Any thoughts on Dennis Wheatley ?

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BAYLOR

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I picked up a copy of his book The Found Atlantis published 1936. I have heard the name before , due a Hammer film The Lost Continent made about the IN 1968 which based off of one his novel , I think.
 
He wrote alot of supernatural horror stories in the mid 20th century. A number were made into 1960s films. Rather out of fashion now.
I had a friend who thought that The Haunting of Toby Jug was the scariest thing he had ever read.
 
I've read a lot of Dennis Wheatley, yes they are a bit out dated but still a good read. The Haunting of Toby Jug I read it as a teen, do remember it being disturbing and need to find a copy to re-read.

The Devil Rides Out, is one of those books you never forget.
 
They Found Atlantis is the first only book ive seen or own by him. Ive never seen any of his other books on store shelves.
 
I haven't read They Found Atlantis.
The ones I do remember

The Forbidden Territory
The Devil Rides Out
Strange Conflict
They Used Dark Forces
The Satanist
To The Devil a Daughter
Gateway to Hell.
I've read others but can't remember.
 
nixie said:
I haven't read They Found Atlantis.
The ones I do remember

The Forbidden Territory
The Devil Rides Out
Strange Conflict
They Used Dark Forces
The Satanist
To The Devil a Daughter
Gateway to Hell.
I've read others but can't remember.
Click to expand...

This book I have appears to be an adventure novel .
 
I found a couple of new printings of Wheatley books a couple (or maybe five) years ago.

I'd just like to stick in a plug for The Devil Is a Gentleman: The Life and Times of Dennis Wheatley, by Phil Baker. A very enjoyable bio.
 
I remember watching and being terrified of The Devil Rides Out as a kid, but I've not actually read any of his books.
 
The Devil Rides Out (1968) and To The Devil, a Daughter (1976) were filmed, both with Christopher Lee, both from Hammer. Don't recall seeing the latter but the former is enjoyable, with a screenplay by Richard Matheson. Pops up in the U.S. on TMC every so often.

Randy M.
 
Randy M. said:
The Devil Rides Out (1968) and To The Devil, a Daughter (1976) were filmed, both with Christopher Lee, both from Hammer. Don't recall seeing the latter but the former is enjoyable, with a screenplay by Richard Matheson. Pops up in the U.S. on TMC every so often.

Randy M.
Click to expand...

I may have seen both of those. bot, Im not sure .:unsure:
 
Apropos of Dennis Wheatley, I just bought Craig Cabell's Dennis Wheatley and the Occult: An Essay Concerning a Writer and His Research. I'm deeply interested in the interface between fiction writers and the occult; it's remarkable how many major avant-garde names from the early 20c were into it. So I'm hoping to learn new stuff here.
 
I know there was a group of writers around that time who dabbled in the occult., Alistair Crowley and William Butler Yeats were two.

I vaguely remember reading Wheatley said he had an academic interest and studied the subject but he had never participated in it. Something about knowing how dangerous it can be.
 
Yes, in late 19c England quite a few tried the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical order created by Aleister Crowley. Arthur Machen also attended some sessions, I suppose enticed by his friend A. E. Waite, who studied magic seriously. Yeats had a famous spat with Crowley and later channeled his interest in magic into his poetry and his own system, explained in A Vision (1925).

But lots of artists pursued occult venues. Theosophy was pretty popular and it's been argued that Kandinsky's and Hilma af Klint's abstract painting developed from their theosophic teachings. It's curious that ever since magic fell into disrepute in the 18c, there's been a steady continuum of artists involved or at least piqued by it. From Blake to Mozart to Baudelaire, interest in magic has been one of the secret forces directing the arts for the past 200 years.
 
nixie said:
I know there was a group of writers around that time who dabbled in the occult., Alistair Crowley and William Butler Yeats were two.

I vaguely remember reading Wheatley said he had an academic interest and studied the subject but he had never participated in it. Something about knowing how dangerous it can be.
Click to expand...

Some things are best avoided.
 
I read all his novels in my 20s and loved them. I tried reading The Devil Rides Out again a few years ago, but found it so dated I quickly abandoned it. I think the novels are very much of their time. (The scariest, probably due to my claustrophobia, was The Ka of Gifford Hillary.)

I was very interested in the occult back then and I still have his illustrated, The Devil and All His Works, which is quite fascinating.

In the book he talked about the evil lurking under the pyramids at the abandoned ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacán near Mexico City, and when I visited there some years later I definitely felt a very odd and unsettling 'presence' there and quickly exited one of the underground passages in a cold sweat. I've often wondered if I would have felt anything if I hadn't read Wheatley's book, but whatever caused it, it was still a pretty wild and memorable experience!
 
I read The Devil Rides Out and found it very hard to get through due to the long-winded prose and digressions. Maybe I was impacted by Conjure Wife which I read right before. That was a fast-paced read.

I am curious about the book that was the basis for The Lost Continent 1968 though.
 
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