Deus-X is a 1994 horror novel written by Joe Citro. Of all his novels, Citro has repeatedly described it as being his darkest and most intricate. The idea for the book came from Citro's love for and fascination with the occult

Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

 and paranormal

Paranormal

Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...

. After researching and documenting countless ghost stories, UFO sightings, and general accounts of strange activity, Citro was struck by how interesting it would be if all these various phenomena were linked somehow. Further inspiration came from the Firesign Theatre album, "Everything You Know is Wrong." Citro found himself chilled by those words and sought to write a story which exposed everything we thought to be true as devious manipulations. The story ties together UFOs, government conspiracies

Conspiracy theory

A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...

, demonic possession

Demonic possession

Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...

, and Virgin Mary sightings, all with H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....

 sensibilities. The much-discussed ending is both shocking and darkly nihilistic

Nihilism

Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...

. The book was re-released in 2003 by Hardscrabble books under its full title of Deus-X: The Reality Conspiracy.