THE Exorcist movie has sent chills down the spines of horror film fans ever since the Seventies.
The 1973 scenes, branded the “scariest ever”, centred on possessed 12-year-old child Regan MacNeil and saw terrified cinemagoers vomiting and fainting when the flick hit screens.
Yet the nail-biting plotline, showing Regan play with a Ouija board to tap into the terrors of the spiritual world, also prompted series of unfortunate events that happened off-screen.
Several surprising occurences led to claims that the film was “cursed” – after deaths and injuries on set.
Now we take a look at some of the troubled film’s cast – and where they are now.
Ellen, now 91, played actress and single mother Chris MacNeil who relocated to Washington DC with her daughter.
She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Regan’s petrified parent.
Yet during filming, she suffered a spinal injury while being hoisted around on a harness.
The Michigan-born actress was left on crutches for the rest of the production and recalled the accident during a 2018 interview with The Guardian.
She has since starred in Requiem For A Dream, Queen Bees and The Exorcist: Believer spin-off.
Linda, now 65, played possessed schoolgirl Regan MacNeil.
The actress won an Academy Award for her absolutely terrifying role, which saw her head left spinning in a worrying paranormal moment and killing her friends and family.
During filming, she suffered a back injury after being strapped to a harness which suffered a technical malfunction.
In an eerie moment off-screen, she also suffered the loss of family members while the project was being filmed.
Linda then went on to star in movies Savage Streets, Roller Boogie and Born Innocent.
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Jack played the eccentric film director Burke Dennings and in the film, he was killed by demon-plagued Regan.
His character was attacked by the possessed child, who used her superhuman strength to break his neck and then flung him out of her bedroom window.
Ahead of the film’s release, Jack tragically died from complications related to influenza, which he caught during the London flu epidemic in 1973.
Some believe this was a sign of The Exorcist film’s “curse.”
The actress played Father Damien Karras’ mother, Mary.
She passed away that same year before The Exorcist hit the big screen.
The star, who had no previous acting experience and was cast after being spotted at a restaurant, was ruled to have died from “natural causes” at an inquest.
In the film, Vasiliki’s character died after being admitted to a hospital and later haunted the dreams of Father Karras.
He played man of the cloth and paleontologist, Father Merrin, who performed Regan’s exorcism.
He died, aged 90, in 2000 at his home in France.
Yet prior to his passing, the Swedish-born star enjoyed a stellar career on screen.
He starred in more than 200 films, TV and radio programmes including Shutter Island and the Game of Thrones TV series.
Jason played Father Damien Karras, who helped Father Merrin in Regan’s exorcism.
Yet his role was short-lived, as the demon jumped into his own body instead, causing him to kill himself.
Since the movie he starred in a host of Exorcist spin-offs before his death, aged 62, in 2001.
