It was sadly announced today that Sir Christopher Lee, perhaps my favorite actor of all time, died on June 7th shortly after his 93rd birthday.
To dispel a popular rumor, Lee did not have a vast library of occult books. When giving a speech at the University College Dublin on 8 November 2011, he said: "Somebody wrote I have 20,000 books. I'd have to live in a bath! I have maybe four or five [occult books]." He further admonished the students against baneful occult practices, warning them that he had met "people who claimed to be Satanists. Who claimed to be involved with black magic. Who claimed that they not only knew a lot about it," however he himself had certainly never been involved: "I warn all of you: never, never, never. You will not only lose your mind, you'll lose your soul."
Among the "occult" books he said he did possess was a signed copy of one of my own personal favorite horror novels by Dennis Wheatley, titled The Devil Rides Out, published in 1934. It's not odd that he would have this book in his possession however, since he starred in the film adaptation of this book in 1968 through Hammer Studios, in one of his more heroic roles when he exposes a satanic cult and saves a girl kidnapped by satanists, defeating the devil in a ruined monastery in Greece. In one interview, he said that this was his favorite role and one he would have liked to reprise in his latter years with modern technology. Unfortunately, no one took him up on this offer.
See the video below where Christopher Lee dispels the rumors of his involvement in the occult:
