Father Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow) is an elderly Catholic priest on an archeological dig in Iraq. Merrin has a sense of foreboding and encounters a number of strange omens, including the unearthing of a series of confusing items, a near miss with a runaway horse drawn carriage, and a clock that stops ticking in mid-stroke. Finally, Merrin discovers a statue of a bizarre demonic figure; although the film does not mention it, it is a representation of a demonic figure known as Pazuzu.
Back in the United States, in Washington D.C.'s upscale Georgetown neighborhood, a successful actress named Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) begins experiencing strange phenomena. Chris lives with her twelve-year-old daughter Regan (Linda Blair), her personal assistant Sharon (Kitty Wynn), and two housekeepers. Regan's father is estranged for reasons unknown. There are mysterious, unexplained sounds in the attic of the house, which Chris attributes to rats. Regan slowly begins to exhibit strange behavior, undergoing behavioral changes much like depression and anxiety. She turns up in Chris's bed one night, complaining that her own bed was "shaking".
Chris is working on a new movie in Georgetown with a director known as Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran). While filming a scene one day, she notices a young Catholic priest watching her; his name is Damien Karras (Jason Miller). Father Karras has a background in psychology and counsels parishoners at a nearby church; Chris also notices him while walking home from the shoot one day.
Karras is a thoughtful, conflicted man. He discusses his vocation with a superior and asks to be transferred because he feels he is losing his faith. He also has an elderly mother who lives alone in a slum in New York; he visits her and is reminded of how lonely her life is, and he feels guilty that she has to live in such poor surroundings.
The strange occurrences in the McNeil house begin to increase. Regan reveals that she has been playing with a Ouija board and claims that she has the ability to communicate with a spiritual entity all by herself. A nearby Catholic church is desecrated, a statue of the Virgin Mary painted crudely and adorned with conical clay additions made to resemble breasts and a penis. Regan also works with clay and paint, making small animal sculptures.
Meanwhile, Father Karras's mother falls ill and, due to a lack of funds, she is placed in a very shabby hospital and resigned to a ward full of mental patients. Father Karras is distraught when he visits her and she seems to blame him for her situation. Later, she passes away under these conditions, adding to his sorrow.
Chris has an elaborate party at her home with a number of affluent guests. One of her guests is another Jesuit named Father Dyer (Rev. William O'Malley), and Chris asks him about Karras, having noticed him and referring to him as "intense". She finds that Karras and Dyer are good friends. During the party, Regan appears happy and social, but she reappears after being sent to bed, dressed in her nightgown and urinates on the carpet in front of the guests while making an ominous statement to a prominent astronaut ("You're gonna die up there"). After the guests leave, Chris bathes Regan and puts her to bed, but is startled by a loud sound from Regan's bedroom. She rushes back down the hall and discovers Regan's bed shaking violently, rising up off the floor with Regan on it. Chris jumps on the bed and it still levitates.
Chris subjects Regan to a series of medical tests to discover what the problem is. The doctors are unable to discover anything, despite putting Regan through some grueling, painful procedures. The best they can come up with is that Regan may have a lesion on her brain, but ultimately they are frustrated when nothing appears on her brain scan. At Chris's house, Regan suffers was appears to be a seizure, and two doctors visit to assist. They find her rising and falling up and down on the bed in a way that seems impossible for a human being. When they try to sedate her, she hurls them across the room with abnormal strength, speaking to them in what seems to be a male voice: "Keep away! The sow is mine!" Eventually they sedate her.
Out of options, they advise Chris to search for a psychiatrist, but they also reluctantly discuss another possibility: they mention the phenomenon of demonic possession and the rite of exorcism. While they seem to hold professional contempt for it, they do admit that it has been known to solve problems such as what Regan is going through. Chris is skeptical, having no real religious affiliation of her own.
The situation worsens when Chris is out one evening; she returns to find the house deserted except for Regan, who is alone in her bedroom and appears to be in deep sleep. The bedroom is freezing cold, the window standing wide open, and she is uncovered. Sharon returns and Chris is furious with her for leaving Regan unattended, but Sharon explains that she left Regan in the care of Burke, who was visiting the house, while she went to the pharmacy to get Regan's medication. Burke's absence is unexplained until the doorbell rings and an associate of Chris's breaks the news that Burke has just died on the steps outside Chris's house.
Shortly after this, Chris is visited by a kindly detective named Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb), who seems suspicious of Burke's death. He questions Chris about the events of that evening, and Chris is nervous, hesitant
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Father Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow) is an elderly Catholic priest on an archeological dig in Iraq. Merrin has a sense of foreboding and encounters a number of strange omens, including the unearthing of a series of confusing items, a near miss with a runaway horse drawn carriage, and a clock that stops ticking in mid-stroke. Finally, Merrin discovers a statue of a bizarre demonic figure; although the film does not mention it, it is a representation of a demonic figure known as Pazuzu.
