Doctor Occult, a.k.a. the "Ghost Detective", is a private investigator who specializes in cases involving the supernatural. His recorded exploits started in 1950, but his true story begins 51 years earlier. On December 31st, 1899, somewhere in the American Mid-West, a satanic cult attempted to summon Satan to Earth at the opening of the new millennium. For that, they offered him the sacrifice of two infant, untainted children, a boy and a girl, "stolen from simple god-fearing folk".

At new year began, someone was indeed summoned, even before the worshippers had had a chance to sacrifice the children. This, however, was not Satan, but a diabolic entity calling himself Koth. He immediately declared that the souls of innocents were of no use to him. He wanted souls stained with sin, polluted by corruption. As the nearby church clock struck twelve, Koth devoured all members of the cult, sentencing them to eternal damnation in his own abysmal realm. After that, he turned to the two infants to slaughter them, only to find them gone. Puzzled, Koth then withdrew from the living world.

What had happened was a man called Zator, a disciple of the Seven, had intervened. He found the two children, managed to hide them from Koth, and thereafter traveled through the dimensions to the far side of the Earth, and the hidden Citadel of the Seven, a mighty organization of mystics. At first, the Seven themselves were not at all amused with Zator bringing infants to the Citadel, but after measuring the children, they found innate mystic abilities in them, and let them stay under Zator's care.

As they grew older, Zator educated the children - whom he called "Doc" and "Rose" - in many of the ways of the Seven, giving them abilities far beyond mortal men. Exactly what the education consisted of has never been revealed, but it is known that Doc spent a lot of time in the colorful land known as Faerie during his youth, and that might have been during this period.

Upon reaching puberty, the boy was given the mystic Symbol of the Seven, and the name "Doctor Occult," while the girl was christened "Rose Psychic." On the same day, they were also told that they had to to leave the Citadel, part from Zator, and use their abilities to battle evil in the world.

Traveling from the Citadel to China, and then taking a boat to America, the two young magicians soon found themselves in New York City of the 1940s (since time passed twice as fast on Earth as it did in the Citadel). Taking the name "Richard Occult", Doc started studying science at college, eventually earning his "doctor " title formally. Rose was still by his side, studying humanities at the same time.

In 1950, they started a supernatural detective bureau together, hoping to fulfill the mission the Seven had prepared them for. Although in the beginning, nobody took their business seriously, finally they got to prove themselves solving the case of a mass murdering vampire.  In 1951, the devilish Koth returned from his realm, this time almost overpowering the Seven. The Seven managed to hold him off, but at the cost of the lives of its' members, including Doc and Rose's "father" Zator. Since that time, Doc and Rose have continued to fight both crime and evil magics wherever they can.

His first encounter with the Suicide Squad occurred during their battle with Mastermime.