If "The Exorcist" is real... (video)

Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Frightism

If "The Exorcist" is real -- and it is, after all, based on a true story the author William Peter Blatty heard about when he was studying at Georgetown University -- doesn't that mean there are demons, devils, rakshasas, asuras, pretas, narakas?

There may not ultimately speaking be a self, but there is this ever-changing heap of Five Aggregates. That's the "soul," the psyche, the spirit, the gandharva (Pali gandabba). It is not what we think, but it is not nothing either.

There are -- apart from form or our bodies -- feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness which we cling to as "self," as our abiding identity, as our core ego.

And that amalgamation or composite self can become "possessed," taken over by powerful and negative forces. There are spiritual rules for this, freewill, and the bad spirits have to be invited in, but they trick their way in.

Bon shamans, lamas: demon dance

Then monastics or shamans or priests need to be brought in to release an individual from their grip and influence of nonhuman individuals. That's scary.

We are not ourselves, but even the impersonal self we cling to -- which feels like it is me and mine -- can be lost to others. Theravada monks will chant parittas or protective chants, and Vajrayana lamas will do rituals and ceremonies influenced by Bon shamanism and black magic of Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal. Mongolian shamans may have to be brought in.

Whether it's all psychological or much more, who can know? The victims and those around them feel it's objectively real for the paranormal phenomena that happens around the possessed. Something's happening. And something happened to a child in the U.S. that led to this film being made. There is a supernatural (which is actually just natural in Buddhism) world and we remain blind to it most of the time.

Newly discovered behind-the-scenes footage!

(Behind The Exorcist) This is a compilation of newly surfaced behind-the-scenes footage from "The Exorcist."

It features never-before-seen superimposition tests and outtake footage revealing Jason Miller's infamous reaction to being shot in the face with a concoction of Andersen's pea soup and oatmeal.

Hollywood's Linda Blair, Regan, The Exorcist

Also included are different takes of child actress Linda Blair ("Regan") filming the projectile vomiting scene, which was originally screen tested and shot with actress Eileen Dietz as the apparatus created by make-up artist Dick Smith was too uncomfortable for Blair.

Upon reviewing the dailies, director William Friedkin decided he was not satisfied with the "spray" effect Smith's apparatus achieved, so he re-shot the scene with Blair miming the actions. A thicker stream of vomit was then superimposed over the shot and remains one of the few optical effects in the film.

Regan's bedroom is also noticeably different to how it appears in the film. Friedkin was unimpressed by original production designer John Robert Lloyd's work, so he quickly replaced him with Bill Malley, who opted for a more monochromatic look.

Why is this movie so scary?

(Behind The Exorcist) "The Exorcist" - Based on a true story of an American boy who was possessed by inimical spirits, Ellen Burstyn reflects on why the film is still scary. Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn chats with the Hudson Union Society on the making of The Exorcist and why it's still scary after 40-odd years. She mentions her spiritual/meditation practice and how she was warned about the danger of what she was depicting and how police, in particular the very racist LAPD, were in the habit of killing unarmed black men even then.

Beyond comprehension: Forty years after William Peter Blatty's novel was published, The Exorcist's author returns to where it all began (Tania Gomez).