What actually happens
Captain Howdy makes contact
In northern Iraq, a priest named Lankester Merrin helps with an archaeological dig at the ruins of Hatra, where a stone talisman of a winged being turns up in his hands. It puts a concerned look on his face. He visits an old statue of the same being and stares at it. The story then moves to Georgetown, where the actress Chris MacNeil is making a film with her friend Burke Dennings and renting a big house with her twelve-year-old daughter, Regan. Regan finds a spirit board and plays with it alone, then tells her mother she has been talking to someone called Captain Howdy. Elsewhere, Father Damien Karras, a psychiatrist who counsels the priests of Georgetown University, travels to New York City to see his sick mother and tells a colleague he is having a crisis of faith. At a party at the house, Regan appears looking unwell, and later her bed shakes violently. Karras's mother dies, and his friend Father Joseph Dyer consoles him for not being there.
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The stairs outside Regan's window
Regan turns violent, and medical tests find nothing physically wrong. A doctor visiting the house sees her show unnatural strength and adult behavior and speak in an otherworldly voice. One night Chris comes home to find the house empty apart from a sleeping Regan. Dennings, who had been left in charge, is found dead at the bottom of the public stairs that start under Regan's window. Detective William Kinderman questions Karras, mentions that Dennings's head was turned backward, and tells Chris the only reasonable explanation is that someone pushed him out of Regan's window. This is the scene people brace for: as Kinderman leaves, Regan, scarred and bloody, has another violent fit, uses a crucifix on herself, turns her head backward and speaks in Dennings's voice. Afterward she is kept in her bedroom, strapped to the bed. It happens before Karras is called in.
Tap water and backward English
Convinced that her daughter is possessed, Chris asks Karras for help. Regan tells him she is the Devil, vomits in his face and speaks in tongues, and the demon says it will stay until she dies. Karras flings holy water at her, and she reacts violently and speaks in a strange language that he records. He tells Chris afterward that it was ordinary tap water, and he starts doubting the possession. A linguist analyzes the recording and says it is perfect English spoken backward. Then Sharon Spencer, who works for Chris, phones Karras and asks him to come to the house at night, where the words 'help me' have appeared carved from the inside of Regan's stomach. Karras decides an exorcism is justified. His superior approves, on the condition that an experienced priest leads it, so Merrin, who has performed one before, is called in.
Two priests and one nitroglycerin pill
Merrin arrives, and he and Karras read from the Roman Ritual while the demon curses them. They take a break, and Merrin, shaking, takes nitroglycerin. Karras goes into the bedroom alone, where the demon appears to him as his mother. He insists it doesn't bother him, and it does. Merrin sends Karras out and continues by himself. Chris asks Karras whether Regan will die, and he promises her she won't. When he goes back into the room, he finds Merrin dead of a heart attack and Regan watching and laughing.
The ending, explained
Furious, Karras hits Regan and orders the demon to take him in her place. The demon tears the Saint Joseph medallion off his neck and does exactly that, and Regan is freed. So the demon can't harm her again, Karras throws himself through the window and tumbles down the stone stairs outside and dies. Chris holds the freed Regan while Kinderman looks over the room, and outside, Dyer gives the dying Karras his last rites. Later the MacNeils pack to leave and Dyer says goodbye. Regan remembers nothing of what happened, but the sight of his clerical collar moves her to kiss him on the cheek. Chris hands Dyer the medallion, which was found in Regan's room, and Dyer studies the steps where Karras died for a moment, then leaves.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog dies, which is the only mercy here.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Exorcist scary?
Yes, The Exorcist is a 7.5 out of 10 with high dread. It builds slowly, then delivers several upsetting scenes involving a twelve-year-old's possession, with a few jump scares along the way.
How does The Exorcist end?
The exorcism frees Regan, but Father Merrin dies of a heart attack and Father Karras throws himself out of the window after the demon moves into him. Regan remembers none of it.
Does the dog die in The Exorcist?
No dog dies in The Exorcist.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Exorcist?
No. The Exorcist has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Captain Howdy in The Exorcist?
Captain Howdy is the name Regan gives the entity she says she contacted with a spirit board. Soon after, she becomes violent and starts speaking in a strange voice, and the exorcism is how the priests try to get the entity out.
