‘I was coming to that,’ Shelton replied. ‘The name “Pandemonium” itself has a double meaning that hints at its dual identity. The common use of the word, signifying tumult and chaos, gives the impression that its wealthy and powerful men-only membership are being provided the chance to kick back, go a little crazy and make a lot of noise. Which it makes no secret of doing, as far as that goes. The club reveals just enough about its existence to deflect accusations of obscurantism and conspiracy. But there’s another, more obscure meaning to the word “Pandemonium”.’

‘It’s from Milton’s Paradise Lost,’ Ben said. ‘Describing the mythical dwelling place of demons. The high capital of Satan and his peers.’

‘Indeed it is,’ Shelton said. ‘If ever there was an occult order with strong ambitions to set itself up as the domain of hell on earth, this is it.’

‘Never mind pandemonium,’ Wolf growled. ‘It’s the fucking Demon Club, that’s what it is.’

‘The tradition of important men joining secret orders with hidden nefarious objectives was nothing new, of course. The infamous Bohemian Club, over in the United States, was already some thirty-five years old when Crowley conceived his new order. Bohemian Club members met annually, as they still do, at their remote retreat in Sonoma County, California. Again, posing as a bit of harmless pageantry and theatre for rich, influential members of the old-boy-network establishment, while in reality, or so it seems, the members of the cabal gather together to worship the demonic entity Moloch, the pagan god to whom the ancient Canaanites offered children as sacrificial victims.’

‘So the Yanks were in it, too.’

‘This is a global phenomenon,’ Shelton said. ‘Other elite occult clubs existed in the States, like Skull and Bones. A society so shrouded in mystery that the powerful men who have been initiated into it since its inception in the 1830s – politicians, judges, military and business leaders and three United States presidents – are sworn to an oath forbidding them to disclose its occult secrets. There are many more examples from all over the world. The Thule Society cult of Germany, founded in the nineteenth century, likewise attracted the membership of high-up judges, police chiefs, civil servants, bureaucrats, political figures and business tycoons. Its initiates held seances where they invoked the Antichrist and sought to communicate with demons.’

Shelton looked at Wolf. ‘You shouldn’t be too surprised that the Nazis would feature in this story. One of the Thule Society’s members you might have heard of was Adolf Hitler, initiated into the order in 1919. There Hitler met the then Master of the Temple, Dietrich Eckart, who would become his staunch ally and later transcribe Hitler’s book Mein Kampf. Eckart was also a devout follower of Aleister Crowley, and an adept Satanist who claimed on his deathbed to have opened his protégé Hitler up to “The Powers”. I’ll leave you to imagine what powers those were.’