The Exorcist: The Ordinary Grace of Karl the Servant
Chris MacNeil confronts Karl about the Crucifix in Regan’s bedroom by Tara Adams The Creature Beat When terror took over 3600 Prospect Street, several characters had pretty big roles to play. Father Karras offered his psychological and spiritual sacrifice. Father Merrin brought his aging, solemn authority. Chris MacNeil provided the desperation of a mother pushed past her limits. Then there was Karl. In William Peter Blatty’s "The Exorcist," the MacNeil family’s house servant stays mostly in the background. He tends to the home and its occupants and endures the drunken abuses of director Burke Dennings. Yet, Karl is responsible for an important plot point: he left the crucifix under Regan’s pillow. When confronted by Chris, Karl denies doing it. But the evidence, the novel, and Blatty's own confirmation, tell a different story. Karl Engstrom, house servant in The Exorcist portrayed by Rudolf Schündler Karl is a devoutly religious man witnessing a nightmare un...
