May ScaredyKIT: Occult

May: Occult


“The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors, but by the 21st century was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of esoteric currents that developed in the mid-19th century and their descendants. Occultism is thus often used to categorise such esoteric traditions as Spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and New Age.

Particularly since the late twentieth century, various authors have used the occult as a substantivized adjective. In this usage, "the occult" is a category into which varied beliefs and practices are placed if they are considered to fit into neither religion nor science. "The occult" in this sense is very broad, encompassing such phenomenon as beliefs in vampires or fairies and movements like ufology and parapsychology. In that same period, occult and culture were combined to form the neologism occulture.” – From wikipedia.org.

I have not read a lot of the hard-core occult stuff (though I have read some of the more popular fiction ones), so many of the options I present here are ones I’m finding from various lists. I tried to pick ones that aren’t super-old, and also to find ones that might be a little more popular fiction. For series where many have been tagged occult (from the GR list), I’m listing the first book here.

Some options:

“Classics?”
- The Satanic Bible / Anton Szandor LaVey
- Book of Thoth / Aleister Crowley
- Living Wicca / Scott Cunningham
- Prometheus Rising / Robert Anton Wilson
- Foucault's Pendulum / Umberto Eco

Nonfiction (about the occult):
- The Black Arts : A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages / Richard Cavendish
- The Occult Book: A Chronological Journey from Alchemy to Wicca / John Michael Greer

Popular Fiction:
- The Exorcist / William Peter Blatty
- Rosemary's Baby / Ira Levin
- Dracula / Bram Stoker
- The Alchemist / Paulo Coelho
- The Shining / Stephen King
- Interview with the Vampire / Anne Rice
- Hideaway / Dean Koontz
- The Diviners / Libba Bray
- A Discovery of Witches / Deborah Harkness
- Dead Until Dark / Charlaine Harris
- Guilty Pleasures / Laurell K. Hamilton
- The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane / Katherine Howe
- Practical Magic / Alice Hoffman

Here is a Goodreads list:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/occult

And, please do update the wiki with what you read this month:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2020_ScaredyKIT#May:_Occult

I have a novel on my shelf that is tagged occult in LT, so I think I will read The Secrets of Dr. Taverner by Dion Fortune.

Oh... a tag search shows that I have a copy of The Magician by Somerset Maugham lurking on my ereader, so it looks like I have a book to fit this KIT.

I think I might use The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen for this.

I'm thinking a book about the Salem Witch Trials would fit? As I have had Witch Child on my shelf for ages.

I am going to go with Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman as I have an audio version that is calling out to me.

I've picked The Saturday Night Ghost Club.

>5 JayneCM: I think so! Enjoy!

I'm not sure how closely they fit, but a few options for me (based on tags):

Dance of Death / Douglas Preston
House of Doctor Dee / Peter Ackroyd
The Witches of New York / Ami McKay

I'm going to listen to We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

I had a couple options at the library, no longer options. Not sure when libraries will be allowed to reopen. There is one electronic book that might work.

The Secrets of Dr. Taverner by Dion Fortune was just a horrible book about the occult. Horrible in many ways: formatting. There were chapter numbers in the middle of a sentence, about every 3-4 pages each page was only a half page and the 2nd half was a lot of numbers and letters looking like somebody's cat was playing on their keyboard. And last but not least, the story (ies) were far fetched. Most of them dealt with Dr. Taverner reuniting people's essence (souls) with their bodies. I can see these stories are very loosely based on Sherlock Holmes type sleuthing. The author, according to the book, was a spiritual guide (medium) which founded The Order of the Fraternal Light in the 1920's. She has written several books and supposedly dictated the last 2 chapters of one such book from beyond the grave.

>12 Tess_W: Well, that's... interesting. LOL!

>12 Tess_W: I'm guessing this was a Kindle? Great that the author didn't let death stop her from her work though. ;-)

>14 mstrust: Yes, it was a Kindle read!

I took my copy of The Monk off the shelf while looking for something else and was surprised to see it is Number 24 in The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult: https://www.librarything.com/publisherseries/The+Dennis+Wheatley+Library+of+the+... Maybe there are some possible reads here?
ETC

>16 MissWatson: I was thinking Dennis Wheatley's own works such as The Devil Rides Out or The Ka of Gifford Hillary would work here. I was a great fan in my early teens. Unfortunately my collection of his works had to be abandoned when I moved abroad.

>17 Robertgreaves: Thanks for reminding me that I need to look him up, I have never heard of him.

I have a hard time deciding what to read but I found some really good suggestions in this reddit thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/horrorlit/comments/atzk8l/any_suggestions_for_horror_no...

I read Witch Child by Celia Rees, a middle grade book set in 1659. Not really scary, but I did not have much on my shelves and I needed to read a book about historical witch hunts for another challenge. Maybe once the libraries reopen I'll find something better.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman was full of witches, spells and magic but was not scary at all. I found this to be a delightful read and plan on reading more from this author in the future.

I finished Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver. I started it in April for the paranormal category, but I'm glad it lasted until May because I think it better fits in Occult, since it concerns witches, demons, and ghosts but the supernatural is ambiguous and may only be madness.

An old-fashioned gothic tale set in the early 1900s in an ivy-shrouded English manor at the edge of a wild, marshy fen, Wakenhyrst centers on Edmund Stearne and his teenage daughter Maud. The framing device reveals that Stearne was committed to an insane asylum and after his death his grotesque paintings of demons became famous, bringing unwanted media attention to the reclusive, now-elderly Maud; this is how her story comes to light. After her mother dies in childbirth under horrific circumstances, teenage Maud becomes de facto mistress of the house and secretary to her father, a medieval historian. Stearne is obsessed with the story of Alice Pyett, a 16th-century resident of the area who thought she had visions of Jesus and who was believed might be possessed by demons. When Stearne discovers a medieval painting called the Doom in the local churchyard, his obsession grows, and he begins to believe there are demons invading his house from the fen. Maud, who is growing independent and rebellious, discovers through reading her father's journals and her own investigation a secret her father has been hiding since boyhood and gradually unravels her father's madness. Wakenhyrst is a slow-moving but highly atmospheric gothic story that is also a coming-of-age story, an absorbing character study, and a love letter to wild and untouched places that may or may not harbor ghosts. It was a slow read, but I very much enjoyed it.

I don't own many books in this category. I read the Saturday Night Ghost Club which turned out to have little "ghost" about it but does feature an Occult shop, so maybe a good choice for someone who wants tension rather than scares.
I'm thinking I'll read from the Supernatural novel series, War of the Sons, which has the Winchester brothers hunting the Devil.

I'm reading A Discovery of Witches, the first book in Deborah Harkness' All Souls trilogy, and really enjoying it so far.

For this one I am reading a little quirky book in my husband's collection. The Devil's Diaries by Nicholas D. Satan

I read All heads turn when the hunt goes by by John Farris.
It's about a voodoo snake goddess and the fate of several characters, across Africa, Great Britain and the US, intertwine.
It was a nice read though not too memorable. The atmosphere was well rendered though I would have liked a more scary book (one grump I have about my books for this challenge so far is that I have trouble finding books which are really scary. I don't know if I'm hard to scare or if I can't find the right books).

>26 chlorine: I think it's hard for a book to be really scary in the same way a movie might be. I'm happy if a book gets under my skin or gives me the creeps. That being said, a few books that scared me do come to mind: early Stephen King, Heart Shaped Box, The Haunting of Hill House, World War Z, The Ruins. But yeah, most horror for me is more creepy or thrilling than scary.

I've read War of the Sons, which features an angel, many demons, possession, devil's traps and Eisheth, one of Satan's wives.

I didn't think I'd have anything for this theme, but then I found Das kosmische Kind on my shelves, where a young girl flees from a religious cult, the Ordre du Temple, and sets in motion a huge police investigation. There's little about the cult and their belief system (they thought that death in a fire would transport them to Sirius where they would live like God), it is not particularly scary and not very good as a plain mystery. At least it is now off the shelf.

>27 sturlington: Thanks for the recs! The heart shaped box is on my wishlist. :)

>24 LisaMorr: I'm also reading (listening) to A Discovery of Witches. I'm really enjoying this book.

>29 MissWatson: Good to hear at least it's off the tbr! Even if you don't enjoy the book, sometimes it's nice just to have it done.

The Witches of New York / Ami McKay
3.5 stars

It is the 1880s. 17-year old Beatrice heads to New York to try to get an advertised shop girl job at “Tea and Sympathy”. It turns out the ladies who run Tea and Sympathy (Eleanor and Adelaide) are witches, and Beatrice is showing tendencies towards such, as well as seeing and hearing ghosts. We learn about all three women, their histories, and how things go forward at this time in NYC while the three are considered witches.

I liked Beatrice’s story, in particular, but what I wasn’t crazy about was all the different changing perspectives of so many different characters. I don’t like when I’m a good chunk of the way in and a new character is introduced and I have to try to fit them in. This happened quite a bit in this book, as there was a lot of flopping all over the place, following all the different characters. Toward the end, the story picked up speed a bit, so overall, I’m still rating it good.

I thought this might be of interest to the group. It is the NY Times's summer horror recommendations: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/horror-summer.html

Interesting lists. Thanks for posting!

Finished A Discovery of Witches, which had witches, demons and vampires galore. I really liked it, and will continue with the trilogy.

>31 luvamystery65: Glad you are liking it! Hope you're doing well, Ro.

The House of Doctor Dee / Peter Ackroyd
2 stars

Two storylines – Matthew has inherited a house from his father in the current day (book was published in the early 90s), and there is a brief mystery in figuring out whom it once belonged to. Turns it out, Doctor John Dee once lived there (during the time of Queen Elizabeth’s reign in the 16th century). No idea what the Doctor Dee storyline was all about.

This was incredibly boring, especially the Dee storyline. I have no idea what happened in that part except that (I think) his wife, Katherine, was sick. He was apparently a doctor (and possibly a “sorcerer” of some type?). Anyway, not really worth the time, in my opinion.

>38 Robertgreaves: Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy The House of Doctor Dee. It's been a while since I read it (at least 10 years ago, more like 15) but from what I remember, the more you already knew about Dr. Dee the more sense it would make.

>39 LibraryCin: That might have helped. I also don't know if I really like Ackroyd's writing style, either, though. I probably should have added that to my review.

>36 LisaMorr: I finished A Discovery of Witches also. It was good. Recorded Books app has the sequel available through my library so I downloaded it.

>32 LibraryCin: Yes, removing a book from the TBR is always a very satisfactory feeling.