out, but Roland replied in a terrifying voice that he would not leave until one word was pronounced.

The exorcism was carried out across three different locations in St. Louis – the house on Roanoke Street, the rectory at St Francis Xavier church, and finally Alexian Brothers hospital, now renamed St. Alexius Hospital, where the exorcism concluded after a booming voice identifying himself as St. Michael, ordered the demon to leave in the name of Dominus (evidently the one word that would make the demon leave). 

St. Alexius Hospital, formerly Alexian Brothers, where the exorcism was completed. The wing where the boy was held has since been torn down.

For a comprehensive look at the events, I highly recommend Troy Taylor’s book “The Devil Came to St. Louis”. Every year when it gets closer to Halloween, I take a pilgrimage to several of the events where it happened. We recommend you do the same.

A Few Thoughts On The Director’s Cut

A lot of purists consider the theatrical version of the film to be superior, and while I understand that view point, I do want to make the case for why the Director’s Cut is worth revisiting. I don’t love everything about the director’s cut – the face of Pazuzu inserted into random shots for jump scares, even the famous spider-walk isn’t quite necessary, but it is effective. However the Director’s Cut includes some of my favorite Exorcist moments.

Regan’s Doctor Visit

One thing I love about this version is it shows that Regan was brought to medical attention fairly early on – and you begin to see the earliest signs of the possession. She walks around like she is in a trance, sees her first glimpse of the demon Pazuzu, and curses at the doctor giving her a shot. It especially makes sense to have this scene reinserted because without it, when Regan is referencing her doctor’s visit in the theatrical version, it doesn’t really make sense. It just makes the possession feel less sudden.

 

Chris Offers Father Merrin Brandy

 

While Father Karras is off gathering supplies for the exorcism, Father Merrin silently prays the Rosary while Chris offers him a cup of tea with brandy, to which he replies “The doctors say I shouldn’t…but thank God my will is weak”, and he accepts. It’s a cute little human moment that shows Merrin has a sense of humor and a heart.

 

Regan’s Middle Name

 

As Merrin and Karras walk toward Regan’s room to begin the exorcism, Merrin stops and turns toward Regan’s mother and asks “What is your daughter’s middle name?” She replies “Theresa.” Merrin smiles and replies “That’s a lovely name.” I love this moment because it’s a reminder of what they are really here for – to save this little girl, and what lies beyond the bedroom door is not her. It also makes it more poignant when Merrin says her middle name during the exorcism.

The two above scenes left quite the impression on me because upon rewatching the theatrical version, its feels like Father Merrin has no interaction with the family whatsoever. He’s kind of just…there and does his job. I feel these moments are incredibly important and add a lot of heart and impress on you the stakes of the situation and who they are trying to save, while showing you also that this priest is a normal person like you and I.

Karras and Merrin On The Stairs

 

“Why this girl? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I think the point is to make us despair. To make us see ourselves as animal and ugly. To reject the possibility that God could love us.”

 

My favorite moment, as mentioned earlier, and the focus of the theme of the film. I maintain that without it, the film lacks the heart and soul and it leaves us with no message or intent. Maybe that is what people without my background prefer is to keep it vague, but it is an incredibly important moment for me.

The Ending

Before Regan and her mother leave, Chris hands Karras’ friend, Father Dyer, his St. Joseph medal. Dyer holds it briefly, eventually saying “you keep it” and puts the medal back in her hands.

In what I consider a bit of a travesty, the theatrical cut omits this, only showing Chris handing him the medal and Dyer never giving it back. It almost feels pointless without the rest of the scene. It feels so jarring and takes away so much. I also love seeing Father Dyer and Detective Kinderman beginning a friendship that they continue onto The Exorcist III.

 

After rewatching the theatrical cut, it did feel a little shallow and empty not having that stuff put in. Maybe it’s because I’m such a fan of the book and I just missed seeing these moments. They’re little things but they say a lot.

 

I think there is something still about this film that resonates with people – even to the non-religious, it represents a side of humanity that we cannot comprehend. Why do bad things happen to good people? If there is an Almighty, why doesn’t He intervene?

 

“What the film is about as far as I’m concerned, is the constant struggle within all of us. Everyday of our lives almost on a moment by moment basis, the struggle of goodness and evil that is within all of us, the constant struggle that we have to keep from doing harm to others. To keep from destroying ourselves and others. The film must be seen not only in terms of reality of what’s going on in that bedroom, but the idea of the struggle that exists in humanity from the beginning of time and probably forever of goodness doing battle with evil that is within all of us. That constant battlefield.”

– William Friedkin, “The Exorcist” audio commentary

 

I still find a strange sense of wonder and, to a sense, comfort reading “true” demonic possession stories. It leads me to the possibility that maybe something does exist. If there is a supernatural evil, then there must be a supernatural good. Thoughts I still go through day by day in a sonorous wonder. Though you just may still catch me making the Sign of the Cross before dangerous situations or even clutching my pocket Rosary for good luck during viewings of such films like The Conjuring or Hereditary. Because maybe there is something – someone – watching over. We hope.

 

“(The Exorcist) should also inspire and provoke you and make you reflect. Most people take out of The Exorcist what they bring into it. If you believe that the world is a dark and evil place, then The Exorcist will reinforce that. If you believe that there is a force for good that combats, and eventually triumphs over evil, then you will take out of the film what we tried to put into it.”

– William Friedkin

 

Amen.

 

 

Want To Dig A Little Deeper?

If you want to get dig a little deeper into Blatty’s Exorcist mythos, here is some other content we recommend checking out.

The Exorcist 1994 Audiobook

If you haven’t read the book and you’re a fan of audiobooks, you can listen to the entire Exorcist audiobook from a long out-of-print version available for free on YouTube. Normally I wouldn’t go so out of my way to recommend audiobooks, but c’mon – this one’s read by Christopher Lee!

The Exorcist 2014 BBC Radiodrama

You can also check out the radio drama produced by the BBC featuring Ian McDiarmid (aka Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars fame) as Father Merrin. It’s an extremely condensed version of the book, but it’s a lot of fun.

Dave Glover’s Exorcist Halloween Special

https://971talk.radio.com/dgs-halloween-show-2008-exorcist-house

St. Louis radio host Dave Glover is known for his annual live Halloween specials, where he stays the night in various haunted locations across St. Louis such as the “Exorcist house” and The Lemp Mansion.

The Ninth Configuration

We also recommend you check out the film The Ninth Configuration, William Peter Blatty’s “spinoff” of The Exorcist and in his mind, the second of his Exorcist trilogy consisting of The Exorcist, The Ninth Configuration, and Exorcist III (or Legion). You can watch it streaming on Amazon Prime and you can hear us talk about it in detail on Episode 62 of the Destroy The Brain podcast. Give it a listen. We compel you!!