Master of Darkness: Dennis Wheatley's Black Magic Novels

Nobody remembers Dennis Wheatley anymore but for forty years he was one of Europe's most successful thriller writers. He published over forty novels as well as non-fiction and an autobiography and was translated into numerous languages, dominating the best seller lists between the 1930s and the 1970s. I must confess to a certain fondness for Wheatley because his works were one of my entry points into Hermetic magick when I was a teenager (ah, sweet nostalgia...) This article focuses on his Black Magic novels, which were the most popular of his works.

First, some background. Wheatley was born into a wealthy wine making family and inherited all of the class prejudices of his day. Arguably, his views on ethnic minorities ("wogs") and the working classes ("Bolsheviks") led to his works becoming unfashionable by the 1980s. He led a fascinating life, working for the British secret service during the Second World War and mixing in high society. Although his writing has dated badly there is no doubt that he was a master story teller, able to keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat in a way that shames most modern thriller writers. He also did his research; the only occult thrillers that are more accurate were written by actual magickians (Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune). His most famous novel is The Devil Rides Out, mainly because it was turned into a rather decent film by Hammer Studios.

Wheatley was an Establishment Christian so his attitude towards magick is coloured by his religious beliefs. He used stereotypical Satanists as the bad guys in his occult novels and regarded magick as something dangerous and disreputable. However, he also acknowledged the reality of magickal power and the existence of white magickians whose job is to battle Satanism and save the virtuous from the clutches of evil. His main white magickian character is called the Duke de Richleau. This character is described by Wheatley as a master adept and frequently uses medieval grimoire magick to defeat his foes.

Wheatley's Satanists are certainly an active bunch. They run the Third Reich from underneath in They Used Dark Forces, and are constantly trying to spread their influence by seducing upright English gentlemen to the dark side. Whether Wheatley genuinely believed in a global Satanic conspiracy is unknown but he certainly popularised the idea. It was partly the influence of his writings that led to the Satanic panic of the early nineties.

Unfortunately, Wheatley never really understood magick and he makes some glaring errors. Among the most notable are the assertion that voodoo is a form of Satanism (because black people practice it, natch) and a hopelessly garbled version of the Golden Dawn grading system (apparently, de Richleau has "six circles and five squares", as though he buys geometrical shapes from Harrods). He also constantly refers to Aleister Crowley as a Satanist (he wasn't), which is unforgivable since the two men knew each other. It was Wheatley who interviewed Crowley when the latter applied to join MI5 during World War 2. (He didn't get the job, incidentally). Wheatley based his most famous villain, the Satanist Mocata in The Devil Rides Out, on Crowley.

As the New Age Movement gathered apace and political correctness took hold Wheatley's works gradually faded from view. As far as I am aware they are now out of print, and quite difficult to get hold of second hand. What he would have made of the modern Neo-pagan movement is anyone's guess. Interestingly, The Haunting of Toby Jugg was recently turned into a TV movie entitled The Haunted Airman, so maybe a Dennis Wheatley renaissance is just around the corner.

Bibliography

The following titles are Wheatley's major Black Magick works. They are still worth a look if you like a good chuckle.

They Used Dark Forces

The Devil Rides Out (see if you can find the movie as well)

Strange Conflict

Gateway to Hell

To the Devil a Daughter

The Satanist

The Haunting of Toby Jugg (recently filmed for TV as The Haunted Airman)

The Ka of Gifford Hilary

The Devil and all His Works (non-fiction)