Of Font & Film: Influence and inspiration
Michael Lister | Special to The News Herald
Influence is an interesting thing.
When "The Exorcist" was published I was 3 years old.
I was 5 when the movie based on it was released.
The book and the film had no impact on me at the time, but they changed the world I was so newly born into in ways we're still discovering. They also were hugely influential on my fifth John Jordan novel, "Blood Sacrifice" some 40 years after they first came out.
In "Blood Sacrifice" ex-cop/prison chaplain John Jordan investigates the death of a young woman who was undergoing exorcism when she was killed. It's a mystery novel, a suspense thriller, but it's also a meditation on the nature of good and evil and the influence of "The Exorcist" on American popular culture.
While doing research for "Blood Sacrifice," I came across the nonfiction book "American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty" by Michael Cuneo.
The book is described by its publisher as "a guided tour through the burgeoning business of exorcism and the darker side of American life. There is no other religious ritual more fascinating, or more disturbing, than exorcism. This is particularly true in America today, where the ancient rite has a surprisingly strong hold on our imagination, and on our popular entertainment industry. We've all heard of exorcism, seen the movies and read the books, but few of us have ever experienced it firsthand."
"Publisher's Weekly" called the book "Lucidly written and riveting as any horror novel, Cuneo's excursion into the darker paths of American faith offers a deeply disturbing, ironic vision of what he sees as the unintended consequences of popular culture for the modern religious imagination."
Influence is interesting because its presence is often unknown to us, undetected by us. "The Exorcist" influenced me and had an influence on my novel long before I ever saw it. Its impact was indirect –– on the culture I inhabited instead of me directly. In general I'm not a fan of supernatural thrillers and didn't even see "The Exorcist" until relatively recently.
I, and therefore my novel, was far more directly influenced by works that were influenced by "The Exorcist" than "The Exorcist" itself. "Legion," the novel written by William Peter Blatty –– and that he later adapted and directed for the big screen was far more influential. So was "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." Like "Blood Sacrifice," both of these stories explore the subject with more psychological, theological, and cultural complexity than the original that was influencing us all.
And speaking of influence, the studio wouldn't allow Blatty to call his film "Legion" like he wanted to, but instead insisted that it be titled "The Exorcist III."
Like Lt. Kinderman, the investigator in "The Exorcist III," John Jordan questions everything –– including whether or not what is called demon possession is actually instead a psychological condition. And both men are convinced murder is committed by human rather than spiritual culprits.
Both "The Exorcist III" and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" provided far more than influence for "Blood Sacrifice." They provided inspiration. And for that I am extremely grateful. "Blood Sacrifice," which won a Florida Book Award last year, has become one of my best selling, most well reviewed, and popular novels –– something I'm indebted to the influence and inspiration of others for. Art is never created in a vacuum.
I highly recommend "American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty," "Legion," and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," and, out of love and appreciation for them and you, gentle reader, you can also try "Blood Sacrifice" for less than a dollar on Amazon Kindle today. I hope you will. And if you do, I hope you will look carefully for influences and inspirations. They're everywhere.