The Exorcist Olive Edition

The phenomenal #1 bestseller that inspired the classic motion picture--= the most terrifying and unforgettable horror novel ever written--now available as a Harper Perennial Olive Edition. "A page-turner par excellence. Poe and Mary Shelley would recognize [Blatty] as working in their ambiguous limbo between the natural and the supernatural . . . hair-rising."--Life "Read the book. It's an experience you will never forget."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch Originally published in 1971, The Exorcist was a bestselling literary phenomenon and one of the most frightening--and controversial--novels ever written. Based on true events--a child's demonic possession in the 1940s--it is the story of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, whose sudden disturbing, and often violent, behavior drive her desperate mother, Chris, a famous actress, to eventually seek help from two Catholic priests, men who will risk everything--including their own souls-- to free the girl from an ancient malevolent force possessing her. Purposefully raw and profane, this novel still has the extraordinary ability to shock readers and cause them to forget that it is "just a story."

Georgetown, Washington D.C., 1973. Actress and divorced mother Chris MacNeil starts to experience 'difficulties' with her usually sweet-natured eleven-year-old daughter Regan. The child becomes afflicted by spasms, convulsions and unsettling amnesiac episodes; these abruptly worsen into violent fits of appalling foul-mouthed curses, accompanied by physical mutation. Medical science is baffled by Regan's plight and, in her increasing despair, Chris turns to troubled priest and psychiatrist Damien Karras, who immediately recognises something profoundly malevolent in Regan's distorted fetures and speech. On Karras's recommendation, the Church summons Father Merrin, a specialist in the exorcism of demons . . . William Peter Blatty scripted this version of his own best-selling novel for director William Friedkin, and was rewarded with an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay of 1973. This publication also includes the texts of the film's legendary 'lost scenes' and excised dialogue which shed additional light on The Exorcist's profound darkness.

Originally published in 1971, The Exorcist is now a major television series on FOX. It remains one of the most controversial novels ever written and went on to become a literary phenomenon: It spent fifty-seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, seventeen consecutively at number one. Inspired by a true story of a child’s demonic possession in the 1940s, William Peter Blatty created an iconic novel that focuses on Regan, the eleven-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C. A small group of overwhelmed yet determined individuals must rescue Regan from her unspeakable fate, and the drama that ensues is gripping and unfailingly terrifying. Two years after its publication, The Exorcist was, of course, turned into a wildly popular motion picture, garnering ten Academy Award nominations. On opening day of the film, lines of the novel’s fans stretched around city blocks. In Chicago, frustrated moviegoers used a battering ram to gain entry through the double side doors of a theater. In Kansas City, police used tear gas to disperse an impatient crowd who tried to force their way into a cinema. The three major television networks carried footage of these events; CBS’s Walter Cronkite devoted almost ten minutes to the story. The Exorcist was, and is, more than just a novel and a film: it is a true landmark. Purposefully raw and profane, The Exorcist still has the extraordinary ability to disturb readers and cause them to forget that it is “ just a story.” Published here in this beautiful fortieth anniversary edition, it remains an unforgettable reading experience and will continue to shock and frighten a new generation of readers.

Blatty was inspired on a real life event during the 194s to create his protagonist. A girl of just eleven years old undergoes terrible transformations, above all in her behavior. Neither doctors, nor scientists, or psychologists are able to find the cause of such a condition and gradually the evidence suggests that the girl may be possessed by the devil.

One of the most famous horror movies ever, The Exorcist is the disturbing story of an 11-year-old girl possessed by an overwhelming demonic force. This book presents the screenplay of the film, along with that of its sequel, Legion.