The most obvious and consistently applicable literary precedent which lies behind The Damnation Game is, of course, the Faust parable as articulated in various treatments from Marlowe onwards. The complex characterization of Mamoulian, however, also suggests meaningful comparison to a number of mythical, legendary, and literary traditions, including those of the vampire, Tithonus, and the Wandering Jew.

Barker's fascination with the figure of the zombie — a recurring element as well in several of the stories which comprise the Books of Blood — is rooted in a long tradition, although his highly graphic treatments of them would seem to owe something to the "Living Dead" films of contemporary director George A. Romero.