occultdetective.com

To paint with the broadest possible brush, one might say that Occult Detective stories simply combine the detective and supernatural horror fiction genres. This sub-genre got its start in 1872 with the introduction of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Dr Martin Hesselius within the pages of his infamous short story collection In a Glass Darkly. The tradition was carried forth by the likes of Bram Stoker (Abraham Van Helsing), Algernon Blackwood (Dr. John Silence), and even the “Wickedest Man in the World”, Aleister Crowley (Simon Iff). Hell, Conan creator Robert E. Howard (Steve Harrison) got in on the action, and Dennis Wheatley (Duc de Richleau) wrapped himself in it and made it his own.

Being a genre that I thoroughly enjoy and dabble in, below I shall offer up a “suggested reading list”, populated not only by classic examples of the Occult Detective, but of modern explorations of the tradition…

SHERIDAN Le FANU- In a Glass Darkly
BRAM STOKER- Dracula
ALGERNON BLACKWOOD- John Silence
ALEISTER CROWLEY- Moonchild
ROBERT E. HOWARD- The Black Moon, Graveyard Rats, Names in the Black Book
H.P. LOVECRAFT- The Horror at Red Hook
MANLY WADE WELLMAN- Lonely Vigils
DENNIS WHEATLEY- The Devil Rides Out
KATHERINE KURTZ- Lammas Night, The Adept Series
WILLIAM HJOTSBERG- Falling Angel
UMBERTO ECO- The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum
CLIVE BARKER- Harry D’Amour (The Last Illusion, The Great and Secret Show, Everville)
MARK FROST- The List of Seven
JIM BUTCHER- Storm Front (The Dresden Files series)
JOHN BYRNE & MIKE MIGNOLA- Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
NEIL GAIMAN- Books of Magic
JAMIE DELANO, NEIL GAIMAN, & GARTH ENNIS- Constantine: The Hellblazer Collection
RICHARD MATHESON- Hell House, Stir of Echoes, The Kolchak Scripts
DOUGLAS PRESTON & LEE CHILD- The Aloysius Pendergast stories
DEAN KOONTZ- The Odd Thomas series
STEPHEN MARK RAINEY- Balak, The Lebo Coven
STEVEN SHREWSBURY- Bulletproof Soul
WILLIAM MEIKLE- The Midnight Eye Files (The Amulet / Sirens)
BRIAN KEENE- Dark Hollow, Ghost Walk
JON MERZ- The Lawson Vampire series
JUSTIN GUSTAINIS- The Quincey Morris series (Black Magic Woman, Evil Ways)
TOM SNIEGOSKI- the Remy Chandler series (A Kiss Before the Apocalypse)