The Truth Behind the Actual Murderer in The Exorcist

For decades Paul Bateson's name has been attached to a spree of gruesome murders in the '70s. This is our search for what's true and what's legend. [ view in [browser](. add esquire@newsletter.esquire.com to your address book ] [Esquire]( [Sunday Reads] FOLLOW US [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Instagram]( [You Tube]( [Google Plus]( [Searching For the Truth About the Actual Murderer in The Exorcist]( In late 1972, Dr. Barton Lane was performing an angiogram at the Tisch Hospital (then called University Hospital) in the New York University radiology lab in Manhattan, when he got an unexpected visitor. In the days before HIPAA the doors were wide open for pretty much anyone to observe doctors at work, and this particular visitor was scouting a location and potential extras for a movie. At that time, an angiogram, a diagnostic test that takes x-ray pictures of blood vessels, was performed with a needle stuck into the patient’s artery. When the needle would hit the artery, a jet of blood would shoot out. When the visitor, director William Friedkin, saw the impressive spray of blood, he knew he wanted this exact procedure to be in his horror film—an adaptation of the book, The Exorcist. The making of The Exorcist—known as one of the greatest horror movies of all time—has long been considered cursed. During production, a series of tragedies befell the cast and crew. Nine people connected to the film died during or shortly after the production, including actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, Linda Blair’s grandfather, a security guard on set, and a special effects expert. Actress Ellen Burstyn suffered a permanent spinal injury while getting thrown from the bouncing bed (her real scream is heard in the film). The set for the MacNeil home burned down, mysteriously leaving Regan’s bedroom untouched. In fact, the production had been surrounded by so much misfortune, a Jesuit priest, Thomas M. King, was brought in to bless the set. These stories are fairly well-known, and are passed around to add to the lore of an already scary yet beloved film. But there’s another story connected to The Exorcist that has remained largely overlooked. It’s the story of the radiology technician in the film, Paul Bateson, who is often referred to among true crime and horror fans—and even Friedkin himself—as a serial killer. I spent months digging into archived articles, court documents, and speaking with the NYPD and those involved with the film trying to find the truth about Bateson and the crimes he did and did not commit. What I found was a very different story. [READ MORE]( [MORE FROM ESQUIRE] [Esquire]( [An Oral History of Ralph Lauren's 50-Year Reign]( How do you sell success? You embody it. Half a century ago, Ralph Lauren built an empire on the American dream: the belief that with hard work, and perseverance, and some luck, anyone could shoot to the top. 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