5 Questions with Frank Peretti on ‘This Present Darkness’ at 40 and Spiritual Warfare

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Frank Peretti’s groundbreaking novel This Present Darkness celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, and the author remains amazed that a manuscript rejected by 14 publishers became a bestseller, reshaping how many Christians think about spiritual warfare. As Peretti sees it, he wrote the book, a few people promoted it, and “the Lord did the rest.”

The novel follows a pastor and a newspaper editor in a small town who uncover a sinister conspiracy while an unseen battle unfolds between angels and demons. David C. Cook is releasing a 40th-anniversary collector’s edition to mark the milestone. Crosswalk recently spoke with Peretti about the novel’s anniversary, the power of prayer and the spiritual battle unfolding all around us.

Here are five questions, with Peretti’s answers, edited for clarity:

Take us back to the beginning. What was happening, Frank, in your life in the ‘80s when you wrote This Present Darkness? Why did you choose fiction to explore the spiritual realm? 

Well, I'm a fiction writer. I'm a storyteller. I was a storyteller when I was a kid. I tried different things, but I never felt at peace unless I was writing, telling a story. I was pastoring a church. Before that, I was a musician. I was a carpenter, contractor. I did all kinds of things. I just kept pecking away at this story idea on a typewriter, a Royal Medallion electric typewriter.

Nobody wanted it -- publishing back in those days, they were into self-help and devotionals, prairie romances were big, that kind of thing. The fiction shelf in the bookstore was [small]. I sent it out. Well, the publishers didn't do fiction. Crossway Books liked it. I guess that was my second book I published. I may have published a couple of kids' books first, but This Present Darkness sat on the shelf for about a year and didn't [sell many copies]. Then suddenly people began to find out about it, talk about it. I think the second year it was out, it took off like a rocket. 

What happened? Why do you think it took off? 

Well, it really helped that Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, well-known Christian artists, plugged the book at their concerts. The pastors heard about it, and then word of mouth. All it took was a nice big snowball, you know, to get it rolling, and the Lord did the rest. 

What were your goals behind the plot? What did you want the reader to understand about reality and about our world and about the supernatural realm? 

That there is a supernatural realm. Back in the ‘80s, it was the encroachment of New Age paganism and neo-occultism coming into our culture, and so it was real easy to write about that. But it's appropriate now all the more. Folks are still susceptible to that. They need to understand there's a spiritual side to that. There's a spiritual evil behind it and a deception. And so the book of 40 years ago is still appropriate today. It still says the same thing about the same thing. 

Prayer is essential to the plot as well. What do you hope the book teaches readers about prayer?

Prayer works. That really sounds simple. Prayer is, in some way, our communion with God. That's how we talk to Him, and He has given us that role to play in spiritual warfare. And I don't know exactly how it works, but I know God hears our prayers, and that He responds. It's like a partnership, you might say, or maybe a Father-son relationship. The Lord hears our prayers and He responds. The gist of the book is when there is spiritual warfare going on, you don't just sit there watching. You get involved. You pray about it. You speak the truth. You talk to God. You let Him lead. It's this huge dynamic that just keeps going, and we're a part of it. 

Do you have a particular story that sticks out about how the book impacted readers? 

There's a myriad of those. I was talking to a pastor and his wife at a pastors' conference, and they had read my book, and we got right on the subject of angels and such. And the wife shared with me, “We were going through a tough time in our ministry,” and she referred to her husband. He got up in the middle of the night, probably to use the restroom, you know, whatever. Stepped out in the hall, and there was an angel standing there, just standing there, kind of smiled at him, didn't say anything. It was just God's way and the angel's way of saying, “We're here, don't worry, don't forget we're here,” and she's telling me this story, and the pastor is just crying. He can't talk about it because it was so real.

I had plenty of stories of demons, too, that came up, but the things I enjoyed the most were those positive stories. You know -- “It changed my prayer life. It opened my eyes to see the spiritual realities around us.” And I've gotten letters and talked to people who found Jesus reading my book. They got saved. That makes it all worthwhile. 

[I want readers to know] that the Lord Jesus conquered it all. Walk with the Lord. Let Him lead you, and I guarantee you, you're going to have trials. I guarantee you're going to have worries and troubles. But learn to trust God, and He'll get you through it. I have. I often envision the Lord Jesus like a shepherd. He's walking ahead of me. He very rarely stops and looks back. He just keeps walking, and I keep following. 

Photo credit: ©DavidC.Cook/FrankPeretti

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.