It’s been named the scariest movie of all time by multiple publications! Entertainment Weekly gave it the honor in 1999, AMC in 2006, and Movies.com in 2010.

Nine people associated with the movie died violently, mysteriously, or during/immediately after filming, including actor Jack MacGowran (flu) and actress Vasiliki Maliaros (natural causes).

Linda Blair, who was 14 years old when the film hit theatres, received so many death threats that Warner Bros hired police bodyguards to live with the Blair Family. The threats continued for years…

During its theatrical release, the film made some audience members nauseous, to the point where some theatres began handing out barf bags with every ticket. Probably saved the clean-up crew a lot of time!

So that the actors’ breath could be seen, Director William Friedkin had the set of Regan’s bedroom refrigerated all night. That’s four giant air conditioners running overnight, in order to reach a temperate of -30 to -40 degrees.

The set for the interior of the MacNeil house caught on fire during the shoot, caused by a pigeon that flew into a circuit box and ignited an electrical fire. The creepy part is, the set was totally destroyed, except for Regan’s room.

In order for actress Mercedes McCambridge to achieve the voice of the demon, she adhered to a diet of chain smoking, raw eggs and whiskey on set. Doesn’t sound too bad…

Director Friedkin also fired real guns behind actors during filming to purposefully startle them. That’s one way to scar your cast for life…

The film’s infamous vomiting scene was actually shot using two actors. Because the puking apparatus was too uncomfortable for Blair, who had an aversion to vegetables, the scene was originally filmed with actress Eileen Dietz. The two scenes were later superimposed.

How about this— the book the movie was based on was inspired by a real exorcism, which took place on a young boy in Maryland in 1949. Apparently, the exorcism cured the boy after several weeks, although journalists are skeptical about the whole thing, with many calling it bullshit.

The film was so scary that it was banned from various stores across the United Kingdom. In 1988, it was fully banned across the country, before being legally released again in 1998 with an 18+ rating.

Although the name of the demon who possessed Regan was never said in the film, a statue briefly shown in the film’s introduction is that of Pazuzu, an ancient Assyrian and Babylonian demon. This demon is wild, with human arms ending in claws, two pairs of wings, a scorpion’s tale, an erect penis, and a snarling canine mouth. Wtf…

The man who played Father Dyer in the film was a real Jesuit priest. He served as a technical advisor to the film, and taught Theology at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester for 24 years.

The various archeological dig scenes were filmed on location in Hatra, Iraq, in lieu of a fake site in California. As US and Iraq relations weren’t great at the time (when are they?), the scenes were shot by an English crew.

The iconic scene of the priest arriving at the home was inspired by a series of three oil paintings called The Empire of Light, created by Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte.

It was the first horror film to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with nine other noms. To this day, The Silence of the Lambs is the only film to win Best Picture.

Thanks in part to the film’s various re-releases throughout the years, it ended up grossing over $441 million worldwide. Today, that puts it in a tie for 239th all time.

In Washington, D.C., you can find one of the film’s location landmarks: a set of stone stairs which Regan threw Father Karras down in the film. They’re known today as “The Exorcist Steps.” Considering she throws him out of a window and down 40 feet, I have a feeling that’s outrageously unrealistic.

On the first day of filming the exorcism sequence, Linda Blair’s delivery of her profanity-ridden dialogue disturbed actor Max von Sydow so much that he actually forgot his lines.

According to Director Friedkin, the subliminal (and horrifying) shots of the white faced demon are actually rejected makeup tests for Regan’s possessed appearance.