20 Things You Didn't Know About The Exorcist

There are a lot of longstanding myths and legends that The Exorcist's set needed its very own exorcism as a result of some spooky happenings. But this is not entirely accurate.

A fire caused the total destruction of the set of Regan's house with the exception of the possessed child's bedroom which was left untouched. Whilst much has been made of the deaths that happened before the film's release, none of these occurred during production, although both Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn sustained serious injuries whilst filming.

But there was a genuine sense of unease at times held by various cast and crew members. Morale on the set dwindled so low that technical advisor, Reverend Thomas Bermingham, was asked to exorcise the set. He refused initially, but later agreed to perform a blessing on the set, and held a reassuring talk for the cast and crew.

Another morale boosting tactic was to shoot a fake-out scene for those viewing the rushes which swapped Father Merrin with Groucho Marx. Marx was a friend of author/producer William Peter Blatty and was actually keen to do the skit. Sadly, director William Friedkin was ill the day filming was scheduled, and the gag was never filmed.