Paul Ernst's Doctor Satan
The series Doctor Satan was written by Paul Ernst and published in Weird Tales between 1935 and 1936. This post is a mostly spoiler-free overview of the whole series. We’re reviewing them in the order they were published. There's also another post where we rank Doctor Satan's diabolical schemes, which you can read here.
Doctor Satan is named after the villain, a very wealthy man who turned to a life a crime out of boredom. However, his are no ordinary crimes – Doctor Satan’s diabolical schemes involve magic, mind control, and mad science. His only rule is that his illegal activities must turn a profit. He also likes to dress for the job, wearing red robes, red rubber gloves, a red mask, and a red horned cowl, which he occasionally hides underneath a black hat and a black cloak. Opposing him is occult detective Ascott Keane, wealthy and with enough knowledge of ancient lore to rival his archenemy’s. Neither man fights alone. Doctor Satan has two minions, the small, monkey-like Girse and legless giant Bostiff, while Keane has his loyal assistant Beatrice Dale, who’s secretly in love with him (and with whom he’s also secretly in love). The two men clash across eight short stories written in an awesomely dramatic style.
DOCTOR SATAN
Two New York businessmen die in a shocking manner: a thorny bush grows inside their brains, cracking open their skulls when it gets too big! Both men had received a letter from someone calling themselves “Doctor Satan”, who asked for huge amounts of money in exchange for not killing them. Ascott Keane becomes involved after the recipient of a third letter comes to him for help. Will Keane be able to best this new master criminal?
VERDICT
It’s a good introduction to the characters and has the best pacing of the lot. Also, mad science!
THE MAN WHO CHAINED THE LIGHTNING
Several wealthy men have been acting strange and drawing huge amounts of cash from their bank accounts. Could Doctor Satan be behind this? Ascott Keane believes so.
VERDICT
This whole story is rushed, and the scheme is just too complex to be explained so quickly. This feels more like a synopsis than a full story.
HOLLYWOOD HORROR
A beautiful actress’s face turns into a skull while she’s shooting a scene of her latest movie. Later, several Hollywood studio heads receive letters from Doctor Satan threatening to do the same to them and their stars if they don’t pay him. Ascott Keane’s on the case, but will he be able to stop the next target from becoming a living skeleton?
VERDICT
The intro with the two men talking goes on for too long and the resolution should’ve taken more time. Still, it’s a fun story.
THE CONSUMING FLAME
This time, Doctor Satan is targeting the Detroit car industry. One businessman and the son of another disappear in a blue flame while driving at high speed. Ascott Keane shows up in Detroit with Beatrice Dale to investigate, but Doctor Satan is prepared, and things get out of Keane’s control.
VERDICT
We were ready for another predictable blackmail scheme, but Ernst thankfully decided to change things up a bit. We wish he had let Dale do more instead of just being a damsel in distress. And no, the fact that she didn’t faint isn’t enough. Also, this new insight into Doctor Satan’s twisted mind was maybe too twisted.
HORROR INSURED
A wealthy man and a famous comedian both burn to death, melting like a wax candle, until there’s nothing left. But don’t worry, there’s a way for you to prevent yourself from suffering that same fate. Just buy one of Lucifex Insurance Co.’s insurance policies against a future horrible death.
VERDICT
It's okay, but like in The Man Who Chained the Lightning, Keane’s knowledge of certain things just feels way too convenient. It’s also hard not to wonder how long Doctor Satan has been able to do this particular type of magic and why he didn’t use it to go after Keane before even starting his latest criminal plot. And notice the continuity error that temporarily resurrected an already dead character…
BEYOND DEATH’S GATEWAY
Doctor Satan uses a killer ray to steal a fortune, but Ascott Keane doesn’t understand how that was possible because the inventor of said ray died years ago without ever finishing his invention or revealing his secrets. Could this be related to the stolen antidote of a deadly gas which temporarily kills whoever takes it and sends them to the afterlife? And how far is Keane willing to go to get his archenemy?
VERDICT
This is definitely the worst of the bunch. It spends way too much time in the afterlife, doing nothing, and then just ends abruptly, right after Keane comes up with a stupid plan that we know won’t work because there are two more stories after this one. Even when this story was first published, the end was so sudden that it’s doubtful readers would think of this as a series finale.
THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE
Jane and Harold Ivor, the children of a wealthy man, are kidnapped and days later the girl is returned, raving mad, claiming to be a servant of Lucifer. Several other wealthy men receive letters from Doctor Satan demanding money unless they want their own children to suffer the same fate. Ascott Keane investigates, and this time, he has a secret weapon.
VERDICT
This one has the best intro and is the only one where Keane is more in control than Doctor Satan. His secret weapon sounds like something out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which makes it pretty awesome. It shouldn’t have been so easy for Keane to find Doctor Satan’s secret lair, but the story is too short for him to go around town looking for it. Also, Ernst lost an opportunity to go back to Doctor Satan’s real identity. Could he have met the Ivor siblings before?
MASK OF DEATH
Doctor Satan terrorises a newly open resort by paralysing several guests and threatening to keep doing it unless the owners pay him a shocking amount of money. But how is he doing this? And who is the mysterious beauty Madame Sin? One of the owners asks Ascott Keane’s help and the two archenemies face each other again.
VERDICT
Good build-up but oddly rushed ending. It’s probably the kind of thing that would work in a movie, but here it just feels too abrupt. Also, considering Doctor Satan’s plans for world domination in Beyond Death’s Gateway, it’s weird to see him use this particular device in another blackmail scheme. Still a good story, though.
All these short stories suffer from similar problems: they’re too short; there are continuity issues that see dead characters show up again with no explanation; despite Beatrice Dale being referred to as Keane’s right-hand woman, she’s never allowed to do much besides serve as his soundboard and pine over him; we know Doctor Satan is a very wealthy man with a famous name and that he and Keane even share a mutual acquaintance, but Ernst does nothing with his real identity; Keane’s bag of tricks to counteract Doctor Satan’s powers keeps expanding to the point it becomes a Deus Ex Machina; presumably to make it easier for any first-time reader to understand what’s going on, Ernst ends up repeating a lot of the same information.
However, despite their flaws, the stories are enjoyable, except Beyond Death’s Gateway. It’s a shame there was never a proper adaptation of Doctor Satan. It could’ve been a fun Avengers-style show (the British Avengers, not the Marvel ones). Beatrice Dale’s role could’ve been expanded, turning her into the right-hand woman Ernst kept describing her as. Maybe make Jane Ivor a willing accomplice. And of course, have Ascott Keane try to find out Doctor Satan’s real identity, giving viewers several possible recurring suspects every other episode.