One of Hollywood’s Most Unsettling Legends
When The Exorcist arrived in 1973, it wasn’t just the shocking scenes that had people talking, it was the strange stories that surrounded its making. From fires and accidents to eerie coincidences, the film quickly gained a reputation for being more than just a movie. Here are some of the most unsettling incidents that fueled the belief it was cursed.
1. The Fire That Spared Regan’s Room
Midway through production, a mysterious fire broke out on the set of the MacNeil family home. The blaze destroyed nearly everything, forcing filming to halt for weeks while repairs were made. Strangely, one room was left untouched, Regan’s bedroom, where the exorcism scenes would later be filmed. The eerie survival of that single room raised eyebrows, with many on set believing it was a sign of something supernatural. Director William Friedkin became so unsettled that he brought in a priest to bless the set before filming continued, hoping to calm nerves and ward off any unseen forces.
2. Jack MacGowran’s Death
Actor Jack MacGowran, who played the doomed film director Burke Dennings, died shortly after completing his scenes. He succumbed to complications from the flu, but the timing struck many as uncanny. In the movie, his character also meets an unexpected and violent end, which made the real-life tragedy all the more disturbing. Fans and crew alike couldn’t help but notice the eerie connection between his on-screen fate and his sudden death, fueling whispers that the curse had claimed one of its first victims.
3. Ellen Burstyn’s Real Scream
During one of the most intense scenes, actress Ellen Burstyn, who played Regan’s mother, was violently pulled back with a harness to simulate her character being thrown to the floor. The stunt went wrong, the harness yanked her too hard, causing a painful spinal injury that lingered for years. The scream audiences hear in the final cut is not acting but her actual cry of pain. Knowing this detail later made the moment even more unsettling, as the boundary between performance and reality blurred in a film already filled with terrifying imagery.
4. Tragedy Beyond the Set
The supposed curse did not seem confined to the film’s set. Several cast and crew members experienced sudden losses among their families during production. These unrelated but chilling events added to the sense that misfortune hovered over anyone involved in the project. Though coincidences are possible, the sheer number of personal tragedies led many to believe the film had stirred something it shouldn’t have. For those already unnerved by the subject matter, the overlap between fiction and real-life sorrow felt like more than bad luck.
5. Rome’s Stormy Premiere
When The Exorcist premiered in Rome, even nature seemed to join the story. A violent thunderstorm struck as moviegoers filed into the theater, rattling the city with booming thunder and flashes of lightning. During the screening, a bolt reportedly struck a church across the street, shocking the crowd inside. For a film already linked to unsettling coincidences, this dramatic scene felt like a sign that the dark themes of the movie had spilled into real life. To many viewers, it was no longer just entertainment, it was something far more ominous.
6. The Audience That Couldn’t Handle It
When the film was finally released, audiences reacted in ways Hollywood had never seen before. Reports spread of moviegoers fainting, vomiting, or fleeing theaters in sheer panic. Some screenings even stationed ambulances outside, prepared to assist those overwhelmed by the intensity of what they saw on screen. Newspapers around the world ran stories of people suing Warner Bros. for emotional distress, claiming the film left them shaken long after the credits rolled. While some chalked this up to the shocking content, others believed the disturbing energy surrounding the production had seeped into the film itself, making it more than just a movie, it was an experience that seemed to haunt its viewers.
7. Mercedes McCambridge’s Later Tragedy
The terrifying voice of the demon was provided by actress Mercedes McCambridge, who underwent extreme physical strain to achieve the sound. She chain-smoked, drank raw eggs, and tied herself to a chair to capture the guttural, otherworldly growl of Pazuzu. But years later, her life took a dark turn when her son committed a horrific crime, murdering his wife and children before taking his own life. Though there is no logical connection between her role in The Exorcist and this tragedy, many people couldn’t help but tie her association with the film to the horrors that later followed her family, further feeding the legend of a curse.
8. A Priest’s Warning to Jason Miller
Jason Miller, who played Father Damien Karras, shared a story that gave fans another reason to wonder about the film’s aura. He recalled that during filming, a priest approached him with a medal, warning him that he was surrounded by evil forces and needed protection. The unexpected gesture left a lasting impression on Miller, who admitted he never shook off the priest’s words. For a man portraying a character locked in a battle with the devil, the encounter blurred the line between performance and reality, and his unease only strengthened the belief that the film was shadowed by something darker.
9. A Reputation That Never Faded
Even decades after its release, The Exorcist is still spoken of in hushed tones. Cast and crew members often recall their experiences with caution, as though revisiting the memories might stir up old energy. The accidents, deaths, fire, and chaos that surrounded the film created a lasting legacy of fear that refuses to fade. Whether these events were the product of coincidence or something truly sinister, the movie has carried its haunted reputation through the years. To this day, it remains one of Hollywood’s most unsettling legends, with its supposed curse keeping audiences both fascinated and uneasy.
The stories behind The Exorcist are almost as frightening as the movie itself. While skeptics may see a string of coincidences, others can’t shake the feeling that something unexplainable clung to the film from the very beginning. More than 50 years later, its reputation endures, not just as a groundbreaking horror film, but as a legend whispered about whenever talk of “cursed movies” comes up.
This story Haunting Incidents from The Exorcist That Made People Believe the Film Was Cursed was first published on Daily FETCH
