Damien Karras

Father Damien Karras, SJ (novel: 1928 - 1971; film: 1935 - 1990) is a fictional Greek-American character from the novel The Exorcist and its sequel The Exorcist III: Legion.

Father Karras was one of the priests who exorcises the demon from young Regan MacNeil. He is a Jesuit psychiatrist suffering a crisis of faith. Father Karras searches for proof to lead an exorcism, yet during his investigation he comes to realize that there is no better way for God to prove His own existence than to reveal the foul presence of Pazuzu. During the exorcism, Pazuzu frequently brings up the subject of Karras' mother's death and how he wasn't there to see her die, which seems to trouble Karras emotionally.

Father Karras dies by throwing himself down a flight of stone steps in order to purge the demon from his own body after having coaxed it out of Regan's.

In the sequel, The Exorcist III: Legion, it is revealed that after the demon departed, another evil spirit invaded Karras' body. Karras was found wandering and amnesiac and was placed in the care of a mental hospital near Washington DC. While incarcerated there, the spirit suppresses Karras' personality and makes forays out of the body to possess other patients in order to commit a series of ritual murders.

In the films The Exorcist and The Exorcist III, he is played by Jason Miller (who was in fact educated at the Jesuit-run University of Scranton).

Films
Damien Karras was born on April 12, 1935 to a Greek family. He became a Jesuit priest on July 30, 1957. Over the years, the priest has begun to doubt the existence of God, the Devil, and many biblical or supernatural beings. Still a Jesuit, he decided to become a psychiatrist.

On October 9, 1975, he, along with fellow-Jesuit Father Lankester Merrin, attempted to exorcise the body of a 12-year-old Regan MacNeil (who was possessed by the demon Pazuzu). In the process, Merrin dies from exhaustion (probably heart attack) and being embittered, Karras attacks the possessed child and forcing the demon to channel unto him instead. The demon then moved to Karras and, cannot take the fate he has received, throws himself out off the window of the MacNeils' residence, tumbling down the stairs of M Street and dies.

At the same time Karras died, a criminal by the name of James Venamun (the infamous "Gemini Killer") was executed. Pazuzu left the body of the dead Karras and placed Venamun's soul unto Karras's body. The body was interred. Soon, as there is still a soul in Karras, the body escaped his grave and he is found roaming the streets of Washington DC. Soon, he was placed under the care of a mental hospital. He has remained in Cell 11 for 15 years.

As time passes, being still alive, his brain tissues mend and so as his bone. Thus, Karras has regained consciousness again, albeit, now having to switch personalities between the real him and Venamun. By night, the spirit of Venamun leaves Karras's body to invade the other patients in the ward, thus, making the patients do all the killing for him without Venamun taking the blame. The Gemini Killer has come back to wreak havoc. However, soon, he leaves Karras' body during a course of an exorcism and Lt. William Kinderman shoots Karras several times, ending Karras' life for good.