Captain Howdy

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Captain Howdy is the name popularly associated with the white faced demon featured in several nearly subliminal shots (less than a second long but still consciously observable) in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist. The demon mask used in the movie Onibaba (1964) inspired William Friedkin to use a similar design for the makeup in the shots.

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[edit] Background

Designed to instill unease within the audience, the shots feature an extreme close-up of a horribly grimacing, completely white face with large yellow teeth and widely opened brown eyes with dark red bags underneath, looking directly into the camera (and the audience) with a black background. The shots are so fast that they are often missed by those who are not watching carefully or even blink at the wrong moment, and they are as a result almost a still shot except for a very subtle movement of the face's jaw, opening very slightly. This barely discernable movement adds to the feelings instilled by the already lightning fast flash of the face on screen. These shots, which became more prominent in the unedited re-release of the film, are a considerable factor in the horror for which the film is famous.

[edit] "Captain Howdy"

A still of one of the images of Captain Howdy that appears briefly on screen during The Exorcist.
A still of one of the images of Captain Howdy that appears briefly on screen during The Exorcist.

The name "Captain Howdy" is commonly associated with the face because it is a name that Regan repeatedly mentions and is thought by both her mother and the various doctors who treat her to be an imaginary friend. She apparently encounters "him" in a ouija board found in her house, and she asks him a question through the board in the presence of her mother (though he does not respond in that instance). Later, when being hypnotized by a psychiatrist, the doctor asks Regan if the person inside of her (whom she admits is present) is Captain Howdy. When he later directly questions this "other person", thought to be Captain Howdy, Regan adopts the distinctive hoarse growl of the demon and attacks the doctor. It can be presumed from what is shown in the movie that Captain Howdy is how the demon chose to present itself to Regan in order to get inside of her (bearing resemblance to the friendly Howdy Doody), quickly abandoning this disguise once securely inside of her.

[edit] Trivia

  • The original teaser trailer for the film, which consisted of nothing but images of the white-faced demon quickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters, as it was deemed "too frightening".
  • To date, the complete footage taken of Captain Howdy has not been released.
  • Captain Howdy's face is Eileen Dietz's, who also doubled for Linda Blair. The makeup took four hours to apply.
  • There was a furor over the use of subliminal imagery in the film (only a few are in the original theatrical version, but some claimed they fainted due to the imagery). When The Exorcist was re-released in 2000, the face was added in several other shots digitally and more (intentionally) obviously.
  • The Captain Howdy face appears briefly but obviously in Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist when Cheche confronts Father Merrin. It also appears in Exorcist: The Beginning for a few frames in a mirror beside Merrin before he smashes it, and also when Merrin confronts Pazuzu.
  • The words "Captain Howdy" are shown on a shirt worn by Gorillaz frontman 2D. This shirt is on sale in the G-Shop at www.gorillaz.com. There was also a similar version of the face featured at the beginning and end of their video "Rock It".
  • Mark Kramer and Penn Jillette formed a band called "The Captain Howdy", named for this character.
  • There is also a London three-piece band called Captain Howdy, formed in late 2004.[1]
  • Captain Howdy is prominently mentioned in the song "Horror-Teria" by the band Twisted Sister. It is on both their 1984 album Stay Hungry and its 2004 re-recording, Still Hungry.
  • Although obviously not the same character, there is a character named "Captain Howdy" in the 1983 film Hysterical. He is played by actor Richard Kiel.
  • Captain Howdy is mentionned in "Love at first fright" by the Murderdolls
  • The antagonist in the film Strangeland uses the online handle "Captain Howdy" to lure teenagers to his home.
  • The NYC band Crisis composed a song for the Strangeland soundtrack called "Captain Howdy". The song's chorus affectionately warns "...stay away from Captain Howdy...'
  • American rock singer Simon Stokes recorded a song called "Captain Howdy," which reached number 90 on the Billboard charts in August 1974.
  • The Captain Howdy face appears at the end of the infamous "Where's Waldo" online game/prank - the usual effect is that the user becomes so focused on finding "Waldo" amidst a crowded carnival illustration that the sudden appearance of the demonic face alongside a ferocious, agonized scream frightens them. This shock site has been dubbed the "Waldo Scare" and has been used in offices, schools, and homes alike in many countries, often achieving the same effect.
  • A parody of Captain Howdy called Captain Doody appeared in a Halloween episode of Celebrity Deathmatch.
  • Captain Howdy is also a slang term for LSD

[edit] Links

CaptainHowdy.com - The Exorcist Fansite