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How long does it take to read The Exorcist?

William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty takes about 7 hours 20 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.

About 7 hours 20 minutes

A weekend read

First published 1971. 400 pages, about 110,000 words.

15 days at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.

At other speeds

Slow, 150 words a minute 12 hours 13 minutes
Average, 250 words a minute 7 hours 20 minutes
Fast, 400 words a minute 4 hours 35 minutes

The page count is the median across 77 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.

About the book

The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel by American writer William Peter Blatty. The book details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. Published by Harper & Row, the novel was the basis of a highly successful film adaptation released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty, and part of The Exorcist franchise. The novel was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University. As a result, the novel takes place in Washington, D.C., near the campus of Georgetown University. In September 2011, the novel was reprinted by Harper Collins to celebrate its fortieth anniversary, with slight revisions made by Blatty as well as interior title artwork by Jeremy Caniglia.

Content warnings (AI-checked, may be incomplete)
  • violence
  • suicide

How these are chosen

Subjects: Fiction, Horror, horror fiction, demonic possession, Gothic Revival, priests

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