_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.
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