I searched the movie for foreign languages…not the obvious ones, but rather, those that have not, perhaps, been noticed. I found Japanese, tasukete…help me! Yes, Karras’s plea for help; a plea not heard by anyone. I suppose. I found Swedish…and as it stands…I don’t speak much Swedish. Russian. Are the languages important? Some of these, most likely are not important. Nor are the obvious ones…Regan’s two Latin phrases, a sentence of Latin; such minimal and relatively common knowledge certainly doesn’t meet the requirement for the ritual. Backwards English, with corresponding tapes, not mentioned in the official requirements, is, one must agree, certainly thinking outside the Attic box. In the movie, I found another foreign language. We know about the Sow Is Mine scene. In the book, there is much more to this than in the movie. In fact, there is corresponding use of phraseology that ultimately leads to one, all-important conclusion. But as for the movie, here it is…
The exorcism is well under way, and Regan has become rather grouchy. It is worth noting that her attitude during the ritual is somewhat puzzling in one regard…
During Karras’s second visit to see Regan, she seems to relish a product also marketed fictionally by the fictional Tektonikus Table Foods and Condiments Company, the idea of an exorcism. Wouldn’t that drive the demon, or demons, as I would add based on Karras’s notion of three personalities, out of Regan? No…it would not. It would bring them closer together. To whom? To Karras. So, it seems odd that she suddenly changed her mind about being all about a key event that would, as she said, bring Karras closer to the entities. So, was she lying? If so, why? The Father of Lies? I think not. The Father of Flies? Indeed, no. Baal-Zebub was nothing more than an ancient god from the Philistine coast. Perhaps it was the presence of Merrin. It is interesting that Regan said this in the book…
That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras. Too crude. After all, I'm a prince!" A chuckle. "I much prefer persuasion, Karras; togetherness; community involvement. Moreover, if I loosen the straps myself, my friend, I deny you the opportunity of performing a charitable act.
But a charitable act," said Karras, "is a virtue and that's what the devil would want to prevent; so in fact I'd be helping you now if I didn't undo the straps. Unless, of course"--- he shrugged--- "you're really not really the devil. And in that case, perhaps I would undo the straps."
How very foxy of you, Karras. If only dear Herod were here to enjoy this.
Which Herod? asked Karras with narrowed eyes. Was she punning on Christ's calling Herod "that fox"? "There were two. Are you talking about the King of Judea?
The tetrarch of Galilee!" she blasted him with anger and scorching contempt; then abruptly she was grinning again, cajoling in that sinister voice: There, you see how these damnable straps have upset me? Undo them. Undo them and I'll tell you the future.
Very tempting.
My forte.
Now forte is a French word, one that has been adopted into English to an extent that everyone knows what it means. Regan here shows an interesting knowledge of the Bible, one that is not typical of people who don’t read or study the Bible or attend religious services that might have an impart on such knowledge. In Chthonic Descent, I wrote about the Herod family. I would also note that in the above quote, Regan’s knowledge stands in contrast to Karras’s apparent lack of matching knowledge. Herod the Great died in 7 B.C., the same year that Christ was born. He had three sons to whom he had, in his Last Will and Testament, given political power over different parts of what had been his kingdom. But, to summarize what I dealt with at length in Chthonic Descent, Herod was a vassal of Rome. Regions that were vassals of Rome were designated as either provinces, or client kingdoms. There was a huge difference. Provinces were governed by an official appointed of the emperor and paid taxes to Rome. In the case of client kingdoms, tribute was paid to Rome. There was also a difference in the presence of Roman troops. The all-important client kingdom was Armenia, which represented the key frontline between the power of Rome and the power of the Parthian Empire. It was also the scene of continual power struggles that I believe, provisionally…and I will write about this is the essay that concludes my Search for the Panther, it was the internal strife in Armenia that ultimately lead to the wide-scale massacre ordered by Herod in 7 B.C. In the New Testament, this is called the Massacre of the Innocents, and the motive for this horrendous atrocity is said to have been a desire to find and kill the infant Christ. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater! The fact is that Herod’s agents could have quickly found where this infant was without any such disturbing action. So, I will maintain that the story of the Massacre reflects a real event, though many will say that the pericope is purely fictional, I will not. I can make the event correspond to actual fact, but with the caveat that I maintain that there was a totally different REASON for the event. At any rate, Herod had designated Herod Antipas as King of Judea. Herod Archelaus was to be ethnarch, a Roman term that designates leadership of an ethnic group…such as those in Samaria. Herod’s eldest son was Herod II, who lived his whole life in Rome as a private citizen with no leadership role. But he gave his wife to Antipas, which lead to a serious dispute between Antipas and the Leader of the Repentance Movement…John the Baptist. Herod’s other son, Phillip, was tetrarch governing Ituraea and Trachonitis. The important thing here is that Herod the Great left his title as “king” to Antipas. Since the emperor had to ratify these plans, Augustus opted to get rid of the title “king” in favor of tetrarch. So, Antipas was never King of Judea or King of the Jews. Christ did indeed use the moniker…The Fox. But it was applied to Antipas, who had John the Baptist executed and had sent his agents looking for Jesus. But! Antipas was never King of Judea…only Herod bore that title, and he died in the same year Christ was born. I’m surprised that Karras’s knowledge on this matter was confused. He should have known exactly which Herod Regan intended by her reference to the fox. So, Regan, by using the title Tetrarch of Galilee, shows a more certain Biblical knowledge than the Smeller of Sauerkraut, an odor that was not emanating from Regan. And I will also say that it is difficult to keep the Herods straight, and I have had to double-check my statements about them numerous times. So, I think we have Possessed Regan MacNeil Queen of Bible Study! And to conclude this observation about the exorcism, the entity claims to be able to tell the future and apparently without Chris MacNeil’s Ouija board. So, if Regan's entity wanted the exorcism because it would bring Karras closer and it could tell the future, then it should have seen Merrin coming.
But what of the foreign language?
Bastard! Sow!
She screams at Karras. Odd combination of insults hurled at a man? Not really. If we spell sow differently, such as…Sau, then we end up a German word. And although it is the word for sow, it can also be used with the meanings…bitch and bastard. So perhaps Regan is really saying…Sau! Which can be used for Chris with the meaning…bitch, and also used of Karras with the meaning…bastard. Well, in the movie. And learning German wouldn’t be hard…Karl’s first language was German. Still, I find it difficult to visualize a scenario in which he would use the word Sau in interacting with Regan. In the book, she knows more German…
Ich möchte Sie etwas fragen, Engstrom!
With a stab of discovery and hot-surging hope, Karras jerked around his head and looked down at the bed. The demon grinned mockingly at Karl. "Tanzt Ihre Tochter gern?"
German! It had asked if Karl's daughter liked to dance!
Sprechen Sie deutsch? asked Karras warily.
More games?
Sprechen Sie deutsch? he repeated, his pulse still throbbing with that distant hope.
Natürlich, the demon leered at him.
Actually, Karras, we’ve established that. The German Regan used is, in my opinion, not the typical German or phraseology that many people pick-up along the way. It is rather advanced German, using the verb in the subjunctive with the required adverbs.
The connection with Karl is interesting in another regard. Karl is said, in the book, to be Swiss. And that’s probably the case, except for the fact that the taunts of Dennings and Regan would seem to suggest that he was, in fact, German.
Tell me, was it public relations you did for the Gestapo…was it community relations?
I’m Swiss.
Yes of course. And you never went bowling with Goebbels either, I suppose. Nazi bastard!
Cunting Hun! Bloody damn Butchering Nazi pig!
In the book, there is a bit more to the scene…
Oh, hullo, Thorndike, Dennings giggled. Or is it Heinrich? I can't keep it straight.
It is Karl.
Yes, of course it is. Damn. I'd forgotten. Tell me, Karl, was it public relations you told me you did for the Gestapo, or was it community relations? I believe there's a difference.
Karl spoke politely. Neither one, sir. I am Swiss.
Oh, yes, of course. The director guffawed. "And you never went bowling with Goebbels, I suppose."
Karl, impervious, turned to Chris.
And never went flying with Rudolph Hess!
And we also find…
Naa-zi pig! Dennings screamed at his back. And then he turned genially to Chris and rubbed his hands together. What's dessert? he asked mildly.
This type of taunting was continued by Regan…well, in the book…
No, I'd like to see her, he gently interrupted. He resisted the tugging insistence of her lead.
Right now?
Something wrong, reflected Karras. She looked tense. Afraid. "Why not now?" he inquired.
He glanced furtively at the door of Regan's bedroom. From within shrieked the hoarse mad voice: "Damned Naa-zi! Naa-zi cunt!
The demon wasn't listening. It had glanced toward the door, toward the sound of someone rapidly approaching down the hall, and now its features turned to those of the other personality. "Damned butchering bastard!" it shrieked in the hoarse, British-accented voice. "Cunting Hun!"
Through the door came Karl, moving swiftly with the tape recorder, setting it down by the bed, eyes averted, and then quickly retreating from the room.
Out, Himmler! Out of my sight! Go and visit your club-footed daughter! Bring her sauerkraut! Sauerkraut and heroin, Thorndike! She will love it! She will---
The reference to Karl’s daughter, alluded to when Regan asked Karl if his daughter liked dancing, is telling. We find out that Karl had been arrested once. He worked for a doctor and was found to be stealing narcotics from him. The case was dropped, and Karl was hired by Chris because the doctor provided an excellent reference. It turned out that Karl was stealing the drugs for his daughter, a dope addict with a clubbed-foot. This would clearly indicate intimate knowledge of Karl’s personal life.
The reference to Himmler is equally telling. I doubt that many 12-year olds, then and now, know who this guy was…
One of history’s true monsters…Hitler’s guy who ran the SS, which included the Gestapo and the vast Nazi concentration camp system, whose guards were organized into divisions known as Totenkopf units…Death’s Head units. Regan must have learned this from Burke, who referred to Goebbels, the Gestapo, Hess, and “Heinrich” when insulting Karl. However, in the quote from the book, Dennings only refers to…Heinrich, not Heinrich Himmler. Butchering bastard is also consistent with such a reference. The use of the name Thorndike is far less obvious. I think reference is being made to…
Andrew Thorndike, a German who had made propaganda films for the Nazi government.
Thorndike made movies, and Dennings made movies. So, a reference to Thorndike makes sense coming from Dennings. But all the allusions to Karl being, not only German, but specifically a Nazi, could be taken to indicate that Karl was, in fact, an ex-Nazi who escaped Germany, made it to America, and then insisted that he was Swiss. It seems to me that these taunts make the most sense if Karl were actually a German ex-Nazi. Given the fact that the taunts are encountered coming from Burke, then, if someone knew the truth about Karl’s background and it was shared with Burke, he would then shared it with Regan. There are two problems with that. First, how would Dennings find out about the problems associated with Karl’s daughter? We know that the claims about her are valid. Unless Dennings was secretly following Karl around or had hired a detective to do it, he couldn’t possibly know. The second problem, if Karl was actually an ex-Nazi, perhaps wanted for war-crimes, how would Denning’s have learned that? Burke was a movie director with no direct connection to Karl whatever. It seems to me, as a mere hypothetical possibility, that the knowledge about Karl did not flow from Burke to Regan. No! It flowed from Regan to Burke, who contributed the reference to Thorndike and high-ranking Nazis by name. For the average person, the name Hitler is instantly recognized. The name Gestapo is too. To a lesser extent, the name Goebbels…
…is recognized, and the negative connotation of the word propaganda is associated with him. He was also an important contributor to the anti-Jewish fanaticism associated with the Nazi government. He suffered from depression and spoke of suicide…and the world would have been better off had he followed through on it. But Himmler is not nearly so readily recognized. Hess is probably beyond the general knowledge of people who do not read German history specifically, or the history of WW2 generally. The reference to “flying with Hess” is fascinating. Why? Well, no reference is, surprisingly, made to Hermann Goering, who had been in charge of the German Luftwaffe during the war. In WW1, he had been a fighter pilot commanding the same unit as the famous Red Baron. He was also a pilot who worked for Hitler during his early career, and when Hitler learned of Goering’s record, instantly sought to enlist him in his service. Rudolf Hess, on the other hand…
…(on Hitler’s left) had nothing to do with the Luftwaffe or flying in any capacity…except one. Hess had been Deputy Fuhrer, and was involved in the production of Mein Kampf, taking dictation from Hitler when both were in prison following the Beerhall Putsch. Now for flying! In 1941, Hess became convinced that the war had to stop, so he took it upon himself to fly to Britain in order to negotiate an end to the war. Of course, he couldn’t really do anything, and he was held during the war as a POW. He was tried at Nuremburg and sentenced to life in prison. He was a mentally ill man, and committed suicide, at the age of 93, by hanging. Most laypeople would not know this level of history, and so it is the most specialized knowledge on this facet in the book.
Dennings couldn’t have known about Karl’s past on his own, and there is no indication that he knew anything about Karl’s daughter. So, Regan has more information about Karl than Dennings. If the flow of BASIC information about Karl is from Regan to Dennings, then where did Regan get her knowledge? Only one person comes to mind…Willie; hypothetically of course, but I find it hard to believe that Dennings found out about Karl, as opposed to someone who was around him continually, indeed…living with him.
But in the case of Dennings, he appears throughout the book as a personality who speaks through Regan. And it is clear that Regan learned the word “cunt” from him. This appears in the “Dennings Usage” relative to Karl, but she also applies it to Sharon.
Oh, well, flowers, ya know. Daisies? Only pink. An' then--- Oh, yeah! This horse!" She grew suddenly excited, eyes widening. "This man had a horse, ya know, down by the river? We were walking, see, Mom, and then along came this horse, he was beautiful! Oh, Mom, ya should've seen him, and the man let me sit on him! Really! I mean, practically a minute!
Chris twinkled at Sharon with secret amusement. "Himself?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow. On moving to Washington for the shooting of the film, the blonde secretary, who was now virtually one of the family, had lived in the house, occupying an extra bedroom upstairs. Until she'd met the "horseman" at a nearby stable. Sharon needed a place to be alone, Chris then decided, and had moved her to a suite in an expensive hotel and insisted on paying the bill.
Himself. Sharon smiled in response to Chris.
It was a gray horse!" added Regan. "Mother, can't we get a horse? I mean, could we?
We'll see, baby.
In the movie, Sharon continues to live at the house. But we know that Regan liked horses, and in the book, Sharon is connected to a “horseman” who worked at a stable. So, Regan applied the word cunt to Sharon…
Abruptly the demon broke off and fixed its eyes on Karras. He had again checked the pulse and found it strong, which meant it was safe to give Regan more Librium. Now he moved to Sharon to instruct her to prepare another injection. "Do you want her?" leered the demon. "She is yours! Yes, the stable whore is yours! You may ride her as you wish! Why, she fantasizes nightly concerning you, Karras! She masturbates, dreaming of your great priestly...
Sharon crimsoned and kept her eyes averted as Karras gave instructions for the Librium.
And a Compazine suppository is use there's more vomiting," he added.
Sharon nodded at the floor and started stiffly away. As she walked by the bed with her head still lowered, Regan croaked at her, "Slut!" then jerked up and hit her face with a flung bolt of vomit, and while Sharon stood paralyzed and dripping, the Dennings personality appeared, rasping, Stable whore! Cunt!
Sharon bolted from the room
Suppository? I'm not giving it to her...no way! Besides, I'm just a Vomitologist...and too proud to be a Suppositorist. Regan also uses the word cunt of herself. In this case, the Dennings Manifestation uses it…
There, that's better. Look, she killed me. Not our innkeeper, Karras--- she! Oh, yes, indeed! It was nodding affirmation. She! I was minding my business at the bar, you see, when I thought I heard her moaning. Upstairs. Well, now, I had to see what ailed her, after all, so up I went, and don't you know, she bloody took me by the throat, the little cunt!
Let me see her.
Why?
Why, to prove that you're telling me the truth.
Do you want to fuck her? Loose the straps and I will let you go at it!
Let me see her.
Very succulent cunt, leered Regan, her furred and lolling tongue licking spittle across cracked lips. But a poor conversationalist, my friend. I strongly advise you to stay with me.
She does not, of course, use the word in relation to Chris. Indeed, she has a different way of referring to Chris. Yet I would add that, in the book, there is, or so I believe, the entity called I Am No One, and that he was possessing Regan. It started with the Ouija board, and then, after he had taken over Captain Howdy, appeared to Regan physically…spoke to her…attacked her…
She'd been sitting in the kitchen, Chris told the doctors, when Regan ran screaming down the stairs and to her mother, cowering defensively behind her chair as she clutched Chris's arms and explained in a terrified voice that Captain Howdy was chasing her; had been pinching her; punching her; shoving her; mouthing obscenities; threatening to kill her. "There he is!" she had shrieked at last, pointing to the kitchen door. Then she'd fallen to the floor, her body jerking in spasms as she gasped and wept that Howdy was kicking her. Then suddenly, Chris recounted, Regan had stood in the middle of the kitchen with arms extended and had begun to spin rapidly "like a top," continuing the movements for several minutes, until she had fallen to the floor in exhaustion.
I also believe that he would spend time possessing her, and, at other times, he moved about separately from her. The detective caught a momentary glimpse of him, and I believe that Burke saw him as well, prompting his murder.
The story in the book as perceived by the reading public is that of demon possession. Pazuzu is named three times, but not in direct relation to Regan. She does make the claim of being the devil in the book, but this claim is disregarded by Karras. Burke is encountered repeatedly, but he appears as a personality, and can not be considered a demon. If I Am No One is the culprit, having taken over Captain Howdy, then we have an anonymous demon…don’t we? The actual ritual requires that the exorcist attempt to identify the actual demon or demons involved. That doesn’t happen. But there are indications that the manner in which Regan, and ultimately, Chris are attacked appears to have been hit upon by Regan reading the book that Perrin gave to Chris…A Study of Devil Worship and Related Occult Phenomena. It’s a strange book, since devil worship and the occult do not go together. Belief in the occult is common, actual devil worship is very rare. The Church of Satan are not devil worshippers, as I’ve written about in other essays on this website. The reference to the Black Mass, a widely misunderstood religious event that arose during the Middle Ages when wandering priests, hired by others to perform the Mass and variations of it, were also involved in performing versions of the Mass specified by the one forking over the money, resulting in strange and bizarre proceedings. Imagination embellished the Black Mass, eventually turning into the ritual that most modern people think about. But devil worship and the Black Mass are not synonymous with the occult…at all. Still, the book, originally kept in the study, disappears. It then re-appears in Regan’s room, under her bed. I would add that the book does not appear in the movie. It seems that Chris and then Karras read the book, and the detective references such a book. But I found this fascinating…
Chris did not move, did not blink, did not breathe as the headlong image of an open window in Regan's bedroom the night of Dennings' accident rushed at her memory, talons extended, like a bird of prey who knew her name; as she recognized a sight that was numbingly fair; as she stared at the facing page of the book.
A narrow strip had been surgically shaved from the length of its edge.
The book is frequently referred to as a book about witchcraft. I don’t see the connection between witchcraft and devil worship, or between witchcraft and demonic possession. However, there was a chapter on both in the book. And it must be highly important that someone removed something from the book…i.e. Regan, who wanted to make sure that when the book was taken away, she still had the portion of it that she needed. I can’t, of course, say what was removed from the book. But it is important to recognize that the only reason Regan took the part of the book that was missing, was because it dealt with something that she was about imitate. Based on the focus placed on vomit and excrement that we find in the Story of the Book, one is tempted to speculate that material dealing with the Exorcism of Anna Ecklund in 1928 was removed from the book to form the basis of what Regan’s situation became. In other words, I Am No One’s ultimate manifestation would be an imitation of something from the book, quite possibly, the case of Anna Ecklund, something that I wrote about in another essay on this website.
In the book, I think that the Sow is Mine scene has been misunderstood. In the movie, the significance of “sow” is radically different, appearing in the two scenes noted above, and may not be used in the traditional sense of “sow,” if I am right that the word is actually…Sau, meaning bitch or bastard.
In the book, the word “sow” is used five times. It appears first in the Sow is Mine scene and is repeated in the doctors’ musing about the significance of Regan referring to herself as a sow. This is seen as indicative of disassociation…becoming mentally and emotional separate from oneself and speaking about oneself in the third person. The word is also used in the Crucifix scene, which is shocking in the movie, but even more over-the-top in the book. Perhaps the main difference is the actual act involved. The crucifix in the book is described as “bone-white” whereas the crucifix in the movie is cold steel. And this is probably due to the difference in how Regan uses the crucifix…self-mutilation in the movie…but in a different way in the book. Upon the appearance of Chris in Regan’s bedroom in the book…
The doctors moved closer, one on either side of the bed. Still twisting and jerking, Regan arched her head back, disclosing a swollen, bulging throat. She began to mutter something incomprehensible in an oddly guttural tone.
...nowonmai... nowonmai...
So, when Chris enters the room, I Am No One makes his presence known. Then…
The sow is mine!" she bellowed in a coarse and powerful voice. She is mine! Keep away from her! She is mine!
It would seem odd that the word “sow” here would apply to Regan. Why? Because the same thing is applied to Chris. This is from the Crucifix Scene:
"Aahhh, little pig mother!" Regan crooned with a guttural, rasping, throaty eroticism. "Lick me, lick me, lick me! Aahhhhh!" Then the hand that was holding Chris's head down jerked it upward while the other arm smashed her a blow across the chest that sent Chris reeling across the room and crashing to a wall with stunning force while Regan laughed with bellowing spite.
Chris crumpled to the floor in a daze of horror, in a swirling of images, sounds in the room, as her vision spun madly, blurring, unfocused, her ears ringing loud with chaotic distortions as she tried to raise herself, was too weak, faltered, then looked toward the still-blurred bed, toward Regan with her back to her, thrusting the crucifix gently and sensually into her vagina, then out, then in, with that deep, bass voice crooning, "Ah, there's my sow, yes, my sweet honey piglet, my Piglet, my---"
If Chris is the little pig mother, then if follows that she is the sow, whereas Regan is the piglet. When it came time for the exorcism, Regan said this when she saw Chris…
"Ah, yes, come see your handiwork, sow-mother! Come!"
And…
Now the sow comes! The mother of the piglet!" mocked the demon.
The last quote makes the distinction clear, and it is what one would expect…the sow is the mother of the piglet. It is true that Regan is referred to as the pig…
She is here.
Where is here?
In the pig.
And…
See him? Is he here? asked the priest.
In the pig? Not at all. Just a poor little family of wandering souls, my friend. You don't blame us for being here, do you? After all, we have no place to go. No home.
And…
Prideful bastard, Merrin! Scum! You will lose! She will die! The pig will die!
And...
Hypocrite! You care nothing at all for the pig. You care nothing! You have made her a contest between us!
I would note that the word pig is a generic one, it includes adult animals, male and female, and younger ones, male and female. The other word that is used of Regan is…piglet. It is not possible to call a woman a sow and have it be anything other than an intolerable insult. The word piglet is different and does not necessarily mean an insult. In fact, this quote makes something clear…
Ah, there's my sow, yes, my sweet honey piglet, my Piglet, my---
That is from the Crucifix Scene. First Chris is said to be the Pig Mother. So, Regan then calls herself…my sow? No. I think that sow is a reference to Chris, and then there is an extremely abrupt shift to Regan herself. Sweet Honey Piglet does not have the same feel to it. In fact, I would suggest this…
Pooh likes honey. And…
Pooh likes Piglet. So, conflate the two things that Pooh likes best, and you get…
Honey Piglet. The basis of the image comes from the world of Winnie the Pooh. If so, then Piglet, applied to Regan, is not an insult at all. Regan is too old for Winnie the Pooh characters? Perhaps…but the relevant imagery may come from someone else.
Returning to the Sow is Mine scene, we find this…
As Klein approached the bedside, Regan seemed to hug herself, her hands caressing her arms.
Ah, yes, my pearl...she crooned in that strangely coarsened voice. Her eyes were closed as if in ecstasy. My child... my flower... my pearl...
These words…child, flower, pearl…they are not insults. In fact, the progression of my flower…my pearl, is found in poetry about young babies, usually coming from the mouth of the mother. The expressions are warm and intimate, almost as if I Am No One is speaking like a mother…a metaphorical sow speaking about her metaphorical piglet. Yet, we are three dots prevented from hearing the last term to be used.
It is highly significant that although I Am No One is the one destroying Regan, he nonetheless blames Chris…
Ah, yes, come see your handiwork, sow-mother! Come!
And…
Now the sow comes! The mother of the piglet!" mocked the demon.
So just how is it Chris’s fault? During the hypnosis scene, when I Am No One appears, there is a quick question and answer session that reveals a great deal…
Are you the person in Regan? the psychiatrist asked.
She nodded.
Who are you?
Nowonmai, she answered gutturally.
That's your name?
She nodded.
He also made himself known in the Sow is Mine Scene:
The doctors moved closer, one on either side of the bed. Still twisting and jerking, Regan arched her head back, disclosing a swollen, bulging throat. She began to mutter something incomprehensible in an oddly guttural tone.
...nowonmai... nowonmai...
Prior to this, Regan had been speaking. I Am No One declared his presence, and then things took a troubling, and confusing, course. But back to the Hypnosis Scene:
Are you someone whom Regan has known?
No.
That she knows of?
No.
Are you someone she's invented?
No.
You're real?
Yes.
Part of Regan?
No.
Were you ever a part of Regan?
No.
Do you like her?
No.
Dislike her?
Yes.
Do you hate her?
Yes.
Over something she's done?
Yes.
Do you blame her for her parents' divorce?
No.
Has it something to do with her parents?
No.
With a friend?
No.
But you hate her?
Yes.
Are you punishing Regan?
Yes.
You wish to harm her?
Yes.
To kill her?
Yes.
If she died; wouldn't you die too?
No.
Moments later, the psychiatrist was singing soprano. But it is clear that what is happening has nothing to do with the problems in the marriage of Regan’s parents. Regan doesn’t know him, or know of him. But he is punishing Regan, I think, for something she knows nothing about. I also think that in punishing Regan, in destroying the Piglet, he is also punishing Chris. I will return to the accusations made by I Am No One against her…
Ah, yes, come see your handiwork, sow-mother! Come!
Chris tried desperately not to listen, not to look, while Karras pinned Regan's unresisting arms.
See the puke! see the murderous bitch! the demon raged. Are you pleased? It is you who have done it! Yes, you with your career before anything; your career before your husband, before her, before...
Karras glanced around. Chris stood paralyzed. Go ahead! he ordered. Don't listen! Go ahead!
...your divorce! Go to priests, will you? Priest will not help! Chris's hand began to shake, "She mad! She is mad! The piglet is mad! You have driven her to madness and to murder and...
I can't! Face contorted, Chris was staring at the quivering syringe. Shook her head. I can't do it!
Karras plucked it from her fingers. "All right, swab it! Swab the arm! Over here!" he told her firmly.
...in her coffin, you bitch, by...
How interesting it is that I Am No One, when accusing Chris, rather than himself, of being the cause of what is destroying Regan, suddenly launches into the intricacies of the MacNeil family dynamics. The heart of the matter…Chris was too focused on her career to be focused on…Howard, Regan…or...I Am No One. Now that’s fascinating. What about Karras? We find out something fascinating about him too…
The psychiatrist grew weary; found himself drifting into private sorrow. He glanced at a plaque that someone had given him the previous Christmas. MY BROTHER HURTS. I SHARE HIS PAIN. I MEET GOD IN HIM, he read.
What a thing to share with the reader! Really! Now it will be remembered that when Backwards I Am No One is asked where he comes from, his answer is…doG. Is he from a dog? No!
Where do you come from?
Dog.
You say that you come from a dog?
Dogmorfmocion, Regan replied.
I Am No One is From God. So, it is as if Regan meets God through I Am No One. But he does not say which god has sent him, but he does indicate what god did not send him…
Yes, she will die and Merrin's God will not save her, Karras!
I Am No One intends to kill Regan. But it would have been easy to do that at any time before the straps went on. I suspect that he could have broken out of the straps if he truly wanted to do so. Perhaps he did not do this, or kill Regan himself, because he wanted Regan to die in a very specific way, from a very specific cause. Two medications are met with in the movie…Ritalin and Thorazine. Another medication is met with in the book…Librium. This was the precursor tranquilizer to Valium. While Thorazine, in Regan’s case, makes sense, I’m none too sure about Librium, which is not an anti-psychotic. It has a long half-life, meaning it hangs around in the system for a long time. The drug was used for anxiety, and now, it is used primarily to ease systems of alcohol withdrawal. The maximum dosing for Librium to treat anxiety is 5 or 10 milligrams- 3 or 4 times daily. That is a maximum of 40 milligrams a day. In the case of severe anxiety problems, dosing can be as high as 20 or 25 milligrams- 3 or 4 times daily. That is a maximum of 100 milligrams a day. In these cases, administering Librium is done at different times during the day, and never in one shot. In pediatric use, the normal dosage is 5 milligrams 2 or 4 times a day, meaning a maximum dose of 20 milligrams. This can be raised to 10 milligrams 2 or 4 times a day, for a maximum does of 40 milligrams. A larger single dose is used prior to surgery, to relieve anxiety, and higher doses are used for alcohol withdrawal. Initially, in the book, we encounter this…
Yes, I think we should do it immediately, but she's going to need sedation. If she moves or jerks it will void the results, so may I give her, say, twenty-five milligrams of Librium?
Jesus, do what you have to, she told him, shaken.
For a child, it’s a significant dose, but for sedation before the tests it makes sense. It hadn’t kicked in on time, so he administered another twenty-five milligrams. Still makes sense.
Regan shook her head and then stared at her mother with unfocused eyes that seemed to be retracted into infinite remoteness. I'm feeling sleepy, Regan said in a voice that belonged to the eyes. Then, turning, she climbed up the stairs to her bedroom.
Must be the Librium, Chris reflected as she watched her.
Very good Chris! Yes, it’s the Librium. Regan received a healthy dose, and it has a long half-life. The Sow is Mine scene…
I'm giving her Librium, Klein told him guardedly, holding the syringe to the light of the window. But you're going to have to hold her.
Makes plenty of sense in this situation…a shot of Librium.
Oh, no, no, wait, she amended. No, she didn't. That's right. Willie mentioned that she'd heard her in the kitchen awfully early. I remember feeling glad that she'd gotten her appetite back. But she went back to bed then, I guess, because she stayed there the rest of the day.
And…
She was sleeping?" Klein asked her.
No, I think she was reading, Chris answered. Well, I started feeling a little better about it all. I mean, it looked as if the Librium was just what she needed. She was sort of far away, I noticed, and that bothered me a little, but still it was a pretty big improvement. Well, last night, again, nothing, Chris continued. Then this morning it started.
Ok…I am not a doctor, and I am aware that being a Vomitologist means that my involvement with Regan is fairly limited in scope, though not in volume. Still, the point of drugs like Librium is not to cause you to sleep through the day. That does not help with anxiety…that will make it worse. That is why it is administered in small doses at different times during the day…to prevent what Chris just described. Now let’s see just how irresponsible Chris MacNeil is when giving medication to her child…
Have you got her on tranquilizers? he asked.
Chris turned on the water taps. Yes, Librium. Here, take off that sweater and then you can wash.
What dosage? he asked her, tugging at the sweater with his clean left hand.
Here, I'll help you." She pulled at the sweater from the bottom. Well, today she's had four hundred milligrams, Father.
Four hundred?
She had the sweater pulled up to his chest "Yeah, that's how we got her into those straps. It took all of us together to...
You gave your daughter four hundred milligrams at once?
This is unbelievable! Where are we at with Librium relative to maximum dosing? A maximum dose of 300 mgs PER DAY is used with adults undergoing alcohol withdrawal. A single dose of 400 milligrams for a child strapped to a bed in your house is almost, if not clearly, criminal. Karras soon decides that dumping buckets of liquid Librium all over Regan isn’t such a dangerous thing at all:
Inside, at that moment, Karras and Karl pinned Regan's arms while Sharon injected her with Librium, bringing the total amount injected in the last two hours to four hundred milligrams. The dosage, Karras knew, was staggering.
Actually, more than staggering…criminal, and depending how often this is being done…lethal.
But again the ring of the phone woke him, Chris calling to inform him of Regan's new frenzy. Back at the house, he checked Regan's pulse. It was strong. He gave Librium, then again. And again.
If I didn’t know any better, and if I didn’t know the long half-life of Librium, or have an amateur’s knowledge of dosing protocol, I’d say they’re trying to build an overdose.
He looked down at the steaming, bitter blackness in his cup and felt his hands empty of comfort or of cure.
...pious bastard!
The demon. Still raging.
Your dog needed shots right away....
Quickly he returned to Regan's bedroom, where he held her while Sharon administered the Librium injection that now brought the total dosage up to five hundred milligrams.
500 milligrams! 500 milligrams of Librium! According to Karras, 400 milligrams was “staggering.” 500 milligrams, on the Karras Causes An Overdose Scale, is beyond staggering. And she is 12 years old. She should soon be dead.
Yes. Yes, he called. A pause. He wanted to talk to Rags.
And what did you tell him?
A pause. Then, I told him she was out at a party.
Silence. Karras heard no more clicks. He looked up and saw her staring at the ceiling. And then he noticed it too: the shouts above had finally ceased.
I guess the Librium took hold, he said gratefully.
Gratefully? You're giving out potentially lethal doses…but who cares, as long as it shuts her up? You know what else would do that…bring about her silence? Oh, that’s right…death.
Abruptly the demon broke off and fixed its eyes on Karras. He had again checked the pulse and found it strong, which meant it was safe to give Regan more Librium. Now he moved to Sharon to instruct her to prepare another injection. Do you want her? leered the demon. She is yours! Yes, the stable whore is yours! You may ride her as you wish! Why, she fantasizes nightly concerning you, Karras! She masturbates, dreaming of your great priestly...
Sharon crimsoned and kept her eyes averted as Karras gave instructions for the Librium.
And a Compazine suppository is use there's more vomiting, he added.
So now we add another powerful tranquilizer…Compazine. This drug is very similar to Thorazine, but is used primarily to counter nausea. But it is still a powerful tranquilizer…so let’s add it to the overdose-dosing of the Librium. That’ll shut her up! Was Karras…was Chris…attempting to kill Regan with a Librium overdose? No, but I think that death by Librium overdose is exactly what I Am No One wanted!
Won't you face the truth, stinking scum? It was the demon. You believe what Merrin tells you? It seethed. You believe him to be holy and good? Well, he is not! He is proud and unworthy! I will prove it to you, Karras, I will prove it by killing the piglet!
Karras opened up his eyes. But still dared not look.
Yes, she will die and Merrin's God will not save her, Karras! You will not save her! She will die from Merrin's pride and your incompetence! Bungler! You should not have given her the Librium!
Apparently, I Am No One knows more about Librium dosing than Chris or Karras! And she is in danger of dying from it, which is exactly what I Am No One wants…
He said good night and walked away. Karras watched him, every artery and nerve begging rest, begging hope, begging miracles though he knew none could be. You should not have given her the Librium!
Very good, Karras! No, you shouldn’t have.
At seven o'clock that Sunday evening, Karras sat mutely next to Merrin in the bedroom, exhausted and racked by the demonic attacks: his lack of faith; his incompetence; his flight from his mother in search of status. And Regan. His fault. You should not have given her the Librium...
I Am No One seems to have what he wants…
Feel her pulse! The demon grinned. Go ahead, Karras! Feel it!
Regan's wrist was still gripped in his hand, and now he frowned worriedly. The pulse beat was rapid and...
Feeble? croaked the demon. Ah, yes. A trifle. For the moment, just a bit.
Karras fetched his medical bag and took out his stethoscope. The demon rasped, Listen, Karras! Listen well!
Karras listened. The heart tones sounded distant and inefficient.
I will not let her sleep!
Karras flicked up his glance to the demon. Felt chilled.
Yes, Karras! it croaked. She will not sleep! Do you hear? I will not let the piglet sleep!
As Karras stared numbly, the demon put its head back in gloating laughter. He did not hear Merrin come back into the room.
The exorcist stood by him at the side of the bed and studied his face. What is it? he asked.
Karras answered dully, The demon... said he wouldn't let her sleep. He turned haunted eyes on Merrin. Her heart's begun to work inefficiently, Father. If she doesn't get rest pretty soon, she'll die of cardiac exhaustion.
So, does he want Regan to die from irresponsible use of drugs with Chris’s child? If he’s who I think he is, then the answer is…yes. In 1949, one of the first multi-spectrum antibiotics was discovered…Chloramphenicol. It treats many types of infections, including meningitis. But sometimes miracle drugs turn out to have less miraculous results. In only a few short years, beginning in 1952, the use of this antibiotic was being linked to deaths caused by aplastic anemia. This is a disorder that affects the bone marrow, causing it to not produce enough new blood cells…and it can be fatal. As the deaths began to mount up, it was noted that among the victims were children.
That is from 1952.
That is from 1970. The novel was published in June 1971, so we are probably still in the period of the writing of the novel. How about 1960?
There it is…and many of the victims were children. Dead from aplastic anemia. Now the Librium didn’t kill Regan. But Chloramphenicol did kill someone else. Karras’s plaque…
MY BROTHER HURTS. I SHARE HIS PAIN. I MEET GOD IN HIM.
An important clue occurs at the very end of the book. Karras is dead, Regan is all better, and the family is about to leave. Dyer shows up, hoping that Regan has remembered the events of the exorcism, so he can find out more about Karras. Regan doesn’t remember. But Dyer has coffee with Chris, and then we read something astounding…
Still downcast, the Jesuit nodded. Chris glanced to her breakfast plate. Too nervous and excited, she hadn't eaten. The rose was still there. She picked it up and pensively twisted it, rolling it back and forth by the stem. And he never even knew her, she murmured absently.
So, who is it that never even knew Regan? Karras? He did, only shortly. But what if she is NOT speaking about Karras? The flower Chris holds is a parallel to something at the beginning of the book…
I'll get it, Willie. Chris, ever sensitive, had seen her weary look, and as Willie now grunted and turned back to the sink, the actress poured coffee, then moved to the breakfast nook. Sat down. And warmly smiled as she looked at her plate. A blush-red rose. Regan. That angel. Many a morning, when Chris was working, Regan would quietly slip out of bed, come down to the kitchen and place a flower, then grope her way crusty-eyed back to her sleep. Chris shook her head; rueful; recalling: she had almost named her Goneril. Sure. Right on. Get ready for the worst. Chris chuckled at the memory. Sipped at her coffee. As her gaze caught the rose again, her expression turned briefly sad, large green eyes grieving in a waiflike face. She'd recalled another flower. A son. Jamie. He had died long ago at the age of three, when Chris was very young and an unknown chorus girl on Broadway. She had sworn she would not give herself ever again as she had to Jamie; as she had to his father, Howard MacNeil. She glanced quickly from the rose, and as her dream of death misted upward from the coffee, she quickly lit a cigarette.
So Regan had a brother! Wow! There is no brother in the movie. Jamie…and he tragically died at the age of three. How?
Marc, can't you come out here and check her yourself? Jamie. A lingering infection. Chris's doctor at that time had prescribed a new, broad-spectrum antibiotic. Refilling a prescription at a local drugstore, the pharmacist was wary. I don't want to alarm you, ma'am, but this... Well, it's quite new on the market, and they've found that in Georgia it's been causing aplastic anemia in... Jamie. Jamie. Dead. And ever since, Chris had never trusted doctors. Only Marc. And that had taken years. Marc, can't you? Chris pleaded.
So Jamie died of aplastic anemia brought on by the use of Chloramphenicol. And! Chris had been warned by a pharmacist. Apparently, that warning was ignored. So he died as a direct result of Chris’s irresponsible use of a medication. Just like I Am No One, he who punishes Regan, sought to have happen with the Librium. Regan was 12 years old in, say, 1970…thus she was born about 1958. That was only a few years from the period of time in which Jamie would have died, say around 1952-1954, or perhaps a few years later. So! Jamie never even knew her. And so, when I Am No One accused Chris, the Pig Mother, the Sow Who Gave Birth To The Piglet…
See the puke! see the murderous bitch! the demon raged. Are you pleased? It is you who have done it! Yes, you with your career before anything; your career before your husband, before her, before...
Perhaps…your career before your husband, before her, before…ME.
How about…
Ah, there's my sow, yes, my sweet honey piglet, my Piglet, my---
Maybe…my sweet honey piglet, my Piglet, MY SISTER…
Of course, you would punish the sow, if you were angry enough. But the Piglet? Well, if I was I Am No One, I might be angry that she replaced me…obliterated my existence…and if I were angry enough, I might just want to kill the Piglet and thereby, punish the Sow. Both children killed by the Sow and her drugs. If only she could have found the time to be a decent mother. But she's not a mother...she is a sow. Come see your handiwork! It is you who did this! I became…I Am No One. How I waited for the chance…the opportunity! Then came the Ouija board. Captain Howdy was easy to take over, and then I could communicate directly with Regan. She didn’t know who I was…she thought I was the Dear Captain…and she probably always did. And always will. But I said who I was…I Am No One. I am not a demon! I am something very different…I Am A Prince...the Sow told me that once. I was 3 years old, but I was also 12 years old once the Honey Piglet had her birthday. And that priest saw the birthday photo of Regan when she turned 9 years old. But I was born in 1951, so now I am even older! Well, I was for a while. Burke saw me…I had to kill him. And! He was going to replace my father Howard! I couldn’t let the Sow do that! I should have been more careful and not stood momentarily by the window. I’m sure that detective saw me. Well, I’m gone now…at least for a while. But how lucky I was when the Piglet played in the attic and dug through the boxes. She found something that she took with her, something the Sow kept…kept in the attic. The writer of this essay would probably call it my Totem…but what does she know? She knows nothing! Still, I’m very different than the others Up There. The Sow found it in my…I mean, Regan’s room, and took it back to the attic. No matter, it was too late. I made sure the Piglet felt my pain…and she met god through me, not Merrin’s god…and not the god one might expect. Pig Mother! It is you who has done this! I know you figured it out in the end, and you’re right! I never even knew her…until now. So keep your flower! It may be a secret, but for a little while my name was not I Am No One. Not really.
