Blatty reads an excerpt from The Exorcist

Bill also appeared on the main program.

Link for those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RXMdgwB74s

A very good reading by Mr Blatty. Prior to ever seeing the movie, I first read the book, to actually give a voice to the characters in the book is something we all do, we hear our own voice in our heads whilst reading, but to make them real we attach our own idea of how each character would sound. During the prose, Blatty goes to great length to describe the Demon’s voice, “deep gutteral” or croaking with lips cracking and breathy, and full of menace, so we try to imitate that whilst reading, it certainly adds to the impact of the story.

Whilst reading we try to imagine how that would sound. One interesting thought is, now having seen the movie and returning to the novel, the only sound we here is that of the Demon on film, expertly done by Mercedes McCambridge, prior to that how does one voice a Demon/Devil. there must a million imitations out there in various low budget movies in a effort to emulate The Exorcist. it is a testament to Mr Blatty’s skill as a writer that he creates the characters so vividly that the bulk of the work is already done when giving life to them whilst reading. You instantly imagine Damien Karras, Italian/American ex boxer as this rugged but warm person battling his own demons, Father Lancaster Merrin as this hugely pious figure who commands respect and exudes authority, Regan, the bounding innocent child who becomes the focus of this malevolent entity. Kinderman, who is like your favourite uncle or grandfather, a very warm and engaging character and Chris McNeil, the angst ridden mother of Regan, all of these characters are beautifully created and given life and personalities and we get drawn in and feel for their plight. The peripheral characters also add hugely to the story, Burke Dennings, Chris’s director, a hopeless lonely drunkard who is secretly in love with chris, father Dyer, who could have known that years later he would be drawn into and become a victim of the Demon (Legion). It is these reasons that the story works on so many levels and why it is so highly regarded as a classic.