Category Archives: occult

New Title on Satanic Cinema: SATAN IN THE CELLULOID

August 25th, 2024 | Posted in occult, Satanism

My Amazon feed made a recommendation recently in the form of a new book, Satan in the Celluloid: 100 Satanic and Occult Horror Movies of the 1970s by P.J. Thorndyke. The subject matter and description resonated with prior posts of mine: They were a product of their time. The counterculture of the 1960s had soured […]

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Titles of Interest – Bell, Book and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television

April 25th, 2018 | Posted in occult, Titles of Interest, Wicca, Witchcraft

A new book by my friend Heather who does an outstanding job as editor of The Wild Hunt blog. Bell, Book and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television by Heather Greene McFarland, 2018 The witch as a cultural archetype has existed in some form since the beginning of recorded history. […]

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Dr. Strange, the esoteric, and the spiritual

November 8th, 2016 | Posted in occult, occulture, Scott Derrickson, Western esotericism

The latest Marvel film, Doctor Strange, directed by Scott Derrickson, has generated some interesting discussion related to the spiritual aspects of the comic as original source material, and how this is portrayed in the film itself. An essay in The Huffington Post discusses some interesting historical background information on the religious aspects of the comic […]

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“The Conjuring 2” and Misinformation

June 17th, 2016 | Posted in demonic, demonology, devil in film, Ed and Lorraine Warren, occult, paranormal

Now that The Conjuring 2 is in theaters it has become the object of praise as well as critique. An article at iDigitalTimes offers the latter, particularly since the film is promoted as being “based on a true story,” and that it involves the careers of notorious parapsychologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. (See my past […]

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Why did satanists endorse “The Witch”?

February 21st, 2016 | Posted in horror, occult, occulture, Paganism, Satan, Satanism, Wicca, Witchcraft

The new horror film The Witch is getting positive reviews, but prior to that it was the stuff of minor controversy as a Satanist group issued a public endorsement for the film, calling it a “satanic experience.” Such an endorsement would have caused a major controversy in the culture wars from Christians as happened in […]

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RUE MORGUE and the Ouija Board

October 25th, 2015 | Posted in Bill Ellis, occult, occulture, paranormal, Rue Morgue magazine

Each year I look forward to the Halloween issue of RUE MORGUE magazine. This year’s was a real treat given its cover story “Spirits, Demons, Superstition: 125 Years of the Ouija Board.” There are several elements included in their coverage, including an overview, “Take Me to the Other Side” by April Snellings that also includes […]

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Titles of Interest – Ghosts, Spirits and Psychics: The Paranormal from Alchemy to Zombies

August 4th, 2015 | Posted in ghost, occult, paranormal, Titles of Interest

Matt Cardin of The Teeming Brain is a good friend and colleague in all things fantastic. I am pleased to announce one of his latest book projects, Ghosts, Spirits and Psychics: The Paranormal from Alchemy to Zombies (ABC-CLIO, 2015). This fascinating work provides a complete overview of paranormal phenomena, including the beliefs, attitudes, and notable […]

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Patheos Book Review: The Paranormal Conspiracy

August 2nd, 2015 | Posted in occult, occulture, paranormal, Western esotericism

A volume at the Patheos Book club recently caught my attention. It is The Paranormal Conspiracy: The Truth About Ghosts, Aliens and Mysterious Beings (Chosen Books, 2015) by Timothy Dailey, Ph.D. An excerpt from the book and an interview with the author are available at Patheos. From time to time we explore the paranormal at […]

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“Nosferatu” director’s stolen head, and occult ritual?

July 15th, 2015 | Posted in 1920s, Nosferatu, occult, Satanism, Western esotericism

In a previous post I discussed an article in Fortean Times that mentioned connections between Western esotericism and an individual connected to the classic silent horror film Nosferatu. Just yesterday the media, in places like The Guardian, reported about a grave robbery in the form of someone stealing the head from the corpse of Nosferatu‘s […]

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The Esoteric “Nosferatu”

May 30th, 2015 | Posted in 1920s, esotericism, Nosferatu, occult, vampire, Western esotericism

The May 2015 issue of Fortean Times caught my eye when I was in the bookstore on Friday. On the cover was Max Shrek made up as Count Orlok in the silent horror film classic Nosferatu as the illustration for a story by Brian Robb titled “Nosferatu: The Vampire and the Occultist.” As a scholar […]

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