Editing The Exorcist (novel) (section)

==Inspirations==
Aspects of the Father Merrin character were based on the British archaeologist [[Gerald Lankester Harding]], who had excavated the caves where the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] had been found and whom Blatty had met in Beirut. Blatty has stated that Harding "was the physical model in my mind when I created the character [of Merrin], whose first name, please note, is Lankester".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theninthconfiguration.com/2009/ |title=A website dedicated to William Peter Blatty, The Ninth Configuration & Legion |publisher=TheNinthConfiguration.com |access-date=March 31, 2014 |archive-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830072847/https://www.theninthconfiguration.com/2009/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Another inspiration was the Jesuit theologian [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]], a trained archeologist who worked on several notable digs.<ref name="Friedkin THR memoir excerpt">{{Cite news |last=Friedkin |first=William |author-link=William Friedkin |date=April 26, 2013 |title='Exorcist' Director William Friedkin Reveals the Struggle to Make the Classic Film |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/exorcist-director-william-friedkin-reveals-444127/ |access-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002172033/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/exorcist-director-william-friedkin-reveals-444127/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Aspects of the novel were inspired by an exorcism performed by the Jesuit priest, Fr. [[William S. Bowdern]], who formerly taught at both St. Louis University and [[St. Louis University High School]]. Recent investigative research by freelance journalist Mark Opsasnick indicates that this was the real 1949 exorcism of a young boy from [[Cottage City, Maryland]], whom Opsasnick refers to using the pseudonyms [[Robbie Mannheim]] and Roland Doe. The boy was sent to his relative's home on Roanoke Drive in St. Louis where most of the exorcism took place.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html |title=Part I – The Haunted Boy: the Inspiration for the Exorcist |publisher=Strangemag.com |access-date=March 31, 2014 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003052203/http://www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, according to the journalist: "There is simply too much evidence that indicates that as a boy he [Roland Doe] had serious emotional problems stemming from his home life. There is not one shred of hard evidence to support the notion of demonic possession".

Blatty refers to the [[Loudun possessions]] and the [[Louviers possessions]] throughout the story, mostly when Fr. Karras is researching possession and exorcism to present the case to his superiors.<ref>Pages 245–250 in the 40th Anniversary edition.</ref> He also has one of his characters tell a brief story about an unnamed fraudulent [[Mediumship|medium]] who had studied to be a Jesuit priest. This story can be found in ''Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research'', Vol. 114. 1930, in an article about fraudulent practices by [[Daniel Dunglas Home]].<ref>Count Petrovsky-Petrovo-Solovo. "Some Thoughts on D.D. Home". In ''Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research'', Vol. 114. 1930. Quoted in John Casey (2009), ''After Lives: A Guide to Heaven, Hell and Purgatory''. Oxford. pp. 373–374.</ref>

It has been speculated that [[Shirley McLaine]], a former neighbor of the Blattys in California, may have been the basis for the Chris MacNeil character. The last name is similar; "Neil" may be an anagram of "Laine."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laycock |first=Joseph |date=2009 |title=The Folk Piety of William Peter Blatty: ''The Exorcist'' in the Context of Secularization |url=https://www.religjournal.com/pdf/ijrr05006.pdf |journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion |volume=5 |page=13 |issn=1556-3723 |access-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012191717/https://www.religjournal.com/pdf/ijrr05006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Another correspondence between life and art: at the time Blatty knew MacLaine, she, like Chris MacNeil, had a married European couple as household staff. In addition, Blatty incorporated quotes from McLaine into the novel's dialogue.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCabe| first=Bob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iK1VyIuJp4AC&pg=PA138 |title=The Exorcist |publisher=Omnibus |year=1999|page=23|isbn=0-7119-7509-4 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428033826/https://books.google.com/books?id=iK1VyIuJp4AC&pg=PA138 |archive-date=April 28, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref>