The Devil Rides Out
(publ. Hutchinson)
The Devil Rides Out is a 1934 novel by Dennis Wheatley telling a disturbing story of black magic and the occult.[1] The four main characters, the Duke de Richleau, Rex van Ryn, Simon Aaron and Richard Eaton, appear in a series of novels by Wheatley. The book was made into a film by Hammer Film Productions in 1968. There is also an abridged, young adult version "retold" by Alison Sage for the "Fleshcreepers" series (1987).
Plot
Set in 1930s London and the South of England, the Duc de Richleau and Rex van Ryn discover that their friend Simon Aaron has become involved with a cult of devil worshipers headed by the sinister Mr. Mocata. Following a daring rescue from a Grand Sabbat on Salisbury Plain, they take Simon to the country house of Richard Eaton and his wife, the Princess Marie-Lou, where they are besieged by unearthly forces, and discover the true purpose of Mocata's cult.
Reception
James Hilton, reviewing The Devil Rides Out, described it as "The best thing of its kind since Dracula".[2]
Film
In 1968, the novel was made into a film by the British film company Hammer Film Productions. It starred Christopher Lee as de Richleau and Charles Gray as Mocata.
References
- ^ Wheatley, Dennis (2007) [1935]. The Devil Rides Out. Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 978-1840225433.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|editorn-first=and|editorn-last=(help) - ^ Howard Maxford, Hammer, House of Horror: Behind the Screams. Batsford, 1996 (p. 97).
