9. The Exorcist (1973)
William Friedkins The Exorcist is among those motion pictures that have been labeled as cursed, in company with Poltergeist, The Omen and Rosemarys Baby. The horror classic was written by William Peter Blatty from his novel of the same name, which was loosely based on a supposedly real exorcism. (Blatty would go on to write and direct The Exorcist III.) All four films in the Exorcist franchise were plagued by production issues, personnel changes and studio meddling, but its the original film that spawned legends of a curse. On-set injuries, the deaths of nine people involved with the film and tales of audience members having seizures and heart attacks while viewing The Exorcist have persisted to this day. Here are a few of the facts: The director had a priest bless the set. A fire destroyed several interior sets during production. Legend has it that Regans bedroom set was spared. Linda Blair (Regan) was injured while filming the exorcism scene when a safety harness failed. The films star, Ellen Burstyn, was injured during the scene where Regan throws her across the room. She was attached to a harness that pulled her backwards, and the resulting force caused the injury to her spine. Actor Jack MacGowran, who played the boozing film director Burke Denning, died at age 54 shortly after filming wrapped. MacGowran, coincidentally, appeared in a film called A Day at the Beach, which appears later on this list. Actress Vasiliki Maliaros, who played Father Karriss mother, died before the film was released. The Exorcist was her only film role. There is more to the Exorcist curse further down on this list, so read on.