“Praetorius’s world and his work were constructed of wonderment at the magical universe and of the speculations of the new science.” -from Ways of Knowing in Early Modern Germany: Johannes Praetorius as a Witness to His Time (2006) by Gerhild Scholz Williams Among Germany’s many legendary sites, the Brocken (formerly known as the Blocksberg) is…
“The inhabitants of the upper Italian valleys to the south of Monte Rosa have a widespread tradition of an enchanted valley, beautiful and rich, which once existed in the heart of the mountain, and has now disappeared…” -from The Scenery of Switzerland and the Causes to which it is Due (1896) by Sir John Lubbock There…
“The idea that drives the subgenre is the survival of ancient cults, usually in remote rural areas, a mere step away from our ‘civilised’ surroundings…in folk horror the past always returns to haunt us.” -from “Archaeology and Folk Horror in Hellebore” (2020) by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo In 2019, Maria J. Pérez Cuervo launched Hellebore,…
“You have witnessed something of which everyone talks without knowledge; you have been initiated into secrets no less terrible than the grotto of Trophonius; you have been present at the Sabbath.” -from Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual (1896) by Eliphas Levi The witches’ sabbath has long been a source of fascination and debate. Sphinx-like,…
“Happy were the hours I spent in the society of Baron Kirkup…the manifestations he has witnessed are absolutely astounding.” -from Around the World Around the World: Or, Travels in Polynesia, China, India, Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Other Heathen Countries (1875) by James Martin Peebles Long before the the rise of Theosophy, which took the world…
“For the Spiritualists [in Florence] are many, and we have a few but very good mediums, principal amongst them the psychograph, Signor Fanciullacci…” – from “A Letter from Florence: The Protestant Bishop of Mexico and Spiritualism” by Giovanni Damiani (1886) Much like Quattrocento and Cinquecento Florence, the Florence of the Victorian age was all aglow…
“We may smile at the mystifying style of James the First, but it veils a dark truth: ‘You must not dip too deep in what kings reserve among themselves, among the arcana imperii.’” – from Commentaries on the life and reign of Charles the First, King of England, vol. I, by Isaac D’israeli As with…
“The Spirit of the Dragon, say the Adepts, must be changed, ere we attain the Great Secret…” -from Meister Karl’s Sketch-Book by Charles Godfrey Leland (1855). Our world, once a realm of unexplored hinterlands, has accordingly had its fair share of dragon-hunters. Their craft, which has its origins in the Bronze Age, when the serpentine…
“…Velay had a temple dedicated to Apollo, which was famous for the oracles it rendered; it was near the frontier of Auvergne on the summit of a rock on which later was built the castle of Polignac.” -from Histoire de l’Eglise d’Auvergne, vol.I, by Lambert Elizabeth d’Aubert comte de Résie (1855). In remote times, the…
“The Arabic treasure books, in contrast, emerged in an Egyptian context…no corresponding texts exist in the European magical tradition…” -Dr Christopher Braun Recently, officials reported the discovery of an Egyptian archpriest’s four millennia-old tomb. Remarkably, the cleric’s final resting place in Saqqara, Egypt, was unusually well-preserved, with the secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of…