Here are the real events that inspired and were inspired by William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece.
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Warning: This article contains spoilers forThe Exorcist.
The most impactful true story behindThe Exorcist, however, is what happened afterward.
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Its the ultimate example of how popular movies can directly influence reality and vice versa.
Read on for the eerie true stories behindThe Exorcist,its inspiration, and its aftermath.
The boy went on to live a normal life as an engineer for NASA.
Everett
His true identity, Ronald Edwin Hunkeler, wasrevealed after his deathat age 85 in 2020.
The story stuck with Blatty.
The novel hit bookshelves in 1971.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Harper & Row
And some of the details do seem to line up.
Reports of moviegoers fainting, vomiting, and running out of theaters in fright were common.
One womanclaimed the film caused her to have a miscarriage, and it was blamed for several nervous breakdowns.
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IsThe Exorcista cursed film?
(That one is still unexplained.)
At least two crew members died as well.
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Two others lost appendages a thumb and a toe in on-set accidents.
He bragged about a curse on the films press tour, and that became part of its legend.
These medical scenes are among the most upsetting in the film which says a lot.
Bateson was never charged with those crimes, and the connection remains circumstantial and speculative.
He was, however, convicted of killing Verrill in 1979.
Friedkinvisited him in prison, and the experienceinspired him to directthe controversialAl Pacino-led murder mysteryCruising(1980).
Bateson was released on parole in 2003.
His current whereabouts are unknown.
