At just 13 years old, Linda Blair delivered a chillingly realistic performance as the demon-possessed Regan MacNeil in the nightmare-inducing classic, The Exorcist. Laden with controversy, the film thrust Blair into the spotlight, but after her award-winning role left audiences—and her own head—spinning, she largely retreated from Hollywood’s glare.
Beyond its unsettling religious themes that rattled the church, The Exorcist gripped viewers with its horrifying visuals and eerie atmosphere. The film’s production was no less disturbing, with cast and crew experiencing a string of eerie misfortunes, including injuries and untimely deaths, despite a Jesuit priest’s blessing to ward off bad omens.
Directed by William Friedkin, The Exorcist is the cinematic adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel, itself inspired by a real-life exorcism in 1949.
Released in 1973, the film follows 12-year-old Regan MacNeil, whose increasingly erratic and violent behavior sends her desperate mother, played by Ellen Burstyn, searching for answers. When medical science fails, she turns to Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), a Jesuit priest who confirms that Regan is under demonic possession. As the girl’s condition worsens, Karras pleads with the Catholic Church to authorize an exorcism.
Despite its disturbing themes, The Exorcist was a massive box office success, earning critical acclaim and multiple accolades, including Oscars for Best Sound and Best Screenplay, plus four Golden Globes. Decades later, it still holds its place as the second highest-grossing R-rated horror film of all time.
For Blair, the film marked her big break. Having started as a child model in print ads and commercials—featuring brands like Ivory Soap, Welch’s Grape Jelly, and Carefree Gum—she was already familiar with the camera by the time she landed the role of Regan. Yet, as a young teen, she had considered stepping away from acting to pursue her love for animals.
That all changed when she auditioned for The Exorcist. Friedkin, immediately recognizing her potential, chose her out of thousands of hopefuls.
Though it was her first major film, Blair was given no special treatment. Filming in the 1970s, when special effects relied heavily on practical stunts rather than CGI, actors endured grueling and sometimes dangerous conditions. In one of the film’s most famous scenes, a possessed Father Karras is hurled down the infamous staircase to his death. This was no camera trick—a stuntman actually tumbled down all 97 steps.
Blair, while spared from such a perilous stunt, still endured a physically punishing shoot. The rigging that violently thrashed her around during possession scenes left her bruised, and her bedroom set—mounted on wheels to create a shaking effect—was kept at a freezing -30 degrees to capture the actors’ visible breath. While the crew bundled up in warm clothing, Blair was clad in nothing but a thin nightgown.
The hardships weren’t limited to physical discomfort. The Exorcist became infamous for its so-called “curse,” with a long list of tragedies tied to production.
In the book The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist, special effects mastermind Marcel Vercoutere, who engineered the iconic head-spinning scene, admitted, “There was definitely a feeling that something bad could happen. I felt like I was tampering with forces I shouldn’t be.”
One of the most bizarre incidents occurred when a bird flew into a lightbox, sparking a fire that burned down the entire set meant for Regan’s exorcism scene. Filming was delayed for six weeks while it was rebuilt. Just a day before the fire, Friedkin had asked Jesuit priest and technical advisor Thomas Bermingham to perform an exorcism on the set. Finding no sufficient cause for one, Bermingham instead offered a blessing for the cast and crew.
Despite this, misfortune continued to strike. Actor Jack MacGowran, who played Burke Dennings—Regan’s first victim—passed away from the flu. Vasiliki Maliaros, who portrayed Father Karras’ mother, also died before the film’s release. Eerily, both characters perish in The Exorcist. Other cast members lost loved ones, including Blair, whose grandfather died during filming.
In total, nine people linked to the production lost their lives.
For Blair, the eerie events surrounding the film didn’t faze her at the time. She later reflected, “The Exorcist was a work of fiction. I didn’t realize then that it dealt with anything real.”
Yet, while Blair saw the film as just another project, many viewers did not. Some, shaken by the religious implications, accused her of glorifying Satan and even issued death threats.
The intense scrutiny extended beyond threats—press conferences became grueling experiences, with journalists bombarding the 14-year-old with complex theological questions. “The amount of pressure on me was overwhelming,” she later admitted to Dread Central. “They expected me to have all the answers about faith and Catholicism. … It was probably the most awful thing you could imagine.”
Blair reprised her role in the 1977 sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic, but the shadow of Regan MacNeil followed her throughout her career. Struggling to land roles outside the horror genre, she found herself repeatedly cast as vulnerable, troubled young women. She took on dramatic parts in Born Innocent (1974) as an abused runaway and Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) in hopes of proving her range.
In a bold move to shed her child-star image, Blair posed nude for Oui magazine in 1982. Rather than revitalizing her career, the decision backfired, relegating her to roles in exploitation films.
Ultimately, Blair returned to her first passion—animals. She founded the Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abused and neglected animals.
Despite decades of advocacy and humanitarian work, The Exorcist still looms large over Blair’s life. Frustrated by the media’s fixation on her past, she told The Sydney Morning Herald, “What’s discouraging is the inability [of the press] to see what I’m trying to do. … I’m sad, but I’m not mad at them.”
There’s no denying The Exorcist remains one of the most terrifying films of all time. Given that it was made in the ‘70s, its ability to still send chills down spines is impressive.
If you’ve seen the film, we’d love to hear your thoughts!