William Peter Blatty was broke.
By the late 1960s, the man who would eventually terrify the world with The Exorcist was living on unemployment and feeling like a wash-up. He wasn't a "horror guy." He was a comedy writer. A funny man. He had written a Pink Panther movie for Pete's sake. But the jokes weren't landing anymore, and the bills were piling up.
He locked himself in a cabin in Lake Tahoe with a stack of research about a 1949 case of a boy in Maryland who allegedly spoke in tongues and levitated. Blatty thought he was writing a "supernatural detective story." He honestly didn't think it was that scary while he was typing it.
The world, as you've probably guessed, felt differently.
The William Peter Blatty Books Everyone Ignores
When people talk about William Peter Blatty books, they usually stop at the girl with the rotating head. That's a mistake. Blatty's bibliography is a weird, jagged mountain range of slapstick humor, existential dread, and deep Catholic guilt.
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Before the demons arrived, Blatty was a master of the farce. His early novels like Which Way to Mecca, Jack? (1960) and John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1963) are basically precursors to the ZAZ-style comedies of the 80s. They are frantic. They are silly. They are absolutely nothing like the dark, rainy streets of Georgetown.
The "Killer" Kane Connection
One of his most fascinating projects—and the one he often said was his best work—is Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane.
Later retitled The Ninth Configuration, this book is a trip. It's set in a remote castle that the military has turned into an asylum for soldiers who "cracked." The main character, a psychiatrist named Kane, might be crazier than the patients. Blatty uses this setting to argue about the existence of God. He basically says that if there is such a thing as "pure evil," there has to be "pure good." It's a heavy, philosophical workout disguised as a black comedy.
Why The Exorcist Still Matters (and What Most People Get Wrong)
Most people think The Exorcist is about a demon. It isn't. Not really.
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Blatty wrote it as an argument for faith. He was a devout Catholic who wanted to prove that the spiritual world was real. If he could make you believe in the Devil, he'd successfully made you believe in God by proxy. It’s an "apologetic" wrapped in a nightmare.
The book is also way more "clinical" than the movie. Blatty spends pages and pages on medical tests—EEGs, blood work, spinal taps. He wanted the reader to exhaust every possible scientific explanation for Regan's behavior before he let the "supernatural" into the room.
- The prose is dense. It’s not a breezy beach read.
- The character of Kinderman is the secret sauce. He’s a Columbo-style detective who loves movies and philosophy.
- The 40th Anniversary Edition is the one you want. Blatty went back in 2011 and added a "polishing" pass, including a new scene involving a "diminutive bird" that is deeply unsettling.
The Forgotten Sequel: Legion
If you’ve only seen Exorcist II: The Heretic, please forget it exists. Blatty had nothing to do with it, and he hated it.
Instead, look for Legion (1983).
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This is the true successor to the original. It follows Detective Kinderman as he investigates a series of murders that look like the work of the long-dead Gemini Killer. There are no pea-soup vomit scenes here. Instead, it’s a psychological thriller about the nature of the soul. It’s arguably better written than its predecessor, even if it’s less "iconic."
The Late Career "Trilogy"
Toward the end of his life, Blatty went back to his roots.
He published Dimiter in 2010. It’s a "spiritual thriller" set in 1970s Albania. It’s confusing, fast-paced, and deals with a mysterious prisoner who might be a saint or a spy. Then there’s Crazy, a nostalgic, funny, and heartbreaking look at growing up in 1940s New York.
These aren't horror novels. They are explorations of the "Great Beyond." Blatty was obsessed with what happens after we die because he was desperately looking for his son, Peter, who died at 19. His final non-fiction book, Finding Peter, isn't about ghosts; it's about what he believed was actual evidence of his son communicating from the other side.
Actionable Next Steps for Blatty Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of William Peter Blatty books, don't just stick to the bestsellers.
- Read The Ninth Configuration first. It bridges the gap between his comedy and his horror perfectly.
- Track down Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing. It’s a hilarious, bitter fable about his time in Hollywood that explains why he walked away from the industry for years.
- Listen to the audiobooks. Blatty had a deep, gravelly voice that sounds like a man telling you a secret in a dark bar. He narrated several of his own books, and it’s the definitive way to experience them.
William Peter Blatty wasn't just the guy who made you afraid of the dark. He was a man who used the dark to help people find the light. Or at least, he tried to make them laugh while they were looking for it.