The Exorcist (novel) The Exorcist (novel) The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel by American writer William Peter Blatty. The book details the demonic possession of twelve-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. Published by Harper & Row, the novel was the basis of a highly successful film adaption released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty, and part of "The Exorcist" franchise. The novel was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in
The Exorcist III his pride in the finished version of "Exorcist III": "It's still a superior film. And in my opinion, and excuse me if I utter heresy here, but for me...it's a more frightening film than "The Exorcist"." Blatty hoped to recover the deleted footage from the Morgan Creek vaults so that he might re-assemble the original cut of the film which he said was "rather different" from what was released, and a version of the film which fans of the "Exorcist" series have been clamouring for. In 2007, Blatty's wife reported on a fan site that "my husband tells me that