I just about 5 minutes ago finished reading The Exorcist. Reading it from an adult's perspective (instead of the 14 or 15 year old I was the first time I read it) has changed my view on this book. I used to be a bit terrified by it, didn't even want a copy of it in my house, as it had left a fear inside of me all of these years. Now, I feel strangely uplifted, lighter. Don't know if that's because I've conquered my fear of the book, or because now, as an adult, I comprehend the ending? All these years I've had a small fear inside of me about this book and the subject matter (seen from the viewpoint of an adolescent male) but now the fear is gone. The book actually ends on a positive note- the demon has been vanquished and life will go on.