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Post by dem bones on Nov 30, 2007 9:21:35 GMT
Peter Haining & A. V. Sellwood - Devil Worship In Britain (Corgi, 1964) Warning: old post, remixed (not that you'd notice). No-one could accuse it of improving any with age As far as I'm aware, Peter Haining's first book and, of the hundreds that followed, arguably the least likely to see republication. Devil Worship In Britain began life as a series of articles Haining contributed to an Essex newspaper which he expands here into a full-scale investigation. Written entirely in some 'sixties strain of sexy journalism, virtually every other sentence ends on a "and what are the relevant authorities doing about this? absolutely nothing!" note of moral indignation. You can tell they just loved researching it! Things get off to a good start with a spirited account of a woodland ceremony, or, as the authors would have it, a "perverted orgy": "A peep into history - to the Moloch worshippers of ancient Carthage? Unfortunately no ... incredibly, it took place in Britain, as recently as 1961, within a mile of one of the West Country's most sophisticated holiday haunts." Courtesy of a character known only as 'Vigilant' , who'd contacted them after reading Haining's articles and promised an evening that would give them something to think about, lucky Peter and A. V. have just witnessed a Sabbat but a few miles from where they live! Watching from a place of concealment, they began to fear a human sacrifice was about to take place, but thankfully the High Priest was only showing off with his sabre and just about the worst that occurred was a naked, altar bound girl spouting indecipherable "messages from the dead". Then everybody went home. This lucky break proves to be a false dawn, however, as, hardly is the investigation proper underway than their covers are blown, interviewees mysteriously cancel and dire telephone threats are received from a North London-based coven. However, our intrepid pair are in no mood to let these setbacks thwart them in their unswerving mission and, as promised on the cover, they're still able to dig the dirt on "The Nude Dancers of the North", "Sexual Orgies!" "An obscene rite in the North Country" and all the usual Dennis Wheatley/ News of the World staples we've come to expect from the brethren of Beelzebub. Is it a "good" book? I'm no judge of such matters, but I wouldn't have thought so! Could it in any ways be described as "essential"? I very much doubt that too, but ... What's interesting about Devil Worship In Britain is the contemporary accounts of various outrages perpetuated by 'Black Magicians' from the late 'fifties through to 1963. Some, like those at Clophill and, to a lesser extent, Westham, are relatively familiar, but who remembers the Bluebell Wood horror or indeed, the aforementioned nude dancers save, in the latter case, the participants (and those who purchased the secretly filmed video of their exploits via various specialist Soho outlets)? Plus, you get a guest appearance from Fabian of the Yard! File under: Information Wanted Haining pursued the theme through his introduction to the short story collection The Satanists (Neville Spearman, 1969), but his brief and altogether more restrained account of events in the passing years are nowhere near as memorable. I'm particularly interested in collecting his other work in the field: I have the Jan Parker assisted Witchcraft and Black Magic (Hamlyn, 1971), but any info on the following would be greatly appreciated. The Anatomy Of Witchcraft (Souvenir, 1972). Does this pick up where Devil Worship In Britain leaves off? The Warlock's Book: Secrets of Black Magic from the Ancient Grimoires (W. H. Allen, 1972). Did I read somewhere this was about one of his "ancestors"? The Witchcraft Papers : Contemporary Records of the Witchcraft Hysteria in Essex, 1560-1700 (Robert Hale, 1974) An Illustrated History of Witchcraft (NEL, 1975)
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Post by Steve on Dec 5, 2007 17:58:42 GMT
I'm particularly interested in collecting his other work in the field: I have the Jan Parker assisted Witchcraft and Black Magic (Hamlyn, 1971), but any info on the following would be greatly appreciated. The Warlock's Book: Secrets of Black Magic from the Ancient Grimoires (W. H. Allen, 1972). Did I read somewhere this was about one of his "ancestors"? I haven't got a copy myself, so this is strictly off the record (you didn't hear it from me, and all that...) The Warlock's Book is based around the idea that, in the mid-1600s, someone by the name of Haining was executed on suspicion of witchcraft and, in particular, for being in possession of some grimoire or other (which apparently never actually came to light). What Haining does then, is to put together his own sort of piecemeal book of magical spells and incantations drawing on a variety of sources old and new (Eliphas Levi, Gerald Gardner, et al). To these he adds the usual descriptions of sabbats, rituals and black masses - all spiced up with a generous amount of sex and drugs - and finally links it all up with "Modern Black Magic". I can't remember ever seeing an entirely positive review of this book. Granted what reviews I've seen have tended to be from people involved to a greater or lesser extent with 'The Craft', so they mostly complain about Haining's accuracy and the reliability of his sources and attributions and... well, all the things that people generally criticise Haining for. In short, the word in the coven is that, while there is some useful stuff contained therein, it's all a bit Gregory Pendennis and not exactly your Ars Goetia - or at least it's more Ars than Goetia... For those of us who aren't practising warlocks, I suppose the real question about this one is; OK, but is it fun? (and could you tell me a bit more about all this sex and drugs business...) All I can tell you is that, of the various reviewers who've eagerly sought this mysterious (and now quite pricey) volume, most of them have declared themselves to be a bit disappointed. Maybe they were expecting too much, I don't know - it still sounds pretty good to me. (a brief and unhelpfully vague bibliographical note to end on - I'm fairly sure this was originally published a year before the date given here, in 1971, by the University of something or other press, somewhere in America. I'll look it up and get back to you...)
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Post by Steve on Dec 5, 2007 18:52:31 GMT
The Anatomy Of Witchcraft (Souvenir, 1972). Does this pick up where Devil Worship In Britain leaves off? Again, haven't read it but here's what I've been able to disinter; i30.photobucket.com/albums/c341/horrorinmyhead/anatomy.jpgThis cover, which looks more like it belongs on one of NEL's slaver titles, is from the later Tandem paperback, 1974. Contents Witchcraft in Britain Appendix I: The Initiation of a Witch Appendix II: Ritual Magic The Growth of Black Magic The Witches of America Evil on the Coast Appendix: The Satanic Ritual The Ancient Craft in Europe Witchcraft Behind the Iron Curtain Voodoo - Black Witchcraft Appendix: The Voodoo Blood Sacrifice The Rest of the World Bibliography Illustrated with 'occult diagrams' and black & white photographs of various rituals and ceremonies (some containing partial nudity - well, you'd hope so...) and occult celebrities (a veritable who's who of the usual suspects; Crowley, La Vey, Gerald Gardner, Rollo Ahmed, Sybil Leek...) "This is the first book to examine what is happening around the world today in the fascinating fields of witchcraft and black magic" 'Today' of course being the late '60s and early '70s. "White Magic, 'Wicca', the Old Religion, an age-old craft going back as far as Neolithic times, and still practised by sincere and devout worshippers. Black Magic, Satanism, venerating evil for its own sake, perverse and potentially dangerous - this belief, too, flourishes in today's sophisticated societies, with celebrations of the Black Mass and drug-heightened orgies such as those in California. These are cults whose roots lie deep in European prehistory Voodoo, the Black Witchcraft of the Caribbean, grew out of the tribal cults of Black Africa. It has followers today in many areas of Britain, as well as in North America from Louisiana to Harlem." The Souvenir Press edition bears the legend; "Haining, witch-hunter extraordinary, has persuaded witches, warlocks, black and white magicians, high priestesses to reveal secrets, satanic incantations and strange revelations". Also published by Taplinger in the US as part of their 'Frontiers of the Unknown' series (other titles included Pioneers of the Unseen and Beyond the Senses, both by Paul Tabori). A contemporary review from Books and Bookmen, used in the Tandem paperback blurb, tells us; "Mr Haining is to be congratulated on having written a sound, informative book in which he has allowed hysteria and sensationalism to play no significant part." Do we really believe that?
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Post by Steve on Dec 5, 2007 19:09:56 GMT
An Illustrated History of Witchcraft (NEL, 1975) Can't offer you much more than contents on this one;
Cover of the 1976 Pyramid paperback - I bet the NEL cover was better...
The Witchcraft Tradition The Wicca Gods The Sabbat The Power of Witches The Inquisition The Witch Hunters Witchcraft Persecution in France Witch Mania in Germany The Spanish Terror Witch Hysteria in Britain The Witches of Salem Cunning Men and Wise Women Modern Witchcraft The Rites of Wicca Witchcraft Around the World
Illustrated (profusely I imagine) with drawings and black & white photographs. Casting an eye over the contents, I'd say the title of this one pretty much speaks for itself: it's a history of witchcraft... with illustrations.
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Post by Steve on Dec 5, 2007 19:31:50 GMT
The Witchcraft Papers: Contemporary Records of the Witchcraft Hysteria in Essex, 1560-1700 (Robert Hale, 1974) Dunno, mate. Can't help you. Couldn't even rustle up a decent cover scan. I don't suppose you need me to tell you that this is a collection of contemporary documents, records, diary extracts and whatnot, giving a first hand account of the persecution of witches in and around the Essex area between the dates mentioned. I believe though that this might be one of Peter Haining's better researched and more comprehensive books on the subject, and looks well worth a read if you're interested in the more serious and scholarly side of things. Major disappointment on the sex, drugs, human and animal sacrifices, and partial nudity side mind you...
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Post by dem bones on Dec 5, 2007 20:52:31 GMT
I'll bet photobucket will be made up with that Tandem cover! Thanks for doing these. To be honest, they all look unmissable to me and very much for the same reasons you mention: both The Warlock Book and Anatomy ... look to have huge "worthy successor to Devil Worship In Britain potential ( "What Haining does then, is to put together his own sort of piecemeal book of magical spells and incantations drawing on a variety of sources old and new ...... To these he adds the usual descriptions of sabbats, rituals and black masses - all spiced up with a generous amount of sex and drugs - and finally links it all up with "Modern Black Magic". - Fleet Street's loss was our gain). The Witchcraft Papers seems to be one of his more obscure offerings - I've not found any serious occult types moaning about it so perhaps it didn't sell in as great a number as the others? While I'm here: do you have any info on his Buried Passions: Maria Marten & the Red Barn Murder (Spearman, 1980: Image Publications, 1992)? I ordered a copy from the library about 150 years ago but no joy. I'm thinking this could be another slightly bonkers amalgamation of fact, 'fact' and mischievous made up stuff like the Sweeney Todd and Spring-heeled Jack serious studies.
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Post by Steve on Dec 16, 2007 10:13:39 GMT
I'll bet photobucket will be made up with that Tandem cover! Oddly enough, they weren't over keen, dem...
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Post by dem bones on Dec 16, 2007 10:56:08 GMT
It doesn't surprise me, Steve. They've had a clampdown and nipples are obscene - official . I knew the game was up when they rejected the Black Magic Today cover with a terse: Try image cave. Happily they still seem prepared to host any old smut although there might be an abrupt change in policy should they see this.
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Post by dem bones on Jun 26, 2009 8:00:32 GMT
An Illustrated History of Witchcraft (NEL, 1975) Can't offer you much more than contents on this one; Cover of the 1976 Pyramid paperback - I bet the NEL cover was better... it was. *Sorry it's not the best scan but i borrowed it off ebay or some such place and then photo-shopped within an inch of it's existence*
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jun 26, 2009 20:08:43 GMT
I see they've recycled part of the SAS - Black Magic in New York cover . A great cover though
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Post by dem bones on Jun 26, 2009 20:20:01 GMT
.... and the lady in the cowl has been exhumed from Valentine Penrose's The Bloody Countess. Don't think I've seen any of the other's around, though. Here's Steve's Anatomy of Witchcraft cover via a transatlantic link to the Vault site:
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Post by helrunar on May 10, 2018 19:53:20 GMT
Fun thread. I came across a copy of that Warlock book thing in a used bookshop somewhere or other years ago. I took it home and thumbed through it and nothing in it particularly made any impression, one way or the other. Granted, I gave a presentation on the Spanish Inquisition with particular reference to witchcraft hysteria in my middle school world history class at age around 14, so by the time I was in my 40s which is when this was, I was pretty jaded with all of it.
I showed the book to one of my teachers and he simply fell in love with it as an artifact of a bygone era, so I gave it to him. I think he enjoyed it in the same way we used to beguile late hours with screenings of such films as Simon, King of the Witches and Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (ridiculous, but entertaining--and whoever played the High Priestess turned in what can only be called a truly committed performance).
cheers, H.
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Post by humgoo on Oct 29, 2020 2:26:40 GMT
PH looks back: "In 1964, while I was working as a journalist in Fleet Street, I wrote one of the first exposures of modern cults, Devil Worship in Britain, in conjunction with Bill Sellwood, a Daily Mirror reporter. The book led us to some strange groups and some even stranger people. Often working undercover, we infiltrated several witchcraft covens and were provided with eyewitness accounts of black magic and satanic rituals. As our enquiries went deeper, we also began receiving anonymous and often menacing telephone calls [...] The investigation produced a number of leads about other strange cults operating in Britain at that time. I continued researching and planned a sequel, Strange Cults [...] Yet although Devil Worship in Britain had sold well and none of the threats had materialized, I could find no one to commit to publishing the book. [...] I turned to magazines and at last an editor willing to print my reports as a seven-part series. The publication was Fiesta [...] [Vic] Briggs ran my articles under the somewhat sensational title of 'Slaves of Lust' through the summer months of 1965. [...] When Bill Sellwood and I wrote Devil Worship in Britain we optimistically hoped it might serve as a warning to the unwary about joining dangerous cults. The evidence of these pages is that a great many did not heed the message at all." Foreword to The World's Most Evil Cults (Parragon, 2006 for my copy), the first seven chapters of which being a reprint of the "seven-part series": Part One: Satan in the Sixties The Sisters of Wicca The Brotherhood of Evil The Abode of Love The Gospel of Polygamists The Slaves of Lust The Nude Dancers The Kingdom of HellAlexander Peters - The Devil in Suburbia (NEL, April 1972) [...] Fortunately, some practitioners of the "old Religion" still retain a degree of moral scruple. During the course of his investigation, Mr. Alexander meets the Tooting High Priestess, Mrs. Eleanor Bone, who shares his concern that, thanks to sensationalist media coverage, witchcraft has begun to attract "the kinky," ever seeking out fresh diversions. Her Sheffield counterpart, Mrs. Patricia Crowther, bemoans the fact that many who contact her Coven do so in the mistaken belief that she will fix it for them; "To win the football pools .... to have triplets; to gain power over others; to marry Elizabeth Taylor; to be loved by Cliff Richards; to be an astronaut ..." Mrs. Bone and Mrs. Crowther appear in "The Sisters of Wicca", so PH used the same material at least twice!
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Post by dem bones on Oct 29, 2020 11:06:43 GMT
Thanks, Mr. C. Had been meaning to ask about Cults ... as I was suspicious it might be another 'Peter Haining' book that isn't, e,g., Black Magic Killers. According to a Per N. Poulsen on Am*z*n uk. Which is shorthand for 'that's my Xmas present sorted'.
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Post by humgoo on Oct 29, 2020 13:40:11 GMT
Mr. Poulsen is easily pleased. What would he say if he read Devil Worship in Britain? The Cults book lacks the urgency of DWiB, which tells us in no uncertain terms that black magic was a national crisis that needed to be dealt with seriously by the authorities (probably on a par with rabies, flooding and Dungeons & Dragons)!
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