Not the news horror fans wanted on Friday the 13th for sure, but the man responsible for creating the greatest horror story of the 20th century has passed away. William Peter Blatty died last night in a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, according to his wife of 33 years Julia Alicia Blatty, who confirmed to CNN. He was 89.

The acclaimed writer, director, and screenwriter died of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. William Friedkin, who directed the film version if Blatty’s most infamous work, The Exorcist, posted the news to his Twitter account.

The Exorcist III
Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Director: William Peter Blatty
Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty
Cast: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Nicol Williamson, Brad Dourif
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 110 Minutes
Release Date: October 25, 2016

“I have dreams of a rose, and falling down a long flight of stairs.”

Written and directed by William Peter Blatty (The Ninth Configuration), The Exorcist III is the latest cult curiosity to receive a two-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Released in 1990, the film is based on Blatty’s 1983 novel Legion, which picks up several years later. The “true sequel” to William Friedkin’s 1973 film, The Exorcist III ignores the events of Exorcist II: The Heretic completely, despite its sequential title – the film was originally titled Legion, but was changed by studio executives to make the movie more commercially appealing.

Another familiar title could be on the way to becoming a new TV series. Fox has ordered a pilot for a series based on The Exorcist, the story of a pair of priests attempting to help a young girl dealing with a demonic possession.

The pilot for the potential series won’t be based on the 1973 classic movie of the same name, which won two Academy Awards for best writing and best sound, and was nominated for eight more. Instead, it will be a new and modern adaptation of the original 1971 book the movie was based on written by author William Peter Blatty.

Updated: 6/21/2012: Yahoo! has confirmed the news of Lynch’s passing. See update below.

This has yet to be confirmed, but I have received word from several notable sources that veteran actor Richard Lynch, best known for playing a wide array of heinous villains in a film and television career spanning nearly four decades, has died at the age of 76. At the moment there are no details as to the cause of his death, but we will keep you updated as we get information.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Lynch was born on February 12, 1936, as one of seven children in his family. Beginning in 1958 Lynch served in the United States Marine Corps for four years, ending his military career at the rank of Corporal. Following his stint in the Marines, Lynch returned to New York to study acting under the legendary acting teachers Uta Hagen and Lee Strasberg. He became a lifetime member of the prestigious Actors Studio in 1970 and had appeared in many stage productions on and off Broadway, including William Shakespeare’s Richard III and Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Lynch made his feature acting debut in 1973’s Scarecrow alongside Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. Throughout the 1970’s the actor built up his resume with appearances in films like The Seven-Ups, The Happy Hooker, God Told Me To, and Deathsport and television shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers.

William Peter Blatty recently brought a revised and expanded version of his blockbuster horror novel The Exorcist back to stores in celebration of the 40th anniversary since his spectacularly chilling story took the world by storm and became the basis of a classic film that to this day remains one of the scariest movies ever made. HarperCollins released The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition in hardcover and eBook on October 4, 2011.

Continue reading for information on the updates in this new edition, as well as a lengthy note released by author.