Revenge of the Manitou by Graham Masterton

For the most part, it follows faithfully the plot of the novel, except in the climactic scene, at which point the screenwriters seem to have made a conscious effort to ‘jump the shark’ (two words: space boobs). The Manitou was made into a 1978 movie starring Tony Curtis as struggling mystic Harry Erskine. The science versus sorcery angle is extremely well done, with the main characters discussing and attempting a number of plans to defeat Misquamacas.

Masterton does an excellent job of gradually and constantly building up the tension, at first with the imminent arrival of the shaman, and then with the shaman’s summoning of increasingly more powerful and hostile spirits. Our second-rate mystic seeks the help of a genuine Native American mystic to save the poor woman and fend off the angry shaman, and a battle of science (and a little sorcery) vs.

Furthermore, this shaman is really pissed off at the white man for invading his homeland. It is gradually discovered that the growth is actually an ancient Native American shaman who is reincarnating himself by growing himself a new body on the poor woman. The story, told from the point of view of a second-rate mystic who get involved in the mess, centers upon a woman who finds a large growth on her neck, which moves. This is a shame, because it is a lovely, creepy novel and a great example of the often-mentioned but rarely-done-well ‘science vs. Nowadays, you will almost certainly find his works on the shelves of your local bookstore, but The Manitou itself is not usually among them. The 1975 book was Masterton’s first novel, and launched a prolific and ongoing career in horror writing. I was digging through my collection of horror novels and came across an excellent but mostly forgotten classic: Graham Masterton’s The Manitou.

Revenge of the Manitou by Graham Masterton