FAVORITE DESCRIPTIONS OF OCCULT RITUALS IN WEIRD LITERATURE?

[Gnosticangel]

I've just finished rereading Algernon Blackwood's "Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House," and very much enjoyed the atmosphere of the Outer and the Uncanny evoked in the ritual that is the climax of the story. Blackwood's tale is in the public domain:

Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House by Algernon Blackwood

The story has me thinking about other examples of magical rituals in literature, which generally seem to display both transgressive and eerie elements ("transgressive" because either practitioners cross natural boundaries between worlds that are not meant to be crossed, or because they commit actual crimes in the course of the ritual, such as dead body parts in a necromantic ceremony, or a sacrifice of a living being).

In some cases these rites represent the sole Weird dimension in otherwise heroic-type fantasy works, such as the Great Sending of King Gorice the XII in E.R. Eddison's "The Worm Ouroboros." (See Chapter IV, "Conjuring in the Iron Tower" in link below)

The Worm Ouroboros

I'm also an admirer of Aleister Crowley's occult satire, "The Moonchild," which contains another great example of magical, Weird ritual, seen in Chapter XV, "OF DR. VESQUIT AND HIS COMPANIONS, HOW THEY FARED IN THEIR WORK OF NECROMANCY." (Link below)

MOONCHILD - Chapter XV

Another classic example, this one purporting to be a true account, is Benvenuto Cellini's famed "Encounter with the Spirits:"

Benvenuto Cellinis Encounter with the Spirits | The Curio Cabinet

I love all the above stories. But for me, my favorite Weird magical ritual is in Clark Ashton Smith's "The Double Shadow," linked below thanks to The Eldritch Dark website:

The Double Shadow by Clark Ashton Smith

No doubt there are many other wonderful examples of occult rituals in Weird fiction. Can anyone recommend some?

[Jeff Coleman]

"A Nightmare Sang" by Reggie Oliver (from The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler).

The puppet show in Sarban's The Doll Maker.

Much of Arthur Machen's The White People.

Lovecraft's "The Festival".

[Ibrahim]

interior with pvc bucket | the m john harrison blog

[Ucasuni]

The New Fire Ceremony in Brian A. Hopkins's "El Dia de Los Muertos"... it piles dizzying horror upon horror... and climaxes in supreme sublimity.

[Justin Isis]

This thread title being in all caps makes it POP OUT from the other threads on the forum and made me imagine something like in High Fidelity, where Jack Black comes into the record store. John Cusack and the other guy are looking bored and sleepy and then Jack Black yells

"FAVORITE DESCRIPTIONS OF OCCULT RITUALS IN WEIRD LITERATURE??!"

You could also imagine some kind of corporate office situation where white collar workers are huched over tax returns in silence and then someone bursts in and yells

"FAVORITE DESCRIPTIONS OF OCCULT RITUALS IN WEIRD LITERATURE??!"

To answer the question though, there's a great example in The Dracula Papers by Reggie Oliver, in which an Arab magician is summoning a variety of demons.

[Ibrahim]

Or, this version:

Interrogation room. Concrete; grainy blue and grey colour scheme; everything appears starkly, mysteriously backlit.

" favourite description of occult ritual in weird fiction," the interrogator intones ominously. The person in the chair opposite squirms and stutters. " but...i..."

"Favourite description of occult ritual in weird fiction," the interrogator repeats, undoing his belt as he rises slowly from his chair.

[Gnosticangel]

Sincere apologies for the pompous TITLE IN CAPS everyone, as soon as I realized my mistake (right after initial posting), I went back to try and edit the original - but once it was up the site wouldn't allow me to alter the thread title! Now I must carry the burden of this error with me to the grave...

Re. the topic, it has been wonderful to see people's own readings, with much to follow up on. I especially appreciate seeing two works from Reggie Oliver.

One reference was to "A Nightmare Sang" by Reggie Oliver (from The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler). I have this work at home but had not yet read it, though now it has moved to the top of the list!

I will also have to look into The Dracula Papers.

The scene around the fire in Ligotti's "The Greater Festival of Masks" was deeply unsettling.