Gerald Suster
Gerald Suster was a British author and occultist, born in London in 1951, known for his contributions to horror fiction and nonfiction literature. His horror novels, published mainly in the late 1970s and early 1980s, often explored themes related to the occult, including demonic possession, black magic, and psychic phenomena. One notable work, "The Block," delves into Nazi involvement in black magic against a backdrop of supernatural occurrences. Apart from fiction, Suster gained recognition for his biographies, particularly of the controversial occultist Aleister Crowley, which examined Crowley’s philosophies and influence. He also wrote about other figures connected to Crowley, like Israel Regardie, and explored historical topics, including military leadership in "Generals: The Best and Worst Military Commanders." In addition to his writing career, Suster had a passion for boxing, which led him to chronicle the lives of prominent boxers in two detailed biographies. Suster passed away in 2001, leaving behind a legacy that intertwines literature, the occult, and sports history.
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Subject Terms
Gerald Suster
Writer
- Born: 1951
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: February 3, 2001
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
An occultist who often wrote about mystical subjects, Gerald Suster was well known for his horror novels published during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Suster was born in London in 1951. He attended but did not receive a degree from Cambridge University. He lived with his wife, Michaela, in London, where he died of a heart attack on February 3, 2001.
Suster’s horror novels often dealt with the occult and feature demonic possession, devil worship, black magic, ghosts, and mind control by psychic means. One of his horror novels, The Block, is about Nazis who practice black magic. The block he refers to in his title is a block of apartments that were built on ground where evil deeds had been perpetrated in the past and where occult presences still linger.
In addition to his horror novels, Suster wrote several nonfiction books. In Hitler: The Occult Messiah, he described the Nazi Party’s active participation in the occult. Suster’s most celebrated and best-known nonfiction work is his biography of Aleister Crowley, a British occultist of the early twentieth century who espoused the philosophy known as Thelema, which advocates personal freedom in many moral matters. Many considered Crowley one of the most evil men of his times. In The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work, and Influence of Aleister Crowley, Suster gives careful and meticulously objective consideration to a man who greatly influenced his own life, thought, and writing. He followed this biography with Crowley’s Apprentice: The Life and Ideas of Israel Regardie, about Regardie, an important follower of Crowley.
An amateur boxer in his early years, Suster published two biographies of major heavyweight and lightweight boxers, Champions of the Ring: The Lives and Times of Boxing’s Heavyweight Heroes and Lightning Strikes: The Lives and Times of Boxing’s Lightweight Heroes. These encyclopedic studies, illustrated with full-page pictures of the boxers, have become standard works on the lives and careers of celebrated contemporary pugilists. Suster also maintained an interest in politics and in British military history. This interest led him to write Generals: The Best and Worst Military Commanders, which was published in 1997 and became a handbook of military tactics used by many instructors.