The Exorcist Legacy : The most head-spinning revelations from history of horror franchise

What an excellent day for some light reading about horror.

Writer Nat Segaloff's book The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear (out July 25) relates the history of the Exorcist franchise — from William Peter Blatty's original 1971 novel, through director William Friedkin's 1973 big-screen adaptation, to director David Gordon Green's upcoming movie sequel The Exorcist: Believer — recounting the cultural phenomenon's first half-century. The book features interviews with some of those most intimately involved, including Blatty, Green, Ellen Burstyn, and Louise Fletcher, as well as a foreword from John Russo, who wrote 1968's horror classic Night of the Living Dead with George Romero.

Here are five head-spinning revelations from the tome.

Everett Collection Linda Blair in 'The Exorcist'

There were a lot of rumors about The Exorcist author

Blatty wrote both the novel The Exorcist and the screenplay for Friedkin's 1973 film, which starred Burstyn as actress Chris MacNeil and Linda Blair as her demonically-possessed daughter Regan. Over time, the author discovered there were a lot of strange rumors being spread about him as a result of his scary storytelling. The late Blatty told Segaloff, "I'd heard that people were saying that underneath the house where I used to live, I had a subterranean room that was all black — black statues — where I would conduct a black mass. Where do these things begin? There was a friend of my former wife who got a rumor from another girl that the reason I decided to move out of Los Angeles was that my child was born possessed and had no eyes."

The character of Chris MacNeil was inspired by Shirley MacLaine

Blatty was friends with Shirley MacLaine and based the character of MacNeil on the actress. In The Exorcist Legacy, Burstyn recounts having dinner with The Apartment star and all-around Hollywood legend and talking about the movie. "I found out that, from Shirley's point of view, Chris MacNeil was her role, and in her words, she referred to me as 'the one who stole that role' from her," says Burstyn. "But I don't think that Bill Blatty ever meant to cast her. I don't think he wrote it for her, which is the way she interpreted it, but that he used her as the model."

Psycho composer Bernard Herrmann declined to write the music for The Exorcist

Psycho and Citizen Kane composer Bernard Herrmann flew from his home in England to Los Angeles so he could watch a rough cut of The Exorcist, which Friedkin wanted him to score. Afterward, according to a story recounted by author Segaloff, Friedkin told Herrmann that he wanted him "to write me a better score than the one you wrote for Citizen Kane." Herrmann replied, "Then you should have made a better movie than Citizen Kane," and returned to London.

Pretty much everyone hated the first sequel (except for Martin Scorsese)

Director John Boorman's 1977 sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic was widely disliked by both critics and audiences. According to Segaloff, one exhibitor joked that "theaters need two lines for Exorcist II: one to sell tickets and another to give refunds." The film does have its fans including Martin Scorsese. "I like the first Exorcist, because of the Catholic guilt I have, and because it scared the hell out of me," Segaloff quotes the Goodfellas filmmaker as saying. "But The Heretic surpasses it. Maybe Boorman failed to execute the material, but the movie still deserved better than it got."

Ellen Burstyn got "lots and lots and lots of benefits" for agreeing to appear in the new Exorcist film

When director Green approached Burstyn about appearing in The Exorcist: Believer, the first of a planned trilogy, the actress initially declined. "It was more money [than] I ever would have earned on any movie in my lifetime," Burstyn told Segaloff. "And I said no. And they surprised me and doubled the offer." As a further condition of her signing on to the movie, the actress asked the production to finance a scholarship fund for the Actors Studio Master's Degree Program at Pace University. "Then we played the up-the-ante game for a while until I finally got lots and lots and lots of benefits," said Burstyn. "So I shot that and I am Chris MacNeil and that's all I'm at liberty to say."

Citadel Press Cover of 'The Exorcist Legacy'

The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear is available July 25.

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