'The Exorcist' steps: Washington D.C. tourist attraction made official

Tourists regularly visit Washington, D.C. to pose for photos with the spooky stone steps from The Exorcist. This spot served as the location for — spoiler alert! — the death of Father Karras (Jason Miller) in the film. Now the city officially recognized The Exorcist Steps as a tourist attraction.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled a special plaque with this designation. “It is important that all the tourists know exactly what these steps mean to D.C. history and they are indeed an icon in our town,” she said. “It is also a marker for us to put in the ground to say that we are going to double and redouble our efforts to make D.C. a film town.”

The ceremony was followed by a screening of the 1972 horror film with director William Friedken. See photos of him posing with the steps.

The film starred Linda Blair as a child possessed by evil spirits. In an attempt to free her, Father Karras took the demon into himself and plunged out the window to his death at the bottom of the stone steps. Watch the famous scene in the clip below.

Nothing says “Happy Halloween” like this recognition.