Stairway to Hell: Revisiting the Legendary 'Exorcist' Steps on the Film's 40th Anniversary

‘The Exorcist’ has plenty of memorably terrifying moments - Reagan’s curse-laden tirades, the split-pea vomit all over Max von Sydow, the bloody crucifix scene - but the ones that always stuck with me involved the infamous ‘Exorcist’ steps. Growing up in the D.C. suburbs probably had something to do with it, as my childhood home was only a half-hour away from the famed staircase (funny enough, I knew about the steps years before I even saw the film). This Christmas marks the 40th anniversary of the release of 'The Exorcist,' originally released on December 26, 1973 In honor of its place in movie history - specifically, the four decades it has spent scaring the living crap out of audiences all over the globe - it’s worth taking a brief look back at the history of the staircase and how director William Friedken managed to turn it into a horror landmark. Continue reading…