What was used to simulate the green vomit in "The Exorcist"?

One surefire way to kill Christmas cheer is lining up in the cold to watch children get possessed and projectile vomit, and that's exactly what audiences did when "The Exorcist" opened on December 26, 1973. The scene where possessed Regan spews green bile all over Father Karras became instantly iconic (and one of many reasons why moviegoers ended up leaving early). What was used to simulate the green vomit in "The Exorcist"?

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Correct Answer: Porridge with pea soup

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The head spin might get more attention, and "the power of Christ compels you" lives on in infamy, but the vomit to the face deserves just as much credit for traumatizing generations of moviegoers. Everyone assumes it was just pea soup, but the effects team mixed it with porridge because it's really important that movie vomit has the right color AND chunky consistency.

Legendary makeup artist Dick Smith rigged up a thin plastic tube that ran from Linda Blair's mouth down to the floor, where a technician operated a hand-cranked pump. The mixture was supposed to hit Jason Miller in the chest, but the tube either misfired or was deliberately re-aimed at the last second.

They only did one take for that scene, so what you see in the movie is Miller's genuine disgust and anger after getting a face full of porridge and pea soup. It's a good thing it turned out so well, because I don't think Miller would've been up for a reshoot.

What was used to simulate the green vomit in "The Exorcist"?

Correct Answer: Porridge with pea soup

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