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The Closed Circle
Barney Parrish is the pen name of George Wolk, and you probably want a pen name when you're writing a Satanism cash-in this lurid and tawdry. The Closed Circle revolves around Lila Gerard who is described by the berserk back cover copy as, “Lila: Crazed or Possessed? Lila: Shy Bride or Wanton Bitch? By day, quietly religious, by night, lewd and possessed of a strange psychic power that enables her to witness events a continent away � weird events, diabolic orgies, and a cult of evil which calls itself THE CLOSED CIRCLE.�
Lila, who is taking a “university-level� course in weaving, starts sleepwalking, possessed by “nocturnal Lila� who is really into sex, much to the horror of her husband, and because she wants to have sex they decide to institutionalize her. Once safely locked away, her psychiatrist realizes that she has an ESP open line on the Closed Cirlce, a bunch of thinly-veiled Hollywood celebs who abduct hitchhikers and sacrifice them at LSD devil orgies.
Lila, who is taking a “university-level� course in weaving, starts sleepwalking, possessed by “nocturnal Lila� who is really into sex, much to the horror of her husband, and because she wants to have sex they decide to institutionalize her. Once safely locked away, her psychiatrist realizes that she has an ESP open line on the Closed Cirlce, a bunch of thinly-veiled Hollywood celebs who abduct hitchhikers and sacrifice them at LSD devil orgies.
- GenresHorror
190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 14, 2015
“Nancy Drew versus Satan� only with more scary oral sex, The Closed Circle is a crusty, musty paperback cash-in on the 70′s craze for Satanism and the occult. Written by Barney Parrish, the pseudonym of George Wolk (although why he needed a pen name I don’t know), this is the kind of cheap paperback that lives up to all the promise of cheap paperbacks: it’s a fast read that’s full of sex, sleaze, and reactionary attitudes.
Satan was big in the 70′s. The purported true stories of people who escaped from or were enslaved by Satanic cults were flooding the market like the Great Boston Molasses Flood, unleashing an avalanche of books and movies about the Devil that started with Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, and continued with The Exorcist (book in 1971, movie in 1973), The Satan-Seller (1973) written by the fraudulent “high priest� of Satanism, Mike Warnke, The Devil and Mr. Smith (1974) another “Satanic cults abused me� book, The Devil’s Rain (1975), Race with the Devil (1975), Malachi Martin’s Hostage to the Devil (1976) riding piggyback on The Exorcist (Martin claims he was the inspiration for the movie), The Omen (1976) and coming at the tail end of the craze, like a stray dog looking for scraps, The Closed Circle (1976).
Satan was big in the 70′s. The purported true stories of people who escaped from or were enslaved by Satanic cults were flooding the market like the Great Boston Molasses Flood, unleashing an avalanche of books and movies about the Devil that started with Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, and continued with The Exorcist (book in 1971, movie in 1973), The Satan-Seller (1973) written by the fraudulent “high priest� of Satanism, Mike Warnke, The Devil and Mr. Smith (1974) another “Satanic cults abused me� book, The Devil’s Rain (1975), Race with the Devil (1975), Malachi Martin’s Hostage to the Devil (1976) riding piggyback on The Exorcist (Martin claims he was the inspiration for the movie), The Omen (1976) and coming at the tail end of the craze, like a stray dog looking for scraps, The Closed Circle (1976).
May 20, 2025
This one starts WILD, then settles into a traditional, moderately-paced story. The brilliant premise alone makes it worth the read. I can’t help feeling, though, said premise was not mined, completely. Not thoroughly explored, properly milked for all it was worth.
By the by, when this was published back in 1976, I’m sure the idea of a Hollywood celebrity satanic cult abducting and abusing children seemed far-fetched. Now? Not so much.
By the by, when this was published back in 1976, I’m sure the idea of a Hollywood celebrity satanic cult abducting and abusing children seemed far-fetched. Now? Not so much.
September 20, 2023
Don't understand the other review's description of this as "Nancy Drew Vs. Satan". None of that is in this book in the least.
This book is more like, Hollywood celebs taking their revenge on hippies for the Manson murders. Fun and short read. Horror elements but never scary.
This book is more like, Hollywood celebs taking their revenge on hippies for the Manson murders. Fun and short read. Horror elements but never scary.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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