#Joseph Glanvil

[realhousewives-fan]

The Housewives Support Andy Cohen

2024 is turning out to be annus horribilis for Andy Cohen and Bravo.

Leah McSweeney’s shocking allegations against Andy has created a shit storm that he probably didn’t need during a time that’s turbulent to say the least.

Bravo is dealing with Caroline Manzo’s lawsuit, Bethenny Frankel’s Reality Reckoning, Brandi Glanville’s lawsuit threat, and now Leah’s drug allegations.

While the drug story wasn’t exactly news to me, her timing seems highly suspicious.

Kathy Griffin made the same accusation back in 2017, but was it a thing of the past or is Leah exploiting this 7-year-old accusation?

Leah appears to be bitter with how RHONY and RHUGT3 ended, and she’s seeking revenge. On RHUGT she made accusations none of the other women believed.

She’s one of the women in Bethenny’s revenge campaign against Bravo, and her involvement isn’t exactly surprising to me.

Since she has accused Andy of doing drugs with other housewives and giving his favorites special treatment, the housewives have responded to the accusations.

Luann de Lesseps, who was on the same show as Lean and has struggled with alcohol in the past, said that no one ever forced her to take up a glass.

Dorinda Medley clapped back at Leah’s accusation and said that “adults need to be held accountable for their own actions.” And that’s what Leah needs to do.

Dorinda also mentioned she’s had “nothing but good experiences with Andy and Bravo and she's gained so much by being on the show.”

Leah’s experience wasn’t as positive, so she’s resentful and after revenge for her own poor actions.

Kyle Richards is one Andy’s so-called favourites, and she told Page Six that she has never seen him do drugs, offered drugs or done anything inappropriate.

She also praised him for his professionalism by mentioning that he doesn’t follow the Bravolebrities on Instagram to keep a professional distance between them.

Heather Dubrow, who’s also an actress, praised his professionalism while Margaret Josephs claimed that Andy “has never offered any Housewife cocaine.”

It must at least be of some comfort that some of the housewives are showing their support.

[powells]

Witch Book Enthusiasts!

Allow us to introduce the most witch-y book currently for sale in the Rare Book Room at Powell's: 'Saducismus Triumphatus: or, Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions' (1681, by Joseph Glanvil)

Learn more about this and other supernatural tomes from our Rare Book specialist on the Powell's Blog.

[shipwreckedwithcaptainmarrow]

After nearly 6 years of research and writing, “𝑃𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐺ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠 & 𝐵𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝘗𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 & 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵: 𝘈 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦” is not only complete, but you can pre-order signed copies now by messaging the page!

The book comes in at 343 pages, relaying all pirate folklore along the American shores of Maryland up to Maine. Tales within, consisting of pirate-relevant hauntings and buried treasures, are presented as they are known, and then extrapolated on regarding true pirate history, my own notes on their origins, and those who have sought them out. The book begins largely the same as my first title, the "𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵," exploring the history of pirates and their associations with buried treasure and the undead, before delving into the mysteries of New England superstitions and William Kidd!

Every pre-order also comes with a color-printed slip on period-appropriate laid paper of a 1700 period pamphlet cover titled “𝘚𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴, 𝘰𝘳, 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 : 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 : 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.” by Joseph Glanvil. This book, originally printed prior in 1681, heavily influenced puritan clergyman Cotton Mather regarding the 1692 Salem Witch Trials and his own publications, and is mentioned by name within the fictional short story “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭” by Rhode Island horror author H.P. Lovecraft.

PRE-ORDER: $25 + $5 Shipping (within US), Message this page to place an order.

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PLUNDER EDITION PRE-ORDER PACKAGE: $65 + $5 Shipping (within US), message to place an order.

As a surprise for you all, for those interested, a deluxe pre-order package exists as well! In addition to your signed copy of Northeast Coast and your pamphlet cover, you will also receive the following plunder!

1x 9”x12” Aged map on laid paper of Fishers Island, New York. This particular island has a sizeable entry within the book’s chapter on New York, with numerous claims of buried treasure and ghost ships. This map is a more modern recreation of a 19th century map of the isle with many interesting locations noted, two of which are alleged “treasure sites” mentioned in the book’s entry. Note that this map will come tri-folded in your package.

1x 5.5”x8” Aged Wanted Poster on laid paper for Captain William Kidd. This poster, stylized after those within the movie Cutthroat Island, and utilizing a woodcut-style depiction of Kidd burying his Bible (turning his back on an honest life), is imagined as if issued by Governor Richard Coote, Lord Bellomont, who historically was responsible for Kidd’s capture. His name will come up a lot in the book - with this Wanted Poster you can look at his name one more time.

1x .999 Pure Silver Pine Tree Shilling. Through collaboration with The Black Spot Guild - shop in New Hampshire, included in your package will be one hand-struck silver shilling. These coins are of particular importance regarding the Northeast Coast’s colonial history, as one of the first types of coins ever struck in the American Colonies, minted in Boston, Massachusetts in 1652. This coin, however, features the date of 1692, noting the year of the Salem Witch Trials, which come up time and again within the book. The pine tree is depicted upon them as the New England area provided many pines, which were straight and tall - prime material as ship’s masts. One side reads "In Masathvsets," the other "New England An Dom."

Note that these Plunder Edition Pre-Order Packages are of limited quantity, first come - first serve (in order of messages received on my end)

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I am accepting payments of Zelle, PayPal, and Venmo. Please reach out stating your preferred payment option, state if you’d like the Plunder Package, and how you would like your book/s signed - either just the Author Signature or if you would like it to be addressed to a particular name/crew, or otherwise personalized message.

Please understand that I will be addressing messages as timely as possible, there will be enough books for all, and I will honor the timestamp of messages in order for the limited supply of Plunder Packages.

Those who place pre-orders within this first week will likely receive their copies before the actual Release Date of the book. I kindly ask that if you have a chance to reasonably check out the book before that date, and are comfortable doing so: Please leave a review of the book, if you will, on Amazon's listing the day it goes live - September 18th. Day-1 reviews help a ton for authors on Amazon.

For those placing orders outside of the US - please allow me some time to calculate shipping and get back to you with a final total.

For those attending the Northeast Coast Book Launch Party in Goose Creek, SC, on September 18th - feel free to place a Pre-Order now with no shipping costs, and pick up your copies in-person! Let me know when you message if you'll be opting for this, if not I will assume it's being shipped to you. Lastly, thank you all so much for your continued support over the years, and please, if you can: Share this post and help me reach friends and family interested in pirates and/or the coastal history and folklore of the northeast coast!

[wings-of-flying]

shout out to john darrell, my favourite fraudulent exorcist who was also a minister

shout out to joseph glanvill who believed in the case of the demon drummer so much that he tried to convince the royal society that witchcraft was real

[letsgethaunted]

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Episode Ten: The Salem Witch Trials Photodump

1: an ancient brick cesspit 2: Caravaggio’s “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” vs Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” 3: Example of a witch’s bottle 4: Joseph Glanvill and his book “A Blow at Modern Sadducism” 5: Samuel Parris 6: An illustration by Joseph Boggs of the execution of Bridget Bishop + a photo of her memorial in Salem 7: Memorial plaques for Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good, and Giles Corey 8: Illustration of Sarah Good being led to her execution 9: Photo of Sarah Osborne 10: Illustration of Tituba + illustration of Tituba with the Parris children

[talesofpassingtime]

"There is no point, among the many incomprehensible anomalies of the science of mind, more thrillingly exciting than the fact – never, I believe, noticed in the schools – that in our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very verge of remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember. And thus how frequently, in my intense scrutiny of Ligeia’s eyes, have I felt approaching the full knowledge of their expression – felt it approaching – yet not quite be mine – and so at length entirely depart! And (strange, oh, strangest mystery of all!) I found, in the commonest objects of the universe, a circle of analogies to that expression. I mean to say that, subsequently to the period when Ligeia’s beauty passed into my spirit, there dwelling as in a shrine, I derived, from many existences in the material world, a sentiment such as I felt always around, within me, by her large and luminous orbs. Yet not the more could I define that sentiment, or analyze, or even steadily view it. I recognized it, let me repeat, sometimes in the survey of a rapidly-growing vine – in the contemplation of a moth, a butterfly, a chrysalis, a stream of running water. I have felt it in the ocean – in the falling of a meteor. I have felt it in the glances of unusually aged people. And there are one or two stars in heaven (on especially, a star of the sixth magnitude, double and chanceable, to be found near the large star in Lyra) in a telescopic scrutiny of which I have been made aware of the feeling. I have been filled with it by certain sound from stringed instruments, and not unfrequently by passages from books. Among innumerable other instances, I well remember something in a volume of Joseph Glanvill, which (perhaps merely from its quaintness – who shall say?) never failed to inspire me with the sentiment. “And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield him to the angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will.”"

— E. A. Poe, Ligeia, fifth paragraph

[ledenews]

WLU Presidential Search Committee Meets for Evaluation of Candidates

West Liberty University’s Presidential Search Committee met at 6 p.m. Monday, May 1 with AGB Search to evaluate the on-campus visits of the final four candidates seeking to become WLU’s 38th president. Search Committee Chairman Thomas Cervone called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. with a roll call. In attendance were: Jack Adams, Michael Baker, Keith Bell, Sydney Burkle, Richard Carter, Katie Cooper, John Dolan, Ryan Glanville, Dan Joseph, Karen Kettler, Richard Lucas, David McKinley, Jason Metz and Tasha Taylor, along with AGB Consultants Jerome Gilbert and Richard Wueste. Unable to attend was Jamie Evick. Pursuant to WV Code §6-9A-4, at 6:05 p.m., a motion to retire to executive session was made by Carter and seconded by Adams, this motion passed unanimously. A motion to rise from executive session at 7:08 p.m. was made by Dan Joseph and seconded by Richard Carter. By unanimous approval, the committee then rose from executive session. There were no actions emanating from the executive session, according to the minutes. The final four candidates are: Dr. Tim Borchers, vice president for Academic Affairs at Peru State College (Neb.), the oldest college in the state with an enrollment of approximately 2,000. Dr. David Christiansen, chancellor of Penn State York, a position he began on August 1, 2018. Penn State York is a commuter campus with an enrollment of about 742 and is a commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kelly Ryan, interim chancellor of Indiana University (IU) Southeast, a regional campus of Indiana University with an enrollment of about 3,993. Dr. Robert T. Smith, provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of mathematics at Valdosta State University (Ga.), enrolling more than 10,000 students. The final selection for president is made by the WLU Board of Governors which then forwards the name to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) for its seal of approval. WLU hopes to have a president on board sometime in late spring, with an expected date of contract to begin July 1, 2023. A special meeting of the Board of Governors is planned for 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. More about the Search Committee: Members of the Presidential Search Committee include Board of Governors, employees and students, specifically: Board of Governor members: Chairman Tom Cervone, alumnus, Knoxville, Tenn.; Richard “Rich” Lucas (BOG chairman), Wheeling; Jack Adams (BOG vice chairman), McMurray, Pa.; Michael J. Baker, Wheeling; Dr. Keith Bell, professor of Criminal Justice; Arlene Brantley, Atlanta, Ga.; Richard Carter, Wheeling; Dr. Jamie Evick (BOG secretary and alumna), Glen Dale, W.Va.; Ryan Glanville (WLU staff member), Wheeling; Sydney Burkle, (student government president), Wheeling, W.Va.; Vice Chairman and alumnus David H. McKinley, Wheeling; Jason Metz (faculty member), Pittsburgh; and Stephanie Shaw (BOG member and alumna), Columbus, Ohio. Also serving as search committee members are: Katie Cooper, assistant vice president of Enrollment Management; John Dolan, alumnus and member of the WLU Foundation Board; Dr. Daniel “Dan” Joseph, alumnus and member of the WLU Foundation Board; Dr. Karen Kettler, dean of the College of Sciences and Tasha Taylor, executive assistant to the provost. Read the full article

[leanstooneside]

Corner clothesline

1. KEVIN JONAS'S MOUTH (TIME OUT)

2. BRITTANY SNOW'S MOUTH (PFF)

3. OLIVIA WILDE'S MOUTH (OH-OH)

4. KERR SMITH'S MOUTH (GEE WHIZ)

5. HUGH LAURIE'S MOUTH (WHOOPSEY)

6. ANNASOPHIA ROBB'S MOUTH (UM)

7. CURTIS STONE'S MOUTH (GRR)

8. FERGIE'S MOUTH (WORD)

9. ALI FEDOTOWSKY'S MOUTH (ARGH)

10. JADA PINKETT SMITH'S MOUTH (SAY)

11. LUANN DE LESSEPS'S MOUTH (OH NO)

12. BEN ROETHLISBERGER'S MOUTH (VERY WELL)

13. CATHERINE MALANDRINO'S MOUTH (IS IT)

14. HALLE BERRY'S MOUTH (VERY NICE)

15. MOLLY SHANNON'S MOUTH (WHEE)

16. ANA ORTIZ'S MOUTH (FIDDLESTICKS)

17. MICHAEL BOLTON'S MOUTH (BRR)

18. NICKY HILTON'S MOUTH (SSSH)

19. ROSIE O'DONNELL'S MOUTH (THANKS)

20. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT'S MOUTH (LOOK)

21. JESSICA BIEL'S MOUTH (WHATEVER)

22. BRANDI GLANVILLE'S MOUTH (TA)

23. MICHAEL URIE'S MOUTH (BLAST)

[luminescenc1e]

“ I am glad that you did not have an issue with finding the house, we don’t get many visitors, but it is always lovely to entertain. Especially someone as acclaimed. I’ve heard great many things about you Miss Pardalis. And I just knew you would be the person to assist me with what I need. Of course, I will pay you handsomely for your assistance. ”

Gomez spoke as he poured them both tea, placing the cup on a porcelain saucer before arranging a few biscuits and small sandwiches on another that he put down in front of her. “ As you probably already know, one of the main Celtic celebrations is closely upon us, Imbolc will start at midnight on the 31st of January. It is a day to celebrate the pagan goddess Brigid. "

"Who is, I guess, best known as the goddess of fertility, especially connected to the land, not only that of course. But, I need an item to bring forth this celebration and make it more successful if you will. In Selam, there are a lot of places where magic seems to flow, or so people believe. One of those people, a descendent of Joseph Glanvill seems to have a few items that have been passed down through generations. One of which is the ash that was collected after the burning of witches."

" He is a hard man to appease and I have offered him money before, but he just does not want to budge. I was thinking you might be more successful in the endeavor. What do you think? ” His tone of voice is jovial, and when talking, he is a very animated person, hands moving around as if to paint a picture. But there also lies a side of him, not visible at first, maybe more revealing if you were to look at his eyes, of something dark and dangerous. Gomez always gets what he wants, and this would not be any different.

"Henry," Thera had said, "that's not my job."

To which Professor Johannsen, well known for his dramatics, had acted like she'd just shot him in the foot. "Aw come on, Thera, you've heard of this Addams guy! They say he's got a house full of priceless antiques, and he's rich as fucking Croesus! If we look after him he might -"

"I am not extorting money from this man, Henry."

What she did end up doing, of course, because Henry with a bee in his bonnet was an unstoppable force, was agreeing to take on the email correspondence from Mr Addams - a slightly odd but endlessly cheerful exchange that had ended up with her agreeing to visit to discuss the matter face to face. Although she knew as soon as she spotted the house that they were going to owe her big time for this.

Not to say the house wasn't impressive, tall and stately with details that spoke to her of at least two centuries, and kept her studying for several minutes as she made her way from the front gate to the porch. But the garden ... the garden gave her an odd little prickle, something beyond the notion that its appearance was the product of simple neglect.

The butler ... well, the butler matched the house, almost perfectly, but she did her best not to stare at him as he escorted her to meet his employer. Fortunately, there was more than enough to look at - or look back at - in the foyer itself!

"Mr Addams." She stepped forward to offer her hand, pulling her attention from the surroundings, "Thera Pardalis." A quick smile, "As you know." Her ear pricked briefly at the mention of animals, but for the time being she walked with Gomez to what appeared to be his study, slightly pleased to be out of the paintings' line of sight.

"The road in looks a little unused," Possibly something to do with what she could see through the windows, "but once I made the turn it was impossible to miss!"

[lindahall]

Joseph Glanvill – Scientist of the Day

Joseph Glanvill, a clergyman and polemicist for the "new science," died Nov. 4, 1680, at the age of about 44; his date of birth is not recorded.  

read more...

[hagleyvault]

The Hagley Library; come for our 235 acres of history along the banks of the Brandywine, stay for our wonderful stories of certain Swedish witches.

We don't need the Sadducismus Triumphatus:, Or, A Full And Plain Evidence, Concerning Witches And Apparitions. : In Two Parts. : The First Treating Of Their Possibility. : The Second Of Their Real Existence to find the occult this #WitchyWednesday, but we’re sure enjoying its company. This treatise on all things supernatural was first published in 1681 after the death of its author, the English writer, philosopher, and clergyman Joseph Glanvill (1636-1680). Our copy of the work is a fourth edition, published in 1726.

The book, whose subjects range from witches, the danger of those who expressed skepticism about witches, the physiological structures of the soul,  the Drummer of Tedworth (an early poltergeist tale), and other supernatural and occult phenomena was also one of the first works to document the use of witch bottles as counter-charms against evil magic. In later years, the work was referenced by H.P. Lovecraft in his 1923 short story “The Festival” as well as by Shirley Jackson in her 1949 book The Lottery and Other Stories. 

Less amusingly, it was also a major influence on Cotton Mather (1663-1728), author of Discourse on Witchcraft (1689), Wonders of the Invisible World (1693), and one of the architects of the Salem Witch Trials, which resulted in the death of 20 Salem residents between 1692 and 1693. Mather also played a prominent role in the case against Goodwife "Goody" Ann Glover, who, in 1688, became the last person to be hanged in Boston for the crime of witchcraft.

Our copy of this work has not been digitized, but morbid fans of meter among you may find consolation in another witchy work in our collections. Alice DuPont Ortiz (1876-1940)’s 1937 book of horror poetry, The Witch of Endor, can be found online in our Digital Archive by clicking here. Or you can go to the internet. There’s also copies of it elsewhere on the internet. Dark magic there, for sure. Happy haunting!

[noelcollection]

Joseph Glanvill was a clergyman in 17th century England who wrote Saducismus triumphatus. He wrote this book to prove that witchcraft existed and posed a danger to society. The work is divided into two parts; the first explores the possibility of witches while the second proves their existence. it also includes an appendix, in which stories of witchcraft have been collected.

Images from:

Joseph Glanvill's  Sadducismus triumphatus... London : printed for A. Bettesworth, and J. Batley... W. Mears, and J. Hooke..., 1726.

Call number: BF1581 .A2 1726

Catalog record: https://bit.ly/2yfhW0V

[jonathandurrant]

William Hogarth, Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism (engraving, 1762)

[nealiios]

The Supernatural 70s: Part Three - The Forbidden Tomes

"I saw that the books were hoary and mouldy, and that they included old Morryster’s wild Marvells of Science, the terrible Saducismus Triumphatus of Joseph Glanvill, published in 1681, the shocking Daemonolatreia of Remigius, printed in 1595 at Lyons, and worst of all, the unmentionable Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, in Olaus Wormius’ forbidden Latin translation; a book which I had never seen, but of which I had heard monstrous things whispered."

-- H.P. Lovecraft, "The Festival"

It's difficult to be a ghoul when you were intended by your parents to be an apostle. I was raised in a time and place where it was not only assumed that I'd be a good little devotee of the church, but it was expected that I'd grow up to be a fervent, Bible-pounding proselytizer of the AMAZING GOOD NEWS!!!! Before I'd ever been a sinful gleam in my father's eye, my mother frequently attended the crusades of Billy Graham. I'd had the fortune (?) to grow up in Tulsa, Oklahoma which was home to Oral Roberts University, officially making my hometown the crossbar of the buckle of the Bible Belt.

As a kid my childhood routine was strongly ordered. Sunday school and church twice on Sundays. Wednesday night church as well. Bible study and prayers every night before bed. Both of my parents taught Sunday school for the youngest kids in our church, and I was defacto enforcer to keep some of the more "troublesome" kids in line as my parents laid down THE LAW. Frequently too there were cartoons produced by Disney featuring that rat-bastard Jiminey Cricket who was supposed to be our kindly voice of conscious but I'd grow to hate him as the All Seeing, All Controlling monitor of everything I ever did. Come summer time I was riding the bus with the pastor to church every day for Vacation Bible School to ensure that not one single sinful thought ever entered my pre-pubescent mind. But there's something to be said about trying to tamp down the lid on all that, to make sure every thought is clean, and pure, and in the absolute service of the All Mighty. The more that I was preached to about hell and brimstone and the eternal punishment that was waiting to pounce on my sin-tainted soul, the more interested I became in reading and watching the things that were supposedly lurking out there in the shadows to imperil me. Honestly, it was almost as if they'd wanted me to become a horror fiend. The most paradoxical thing about my intense religious upbringing is that my parents - most particularly my mother - were strangely inconsistent in the ways in which both my older brother and myself were raised. Neither of my parents ever read for pleasure for themselves, but there wasn't a single night of my childhood when I wasn't read to sleep until I was old enough to read for myself. By the time I hit elementary school I was already a voracious reader and reading at a grade level far in advance of where other kids my age were. Awards were given out every semester for the student who read the most books and I routinely read more books than the pre-printed certificates even accounted for. Somehow, no one had ever thought a kid my age might blow through more than 25 books in a semester!

Feeding a literary appetite like that wasn't easy. Being a good boy I'd read all the wholesome things I was supposed to read beyond my assigned Bible readings. Dick and Jane. The Poky Little Puppy. Clifford the Big Red Dog. Winnie the Pooh. Pippi Longstocking. Frog and Toad are Friends. Bedtime for Frances. Go Dog Go. Curious George. The Richard Scarry Treasury (which while I loved them, I was disappointed that despite the author's name they weren't at all scary.) Sometimes I'd also sneak in a few comic books that were supposed to be good for me because they were bible stories or Classics Illustrated.

ABOVE: Classics Illustrated exposed many children to their first classical works of literature, and I was absolutely hooked on the volumes which covered Shakespeare, particular Macbeth and Hamlet, both of which played heavily with supernatural elements like ghosts, witches, curses, and prophesies.

Of course, as I mentioned in part one of this series, I'd snuck in a few juvenile-oriented books with ghost or monster themes to them, but those titles always skidded past my mother's radar because the supernatural elements within them were little more than window dressing. Casper and Gus were happy, friendly ghosts who were going out of their way trying not to frighten the people they encountered. The terrible creatures of Where the Wild Things Are are easily dismissible as figments of Max's sleepy imagination. But as the material I was watching and reading became both more sophisticated and less morality play-like, the less comfortable my parents became.

An important breaking point for my mother's tolerance would come on October 27 of 1973 with an episode of the Star Trek animated series entitled "The Magicks of Megas-Tu." Written by Larry Brody, the story followed the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they are caught in a mysterious storm and thrown into an alternate universe where science doesn't work but magic does.

Aided by a horned man named Lucien who appears on the bridge and repairs the damaged Enterprise, they are advised not to attempt to use magic themselves to avoid attracting attention, but the advice falls on deaf ears and the crew find themselves abducted and transported to a place which resembles the witch-trial era of Salem, Massachusetts. Placed on trial by for acts of witchcraft alongside Lucien, Kirk and crew must square off against the prosecutor, Asmodeus. Spock indicates that there's a good possibility that Lucien is actually either the Lucifer of Earth's history, or at least his inspiration, but Kirk points out the witches of Salem had been wrongfully accused, Lucien hasn't done anything wrong against them and so he defends Lucien against the prosecutor saying that he'd be willing to give his own life in exchange for Lucien to prevent him from being cast out.

The storyline would be a bridge too far for my mother. The idea that Lucifer might have been an alien rather than the devil, or that the hero of my favorite sci-fi TV series was prepared to save him even if wrongfully accused was too much. Even though presented entirely as a fictional scenario, it would set my mother permanently against all sci-fi, fantasy, or horror fiction that drifted into our household. It would cement of pattern of active censorship over genre fiction in that had originated because of my older brother Gene.

ABOVE: Kirk defends himself, the rest of the crew, and the magic-wielding alien named Lucien against the Megans in a trial resembling the Salem witch trials. The episode was written by screenwriter Larry Brody who coincidentally also created a series called The Magician that debuted on CBS the same year and starred Bill Bixby.

Much of my taste for science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal began thanks to the influence of my older brother. He had been the one who pioneered the way for me, watching Lost in Space, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, The Time Tunnel and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea during their original runs, then telling me about them long before I experienced most of them on my own. It was also thanks to him shoving The Hobbit at me in junior high that I ever discovered Tolkien, and also because of him that I first started scribbling down short stories. In so many respects there would never have been a Neal Hallford horror aficionado or game designer if not for his influence over me.

ABOVE: My brother and I

My long trek to the dark side started when Gene tried to check out books about bigfoot and UFOs and ESP from the Tulsa County bookmobile. Today this wouldn't even raise an eyebrow in most places, but in early 1970s Oklahoma this constituted scandal. Children weren't supposed to read about that sort of thing. Dire conversations were had with my parents. Pastors were consulted. For this unspeakable crime against humanity, he found himself banned from the bookmobile. But the thing about banning things from kids is, they're just going to find another way to get to what you don't want them to have.

In the 70s, there were all kinds of interesting books and comics popping up on magazine stands and in convenience store "spinners." If you wanted books about space travel, reincarnation, psychic phenomena, vampirism, cannibalism, or the occult, the books were certainly available. Gene was tantalized by all these verboten bits of reading material, but getting the allowance money to buy these things came from our mother, and she wasn't about to pay for any of this potentially blasphemous trash. Interestingly enough, Gene found an ally in a lady that my family members simply called "Aunt Patsy."

My Aunt Patsy wasn't actually an aunt, but an elderly 2nd or a 3rd cousin. She and I had a birthday in common, so I have many childhood photos of our shared celebrations. Unfortunately, Patsy was something of an outcast within our family and not terribly well-treated. I seem to remember whispered stories that she'd been a fan dancer or something of the sort when she was younger, but I was very little and I didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. My father went out of his way to look after her, however, and so she was practically a part of my daily life when I was small. Whatever the case may be, whether she was a closet radical, or she simply couldn't say no to my brother, she would secretly slide him the money when my mother refused to pop for one of Gene's "suhtonic" books.

Gene amassed a remarkable stash of books which, of course, became the core of my secret lending library as I aged up enough to read them. Ghost stories were my favorite, followed by weird tales of ESP or British stories that fell into the genre that is now known as "folk horror." But there was one series of books in particular that latched into my brain, and even though in time I'd forget the titles and author names, the covers became indelibly burned into my brain. They all featured exactly the same design. Four illustrated panels on the front covers, and usually two panels on the back. The illustrations were all monochromatic, fantastically lurid line drawings that would have been right at home in the horror comics of the day. Each illustration would have wonderfully evocative captions like "Uncanny Granny's bedtime tales that come true," "The incredible dog who predicted his master's death," "He returned from the dead to rescue his son," "His bizarre powers tracked down a hidden killer," and "Rosemary's candle is a warning from another world." Published by Popular Library, they would become the books that would create my love for stories featuring the supernatural.

ABOVE: My recently reconstructed "Aunt Patsy" collection of Popular Library books about the paranormal. Although I'd forgotten the authors, titles, and publisher, I still remembered the images on the covers and after numerous Google keyword and image searches, I finally was able track these down from multiple sellers. They are ESP Forewarnings by Robert Tralins, Clairvoyant Women by Robert Tralins, Powers That Be by Beverley Nichols, Beyond Unseen Boundaries by Brad Steiger, Weird People of the Unknown by Robert Tralins, and Clairvoyant Strangers by Robert Tralins. (Not pictured is Supernatural Strangers by Robert Tralins which is still on the way from an Abebooks dealer).

Another set of books that I loved was a fantastic illustrated encyclopedia called Man, Myth, and Magic released in 1970 by the Marshall Cavendish Corporation. Compiled from articles in a magazine of the same name, it was a wonderfully comprehensive 26 volume set with loads of photographs, drawings, and diagrams of all things supernatural. It also had articles covering topics which were not in and of themselves supernatural, but were weird or controversial enough to be of potential interest.

At some point during one of her regular Orwellian sweeps of our rooms to look for illicit reading materials, my mother happened upon said encyclopedia and while flipping through it stumbled on a helpful entry about the history of ritual parricide, i.e. the murder of one's parents. Seeing this, she decided that this one entry out of thousands was advocating the practice, and was quite possibly the reason my brother had purchased all twenty six volumes. The books were then summarily gathered, removed, burned, and my brother informed and punished ex post facto.

Now, for most families, the book burning would have been the end of the tale, but I didn't grow up in most families. Before I relate the paradoxical aftermath of this, let me first refer you back to what I mentioned near the start of this post. My parents or my brother read to me to sleep nearly every night as a child. I was raised with a near reverential regard for both books and for reading. Burning a book, regardless of its content, was a cause for deep seated guilt. It simply isn't done. But my mother had committed this unconscionable act - even in the name of correcting her Satan-deceived son - and she had in some way to make up for this. So what did my mother do? She reached into her purse, pulled out money, and gave him money with the idea that he would, now properly chastened, go out and buy something which would be wholesome and uplifting and lead him back to the Lord. Surprisingly to her, another copy of the encyclopedia would appear in his room shortly thereafter.

This would become a pattern for the remainder of our childhoods.

ABOVE: The first three volumes of Man, Myth & Magic are in my POSSESSION (see what I did there) as I reconstruct the set for my own collection. It is really an excellent reference as well a great time-capsule for views on the supernatural during the sixties and seventies.

By the time I reached junior high, my love for supernatural horror stories had settled on the greatest classical exponent of the genre, Edgar Allen Poe. Whenever horror movies based on his works turned up on TV, however loosely they might be based, I would greedily gobble them up. As I began to write short stories of my own, most were pastiches about premature burials, lost loves, and other themes commonly found in his stories.

It was thanks to this passion for all things Poe that my eyeball would find the cover of a book that I found highly compelling while shopping at a newly minted B. Dalton's bookseller. The title and the subject matter seemed like something straight out of good old Eddy's oeuvre, but it would turn out instead to be my first step into the sanity-blasting cosmic horrors of H.P. Lovecraft.

I cannot overstate how important and how big a role that the discovery of Lovecraft would be to me. His works would present, for the first time to me, a view of horror that was not just an encounter with an isolated vampire or a monster, but one that represented a cosmic conspiracy against all of mankind. It was the first time I'd encounter the concept of a "shared universe" that was co-created by several different authors and to which were being added new stories on an almost daily basis. Lastly, and most importantly, it would ultimately lead me to the discovery the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game based on his works which in turn would teach me the interactive narrative skills that would one day land me my first job as a game designer.

ABOVE: The edition of H.P. Lovecraft's The Tomb that I discovered in junior high. The cover was gloriously and horrifically illustrated by Michael Whelan and was part of a larger painting that was divided between the covers of other collections of Lovecraft's stories.

As a bit of a post-script on the topic of supernatural novels of the 1970s, I have to mention Jay Anson's book The Amityville Horror (which has since been adapted in several movies as well as subsequent books.) Although I can't say the book was particularly influential on me, I will confess that more than any other book of it's day, this is the book that scared the absolute hell out of me.

Purportedly based on a true story, Amityville got under my skin because the details felt so relatable. It wasn't a gothic novel set in a castle, the events didn't happen a hundred years ago, and even the most overtly supernatural elements were painted in a utterly believable way. But the detail that got me, the one that kept me awake at night related to Jodie, the imaginary friend of the daughter, Missy Lutz. Described as a demonic pig, the book describes a scene in which Jodie's glowing red eyes are seen looking in the window of Missy's bedroom which was not on the ground floor.

Years before ever reading the book, my brother and I had always shared a nightmare about otherworldly eyes looking into his bedroom window, a window that 12 feet above the ground of our back yard. A window that still gives me shivers to look out of at nighttime when visiting my mother's house.

Goodnight kids!

[x-starlight-mystic-x]

The History Of Witches In Salem

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and at least five people died in jail.

Arrests were made in numerous towns beyond Salem and Salem Village (known today as Danvers), notably Andover and Topsfield. The grand juries and trials for this capital crime were conducted by a Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 and by a Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, both held in Salem Town, where the hangings also took place. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America. Only fourteen other women and two men had been executed in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century.

The episode is one of Colonial America's most notorious cases of mass hysteria. It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process. It was not unique, but a Colonial American example of the much broader phenomenon of witch trials in the early modern period, which took place also in Europe. Many historians consider the lasting effects of the trials to have been highly influential in subsequent United States history. According to historian George Lincoln Burr, "the Salem witchcraft was the rock on which the theocracy shattered.

Background

Further information:

Protests against early modern witch trials

While witch trials had begun to fade out across much of Europe by the mid-17th century, they continued on the fringes of Europe and in the American Colonies. The events in 1692/1693 in Salem became a brief outburst of a sort of hysteria in the New World, while the practice was already waning in most of Europe.

In 1668, in Against Modern Sadducism, Joseph Glanvill claimed that he could prove the existence of witches and ghosts of the supernatural realm. Glanvill wrote about the "denial of the bodily resurrection, and the [supernatural] spirits."

In his treatise, Glanvill claimed that ingenious men should believe in witches and apparitions; if they doubted the reality of spirits, they not only denied demons but also the almighty God. Glanvill wanted to prove that the supernatural could not be denied; those who did deny apparitions were considered heretics, for it also disproved their beliefs in angels. Works by men such as Glanvill and Cotton Mather tried to prove that "demons were alive."

Accusations

The trials were started after people had been accused of witchcraft, primarily by teenage girls such as Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, as well as some who were younger. Dorothy Good was four or five years old when she was accused of witchcraft.

[talesofpassingtime]

"There is no point, among the many incomprehensible anomalies of the science of mind, more thrillingly exciting than the fact – never, I believe, noticed in the schools – that in our endeavors to recall to memory something long forgotten, we often find ourselves upon the very verge of remembrance, without being able, in the end, to remember. And thus how frequently, in my intense scrutiny of Ligeia’s eyes, have I felt approaching the full knowledge of their expression – felt it approaching – yet not quite be mine – and so at length entirely depart! And (strange, oh, strangest mystery of all!) I found, in the commonest objects of the universe, a circle of analogies to that expression. I mean to say that, subsequently to the period when Ligeia’s beauty passed into my spirit, there dwelling as in a shrine, I derived, from many existences in the material world, a sentiment such as I felt always around, within me, by her large and luminous orbs. Yet not the more could I define that sentiment, or analyze, or even steadily view it. I recognized it, let me repeat, sometimes in the survey of a rapidly-growing vine – in the contemplation of a moth, a butterfly, a chrysalis, a stream of running water. I have felt it in the ocean – in the falling of a meteor. I have felt it in the glances of unusually aged people. And there are one or two stars in heaven (on especially, a star of the sixth magnitude, double and chanceable, to be found near the large star in Lyra) in a telescopic scrutiny of which I have been made aware of the feeling. I have been filled with it by certain sound from stringed instruments, and not unfrequently by passages from books. Among innumerable other instances, I well remember something in a volume of Joseph Glanvill, which (perhaps merely from its quaintness – who shall say?) never failed to inspire me with the sentiment. “And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield him to the angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will.”"

— E. A. Poe, Ligeia, fifth paragraph