The Devil Rides Out / Gateway to Hell

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

_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 th

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 read this book when I was 17 years old, and to this day (i am now 35), It's the most interesting, and gripping horror read I've had. I have been trying for a few years now to get this title without any success. Anyone who can tell me how I can get a copy for my library, I would be grateful.

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!