The Return of the Ritual (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

Dion Fortune

• Publisher: Fantasy and Horror Classics
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781447404095
• eBook ISBN: 9781447499558

The Return of the Ritual is an enthralling short story that follows the savvy Sherlock Holmes-type character Dr Taverner and his unassuming assistant as they hunt for a stolen manuscript – the type of which, if found in the wrong hands, could have catastrophic consequences for humanity.

After Dr Taverner receives a telepathic lead on the misuse of the ancient ritual, he and his assistant Dr Rhodes set out on an adventure to track down the stolen manuscript and save the world from ruin. But will they track down the missing ritual and prevail?

First published in 1926, this story by Dion Fortune forms part of a more extensive collection of scary detective stories based around the eccentric character, Dr Taverner. Taverner runs a nursing home where the occupants are far from ordinary, with vampires, shapeshifters, telepaths and bloodhounds as residents.

With her fiction deeply rooted in the esoteric sciences, Dion Fortune has created a world unlike no other, directly influenced by her personal beliefs and experiences with occultism. Republished by Fantasy and Horror Classics as a short story in its own right, this fantasy and horror classic is a must-read for lovers of occultist literature, and those interested in classic mysteries and crime fiction.

The Return of the Ritual

DION FORTUNE

It was Dr Taverner’s custom, at certain times and seasons, to do what I should call hypnotise himself; he, however, called it ‘going subconscious’, and declared that, by means of concentration, he shifted the focus of his attention from the external world to the world of thought. Of the different states of consciousness to which he thus obtained access, and of the work that could be performed in each one, he would talk by the hour, and I soon learnt to recognise the phases he passed through during this extraordinary process.

Night after night I have watched beside the unconscious body of my colleague as it lay twitching on the sofa while thoughts that were not derived from his mind influenced the passive nerves. Many people can communicate with each other by means of thought, but I had never realised the extent to which this power was employed until I heard Taverner use his body as the receiving instrument of such messages.

One night while he was drinking some hot coffee I had given him (for he was always chilled to the bone after these performances) he said to me: ‘Rhodes, there is a very curious affair afoot.’

I enquired what he meant.

‘I am not quite sure,’ he replied. ‘There is something going on which I do not understand, and I want you to help me to investigate it.’

I promised my assistance, and asked the nature of the problem.

‘I told you when you joined me,’ he said, ‘that I was a member of an occult brotherhood, but I did not tell you anything about it, because I am pledged not to do so, but for the purpose of our work together I am going to use my discretion and explain certain things to you.

‘You know, I daresay, that we make use of ritual in our work. This is not the nonsense you may think it to be, for ritual has a profound effect on the mind. Anyone who is sufficiently sensitive can feel vibrations radiating whenever an occult ceremonial is being performed. For instance, I have only got to listen mentally for a moment to tell whether one of the Lhassa Lodges is working its terrific ritual.

A RITUAL PENTACLE

‘When I was subconscious just now I heard one of the rituals of my own Order being worked, but worked as no Lodge I have ever sat in would perform it. It was like a rendering of Tchaikovsky picked out on the piano with one finger by a child, and unless I am very much mistaken, some unauthorised person has got hold of that ritual and is experimenting with it.’

‘Someone has broken his oath and given away your secrets,’ I said.

‘Evidently,’ said Taverner. ‘It has not often been done, but instances have occured, and if any of the Black Lodges, who would know how to make use of it, should get hold of the ritual the results might be serious, for there is great power in these old ceremonies, and while that power is safe in the hands of the carefully picked students whom we initiate, it would be a very different matter in those of unscrupulous men.’

‘Shall you try to trace it?’ I enquired.

‘Yes,’ said Taverner, ‘but it is easier said than done. I have absolutely nothing to guide me. All I can do is to send round word among the Lodges to see whether a copy is missing from their archives; that will narrow our zone of search somewhat.’

Whether Taverner made use of the post or of his own peculiar methods of communication I do not know, but in a few days’ time he had the information he required. None of the carefully guarded rituals was missing from any of the Lodges, but when search was made among the records at headquarters it was discovered that a ritual had been stolen from the Florentine Lodge during the middle ages by the custodian of the archives and sold (it was believed) to the Medici; at any rate, it was known to have been worked in Florence during the latter half of the fifteenth century. Wha...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• A Biography of Dion Fortune
• The Return of the Ritual