The Curse of #TheExorcist ~ #Paranormal Postings #Halloween #horror

I often blog about haunted places and spooky themes, since I write a lot of ghost mysteries into my novels.  Not surprisingly, I love October, because I’m a big fan of everything paranormal—books and movies especially. While I do read horror, the paranormal novels I write aren’t designed to fit into that genre. I aim to create mysterious, spooky, and suspenseful (but not gory) ghost stories. Thankfully, many readers have claimed certain scenes sent chills down their spine, which is exactly the kind of reaction I intend (and I include romance as well to heat things back up). Many have also said they stayed up all night reading one of my books--hopefully that was because they couldn’t put it down, and not because they were afraid to turn off the lights!

The scariest book I ever read was The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty, in part because it’s based on a true incident that happened in the DC area, not far from where I grew up (the actual exorcism was performed on a young boy from Cottage City, MD). Part of the movie was filmed in Georgetown (I’ve visited the so-called “Exorcist steps” many times...it’s definitely creepy), and I think the film is even scarier than the book. The terrifying visuals were heightened by the unconventional methods director William Friedkin used to get real reactions from the actors—slapping one actor in the face and firing a gun behind another are just two examples.

The steps from the film...located in Georgetown, DC

Then of course there is the so-called curse surrounding the film. In the early 1970s, not everything was documented for reality TV, so there are conflicting accounts of the strange occurrences. It’s said that between 4 and 9 people associated with the film died during filming or shortly after the release. An unexplained fire destroyed the MacNeil residence movie set—with the odd exception of the character Regan’s bedroom—causing a six-week delay in production. At the Italian premier of the film, a 400-year-old cross near the theater was destroyed by a bolt of lightning.

My sister loves this movie too...check out
her Halloween costume from last year!
Can't wait to see what she comes up with
this year  :0

Re-watching The Exorcist is one of my favorite Halloween traditions, and the movie is on my list of five books and films that scared me...and I don't scare easily when it comes to this stuff usually!  If you're looking for an adrenaline fix, check out my list here.  I also have posts of my favorite ghost movies and ghost novels.  And if you enjoy steamy romance mixed with spooky suspense and mysterious hauntings, I hope you'll check out some of my books!  Happy Haunted Reading.