Sherlock Holmes and The Occult

At Christmas 2009, Warner Brothers will be releasing a new movie based on the detective Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, Jude Law as John Watson, and Mark Strong as their adversary Blackwood.

     In the trailer, you see an occult ritual with candles on the floor. The film’s main antagonist, Lord Blackwood is a Satanist which sets up the occult nature of this film. Lord Blackwood is based on Satanist Aleister Crowley and horror novelist Algernon Blackwood, which was due to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fascination with the occult.

     In his excellent book, Brotherhood of Darkness, Dr. Stanley Monteith states that after reading many books of Madame Helena Petrovena Blavatsky, who formed the Theosophical Society in 1875, that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle became a Theosophist (pg 80).

     In an interview with ign.com Mark Strong gives this interesting bit of information:

IGN: Any favorite scenes that you’ve shot so far?

Strong: Funnily enough the very first day of the whole shoot was this massive speech that my character has to give in this Masonic lodge to like, 60 extras. So we’ve just arrived, just got the costume on, the look on, in this incredible building and there’s like 60 guys in Masonic outfits sitting there looking at you and I had to do a two-page monologue. And that was phenomenal, and got things off to a good start.

   A Satanist speaking to Masonic lodge is very interesting since both are tied to the occult and yet some Christians belong to Freemasonry, who think this is just a harmless club.

    It is very obvious as to the occult nature of this film and the background of Doyle himself. As much occult movies that out there parents and people themselves need to investigate before going into the movie theatre and opening your house to the occult.

Bo Edmonds

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