T H E D E V I L A N D P O E C O M PA R I N G T H E E X O R I S T A N D T H E W O R K S O F E D G A R A L L A N P O E

A P R E S E N TA T I O N B Y M R . M A R T I N

I N T O D AY ’ S P R E S E N TAT I O N

• Compare the film version of The Exorcist (1973) to the works studied in Mr. Martin’s class.

• Study the cultural effects of both William Friedkin’s film and the works of Poe.

T H E E X O R C I S T B A C K G R O U N D

• Adapted from William Peter Blatty novel.

• Inspired by 1949 case of Roland Doe.

• Won 10 Academy Awards and became one of the highest earning films of all time.

- “ T H E T E L L - TA L E H E A R T ” B Y E D G A R A L L A N P O E

“If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of

the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the

head and the arms and the legs.”

T H E C O N N E C T I O N T O R E A L L I F E

• In “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the story takes place firmly within the

Spanish Inquisition. (“And the death

just avoided, was of that very character which I had regarded as fabulous and frivolous in the tales respecting the Inquisition.”)

• Connection to the real-life story of Roland Doe, an exorcism case in the 1940s.

• Both of these work to use real world situations to scare their audiences with a “this could really happen” mindset.

T H E C U LT U R A L I M PA C T O F F E A R

• Many believed that spirits had “cursed” the production of The Exorcist, including 9 cast/crew members dying during filming or near the release of the film. The set also caught on fire in two separate occasions (Cursed Movies).

• During the time, people believed that Edgar Allan Poe performed the murders that he described in such detail. Also, the events surrounding his death have been cloaked in mystery.

• Both of these elements have only added to the mystique of both of these texts, increasing the popularity through the legend of the works.

W O R K S C I T E D PA G E

"Cursed Movies: The Exorcist." Cursed Movies: The Exorcist. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. !"Do You Know the Terrifying ‘Real-Life’ Possession Story That Inspired ‘The Exorcist’?" The Blaze. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. !"The Exorcist." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. Oates, Joyce Carol. The Oxford Book of American Short Stories. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 1992. Print. !Poe, Edgar Allan, John Escott, and Ian Miller. The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.