The Exorcist steps are concrete stairs, continuing 36th Street,[1] descending from the corner of Prospect St and 36th St NW, down to a small parking lot, set back from the intersection of M Street NW, Canal Rd NW, and Whitehurst Freeway NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., famous for being featured in the 1973 film The Exorcist. The steps were built in 1895 by George Killeen,[2] a prominent local Democratic figure, during construction of the adjacent Capital Traction Company Barn for cable cars,[1] serving as a lightwell and public right of way. There is a family legend of George Killeen that the wall's construction was a handshake agreement and that Killeen was never paid for its completion. Before the Exorcist association, the stairs were informally called "Hitchcock steps"[3] for famed suspense and horror film director Alfred Hitchcock.[4]
For The Exorcist, the steps were padded with half-inch-thick (13 mm) rubber to film the fall of the character Father Damien Karras. Because the house from which Karras falls was set back slightly from the steps, the film crew constructed an eastward extension with a false front to the house in order to film the scene.[4][5][3]
In a ceremonial Halloween weekend in 2015 that featured the film's director William Friedkin and screenwriter William Peter Blatty (who also wrote the book on which the film is based), the Exorcist steps were recognized as a D.C. landmark and official tourist attraction by Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser, with a plaque unveiled at the base of the steps recognizing its importance to Washington, D.C. and film history.[6][7][8]
^ ab"Why Do the Exorcist Steps Exist in the First Place?". The Georgetown Metropolitan. October 30, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2021. There's an interesting article in the Washington Post from December 1894 profiling the elderly famous author Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth who lived in a cottage perched next door on Prospect. Here it is after she passed away when it became a bit of a tourist trap:...The cottage was demolished in 1942. In 1950 a new townhouse was constructed in its place. That is the Exorcist house
^"George Killeen, Irish Immigrant". The Washington Herald. December 3, 1919. p. 3.
^ ab"Exorcist Steps in Washington, DC". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
^ abTruitt, Brian (October 7, 2013). "'Exorcist' creators haunt Georgetown thirty years later". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
^The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0237235/
^"Ahead of Halloween, Mayor Bowser to Commemorate "Exorcist Steps"" (Press release). Washington D.C. Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment. October 26, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
^Chadbourn, Margaret (October 30, 2015). "'The Exorcist' Steps Declared a Washington DC Tourist Site". ABC News. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
^Romano, Nick (October 31, 2015). "The Exorcist steps made an official Washington D.C. tourist attraction". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
77°4′12.59″W / 38.9055444°N 77.0701639°W / 38.9055444; -77.0701639 The Exorciststeps are concrete stairs, continuing 36th Street, descending from the corner...
The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel...
The Exorcist III is a 1990 American supernatural horror film written for the screen and directed by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1983 novel Legion...
runs up the steps while playing for the Philadelphia Charge women's football team. Rocky statue in Žitište Potemkin Stairs Exorciststeps Joker Stairs...
neighborhood of multi-million-dollar properties. Culver City Stairs Exorciststeps, another long, steep, urban staircase heavily used for exercise. Stair...
streetcar lines. The adjacent Exorciststeps, later named after their appearance in William Friedkin's 1973 horror film The Exorcist, were built during the initial...
authorization from valid and licit Church authorities, and the faith of the exorcist." The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "When the Church asks publicly...
pool would take 10 days. Located at the base of the Lincoln Memorial's steps, the Reflecting Pool area has been the site of many historic events, including:...
popularly as the "Hitchcock Steps" for their spooky appeal. However, since the film's release they have been called the "Exorciststeps." The 1985 "Brat Pack"...
Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Exorciststeps Ford's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier...
Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Exorciststeps Ford's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier...
Retrieved April 26, 2007. "Third Grammar Class, Second Section, on the steps of Healy Hall at Georgetown University". Loyola Notre Dame Library. Archived...
Blue Exorcist is an anime television series based on the manga of the same name by Kazue Kato. The first season is directed by Tensai Okamura and produced...
Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Exorciststeps Ford's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier...
Center Observatory Jesuit Community Cemetery Holy Rood Cemetery Car Barn Exorciststeps Cooper Field Kehoe Field Yates Field House McDonough Gymnasium Capital...
Center Observatory Jesuit Community Cemetery Holy Rood Cemetery Car Barn Exorciststeps Cooper Field Kehoe Field Yates Field House McDonough Gymnasium Capital...
Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Exorciststeps Ford's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier...
background for the film The Exorcist. In 1990 the interior hall and also the second story of the building featured in The Exorcist III. The architecture of...
Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Exorciststeps Ford's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier...
Center Observatory Jesuit Community Cemetery Holy Rood Cemetery Car Barn Exorciststeps Cooper Field Kehoe Field Yates Field House McDonough Gymnasium Capital...
Center Observatory Jesuit Community Cemetery Holy Rood Cemetery Car Barn Exorciststeps Cooper Field Kehoe Field Yates Field House McDonough Gymnasium Capital...
Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Exorciststeps Ford's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier...
Global Information