Washington is a city filled with political animals and history buffs, the seat of U.S. government and a showplace of monuments and museums. It is also the home of one of the most iconic horror stories of all time, “The Exorcist.”

The movie, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, has gotten a re-release just in time for Halloween — a sort of companion piece to a reboot of the franchise, “The Exorcist: Believer.” It all started with a novel by William Peter Blatty, who set the story at his alma mater, Georgetown University, which provided the perfect setting for this tale of faith and horror. Louis Bayard, author of such novels as “The Pale Blue Eye,” “Jackie and Me,” and “The School of Night,” knows a thing or two about “The Exorcist,” writing with Washington as a background — and horror. He joins the Political Theater podcast to talk about “The Exorcist,” D.C., and things that go bump in the night. 

Show Notes:

• Nonpolitical D.C.: 13 Movies to Check Out
• Georgetown Cupcake; or, the Wait
• Georgetown Goes All-D.C. for Sunset Cinema, Starting With ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’
• Loving the Swamp: 13 things that keep Washington real
• Watch Political Theater on Roll Call’s YouTube Channel