Blumhouse Plots Possession at the White House in ‘Exorcism at 1600 Penn’

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster are heading to the White House—just not the version you remember from civics class. The genre powerhouses are developing a feature adaptation of The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Hannah Rose May’s political‑horror comic about the first female U.S. president fighting off literal demons in the Oval Office.

The film will be based on May’s IDW Publishing graphic novel, first released in August 2025, with Jason Blum producing and Blumhouse’s Ryan Turek executive producing alongside May and IDW CEO Davidi Jonas.[1]

From Comic-Book West Wing to Big-Screen Horror

In the comic, the most famous address in America becomes a supernatural battleground as a possession crisis collides with nuclear brinkmanship, media warfare, and teenage drama. The president has to juggle escalating global tensions, the threat of World War III, and raising two teenagers—while something unholy stalks the corridors of power.[2] Illustrated by Vanesa Del Rey, the series quickly expanded into a follow‑up, The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace, hinting at a wider political‑supernatural universe.[3]

Blumhouse’s Turek called the material “grounded and urgent,” praising the way May fuses classic possession tropes with contemporary political anxiety. The hunt is now on for a filmmaker who can bring that blend of West Wing drama and occult horror to the screen at scale.

For IDW, which has long straddled the line between cult comics and mainstream media, the project joins a growing wave of page‑to‑screen deals—echoing recent moves like Sony’s play for James Islington’s fantasy saga in Sony’s Hierarchy adaptation and Netflix’s data‑driven push behind book‑based hits covered in Netflix’s adaptation report.

Hannah Rose May’s Horror Rise

Irish writer and actor Hannah Rose May has quickly become a name to watch in genre comics. Alongside The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, she created the slasher‑meets‑fandom series Rogues’ Gallery and superhero‑adjacent thriller The Guy in the Chair. She’s also penned Star Trek: Celebrations and is currently scripting a prequel to Parker Finn’s Smile for IDW, Finn, and Paramount, due out mid‑February.[4]

On the screen side, May has appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ghosts, but Exorcism marks her highest‑profile leap from comics creator to feature producer yet. She’s described working with Blumhouse—home to Insidious, The Purge, and a raft of recent literary and comics adaptations—as “a dream come true.”

The move also fits a broader trend of horror comics heading to film and streaming. Recent years have seen everything from Grady Hendrix’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism[5] to Emily Henry’s beach reads making the jump, with studios increasingly betting that distinctive voices and high‑concept premises will stand out in a crowded genre market.

For readers, the adaptation is likely to send new fans back to the source material—and to its London‑set sequel—just as May’s profile spikes. If The Exorcism at 1600 Penn lands, don’t be surprised if this demonic political universe becomes horror’s next big franchise address.