The Great God Pan and the Inmost Light (Jabberwoke Pocket Occult): 6

H.P. Lovecrafts Cthulu Bram Stokers Dracula Mary Shelleys Frankenstein--All of these towering archetypal terrors trace their lineage to the lurking Dionysian shadow that haunts Arthur Machens 1898 classic fable of pagan horror.The narrative follows a series of clueless Londoners as they struggle to understand the occult destruction that clings to the wake of the mysterious socialite Helen Vaughn. Rumors of dark rituals and a lifelong association with the Horned God of the forest take on a pressing urgency as the well-to-do men of town who are drawn to her begin sacrificing themselves to the strange force that is her true souls companion.Machens fascination with hermeticism and Qabalah informs this singular novel which-along with its unsettling overtones of dread-is also a deeply funny and rewarding satire of the posh upper-class who took up occultism as a fad only to be consumed by ancient powers they neither respected nor understood. The Great God Pan serves as both a warning against casual witchery and for the truly courageous a gateway into the cavernous halls of Dionysus and the costly treasures that dwell within.