The Prisoner

By Sean Ellis

Doctor Satan, the World’s Weirdest Villain—the classic 1930’s pulp character created for Weird Tales magazine—has finally been brought to justice. A fantastic prison, from which escape is impossible, has been built to permanently incarcerate the master of dark science and black magic, but criminologist Ascott Keane remains wary. He knows Doctor Satan will not submit quietly to judgment, but even Keane is caught off-guard when the diabolical villain turns the tables. Caught in a trap of his own devising, can Keane win his freedom, or will he forever remain the Prisoner?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gryphonwood Press
• Release date: Oct 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519941046

Book preview

Foreword

"Doctor Satan...where have I heard that name before?"

Well, if you’re a horror film fan, you probably recognize it as the name of a serial killer mentioned in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses. Much less likely, you recognize the character who appears in this story.

Doctor Satan was a pulp villain created by Paul Ernst in the 1935 for Weird Tales magazine. Although human, Doctor Satan was a master of both science and black magic, and used these diabolical abilities for crime. Opposing him was the equally talented criminologist Ascott Keane—a sort of occult Sherlock Holmes. Imagine if A. Conan Doyle had chosen to write Moriarty stories, in which the villain took center stage and used magic; that’s pretty much Doctor Satan in a nutshell.

In 2006, I was initiated into the mysteries of Doctor Satan and several other Golden Age pulp characters when I was asked to write stories for an anthology series aimed at showcasing some of these classic heroes and villains which, while dramatically influencing modern pop culture and superhero comic books, have slipped from our collective memory. At the time, there was very little information to be found. I couldn’t even get my hands on one of the original stories, and much of what I did turn up was confusing and contradictory. But my perception of the character nicely dovetailed with an idea I had been kicking around for a long time, namely how would our criminal justice system deal with a murder who used supernatural abilities that most people don’t even believe in? Thus was The Prisoner conceived.

Ultimately, the anthology project was shelved and The Prisoner never saw the light of day. In the years since, I’ve dusted off some of the pulp stories and released them as ebook. Three of those, including the novel The Sea Wraiths, feature the hero Secret Agent X, a master of disguise, and a much more accessible character than Doctor Satan. Indeed, the Secret Agent X magazine, though similarly obscure today, ran for almost a decade, while Doctor Satan, the World’s Weirdest Criminal was around for only about a year. I held back this story for the simple reason that it seemed like it would require a lot of explanation up front.

Or maybe not.

Altus Press has been reprinting many of the old pulps from the 1930s, including an omnibus edition of Doctor Satan stories, so now it’s possible for you to do what I could not nine years ago when I penned The Prisoner. While it would be an exaggeration to say that there’s a pulp revival underway, the superhero genre in general is, as you may have noticed, wildly popular. And that’s all these pulp stories are, really. Superhero stories in prose.

Or in the case of Doctor Satan, supervillain.

So, suspend disbelief...think Holmes and Moriarty if it helps, and enjoy this little slice of pulp horror!

Sean Ellis—Oct 8, 2015

The Prisoner

The history of civilization is the history of architecture.  As nomadic bands of hunters gradually transformed into stationary cultures, the first order of business was to begin constructing permanent dwellings.  At first, these were simply utilitarian; any sort of artistic beauty was purely incidental.  But later, as the artisans refined their craft and their particular niche in society became more specialized, unique patterns began to emerge, and in time these would become the hallmarks of great civilizations.  The designers and builders were no longer limited to the task of creating places for the citizens of their societies to live; they were called upon to create great palaces, temples and even tombs.  Some of these would be reckoned Wonders of the World and would endure for centuries, even into the modern age.  Of some, nothing but ruins remain, others are remembered only in legend.  Yet, of all the many types of structures designed and built by civilizations past and present, the one that is rarely assigned any sort of eminence is the prison.

To be sure, there have been memorable prisons: The Bastille in Paris, which became the flashpoint of the French revolution; Devil’s Island off the coast of South America, considered to be one of the harshest and most inescapable prisons on earth; and the Tower of London, which was transformed briefly into a prison for deposed royals awaiting execution, though such was never its primary function.  In modern times, the names of penal institutions have wormed their way into the public consciousness: Alcatraz, Sing Sing, Attica, and others.  None of these however are known for elegance of design, and for good reason—no one wants to waste beauty on thieves and murderers.

The edifice constructed on Plum Island, just off the northeastern tip of