Page 109 - The Westerner Magazine Halloween 2018

The period, and this evening it was my

Uncle Ron’s turn. There would be a
slap-up meal, fizzy drinks and games,

Devil while the men played cards for pennies
in the back room and the ladies played
bingo in the front. Whatever happened,

it would be a late night and I found
Rides myself before midnight watching a

black and white TV in the dining room.
A movie was starting. It would change
Out my life…

I had heard of Dennis Wheatley and

even read a couple of his novels, but
The Devil Rides Out was new to me.
The story is about a black magic lodge

and their attempts to recruit one of
several friends. The main character,
played by Christopher Lee, is a

knowledgeable magician himself who
works hard to save his friends from the
satanic sect. Having seen the movie

many times since, the effects are quite
laughable, really, but at that time and
for an impressionable 14-year old – the

movie was terrifying and yet…
interesting. So, this was magic? If so, I
wanted some.

That movie really started a lifelong

exploration of the occult, magic and the
By Gary Vasey paranormal that continues to this day. It

also both fascinated and scared me to
It was New Year’s Eve a long, long time
my core being at the time. By the time I
ago. It was a family tradition to visit
was 15, I knew an incredible amount
each other’s homes over the festive