The Exorcist-HarperTorch (2000)

Originally published in 1971, The Exorcist is now a serious television series on FOX. It remains one among the foremost controversial novels ever written and went on to become a literary phenomenon: It spent fifty-seven weeks on the ny Times bestseller list, seventeen consecutively at favorite . Inspired by a real story of a child’s demonic possession within the 1940s, William Peter Blatty created an iconic novel that focuses on Regan, the eleven-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C. alittle group of overwhelmed yet determined individuals must rescue Regan from her unspeakable fate, and therefore the drama that ensues is gripping and unfailingly terrifying.

Two years after its publication, The Exorcist was, of course, became a wildly popular movie , garnering ten Academy Award nominations. On opening day of the film, lines of the novel’s fans stretched around city blocks. In Chicago, frustrated moviegoers used a ram to realize entry through the double side doors of a theater. In Kansas City, police used tear gas to disperse an impatient crowd who tried to force their way into a cinema. The three major television networks carried footage of those events; CBS’s Walter Cronkite devoted almost ten minutes to the story. The Exorcist was, and is, quite just a completely unique and a film: it's a real landmark.

Purposefully raw and profane, The Exorcist still has the extraordinary ability to disturb readers and cause them to forget that it's “just a story.” Published here during this beautiful fortieth anniversary edition, it remains an unforgettable reading experience and can still shock and frighten a replacement generation of readers.