Otto Rahn - Rahn in Popular Culture

Rahn in Popular Culture

Rahn has been described as the inspiration behind the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, although neither George Lucas nor Steven Spielberg has ever mentioned anything about his having inspired the film.

Rahn appears as a minor character in Michelle Cooper's A Brief History of Montmaray and The FitzOsbornes in Exile.

Rahn has been the object of many rumours and strange stories, including that his death had been faked, although all such speculation has failed to be substantiated. He features as a character in the 2008 novel The Judas Apocalypse by Dan McNeil. In the novel, Rahn helps a fellow German archaeologist search for the lost treasure of the Cathars. He also figures in the "Berlin Noir" novel The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr and Blood Lance by Craig Smith. In the Italian comic book Martin Mystère, Rahn fakes his death and joins the US secret service "Elsewhere".

Richard Stanley, cult director of such films as Hardware and Dust Devil, also made a documentary about Rahn and his fixation on the Holy Grail called The Secret Glory in 2001.