Father Lankester Merrin is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the novel ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

'' (1971), one of the two main protagonists in the 1973 film adaptation, who also figures prominently in several of its prequel and sequel films.

In the novel

Merrin, an elderly

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

on an

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

dig in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, finds images of the demon Pazuzu and subsequently experiences other unusual phenomena. He had previously faced the demon many years before during an exorcism in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The find sparks a premonition that he will battle the demon again in a distant land. Merrin does not appear again until much later in the novel, when he joins the protagonist, Father

Damien Karras Father Damien Karras, SJ, is a fictional character from the 1971 novel ''The Exorcist'', its 1983 sequel ''Legion'', one of the main protagonists in the 1973 film ''The Exorcist'', and a supporting character in ''The Exorcist III'', the 1990 fil ...

, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to exorcise the demon from the body of a young girl (

Regan MacNeil Regan Teresa MacNeil (born April 7, 1959) is a fictional character from William Peter Blatty's horror novel and film adaptation ''The Exorcist'' as a supporting character and its first sequel, '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'', and the sequel televis ...

). Merrin, who has a

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

for which he takes

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating g ...

, dies during the ritual, leaving the inexperienced Karras to complete the exorcism himself. Merrin is loosely based on the British archaeologist

Gerald Lankester Harding Gerald Lankester Harding (8 December 1901 – 11 February 1979) was a British archaeologist who was the director of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan from 1936 to 1956. His tenure spanned the period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were disco ...

In the films

Merrin's depiction in the 1973 film ''

'' is faithful to the novel. The character of Merrin reappears in the sequel '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), in extended flashbacks detailing an exorcism he performed in Africa following the Second World War. He is portrayed in both films by Max von Sydow. The studio wanted

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

for the role of Father Merrin, but director William Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating it would become a "Brando movie". The character was featured again in both prequel films, '' Exorcist: The Beginning'' and '' Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist''. Both films revisit Merrin's experiences in Africa immediately prior to his first exorcism, but each presents a different version of the events and neither agrees with the events as presented in ''Exorcist II''. He is played in both films by Stellan Skarsgård.

Other adaptations

In the 2014 BBC Radio dramatisation, Merrin is voiced by

Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in '' ...

References

External links

Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin in the 1973 film ''The Exorcist''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Stellan Skarsgård as Father Lankester Merrin in the 2004 film ''Exorcist: The Beginning''
at

Fictional characters from Washington, D.C. Fictional Christians Fictional Dutch people Fictional exorcists Fictional priests and priestesses Characters in American novels of the 20th century Literary characters introduced in 1971 Male horror film characters The Exorcist characters {{novel-char-stub

In the novel

In the films

Other adaptations

See also

References

External links