The Occult Detective 666
I have had a long fascination with “Occult Detective” stories starting, I think, with my reading of The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley when I was a kid back in grade school, followed shortly thereafter by catching the adventures of Carl Kolchak on television.
The simple definition of an occult detective story is merely one in which the tropes of the traditional detective story are combined with those found in supernatural horror fiction. The sub-genre got its kick-start back in 1872 with Sheridan Le Fanu’s Through A Glass Darkly. Since then it has become a staple of literature, movies, television, and comics.
From Stoker’s Abraham Van Helsing to Wellman’s John the Balladeer to Lee & Ditko’s Doctor Strange, the Occult Detective as a storytelling device has stood the test of time, proving that when it’s done right there is an audience hungry for a paranormal mystery. One need merely take a cursory glance at the current “Urban Fantasy” and “Paranormal Romance” markets to see that the Occult Detective is alive and well in the 21st Century.
What follows, in what I’m calling my Occult Detective 666, are my favorites in the genre. If you’re looking to take a peek into the dark and sinister worlds that Occult Detectives feel right at home in, these are as good a place to start as any.
— MOVIES —
Angel Heart
(1987) Directed by Alan Parker.
Starring Mickey Roarke as Harry Angel &
Robert DeNiro as Louis Cyphre
Cast A Deadly Spell
(1991) Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Fred Ward as Harry Lovecraft &
David Warner as Amos Hackshaw
The Ninth Gate
(1999) Directed by Roman Polanski
Starring Johnny Depp as Dean Corso &
Frank Langella as Boris Balkan
The Devil Rides Out
(1968) Directed by Terence Fisher
Starring Christopher Lee as Duc de Richleau &
Charles Gray as Mocata
In the Mouth of Madness
(1995) Directed by John Carpenter
Starring Sam Neill as John Trent &
Jürgen Prochnow as Sutter Cane
Lord of Illusions
(1995) Directed by Clive Barker
Starring Scott Bakula as Harry D’Amour &
Daniel von Bargen as Nix
— TELEVISION —
Spectre
TV Movie/Pilot
(1977) Directed by Clive Donner
Starring Robert Culp as William Sebastian &
Gig Young as Dr. Amos Hamilton
The Night Stalker
TV Movie/Pilot
(1972) Directed by John Llewellyn Moxy
Starring Darrin McGavin as Carl Kolchak &
Barry Atwater as Janos Skorzeny
Supernatural
Series
(2005 - ) Created by Eric Kripke
Starring Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester &
Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
Twin Peaks
Series
(1990-1991) Created by David Lynch & Mark Frost
Starring Kyle MacLachlan as Agent Dale Cooper &
Ray Wise as Leland Palmer
The Dresden Files
Series
(2007) Created by Jim Butcher
Starring Paul Blackthorne as Harry Dresden &
Terrence Mann as Bob
The Norliss Tapes
TV Movie/Pilot
(1973) Directed by Dan Curtis
Starring Roy Thinnes as David Norliss &
Angie Dickinson as Ellen Sterns Cort
— LITERATURE —
Sir Adam Sinclair
Katherine Kurtz & Deborah Turner Harris
The Adept, The Lodge of the Lynx, The Templar Treasure,
Dagger Magic, Death of an Adept
Simon Iff
Aleister Crowley
Moonchild, The Scrutinies of Simon Iff,
Simon Iff in America, Simon Iff: Psychoanalyst
Harry D’Amour
Clive Barker
“The Last Illusion”, The Great and Secret Show,
“The Lost Souls”, Everville
John Thunstone
Manly Wade Wellman
What Dreams May Come, The School of Darkness,
The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations
John Constantine
Created by Alan Moore
Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, The Books of Magic
Levi Stoultzfus
Brian Keene
Ghost Walk, A Gathering of Crows,
The Witching Tree
November 12, 2011 at 10:38 am
It’s always a pleasure to know someone else who reveres “Spectre,” the TV movie that first got me interested in this whole “occult detective” thing. Pity that it was never picked up as a series.
November 12, 2011 at 8:20 pm
I had a sneaky suspicion that you were a William Sebastian fan. Roddenberry slam dunked this pilot. I’d have given anything to have seen it go to series. It was tailor made for my 11 year old self and the 45 year old version still thinks it’s about as good as it gets.
December 10, 2011 at 8:54 am
Bob, I don’t remember how I found your site, but I’m really glad I did -I love this stuff! A propos occult detectives, in case you’re not familiar with her, Dion Fortune (early 20th century British occultist with some association to Crowley, and herself a writer of very highly regarded books on magick and the quabalah) also created an occult “detective” – like character – Dr. Taverner in one or more of her novels. I’ve never read any of her novels, but given her reputation as an occultist, I would imagine they make a good read. Her book the Mystical Quabalah is a masterpiece.
Thanks for sharing your work!
December 10, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Good call. Been a fan of Ms. Firth’s works for years. Loved The Secrets of Dr. Taverner, as well her other fictions (such as The Demon Lover, The Sea Priestess, & Moon Magic). Of course, as with Crowley, her true gift was in passing on legitimate occult knowledge and technique, but the fiction is top notch and inspiring to boot.
Cheers.
December 18, 2011 at 11:45 am
Well said, I should have guessed you would have found her work by now!
December 20, 2011 at 9:02 am
Devoured her when I was in Junior High. Wish she were more widely read today. Her work has stood the test of time.
December 22, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Junior HIgh? You, my friend, were a precocious reader! In junior high I was probably still reading children’s books. While in the 8th or 9th grade a neighbor (grad student) loaned me “Animal Farm” to read to see what I could get from it. As I told my son, my primary conclusion was that the book was foolish because “animals can’t talk”. I was decades away from finding out the book was a parable against totalitarianism. So, no, I wasn’t ready for prime time at that age. Compliments to yourself for being already a mature reader!
Seriously, your list of Hardy Boys books did make me envious. I started getting them for Christmas and birthdays when I was about 8 (1955 for me); I would read them over and over. I never liked the later ones from the 70′s as much – I was surprised to discover in a schoolmate’s collection once that they had continued to be written long after I had ceased reading them – as they didn’t have the same haunting atmosphere as the first ones in the series (written evidently in 1927). Only much later I read – I think in a New Yorker article – that there had been many different authors for that series over the decades under the pseudonymn Franklin W. Dixon. I do have the first three volumes (Smithmark 1999 edition) but its possible that I have a few from the 1950′s in the basement as well. But who has time for nostalgia! I get so engrossed in Wikipedia nowadays, I can hardly get out of it once I start following its links! There’s just so much to read now. I’m grateful to people like yourself who take the time to put out original material.
Happy Holidays.
December 23, 2011 at 9:21 am
Happy Holidays to you as well.