How the voice of Satan was created in "The Exorcist"

 ( Disclaimer: As I've said in other posts here, this is a "no politics/no religion" blog. I'm sharing this because it deals with voice acting technique and those who do voice overs might find it interesting. The film was banned in many corners, but went on to become one of the best selling horror movies of all time.) 

It's almost Halloween, so let's find something spooky to look at. In years past, I featured the making of  Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with Vincent Price's scary narration,so time to change things up a bit.

I had the pleasure of interviewing accomplished actress Mercedes McCambridge when she stopped by our radio studios in Akron-Canton, Ohio. I was told the day before, she would be dropping by our station, so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare. She was pleasant and all went well. Legend Orson Welles called her the greatest radio actress of that time. Some reading this post are way too young to remember the supernatural horror movie "The Exorcist" which came out in 1973 and caused many a movie goer to sleep with the lights on in their bedroom at night. (Now I sleep with the lights on at night so I don't bump into the furniture heading to a way too frequent bathroom break!) 

Mercedes and I discussed her battle with alcoholism and she was quite forthcoming. If my memory serves me right, she was out with a book about her life and career and doing a promotional tour. Here's a very short video clip where she and the director talk about how she created Satan's voice in the movie; it was quite an unforgettable and haunting performance. Linda Blair played the young girl who was possessed.  What I find amazing is Mercedes never met Linda during the filming. Make sure your volume is up for maximum effect.

Here's the link