Book · 1971
The Exorcist
by William Peter Blatty
A washed-up priest and an aging exorcist face down whatever has taken over a twelve-year-old girl in a Georgetown townhouse.
What does Reddit think of The Exorcist?
r/horrorlit and r/suggestmeabook agree on this one more than they agree on almost anything else in the genre. The corpus is lopsided toward praise: one excerpt calls the original 'fan-fucking-tastic' in the same breath as admitting the genre it spawned is mostly garbage (↑132), and the audiobook read by William Peter Blatty himself gets cited twice as one of the best in any genre, not just horror. The visceral-reaction stories do the real selling. One ↑93 excerpt describes finishing the book, turning on every light in the house, and going to bed with them on. Another (↑108) passes along the story of a reader who got so scared they threw the book in the ocean, then bought a replacement anyway. Nobody in the displayed excerpts pushes back on any of this. The closest thing to friction is genre snobbery about horror generally, not doubt about this book specifically.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Faith cracking under a case medicine can't explain
- · The audiobook praised as its own artifact, not just narration
- · Turning every light in the house on afterward, literally
- · A genre-founding book judged apart from the genre it spawned
Common praise
- + The Blatty-narrated audiobook gets cited on its own as one of the best in any genre (↑97).
- + A ↑93 reader turns on every light in the house and goes to bed with them lit.
- + One fan calls the original 'fan-fucking-tastic' while trashing almost everything it inspired (↑132).
Common criticism
- − No displayed excerpt raises a specific complaint about the book itself; the top-voted takes are pure recommendation.
Who it's for
Read it if you want the audiobook Blatty narrated himself, cited twice in the sample as one of the best in any genre. Horror fans burned out on modern splatter will find this holds up differently: r/horrorlit's ↑93 excerpt describes finishing it and leaving every light in the house on for the rest of the night. Bring a high tolerance for religious horror specifically, since the plot runs through Catholic doctrine and doubt, not general dread. If a book has to physically spook you to count as horror, per the account that threw a copy into the ocean out of fear (↑108), this is the test case.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Exorcist?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“The Exorcist. I loved it so much I read it twice. I’m a horror fan but haven’t seen or read anything lately that gives me the fright that I like. Exorcist did that for me.
“It’s responsible for an entire genre—and most of it is s***, but the original The Exorcist is fan-f******-tastic. Get the audiobook read by the author, it’ll knock your socks off!
“**The Boy Who Drew Monsters** by Keith Donohue **Revival** by Stephen King Both good "I did NOT see that coming books. If you want a "this got me F***** UP" that'll be **The Exorcist** by William Peter Blatty, my friend.
“The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty read by the author is one of the of the best audio books I've listened to of any genre.
“One of the most literary horror books I’ve read is *The Exorcist*, hands down. Such an incredibly well-written book.
“**The Exorcist** there are some scenes in that book that literally had me going OH MY GOD WHAT THE F*** NOOOOOOO. when i was done reading the book i turned on every single light in my house and went to bed. no other book has made me do that. the movi…
“The Exorcist was one of the most riveting books I've ever read. Highly recommended.
“The Exorcist is the only book that ever gave me literal nightmares. I'm not even religious, but possession freaks me the hell out. Every time I put the book down, I made sure it was face down.
“The Exorcist is the only book that kept me up at night. I read it after seeing the movie too. The book was really unsettling to me in a “please, leave the lights on” kind of way
“Misery by Stephen King. I’ve read a lot of his books and this is the only one that really freaked me out. Nothing supernatural, just pure realistic terror. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. Scared me completely s*******. In broad daylight. As a person coming from a religious background this te…
“The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. It's what the movie was based on, and it manages to be just as scary and unnerving.
“The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. The story is just so fully detailed it feels like reality. I read it first in my mid-teens, and was so spooked I threw my copy out after finishing it. The book really felt like it had a curse on it.
“The Exorcist. Most people know this as a sensationalist scary movie. The book is much deeper, nuanced, and emotional. I sobbed at the end.
“The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty It’s been 4 years since I read this book, and I still think about it.
“The Exorcist by William Blatty! Especially on audiobook read by the author himself - his weary, haunted, gravelly & heavy voice just adds something extra to the whole experience. Besides that, the story is pretty solid, too. He goes in-depth of the crisis of faith of one of the main characters & jus…
Convinced? Pick up The Exorcist
What else does r/horrorlit read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
The Exorcist — frequently asked
Is The Exorcist still scary in 2026?+
Yes, per the top excerpts. An r/horrorlit excerpt (↑93) says finishing it meant turning on every light in the house and sleeping with them on, and a second (↑108) recounts someone throwing their copy in the ocean out of fear. Both read as sincere, not internet exaggeration, and neither displayed excerpt disputes the intensity.
Should I read The Exorcist or just watch the movie?+
The book, if the audiobook is on the table. Two separate r/horrorlit excerpts (↑132, ↑97) single out the Blatty-narrated audiobook specifically, one calling it one of the best in any genre. The displayed data doesn't compare book to film directly, but nobody makes a case for skipping the source text.
Is The Exorcist just about the movie's shock scenes?+
No, per r/horrorlit's ↑93 excerpt, which calls it 'one of the most literary horror books I've read' and praises the writing specifically, not just the scares. That sits alongside the visceral-reaction stories rather than replacing them; commenters cite both the prose and the fear response.
Does The Exorcist hold up against modern horror recommendations?+
The displayed r/horrorlit and r/suggestmeabook excerpts treat it as a default answer, not a nostalgia pick — one thread pairs it with newer titles like The Boy Who Drew Monsters and Revival as equally valid 'this got me messed up' picks (↑112). Nothing in the sample treats it as dated.