THE EXORCIST (SIGNED ORIGINAL GALLEY COPY # 3 OF THE NOVEL , WARMLY INSCRIBED)

Washington DC: Author's Galley Proof, 1971. # 3. Bound Loose-Leaf. Very Good. NOTE: This is a bound galley of the Novel THE EXORCIST, a horror story about demonic possession, based upon a real life incident in the very area where the author was a seminary student. This item is NOT a movie script. It is a proof copy of the novel. The movie came out two years later, in 1973.

Black, pasteboard report folder, bound with two long screw-down rivets. 11 7/8 in. x 8 5/8 in.x 2 1/4 in. 474 pp. The title (THE EXORCIST) Silver printing on the front panel. 474 photocopied/offset pages. This is copy number # 3 of William Peter Blatty's then-unpublished novel, copies of which were sent to prospective publishers.

This early galley copy belonged to the late Beverly Gray and was obtained from her children. Mrs. Gray worked as a typist for the author, probably in Encino, California. (See text of inscription below) This moment of deep gratitude captured by this lovely and intimate inscription, occurred more than a a hafl-century ago. That fact alone is enough to turn one's head around.

When we came across this scarce artifact of what has indisputably evolved into a metaphor, an archetype and a meme all rolled into one, it had been neglected and shuffled about during the course of a handful of moves. We placed it into the hands of our able conservator with these instructions: Spruce it up, repair only what is absolutely needed to strengthen it, and preserve as much of it as is possible. The cheap, pasteboard cover with two stabholes and aluminum posts present (top screws replaced),complete text block retained and back reinforced with morocco (goat leather) at the spine, and the paper with the inscription as well as several other pages, were mended with dyed archival mulberry. The result is a loyal restoration of one cheap offset copy that a struggling and out-of-work novelist would be sending out to possible publishers; one would be hard-pressed to find someone in this country and many others, who had not at least heard of The Exorcist, or perhaps run screaming out of the movie during its most intense scenes. A fabulous and certainly collectible literary artifact. The inscription tells it all --judging from the very warm and appreciative tone of the author's words, Blatty had worked very closely with Mrs. Gray:

The (undated) inscription reads: The Inscription Reads: "FOR BEVERLY GRAY - WHO EXORCISED MY TYPOS, BROUGHT ME GOOD LUCK, AND STILL ONE OF THE VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE DEMONS WERE UP TO, EVEN AS YOU WERE TYPING IT. WITH ENORMOUS APPRECIATION, WILLIAM PETER BLATTY"



The undated inscription reads: "For Beverly Gray - who exorcised my typos, brought me good luck, and is still one of the very few people who understands what the demons were up to, even as you were typing it. With enormous appreciation, William Peter Blatty"

" ...William Peter Blatty (1928 - 2017) "was the son of deeply religious, Catholic Lebanese immigrants to New York City. His family was nearly always destitute --forced to move dozens of times because it was unable to make its rent payments - yet buoyed, he said, by his mother's deep faith 'My mom kept us going, he told The Washingtonian. 'It was the power of her faith and conviction that God would eventually make everything right...'" Blatty received a scholarship to attend Georgetown University where he entered in 1946, studying philosophy and theology via the great works of Western civilization.....Bill...was keenly aware of the spiritual warffare that surrounds us, as well as its eternal implications for each of our souls..." (from obituary issued byThomas Aquinas College, 1/16/2017)

Blatty was a senior at Georgetown University in 1949 when he heard the extraordinary story that, more than two decades later, would change his life — .... One of the priests at the university told him about a case from nearby Prince George's County in which a 14-year-old boy seemed to be possessed by a demon. After months of solemn rites of exorcism by Catholic priests, the demon appeared to be expelled. Mr. Blatty went on to sell vacuum cleaners, drive a beer truck and serve in the Air Force n the Psychological Warfare Division before becoming a comic novelist and a screenwriter in Hollywood. It seems anomalous that Blatty was the screenwriter of the 1964 Pink Panther film "A Shot in The Dark", starring Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer. Years later, out of work and out of ideas, he sat down at a typewriter and, as if possessed himself, wrote "The Exorcist." Changing the central character to a 12-year-old girl living in Georgetown, he produced a dark theological thriller that became an international blockbuster when it was published in 1971." (excerpted from Washington Post, 2017)

"After he pitched the story to an editor at Bantam Books at a cocktail party, he received a $25,000 advance ($210,000 in 2022[3]) and began writing at his home in Encino, California, taking stimulants in order to write for 16 hours a day and finish the novel in the expected 10 months" (Wikipedia)

Ironically in a damning (ed: but perhaps ultimately blessing-bestowing) review in Time Magazine, the journalist wrote of The Exorcist: "It is a pretentious, tasteless, abominably written, redundant pastiche of superficial theology, comic-book psychology, Grade C movie dialogue and Grade Z scatology. In short, The Exorcist will be a bestseller and almost certainly a drive-in movie."
(Time Magazine review: R.Z. Sheppard Monday, June 07, 1971)

The 1973 film version, for which Mr. Blatty won an Academy Award for his screenplay, revolutionized the genre of horror movies and, ... became a pop-culture phenomenon..." (Washington Post, January 13, 2017)

Released on 26 December, 1973, The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and adapted from William Peter Blatty's novel of the same name, is an enduring and thought-provoking piece of cinematic brilliance that resonates far beyond its scares.The Exorcist is not just a film; it's a visceral experience that delves into the realms of fear, faith, and the supernatural.But it is not just about the terrifying manifestations of possession; the film cleverly intertwines psychological horror with religious motifs, presenting a narrative that challenges the audience's beliefs and fears. It effectively uses the trope of possession as a vehicle to explore larger themes such as the fragility of faith, the existence of evil, and the lengths one would go to save a loved one.

"...50 years since its release, The Exorcist, through its harrowing portrayal of possession and the supernatural, challenges one to ponder the enigmatic complexities of existence - delving into the profound depths of existentialism, spirituality, and the eternal battle between good and evil..." (TBS News).