Search - The Exorcist

Originally published in 1971, this story has the staying power for the past 36 years! The movie and the re-released movie were scary, but this book expounds all of the horror, the supernatural, the demonic doings that the films could not show. Great character development. Shocking graphic details include blasphemy and inappropriate sexual content. A classic to be read by all horror fans!

very scary, but I must warn you that it does get really in depth at times
scarier than the movie, gave me nightmares

The Exorcist has been my favorite movie for years, so I looked forward to reading this eagerly. It didn't disappoint. The only "issue" I had was the way that Detective Kinderman rambles. It almost made the book stutter. There's also more information on the beginning, in the desert, which seems really out of place in the movie. It makes much more sense in the book.

this was a book i was given by my dad. i watched the movie in high school, and so i thought i would watch this movie. i almost stopped reading 20 pages in, because i thought the writing style was horrible. i checked out reviews to see what others said, and since they all raved about it, i decided to give it more of a chance. by 25 pages in i was hooked! the movie is very true to the book, although the book is more graphic in detail. i definitely enjoyed it.

How do you describe a book which movie one has seen for more than 10 times during the past 15 years ? It is difficult to see the book as the inspiration for a great horror movie because they are so different from each other. While the movie focuses mainly on Regan's possession the book rather keeps everything a bit like a mystery. Like for example who killed the director Burke Dennings and the police detective Kinderman's investigations into his mysterious death.

However, I can imagine why a lot of people thought this book is so frightening. In some parts it becomes very clear in how Regan's behavior emerges to the surface and impacts her surroundings. For me however, it wasn't frightening at all. I believe you've got to be religious to become frightened.

The movie clearly has an advantage to let the viewer know how Regan's head turned or how her famous spider crawling looked like. But even if there would not have been a movie the book couldn't keep up with my expectations caused by the hype.

I waited eight years to read this book because the movie scared me so bad. I was not disappointed, as it was very interesting and kept my attention well. However, it did not scare me. I think what makes the idea of demon possession so frightening is actually seeing it rather than just imagining. If I had not seen the movie prior to reading the book, it would have been difficult for me to imagine a lot of Regan's physical actions during her possession. The book is not hard to understand in that it uses "big words" but the dialog switches rapidly (blink and you'll be lost). I wasn't fond of the dialog between Kinderman and Karras, as it took a while to get to the point. Kinderman seemed to ramble a bit too much and came off a bit too insecure for a 'cop,' imo. It also describes extremely graphic sexual content, satanic rituals and is best kept away from even older teens (imo). Overall, I enjoyed reading it and recommend it for those who are morbidly curious like me. ;)