Customer Reviews

Devil Rides Out (Fleshcreepers)

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4 star:		(9)
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This was the first Dennis Wheatley book I ever read. I now have the full collection. The premise of the story is one of fantasy, however, as the plot unfolds, Wheatley sprinkles in liberal amounts of facts pertaining to the occult, numerism,Devil-worshpping and just plain history to make it credible. I defy anyone who gets to the chapter 'Within the Pentacle' to be able to put it down until at least the chapter after that! Never have I been so scared while reading a book. I have read most of the more contemporay 'horror' writer's offerings, but they pale when compared to this man, who was the master of his craft. If I have one criticism, it's the rather 'snobbish' english, but allow for the fact that the book was written in the days when the upper-class in Britain actually DID talk like that!

Dennis Wheatley's fabulous supernatural thriller 'The Devil Rides Out' on its publication in 1934 was hailed as the best thing of it's kind since Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and the comparison is entirely justified. This classic tale of devilry might also be said to have been strongly influenced by the ripping occult fiction of Sax Rohmer as well. Set amidst the dashing world of the wealthy in 1920's England, Wheatley conjures up an amazing yarn of satanic horrors and hidden diabolism lurking amid the shadowed mansions of St.John's Wood and in luxurious West End hotels, of midnight car-chases through the English countryside in Hispano limousines and bottle-green Bentleys - we are transported into a glamorous era of aristocratic manners, exotically beautiful women, regally-appointed apartments, burgundy smoking jackets, fine aged cognacs and Hoyo cigars. The narrative is fast-paced and truly thrilling with many episodes of chilling terror and laden with a genuinely dark atmosphere of oppressive supernatural evil. The eternal Manichaean struggle, the world-old conflict between the forces of Light and the powers of Darkness is epitomised in the battle between the elegant connoisseur the Duc De Richleau and the suavely malevolent Satanist Mocata who has Simon Aron in his clutches. Wheatley researched the occult elements in this book to quite an impressive degree , garnering many details and esoteric data from Aleister Crowley, Montague Summers and the Jamaican occultist Rollo Ahmed whom he knew in the 1930's. 'The Devil Rides Out' is certainly far superior fare to much of todays etiolated, depressing and confused horror fiction and in no small part this is due to the almost mediaeval dualism which pervades Wheatley's mindset.

This is a fantastic read by the 'Prince of Thriller Writers' as he was called in his heyday and as Dennis Wheatley's friend Christopher Lee has eloquently commented, it also conveys a timely warning against injudicious incursions into the darker regions of the occult with their attendant psychic pathologies. Superbly entertaining and a real 'old school' classic of the genre.

When I first saw the 1968 horror film "The Devil Rides Out" several years back at one of NYC's numerous revival theatres, I thought it was one of the best Hammer films that I'd ever seen, and made a mental note to check out Dennis Wheatley's 1934 source novel one day. That resolve was further strengthened when I read a very laudatory article by Stephen Volk on the book in Newman & Jones' excellent overview volume "Horror: Another 100 Best Books." Now that I have finally read what is generally deemed Wheatley's most successful and popular novel, I can see the Hammer film for what it is: a watered-down filmization that can't hold a Black Mass candle to its superb original. The great Richard Matheson's screenplay condenses much, simplifies more, excises whole sections and changes the central plot entirely. In short, the book is where the real thrills and chills reside. In it, readers once again meet the Duke de Richleau and his friends Rex Van Ryn (an American), Simon Aron (an English Jew) and Richard & Marie Lou Eaton, whom Wheatley first introduced to the world in his earlier novels "Three Inquisitive People" and "The Forbidden Territory." When Simon comes under the power of a group of Satanists and their Aleister Crowley-like leader, Mocata, the Duke must take quick steps to save his young friend from their sinister hold. Wheatley obviously did a prodigious amount of background research before the writing of this, his first of an eventual nine novels dealing with black magic and the supernatural. He throws reams of information at us dealing with witchcraft, numerology, werepeople, vampires, the undead, seances, Egyptology, Kabbalah, and Crowley's "The Book of the Law." The effect of all this detail is to make the reader really buy into the increasingly evil events and suspend disbelief. As our heroes one by one find their skepticism eroded by the book's horrifying events, so too is ours. As in the film, the book's two main set pieces are the midnight Sabbat (more atmospheric and chilling in the novel, taking place on the Salisbury Plain; not to mention more licentious) and the defense of our heroes within the pentacle as Mocata visits on them one evil conjuration after another. The film's oversized giant spider in this scene cannot possibly compare to Wheatley's leprous, sluglike blob creature that leaps, laughs and pulsates. These two passages alone would guarantee Wheatley's book a place in the horror pantheon, but almost as fine are the scenes dealing with Simon's party, the initial materialization of the demon in the observatory, a minutely detailed car chase, Mocata's attempt at hypnotizing Marie Lou and, finally, a breakneck trans-Europe plane chase, culminating in the crumbling tombs of a Grecian monastery, and a showdown with Mocata for the legendary mummified phallus of Osiris--the Talisman of Set--which will enable its possessor to start a world war. Matheson jettisoned the entire central plot point of the Talisman in his screenplay...unwisely, I feel, as it is necessary for increased suspense and a greater atmosphere of urgency. Wheatley has been justifiably accused of racism and bigotry in his writings (55 novels over a course of 39 years), but happily, this early novel of his contains no statements that should grate on modern-day PC sensibilities. At worst, he can be accused of some fuzzy writing on occasion, of having his characters lecture at times rather than speak realistically, and of continuously mistaking the word "aesthetic" for "ascetic." Minor quibbles, indeed, for a book as exciting, innovative and, yes, downright scary as this one. At one point in this longish tale, Rex Van Ryn tells us that his taste in literature tends to "popular novelists who can turn out a good, interesting story." I think that Rex would have been a fan of Dennis Wheatley, based on that statement. Although enormously popular from the 1930s to the 1960s, Wheatley today seems to be little mentioned, but I for one am going to be seeking out more...

As a late commer to the work of Dennis Wheatley I hope to hunt out more of his books and I urge others to do the same. The Devil Rides Out is a very entertaining read holding back just enough to keep imagination going. Probably the best horror thriller I have read in a long time.

_The Devil Rides Out_, first published in 1934 and made available here by Wordsworth Editions Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural, is an occult suspense novel by British novelist Dennis Wheatley that features themes of black magic and Satanism. Dennis Wheatley (1897 - 1977) was a British novelist who is perhaps best known for his occult thriller novels. Wheatley was a fierce defender of British royalty, the empire, and the class system and an opponent of Communism, and his novels feature characters who adhere to that particular point of view. This novel features one of Wheatley's central characters the Duke de Richleau, a French royalist living in exile in England, who had previously appeared in _The Forbidden Territory_ (a tale concerning the Soviet Union in which the characters were pursued by the OGPU), including the American Rex Van Ryn, the English Jew Simon Aron, Richard Eaton, and Princess Marie Lou, along with her daughter Fleur. Wheatley's novels feature themes of black magic and Wheatley was to write about this field after encountering such individuals as Aleister Crowley, the Reverend Montague Summers, and Rollo Ahmed. Wheatley was religious and held towards belief in Christianity; although, certain of his beliefs were unorthodox in that he believed in reincarnation (as expressed for example by Joan Grant in her novel _Winged Pharaoh_). When asked about black magic Wheatley would always reply "Don't meddle!", indicating his opinion on the subject and his note at the beginning of this novel notes the dangers of dabbling in the occult.

The novel begins with the Duke de Richleau and Rex Van meeting again and then wondering what has kept their friend Simon from meeting with them. Together they decide to pay a visit to Simon's house, where they find him to have a series of bizarre guests and to have purchased an observatory. Simon's guests include Tanith, a woman whom Rex has seen around the world on numerous occasions, the old crone Madame d'Urfe, and Mocata, the black magician who will play a major part in this novel, along with several other mysterious individuals. At this point, the Duke and Rex conclude that Simon has been dabbling in black magic and decide to rescue him along with Tanith from the evils of the black magic cult they are involved in. In the meantime, the Duke explains the "esoteric doctrine" underlying the world's religious systems to Rex and they encounter a demon in the observatory. The Duke and Rex manage to get Simon out of the house by knocking him out and thus the satanic coven will not have thirteen, the magical number needed to perform the ritual. They realize that in order to stop the satanic cult they will have to rescue Simon and Tanith before the night of Saint Walpurga's Eve. Rex manages to find Tanith after meeting up with Madame d'Urfe and takes her with him to Cardinal's Folly where Richard and Marie Lou reside. However, first he learns that Tanith is doomed to die within the year. In the meantime however, Tanith manages to escape and travels to the Sabbat. Together with the Duke, Rex kidnaps Simon and Tanith and take them back to Cardinal's Folly. There they must fight off Mocata, who proves to be a skilled hypnotist and uses his powers against Marie Lou. Eventually they must create a magic circle where they can fend off the forces of darkness and prevent Mocata and his minions from retrieving the Talisman of Set and unleashing a terror upon the world worse than the First World War. The angel of death appears and must carry off one of them, and initially it appears that Tanith will be that person as she is found dead. However, things are not as they seem and the group must travel to Paris and Greece to fight Mocata and his evils there, after learning from Tanith's spirit that Mocata has kidnapped Fleur and intends to use her in his diabolical ceremonies. There is also an appearance made by the dread Goat of Mendes, who appears after Mocata's satanic rites have summoned him.

This novel is a highly enjoyable read and is recommended to all those who would take an interest in the novels of Dennis Wheatley. The atmosphere is extremely mysterious and the interplay of black and white magic is found throughout. The novel offers an important warning to those who would dabble in the occult and black magic which nevertheless remains a fascinating and enjoyable book to read.

I heard of Dennis Wheatley's books from a friend. I recalled seeing the Hammer film years ago but didn't make the connection until reading the book.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that while written in 1934 the novel was fresh and the pacing frantic: car chases, plane chases, and well written supernatural suspense.

Doing a little research, I found that through acquaintances, Wheatley actually met Aleister Crowley whom he incorporated as his evil Satanic mastermind, Mocata in the novel.

It is probably the best fictional portrayal of this true-life historical occult character ever done. Although some complain about the long dialogue passages in which our hero the Duke de Richleau goes into detail about the esoteric and occult practices, it is a technique honed by H.P. Lovecraft. It gently lulls the reader into suspension of disbelief and headlong into the world of the supernatural by binding fact with fiction.

I rented the DVD and watched the film in a different light. Christopher Lee, who plays the Duke, says in the commentary that this was hands down his favorite Hammer film. He goes on to say that he only wishes it could be redone with modern CGI special effects and an A-list budget. Plus at the time, Lee felt he was too young to be cast as the Duke, whereas now he would be of the proper age for the role. Here's hoping someone will do a remake.

If you want to be pleasantly surprised by a classic page-turner and terrified this story is for you.

The Devil Rides Out

One of the greatest horror books of all time. A great story, but where it really excels is in its characterization. I'm surprised the Duke de Richleau is not more well known. The only bad thing is the sort of deus ex machina at the end. Still highly reccomended.

I bought this collection because I really like the Hammer film "The Devil Rides Out." The novel is much better than the film, and the end of the film makes more sense now. (The end of both is kind of lame, but victory is seldom as interesting as the battle, at least in fiction.)

"To the Devil--a Daughter" was a pleasant surprise, particularly since I'd also seen the awful, awful film. Despite the dated slang and general lack of gore, the novel is suspenseful and the psychology of the characters interesting.

"The Haunting of Toby Jugg" is my favorite of the collection. Wheatley vividly conveys the central character's terror, and suspense builds throughout the novel. Again, the language and ideas often are dated, but that's part of each novel's charm. I look forward to reading some of his historical fiction now as well.

Written in 1934. Described by many as " the best thing of its kind since Dracula".

The black magic man was the nickname in Britain for Dennis Wheatley since almost all his novels were in the field of devil worship and sorcery..

This is a tale of group of friends who will be dragged into terrifying fight against satanist cult who will need one of them to find the Talisman of Set, a powerful satanic object (representing the phallus of murdered God Osiris !) that will bring destruction to the world if it is possessed by evil hands.

Through the book you will face all kinds of horror figures starting with the goat of Mendes, the red book of Appin, the Sabbat devil ceremony, and many old evil tales.

The book is engaging thriller and full of suspense but I thought the end was abrupt with pretty much predicted "happy ending".

After seeing the film I really wanted to read the book. I enjoyed it; it was a fun read and original. Recommended for a detective type of novel involving the occult.