Summary
Every horror fan knows the kind of drama, terror, and desperation that marks a good tale of demonic possession. But how does that story change when the “haunted house” in question is the White House… and the family being tormented belongs to the President of the United States? The answer isThe Exorcism at 1600 Penn, the next comic being added to the must-read list for any horror fan.
The new book fromIDWarrives just in time for Halloween, withThe Exorcism at 1600 Penn#1set to launch on June 20, 2025. But for those horror fans eager to hear more about this inspired nightmare, Screen Rant got the chance to speak with writer Hannah Rose May (Curb Your Enthusiasm,Harley Quinn) about the inspiration for the series, the new First Family twist on a classic horror trope, the outstanding work of Vanesa Del Rey (Constantine: The Hellblazer), and more. Read on for the full interview below.
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Screen Rant: With the news officially out, the secrecy surrounding THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN makes perfect sense! Explain the premise? “Brilliant, I’m in.” Show that first cover by Vanesa Del Rey? “Take my money now.” Was the initial idea for this story also that direct and instantaneous, or did it take time to develop?
Hannah Rose May: Vanesa Del Rey was my dream get from the jump and I sincerely believe she’s doing some of her best work on this series. Just when I thought she couldn’t possibly get any better! When I first saw that cover, I literally gasped because I had that exact image living in my head since the ideas first inception.
The idea came sort of out of nowhere to be honest. It was back when Biden was elected and Ireland was very excited to have an Irish Catholic in the White House. It just goes to show how my mind works but the moment I think about Catholicism, I also think about exorcisms. Then the title hit me and from there it all started to fall into place. I love being able to put women in roles and places we haven’t seen them before through storytelling so it quickly became about the first female president and the First Family and what would happen if they had to perform an exorcism in the White House. After that, it took a little bit of time to flesh out the rest of the world, tone, and story but the core concept was pretty fully baked from the jump.
SR: Before getting into the specific details of this story, you’ve described EXORCISM as “all-out horror” – is that your flavor of horror? How grueling is it for a fan of horror to have to write horror up to their own standards?
HRM: Horror and thrillers are for sure my favorite genres and I knew I wanted to write a horror story as my next original series. I’ve always been drawn to horror that earns its scares through the slow burn of character development rather than leaning on jump scares and gore. That’s why The Exorcist has served as nightmare fuel for decades and is considered the gold standard in horror. It’s daunting stepping into the realm of horror but as a fan I knew what I wanted to achieve with this story and used that as my guiding principle when writing the scripts. It’s hard to get a sense of the terror when it’s just words on a page but it wasn’t until Vanesa’s hauntingly beautiful pages came in that I realized we had a real horror book on our hands!
SR: Most horror fans are familiar with the premise of ‘a family being haunted,’ but how much does that story change when it’s the First Family? How do you draw that line between the horror, and the political (if you do)?
HRM: Great question! I really wanted to be mindful of the political implications of setting a story within the White House. I took a page out of Top Gun: Maverick, which does an excellent job of remaining politically agnostic and never refers to the enemy country by name which lets the audience fill in the blanks. The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is distinctly a horror story and not a political one despite the setting. With the First Family, I wanted to spotlight what it must be like for the kids of these political figures when it comes to having a crush or dealing with bullying when your mom’s the most powerful person in the world. I also wanted to focus on the intensity of the 24/7 news cycle and the echo chambers that have been created as a way to further explore how the events of the book affect the First Family. Like that of Rogues' Gallery, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn utilizes social media as a narrative tool to amplify the horror elements of the book by ratcheting up the tension.
SR: The first issue does an outstanding job of presenting “The White House” as just a new house. Is that perspective only possible for a storyteller who isn’t born in the United States? Was that something you contended with in the development process?
HRM: Growing up outside of the United States, the White House has this perception of being a beacon of hope and freedom more so than a building. I’ve long been obsessed with the White House and as I started to learn more about it after moving to the US, I realized it really is just as much a house as it is a symbol. I loved the idea of playing with that feeling of when you move into a new house and how it still doesn’t feel like home. It made me think about what an odd juxtaposition that must be for the First Family, to live in this iconic building that represents so much to the world but it’s also where mom and dad still come in and kiss you goodnight or where you play Mario Kart on Switch. Could you imagine playing Mario Kart in the White House?!
SR: This story is about a home and the family living in it, but it’s anchored on Kelly Doyle: how can you describe her, and the many hats she’s wearing when we meet her in the story?
HRM: When we meet Kelly Doyle she is in the midst of being inaugurated as the first female president. The world is teetering on the edge of all out war and the return of the mysterious Havana Syndrome has ratched tensions on the home front. Kelly is a woman of faith and truly believes in good versus evil. She sees her role as president to serve as a peacekeeper but with everything going on, she’s struggling to manage the warhawks who are using the Havana Syndrome and the media to corner her into an aggressive response. On top of being Commander and Chief, she’s still mother to her teenage children which is no easy feat for any parent. Needless to say, she’s got a lot on her plate, but what president doesn’t?
That’s something I wanted to play with in this series. Since there’s only been male presidents, I wanted to explore the double standard towards women who are often forced to choose between their careers and their kids. Throughout this series we see Kelly actively pushing back against those preconceived notions both on the world stage and at home. To some extent The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is a play on the Faustian Bargain and asks how much is Kelly willing to give up to break through that hardest and highest glass ceiling. It’s from there that our story really unfolds and readers will get to see that play out across Vanesa’s gorgeous pages.
SR: When you’re announcing a story that could be seen as “controversial” (given the location), and thenSOMNAwins the Eisner Awardthe next day, does that embolden a writer like yourself? Horror is a big genre, but that seems to send a BIG message to everyone within sight.
HRM: Somna deserves all the praise and love, shout out to Tula [Lotay] and Becky [Cloonan] on that well deserved win! Such a beautiful book. As a writer it confirms to me that the audience is hungrier than ever for these more avant garde, female driven, and female written big swings. I think as creatives we constantly have to toe the line between stories that are deemed commercially viable versus the stories we actually want to tell. Sometimes those two things don’t align (shocker!) and in the business of comics, you’re only as good as your last series sales numbers. But what we’re starting to see now with the likes of Somna’s Eisner win is the desire for more stories that can challenge the status quo while still finding a large readerbase. I’m only in my second year as a professional writer in the comic industry but I feel like there’s no better time to be a creator in this space. Whether your story is about the Salem Witch Trials and a sexual awakening at the hands of the Shadow Man or about the first female president protecting her family from an enemy nation or a supernatural entity, just get out there and write that story you’ve been itching to tell! If you write it, they will come :)
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn#1arrives on October 16, from IDW Publishing.
