The Exorcist Steps

The Exorcist Steps are a steep stone staircase located at the end of 36th Street NW in the Georgetown neighbourhood of Washington, D.C., connecting Prospect Street with the area near M Street and Canal Road. The staircase was constructed around 1894–1895 as part of the retaining wall created during the development of the neighbouring Capital Traction Company Union Station and car barn. Originally simply a practical pedestrian route between the two levels of Georgetown, the staircase became internationally famous after being used in The Exorcist. Its association with the film has since become so strong that The Exorcist Steps is now its commonly recognised name, and a commemorative plaque was installed at the location in 2015.

The Exorcist Steps have appeared in The Exorcist (1973), The Exorcist III (1990) and Ghosted (2023). Both Exorcist films use the real Georgetown staircase and connect it directly to the death of Father Damien Karras.

In The Exorcist (1973), the steps are used during the film’s climactic exorcism of Regan MacNeil. After Father Merrin dies during the ritual, Father Karras confronts the demon and demands that it leave Regan and enter him instead. Briefly possessed, Karras regains control long enough to throw himself through Regan’s bedroom window. He falls onto the staircase beside the MacNeil house and tumbles violently all the way to the bottom, where his friend Father Dyer finds him dying and administers the last rites. The real house at 3600 Prospect Street stands farther from the staircase than the film suggests, so the production constructed a temporary false wing extending the house towards the steps to make Karras’ fall physically possible within the scene. The staircase was also covered with protective padding for the stunt.

In The Exorcist III (1990), the steps return as a location directly associated with Karras’ death fifteen years earlier. Early in the film, Father Dyer visits the staircase and looks at the place where his friend died. The location becomes part of the film’s connection to the events of The Exorcist, while references to falling down a long flight of stairs accompany the reappearance of the supernatural evil connected to Karras and the Gemini Killer. The sequel was again filmed on location in Georgetown, bringing the story back to several places associated with the original film.

In Ghosted (2023), the Exorcist Steps appear during Cole Turner and Sadie Rhodes’ first date in Washington, D.C. As the two explore the city together, they arrive at the famous Georgetown staircase and make a bet over who can reach the top first. Cole and Sadie race up the steps, turning one of Washington’s most famous horror-film locations into part of the light-hearted romantic montage that establishes their growing attraction to each other. The scene was filmed at the real Exorcist Steps in Georgetown.

The Exorsist (1973)

The Exorsist Steps (2019)

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