The Devil Rides Out (Duke de Richleau)

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Wheatley “spared no pains to secure accuracy of detail from existing accounts when describing magical rites or formulas for protection against evil, and these have been verified in conversation with certain persons, sought out for that purpose who are actual practitioners of the Art.” The author learned more about the occult from his time in the British Secret Service during WWII, including vetting and putting Crowley to use.

Wheatley was born at 10 Raleigh Gardens, Brixton Hill, London to Albert David and Florence Elizabeth Harriet (Baker) Wheatley. He was the eldest of three children, his father owned Wheatley & Son, a wine business in Mayfair, London. Dennis admitted to having little aptitude for schooling and was later expelled from Dulwich College for allegedly forming a "secret society", as he mentions in his introduction to The Devil Rides Out. Soon after his expulsion, Wheatley became a British Merchant Navy officer cadet on the training ship HMS Worcester. Red Eagle: The Story of the Russian Revolution and of Klementy Efremovitch Voroshilov, Marshal and Commissar for Defence of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (October 1937) Personally, I wasn't even searching for truths at this stage but after having read the book the seeds were definitely sown!!! I'm still looking!!!! Although the ritual is used in the book, Wheatley didn’t write the words, so Lee consulted the British Museum who directed him to the Grimoire of Armadel, a book of ceremonial magic from the 1600s. Lee chose eight words from the Operation of Uriel Seraphim, a spell used to trap the Devil in a bottle, ‘Uriel Seraphim Io Potesta, Zati Zata Galatim Galata.’ Chistopher Lee as the Duke de RichleauA group of very self-righteous, incredibly rich people swan around in a desperate race against time to stop some Satanists doing - well, it's never entirely clear what - while taking frequent breaks to sample the finer things in life, lecture each other condescendingly, patronise women and complain about the bourgeois, poor, socialists... Maybe those pesky Satanists intended to vote for Jeremy Corbyn? The hysterical tone of the ultra-privileged heroes comes straight out of Tory central casting. Oh, did I mention the racism? This is a very racist book. I know this is a book from the 30s, but I'm genuinely surprised Wheatley was on our side during the war. Quite a few lines in here suggest at least a passing regard for the Nazis. He probably just didn't feel they were from good enough families. Osiris’ wife, Isis, managed to find thirteen of those parts and successfully restored Osiris to eternal life. The missing fourteenth part? Osiris’ phallus. Yep. That’s what Mocata is searching for – an Egyptian God’s penis!

The good guys did make some stupid moves: Rex drove me mad with his stupid decisions about Tanith at the inn. Duh. At the very least consult with the duke instead of falling asleep in the woods! Leaving Fleur unprotected makes me question their intelligence as well. Simon choosing to go against his friends despite the logic of their decision. And poor Richard, having to go a whole day without his drinks and meat… We also get monsters, spirits, and magic, but they are never overused. Wheatley always shows us just enough to give us something cool without it becoming boring from being done to death.One of the reasons ‘The Devil Rides’ was not adapted for screen for more than 30 years was because of how taboo the subject matter of Devil worship was in England in all that time. Even by the film’s release in 1968, certain elements of the story were still considered controversial and either omitted or substantially toned down. Rigby, Jonathan (2000). English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7864-4699-5. During the ritual at the climax of the movie a lighting has been replaced with a new CGI lightning.