The Devil You Say!

Satanism, Demons and Possession in Fiction

For Love of Evil by Piers Anthony
Parry was a gifted apprentice in the arts of White Magic. But his life went disastrously awry following the sudden, violent death of his beloved Jolie. Led down the twisted path of wickedness and depravity by Lilah the harlot demoness, Parry thrived – as a sorcerer, a monk and finally as a feared inquisitor. But it wasn't until his mortal flame was extinguished that Parry found his true calling – as the Incarnation of Evil. And, at the gates of Hell, he prepared to wage war on the master himself – Lucifer, the dark lord – with dominion over the infernal realms the ultimate prize!

Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
A medieval devil speaks directly to the reader, his tone murderous one moment, seductive the next, in a memoir allegedly penned in the year 1438. The demon has embedded himself in the very words of this tale of terror, turning the book itself into a dangerous object, laced with menace only too ready to break free and exert its power.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
Regan, the 11-year-old daughter of a movie actress, is possessed by an ancient demon after playing with her Ouija board. Chris, Regan's mother, goes from internist to psychiatrist, and she ends up looking for help from a Jesuit priest since no drug on earth can quiet Regan, and blatant obscenities fall from the mouth of a babe who can also talk in any foreign language.

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
Meet Harry. A wizard. Not that Harry, mind you. This Harry runs an unusual detective agency in modern Chicago. You’ll get a whole new look at Chicago’s “underworld.” Although demons aren’t the only antagonists in this series, these books are crawling with them. Start with Storm Front.

Lucifer series by Mike Carey
Cast out of Heaven, thrown down to rule in Hell, Lucifer Morningstar has resigned his post and abandoned his kingdom for the mortal city of Los Angeles. Emerging from the pages of writer Neil Gaiman's award-winning series The Sandman, the former Lord of Hell is now enjoying a quiet retirement as the proprietor of Lux, L.A.'s most elite piano bar. But now an assignment from the Creator Himself is going to change all that. Start with Lucifer: Devil in the Gateway.

Dark Debts by Karen Hall
A Southern family is cursed because of a Satanist in the family. Characters include Michael, a sexy Jesuit priest who is having an affair with a beautiful New Yorker editor; Cam, a reclusive Southern writer who survived a murderous family only to leap to his death under mysterious circumstances; Randa, an obsessive newspaper reporter on the trail of Cam's family secret; and Jack, a lost soul who meets the love of his life just as he realizes he's losing his mind.

Horns by Joe Hill
After his childhood sweetheart is brutally killed and suspicion falls on him, Ig Perrish goes on a drinking binge and wakes up with horns on his head, hate in his heart, and an incredible new power which he uses in the name of vengeance.

Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner
Kate Connor used to be a demon hunter, but now she's a stay-at-home mom. But when a demonic assassin shows up at her suburban home minutes before an important dinner party, the retired Hunter is forced back into action to save her town from the invading fiend and his army of the undead. Also try California Demon and Hell on Heels.

Needful Things by Stephen King
Leland Gaunt probes the limits of people's desires when he moves to Castle Rock, Maine, opens his shop, Needful Things, and sets a high price on love, hope…and the human soul. Also try King’s post-apocalyptic tale of good versus the ultimate evil in The Stand.

Hideaway by Dean Koontz
Pronounced clinically dead after his car plunges into an icy river, Hatch Harrison is miraculously revived by a special team of doctors. Now Hatch approaches each day with a new appreciation...until he starts to see terrifying images of madness and murder. For he brought something back from his visit with death – and its murderous rampage has just begun.

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Rosemary Woodhouse is a housewife – young, healthy, blissfully happy. Her husband Guy is an actor – charismatic and ambitious. The spacious, sun-filled apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side is their dream home – a dream that turns into an unspeakable nightmare... Enter the chilling world of author Ira Levin – where terror is as near as your new neighbors, and where evil wears the most innocent face of all.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (Nonfiction: 248.4 LEWIS)
One of Lewis's most imaginative creations, this book is a humorous correspondence between the devil Screwtape and his apprentice Wormwood, whose job is to produce a human's soul for eternity in hell. Filled with astute insights into temptation, repentance and grace, this wonderful tale intelligently explores what it means to live a good, honest life and is a favorite of Lewis fans.

The Descent by Jeff Long
At the dawn of a new millennium, humankind faces its ultimate challenge as a demonic horde, led by a satanic overlord, prepares to leave its subterranean kingdom for an apocalyptic confrontation with the forces of good.

Brimstone by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (Adult Fiction)
A body is found in the attic of a fabulous Long Island estate. There is a hoofprint scorched into the floor, and the stench of sulfur chokes the air. When FBI Special Agent Pendergast investigates the gruesome crime, he discovers that 30 years ago four men conjured something unspeakable. Has the devil come to claim his due?

Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
The vampire Lestat is brought into direct confrontation with God and the Devil and is offered his most dazzling opportunity for redemption yet. In past books, Rice has summoned fantastic worlds as real and immediate as our own. Now she takes us, with Lestat, into the mythic world of our own theology.

The Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow
When the Devil needs a rogue demon killed, whom does he call? Necromancer-for-hire Dante Valentine is choosy about her jobs. Hot-tempered and with nerves of steel, she can raise the dead like nobody's business. But one rainy Monday morning, everything goes straight to hell, literally. The Devil hires Dante to eliminate a rogue demon and, in return, he will let her live. It's an offer she can't refuse. Only, how do you kill something that can't die? The first two books are Working for the Devil and Dead Man Rising.

Black Lightning by John Saul
For five years Seattle journalist Anne Jeffers has pursued the horrifying story of a sadistic serial killer's bloody reign, capture, trial and appeal – crusading to keep the wheels of justice churning toward the electric chair. Now the day of execution has come. A convicted killer will meet his end. Anne believes her long nightmare is over. But she's dead wrong.

The Omen by David Seltzer
Jeremy Thorn, United States Ambassador to England, and his wife Katherine become the parents of a beautiful boy whose destiny it is to carry out a fearful prophecy.

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike (Adult Fiction)
In a small New England town in that hectic era when the sixties turned into the seventies, there lived three witches: Alexandra, a sculptress; Jane, a cellist; and Sukie, the local gossip columnist. Divorced but hardly celibate, the wonderful witches one day found themselves quite under the spell of the new man in town, Darryl Van Horne, whose strobe-lit hot tub room became the scene of satanic pleasures. Also try The Widows of Eastwick, which takes place more than three decades later.