Only this time William Peter Blatty’s readers are in for a different surprise. Unlike The Exorcist, this isn’t a novel set in a sinister Georgetown. It’s a work of nonfiction, the author insists, that ...

In 2013, USA TODAY spent the day with "The Exorcist" director William Friedkin and author William Peter Blatty in downtown Washington, where they discussed important sites and inspiration behind ...

The Exorcist author and screenplay writer William Peter Blatty, class of 1950, lurked undetected in the audience of 100-plus people, and he followed up afterward. He hoped to publish his master's ...

Today, “The Exorcist” regularly tops any list of the scariest horror movies of all time. The screenplay was based on Blatty’s bestselling novel, “The Exorcist,” published in 1971.

Inspired by an incident that unfolded in St. Louis and Washington, D.C., that Blatty had read about while in college, "The Exorcist" was published in 1971, followed two years later by the film of ...

This article contains The Exorcist: Believer spoilers. For nearly 20 years, author and screenwriter William Peter Blatty hated the ending of The Exorcist (1973) so much that he could barely speak ...

Noting that Blatty’s original novel was itself inspired ... Actress Linda Blair and director William Friedkin on set of The Exorcist (1973). Photo: Alan Band/Keystone/Getty Images Friedkin ...