Rollo Ahmed Black Occultist

by James Goodridge

Born in 1899 to an Egyptian father and Guyanese mother, Abdul Said Ahmed aka Rollo Ahmed had a considerable presence in the occult community of London during the 1930's. Not well known in the United

States , I came accross the enigma of a man , who seems to have lived a fantastic if not nefarious life while researching lesser known black historical figures for "The Fathergill Affair" an occult detective story set in

New York during the roaring twenties featuring characters Madison Cavendish and Seneca Sue vampire and lycantthorpe investigators of the strange and mundane. In the story I took the liberty of potraying Ahmed as less a dark occult person and rascal that he was in reality and in a more sympathetic light. Dennis Whaetly's

"The Devil Rides Out" ignited the public thirst for witchcraft and the occult, like the roaring twenties an escape from the residue of WWI's blood letting and the global financial and political uncertaintites yet a short lived escape for WWII would be just down the road. Following the books success Wheatly's publishers wanted a follow up but this time a non-fiction book on the subject. The author felt it wasn't his place to write the book so he introduced his publishers to Rollo Ahmed who Wheatly used as an consultant. Ahmed's knowledge of the black arts from around the world and its history , made him an expert with first hand personal experiences such as encounters with Voodun, Obeah and werewolves in the Caribbean and other tales. He was also a teacher of

Raja Yoga which he counted Wheatly and the author's wife as students.

Published in 1936 "The Black Arts" (reprinted later with the title " The Compelete Book of Witchcaft"

1968/1970) was then and is today a definitive text on the occult world. Sectioned off into twenty one chapters the topics covered : Early black magic, ancient magic of the East, Egyptian magic, Jewish necromacy, magic in Greece and Rome, sorcery and magic in the dark ages, the church and the practice of black magic behind its doors, witchcraft , vampireism and werewolves in Europe, alcemist and sorcerers from the 13th to 18th centuries, symbols of magic, Sex-rites ,Primitive races and magic, sorcery in North and South America, Yogis and Fakirs of India , black magic in the British Isles, Necromacy, Black mass, Elementals, modern black magic and methods to counter act sorcery.

The subject matter still a strong for this day and age. Some people saw him as a man with strange powers as one of Wheaty's friends swore one night that they encountered a dark in "imp" standing beside

Ahmed while they had a conversation with him.Others were of the opinion that he was a sly con artist . An alleged member of The Left Hand Path , Ahmed was a fixture in London's bohemien scene during the 30's in his fez and white burnus could count " The worlds most wicked man" Aliester Crowley as a friend.

Its during this time that Ahmed had to be fitted with a set of false teeth the result of trying to capture a demon.

Right around this time Ahmed also published his auto biography " I Rise : The life story of a Negro" A rare book thats out of print which he dedicated to actor,singer and activist Paul Robeson , Ahmed relays his lfe of negative racial encounters in 1930's London. Lanlords refusing to rent him rooms and apartment, even just a room for shelter on a cold night, harassed by the police Ahmed was jailed several times for fraud. By the

1950's Ahemd seems to have been reduced to in stature to hiring out his services to elderly women to tell their fortunes while living with his wife Thodora ( who had her own Lycanthorpe encounter as a child in Germany) in Harpsichord house in Hastings , after that he fades from the occult scence. Charalatan or not a man of his occult world bonafides should be more acknowledged. There is hope that horror writers will see Rollo Ahmed as a genre character in the same light as Harriet Tubman and Bass Reeves who appear in steam punk/funk genre stories. Ahmeds time has come.( British Voodoo : Black Art of Rollo Ahmed http:// sas.space.sas.ac.uk15976/ ) used were along with other sources as reference.