Note on this edition: this is an electronic version of the 1999 book ...

The Inarticulate Body: Demonic Conflicts in The Exorcist 165Father Karras (Jason Miller) observing, as Sharon (Kitty Winn) presents him withthe writing on Regan’s chest. From The Exorcist (dir. William Friedkin).© Warner Bros., 1973.after becoming possessed and making a suicidal jump by charging throughthe window.Andriano argued that the frequent association between the demonicand femininity in the Male Gothic is connected with fears of male identity –the “anima” is rejected and repressed because it threatens gender boundaries.Possession behaviour is an ancient way of confronting the repressed andconflicting areas of the psyche by engaging in transgressive behaviour. Horrorculture is a contemporary, liminoid area where it is possible to deal withsimilar activities under the guise of entertainment. The Exorcist combinesthese two, and puts into use some essential threats to the self – on a generallevel, the uncertainty of body as the defective, and yet necessary, “supplement”to the mind. In a more specific analysis, the male psyche in connectionwith Christian and Catholic identity and the menaces of the modernword open up as the arena for this drama.The male identity of Karras is reinforced in several points in the text; asKarras unbuttons the sleeve of his starched white shirt, and rolls it up, he