The Steps: Chilling in the Heat of a Summer's Day

A view up the 'Exorcist Steps' - which despite the warmth and brightness of the day, still have a cold, Gothic atmosphere.

These are the steep stone steps Georgetown residents and students use to work out their cardiovascular systems; Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) and an Exorcist stuntman all took a tumble down them. Fortunately for the stuntman, the film crew had covered the steps with a thick rubber padding, but the fall was a painful and dangerous affair nonetheless. I didn't have the opportunity to photograph the Steps at night, but I'm sure it would have made an impressive image.

This photograph was also published in May 2003 in the book James Dean Died Here: The Location of America's Pop Culture Landmarks..., by Chris Epting.

Photo ©Lenka Reznicek, taken August 2002.