The Real Story Behind "The Exorcist"

One of the most famous movies set in Washington is The Exorcist, the 1973 tale of a Roman Catholic priest's struggle to save a 12-year-old girl named Regan (Linda Blair) from demonic possession, which transfixed theater-goers with its phantasmagoric gore. In the shocking climax of the film, Father Damien Karras (portrayed by Jason Miller) takes the demon Pazuzu into his own body and is hurled to his death. The steep set of steps in Georgetown where the scene was filmed has become a macabre local landmark but The Exorcist has another, even more unsettling connection to the Washington area.