Cursed Set of The Exorcist

When you look into The Exorcist's troubled production, the stories are genuinely unsettling. A mysterious fire destroyed the main set, yet Regan's bedroom remained completely untouched. Nine people connected to the film died during production. Linda Blair fractured her spine, and Ellen Burstyn suffered permanent injuries from practical effects gone wrong. Director William Friedkin even called a Jesuit priest to bless the smoldering ruins. There's far more to this cursed production than most people ever discover.

Key Takeaways

• A mysterious fire destroyed the MacNeil house set, halting production for six weeks, yet Regan's bedroom remained completely untouched by the flames.
• Nine people connected to the production died, including actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, who both passed before the film's release.
• Linda Blair fractured her lower spine when the mechanical bed malfunctioned during Regan's thrashing scene, later developing scoliosis from the injury.
• Ellen Burstyn suffered a fractured coccyx and permanent harness injuries during the slap scene, requiring crutches for two weeks after filming.
• Director William Friedkin invited a Jesuit priest to bless the burned set, the cast, and crew after mounting tragedies fueled curse beliefs.

The Fire That Nearly Ended The Exorcist Before It Began

The destruction initially halted production for six weeks. Then, a sprinkler failure added two more weeks to the delay.

Combined with other setbacks throughout filming, the production ran nearly 100 days over schedule and exceeded its original budget by $2 million. These cascading disasters cemented the film's growing reputation as a cursed production before it even reached theaters. Filming in Iraq also contributed to widespread illness, with roughly half the crew suffering from dysentery and sunstroke.

The Nine Deaths That Haunted The Exorcist's Cursed Set

Jack MacGowan, who played Burke Dennings onscreen, died from flu complications shortly after filming his scenes.

Vasiliki Maliaros, who portrayed Karras's mother, died before the film's release.

An assistant cameraman's newborn baby died during production.

A night watchman, a janitor who was shot, the man who refrigerated the set, and a special effects expert also perished.

These losses intensified supernatural speculation among cast and crew, convincing many—including director William Friedkin—that something genuinely sinister had attached itself to the film. Paul Bateson, who played a radiologic technologist in the film, went on to murder journalist Addison Verrill and was convicted and jailed for 24 years.

A documentary titled The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist claimed that nine people died during the production of the film, underscoring the tragic toll the shoot took on those involved.

The Off-Set Deaths That Made The Exorcist's Cast Believe in the Curse

While the deaths on set shook the production to its core, the losses that occurred away from the cameras proved just as haunting. These off-set family tragedies reinforced cast members' belief that something sinister surrounded the film.

Linda Blair's grandfather died during filming, causing production delays that stretched an already grueling shoot. An assistant cameraman's newborn baby died, and a night watchman connected to the production also passed away. Max von Sydow learned during his very first week of filming that his brother had died, forcing him to return to Sweden for the funeral.

Ellen Burstyn noted these losses extending beyond the principal cast, describing deaths among crew members and their families. You can understand why so many believed something didn't want this movie made.

The janitor responsible for maintaining the building was shot and killed during the production period, adding yet another death to the film's already grim toll.

Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros both died during post-production, meaning neither ever saw the finished film they had dedicated so much to creating.

The On-Set Injuries Behind The Exorcist's Most Iconic Scenes

Behind the movie's most iconic scenes lay a trail of very real injuries. When you watch Regan's bed thrashing sequence, you're seeing footage from the very take that fractured Linda Blair's lower spine. The mechanical bed malfunctioned, and her screams of agony were mistaken for convincing acting. She'd begged the crew to stop due to burning pain, but nobody realized what was happening.

Ellen Burstyn suffered permanent harness injuries when a crew member yanked her wire too hard during the slap scene, fracturing her coccyx and forcing her onto crutches for two weeks. These weren't isolated incidents. Practical effects without CGI created genuine physical danger across the entire production. Carpenters lost fingers and toes during set construction, cementing the belief that something truly sinister surrounded this film. Blair later recalled on Cursed Films that the back injury she sustained went on to develop into scoliosis over time.

Why the Crew Called a Priest to Exorcise Their Own Film Set

The fire that tore through the MacNeil house set in the dead of night felt like the breaking point. Between carpenter thumbs and lost toes, a burned-down set, and nine deaths shadowing production, the crew desperately needed psychological relief. Friedkin called in Jesuit priest Thomas Bermingham for priestly intervention.

Bermingham refused a full exorcism but performed a blessing instead, targeting:

1. The smoldering ruins where the MacNeil house once stood
2. Regan's untouched bedroom, eerily preserved amid total destruction
3. The rattled cast, carrying the weight of accumulating tragedies
4. The production crew, whose morale had collapsed under mysterious circumstances

The blessing didn't rewrite history, but it gave everyone permission to breathe again and keep filming. Notably, Regan's room alone survived the mysterious fire completely intact, despite the entire surrounding set being reduced to ash. Both Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn suffered serious on-set injuries during filming, further cementing the production's reputation as one of Hollywood's most physically and psychologically grueling shoots. Much like Mary Shelley's ghost story competition at Lake Geneva, the creative ordeal behind The Exorcist proved that some of history's most enduring horror was born from genuinely harrowing circumstances.