I would like to add John Connolly's Charlie Parker series to the "occult detective" list. The series is more P.I. than occult but the later novels add more of the supernatural.

Mike Carey's Felix Castor series, starting with The Devil You Know, is amazing. I believe he is more of an exorcist type than detective, but Castor helps find out why and how a person dies before exorcising their ghost.

I love this genre and would really like some more recommendations!

Sorry for the late reply,Werner. I love Wellman. He is one of the lost writers that I was so glad I read in an anthology a few years ago. He knows how to write great short stories. I agree with the title Grand Master.

I want to read the Anthony Boucher short stories. They sound very good.

Thanks, Danielle! I'm not really all that knowledgeable; but being a librarian, I know where to look for information. :-)

Your definition of occult detective sounds good to me! Defined that way, such a character might be a professional detective (Anthony Boucher's Fergus O'Breen is another example of that type), but he/she wouldn't have to be.

Wellman is my favorite supernatural fiction writer; and you're right --too many contemporary readers have never heard of him! During his lifetime (he died in 1986) he got more recognition. The World Fantasy Assn. named him a Grand Master, and he was one of the (then) "living masters of the macabre" to whom Stephen King dedicated Danse Macabre.

Thanks for the information, Werner. I love how you are so knowledgable about the different genres.

I think occult detective is a very general term for a person who handles problems of a supernatural nature, using their intellect, any powers they have, their abilities, or just by pitching in. I kind of throw them all in that basket, although you're right, a lot of them aren't really.

Ah, The Whistling Room. That's a good one. :)

I splurged and bought all five volumes of Wellman's collected short stories off Amazon. I am slowly reading my way through volume 4, which is a potpourri of his unrelated stories, but they are so good. I'm saving the occult detective (for lack of a better term) volumes for last. He was a great writer, and few people seem to know of him.

Occult detectives became popular in supernatural fiction around the turn of the 20th century. The prototypical one was probably Flaxman Low, the series character created by the mother-son writing team of Kate and Heskith Prichard ("E. and H. Heron"), whose stories are collected in Ghosts: Being the Experiences of Flaxman Low (1899). The only one of these I've read is "The Story of Baelbrow," which I liked very much. Their work influenced William Hope Hodgson in creating his Carnacki character; the stories featuring him are collected in Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder (1910). Again, I've only read one of these, "The Whistling Room" (which I know that Danielle's familiar with! :-)).

During the pulp era, several writers created occult detective characters; Wellman's writings from that period feature three: John Thunstone, Prof. Enderby, and Judge Pursivant. Their short fiction exploits are collected in Lonely Vigils (1981). I haven't read that one yet, either, though I can highly recommend one of the two Thunstone novels, What Dreams May Come (1983). My acquaintance with Wellman's work began with Silver John, whom he created later, in the early 50s; I've read all the Silver John short fiction (the definitive anthology is John the Balladeer), and all five novels. I never really thought of John as an occult detective (the folks in Appalachia call him a "witch-master," meaning someone who's "master over" sorcery and "'hants," capable of defeating them), but I guess functionally he is. (In After Dark, he teams up with a Thunstone assistant; and in What Dreams May Come, Thunstone mentions him as a friend.)

I agree with you completely about Anita Blake. It was a great series.
I loved the first two Rachel Morgan books and I have the rest in my tbr pile.

If you get a chance, I think Wellman is a great storyteller. His tales of Appalachia and other rural Southern places are downright eerie. I think I'll finish off his Sin's Doorway & Other Ominous Entrances The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman, Volume 4 collection this October for Halloween.

i got into Occult Detectives via Wellman, and I admit that I've never heard of Kim Harrison.
The 1999 anthology DARK DETECTIVE contains a good selection of various different Occult Detectives

I haven't read Wellman - well, maybe a story here or there, but nothing springs to mind - but I have read the rest you mentioned. I think my favorite detective now is Rachel Morgan by Kim Harrison.

Anita was the favorite, but... well, I've ranted enough about how Hamilton has destroyed a good series with her whiny, sex crazed habits of late.

Is anyone else into occult detective stories?

I fell in love with this genre indirectly, by reading the first Anita Blake novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. Although I can't say I'm a huge mystery reader, I love detective stories, and the supernatural twist just makes these even more interesting. Probably my favorite writer in this genre is Manly Wade Wellman. I read some of his Silver John stories and I was really impressed. I am trying to collect as many in this genre as I can that fit my interests. Some of these spill over into urban fantasy territory, such as Harry Dresden by Jim Butcher, and John Taylor of the Nightside books by Simon R. Green.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Which ones are your favorites?