The Exorcist Spawned A Bizarre Horror Tourist Attraction During A War

William Friedkin's horror classic "The Exorcist," based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, opens in the deserts of northern Iraq, where the elderly Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) finds a mysterious, demonic sculpture. The statue depicts an animal-headed creature with angel-like wings, and a serpent between its legs. The statue is very concerning. Merrin knows that this demonic discovery will spell out evil somewhere in the world. Merrin will remain absent for the bulk of "The Exorcist," only called in to help when his vision comes true. In Washington, DC, a young girl named Regan (Linda Blair) has become bodily possessed by a demon claiming to be the Devil himself. The elderly priest will have to team up with Father Karras (Jason Miller) to remove the demon from the girl's body. 

Of course, relating details of "The Exorcist" seems like a churlish exercise, as it's one of the most popular horror movies of all time. The film spawned two sequels, a pair of warring prequels (read their story here) and a late-stage reboot. Another reboot is in the works. Additionally, "The Exorcist" remains one of the single most-imitated films of all time, its iconography reused shamelessly by multiple generations of filmmakers. To this day, any child who is possessed by a demon must be strapped to a bed and growl in pain as a priest sprinkles them with holy water. It's practically part of the natural order.

The early Iraq scenes in "The Exorcist" were actually filmed in northern Iraq, among the ruins of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Hatra. It's located about 68 miles to the southwest of Mosul, and can be visited to this day. It's also a site that certain American military soldiers recognized while they were stationed there during the Iraq War. The story goes that the soldiers, who has recently been watching "The Exorcist" on home video, went out and saw the ruins that Friedkin had filmed many decades earlier. In an interview with Vulture back in 2013, Friedkin recalled his interactions with the American military when they called to tell him they were on his old set. 

Although it was decades after the fact, a lot of the local extras from "The Exorcist" were still living in that town outside Mosul during the Iraq war ... and they remembered the film shoot with clarity. Friedkin also recalled the experience, and how startling it was to receive a call from the military about his movie. As he put it: 

"I got a call from then-lieutenant colonel David Petraeus, who had gone into Mosul with the 101st Airborne shortly after the invasion of Iraq. He said that as his soldiers were watching 'The Exorcist' on video, they realized the place they were guarding was where we had filmed the early scenes in the movie. A lot of the people who were still living there remembered me and the crew." 

Of course, once they realized this, the military decided to turn the site into a miniature film tour. The platoon donated $5,000 to the students at Mosul University, and they constructed a hasty tourist attraction where people could be taken out to the ruins to see the actual sites of "The Exorcist." According to Friedkin, the students went so far as to set up a parking lot, construct a local police station, and even build a kebab stand for visitors. Friedkin continued: 

"I think it was two or three dinar for a tour that they called 'The Exorcist Experience.' Petraeus invited me to come over and reunite with some of the people who I had worked with in Iraq. I said, 'I'll be on the next plane, just tell me when.' It kept getting postponed and postponed, and finally we lost Mosul, which is now one of the most dangerous places in Iraq. It was a most wonderful place. I'd go back today in a minute." 

It seems that Iraqi film buffs, for a fleeing few moments, could tour "The Exorcist" filming sites. It's a pity Friedkin wasn't able to go back at that time. 

To this day, though, one can still visit the Exorcist Stairs in Washington, DC.