The Exorcist draws on many influences, most notably Rosemary's Baby - Nastro rosso a New York (1968); but also Henry James' classic horror story about childhood possession, The Turn of the Screw. At the end of that novella, in a scene very similar to the exorcism scene in "The Exorcist", the governess (who is called Miss Giddens in the movie) shouts at Miles, the possessed boy in the story, to be released from the evil spirit that has been possessing him. At that point some sort of evil presence appears, and then Miles collapses and dies. This is very similar to the scene when Karras shouts at the demon to leave Regan, Pazuzu then enters Karras, and then Karras commits suicide and dies. Also, the scenes where we see Pazuzu's face appearing are similar to the scenes in Turn of the Screw where we see the face of the evil spirit appearing. (This happens in a very dramatic scene in the film version of Turn of the Screw, 1961's The Innocents, with Deborah Kerr, where Miss Giddens sees the demonic face of the spirit suddenly peering through a window, looking at her from the outside.) These scenes had a huge influence on The Exorcist.

Film

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