Dark History of the Occult: Magic, Madness and Murder

by Paul Roland

From tribal magic and shamanism, through the work of WB Yeats and Aleister Crowley, to black magic rituals and New Age nihilists, The Dark History of the Occult asks whether "satanic forces" are simply the emergence of the dark side of human nature, or whether we really have something to fear—namely, evil?

Black magic murders, Satanic sex cults and demonic possession are the diabolical practices that grab tabloid headlines and reinforce the myth that evil and an unhealthy obsession with the occult are to blame for our increasingly violent society. But is the truth even more dark and disturbing? What evidence is there that evil entities can possess human beings and force them to commit horrific murders?

In this fully illustrated hardcover volume, occult expert Paul Roland traces the history of the Black Arts back to uncover profane rituals, infernal ceremonies and demonic invocations. He explores the origins of our beliefs in devils and demons, and how the early Church created the cult of witchcraft to justify the persecution of followers of 'the old religion.' 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Occult, Paranormal, True Crime, Metaphysics

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roland

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very thorough overview of the sinister side to the occult. The author presented clear information starting with the concept of Satan and his perception through Christianity/Islam. Next was the history of magic from ancient Mesopotamia through the Greeks. The chapter on witchcraft was very informative: its history through ages from ancient Biblical times, through the Dark and Medieval ages, the colonial Salem Witch Trials, and onto contemporary Wiccan/pagan religions. Voodoo and its uniqueness was also discussed.

Other things mentioned were Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn, Nazi Germany and its occult links, Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, the occult in arts and literature (writer H.P. Lovecraft and Alan graphic novelist Moore), occult links to music (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, etc.), and occult crimes in recent decades.

The was put together well and had lots of pictures/photos. There was a lot of information and it wasn't overkilled with details. I would recommend to occult enthusiasts this because of the wide range of topics discussed. Thanks!

[Joseph F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a feeling the author was somewhat out of his element in the beginning of the book when talking of the origins of magic. But when he gets to all of the interesting events and characters in the world of the occult, it is here that this book shines. If you are interested in the workings of magic, this is not the work for you. But if you are interested in the magical sadism of Crowley, the sigil obsessions of Spare, the dark mind of Lovecraft, the pathworking of the graphic novelist Moore, and the pseudo-Satanic trappings of Heavy Metal, then this is the book for you. Very entertaining.

[The Headless Horror · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at BAM for a good price. I do believe it gives a good overview throughout time and of the major “players” involved with the occult, but I just found the majority of this book to be a bit boring. The 2nd half of the book was more compelling, and gave a great summary of Crowley, Anton LaVey, Alan Moore, and some others. If you have knowledge of the Bible and other religious texts, you might find the first half more enjoyable than I did.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bored

[Krys (spicy.spine.breaker) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special interest non-fiction FTW

[Kevinjwoods · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sort of unashamed slightly rewritten cash grab that is full of random articles that are vaguely connected to an idea and genuinely includes a Wikipedia page as a Primary Source, bland and superficial and seemingly written to a page count with little knowledge of the subject.

[MKF · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is just another author who is against alternative religions like Satanism and witchcraft. It's weird because areas that are correct then other areas on the same subject that are completely wrong. At certain points it's like you're reading two different one in support of alternative religions and one against. This is the feeling I get the most on the author's ideas of the occult such as Satanism being a smokescreen for black magicians because they worship themselves. Yes, Satanist do worship themselves but I doubt many would call themselves black magicians for it. It's hard to determine which of these he believes to be true or even what his own views are. Sometimes he comes off as a level-headed writer against the silly nonsense of religions and a real devil. Then he seems against many of todays alternative religions, ideas and even the people who helped in creating them. It's up to the reader to decide.
Oh, and the editing is terrible.

[Hugh Madsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A coffee table book of the occult. I found this in a goodwill of all places and read about half out of curiosity. The talks of templars, cathars, and king solomon are very interesting. I stopped reading after Aliester Crowley appeared. The modern era is just filled with melodramatic social pariahs attracting the like and forming clubs. Roland infers the opinions of people in regards to the occult alot. More citations and sources would have gave more merit to his assertions. Expectingvsources on a coffee level occult book is absurd. I don't know if Roland is a satanist. I'm certainly not however I believe the real goal of things like this is to help the growth of atheism. Cool book if you want to read up on magic to write a fantasy book.

[Melly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this book zero stars if I could. As someone who is fascinated about the history and psychology of cults and black magic, I was SO disappointed. The author inserts so much of his opinions into the book that is so annoying. The first chapter was just criticizing Christians for their belief and how it’s so stupid trac it got so annoying. I’m not even religious but I found the book so full of the author’s opinions on why Christians are stupid that I it was so annoying.

[Zach Opsitnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit predictable, because we know the history of humanity, but this was well researched and presented and shows just how dangerous and despicable humanity and organized religion can be when placed in the hands of those solely looking for self gain.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read a book this good in a while. Here’s the issue. Many people judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, in this case, this book might be classified as discount bin horror and/or occult crud. Oh my! It’s so, so well written, researched, informed and drawn out. From the very earliest days of perceived witchcraft to modern black metal and the West Memphis Three, this book really gives a fair and balanced look at the role of occult and magickal practice through history, with special attention given to 20th century practitioners Gardner, Mathers, Spade and Crowley.

I walked into reading this book an individual fairly confused by what I perceived as criss-crossed religious and magickal history - needing SOME kind of quick historical overview - and I have to say this book really helped me understand the past few hundred years in a quick 252 page entertaining and will informed. There are plenty of references so now I know I can dig deeper.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the Satanic craze of the 90s. There seemed to be Black Masses everywhere, and sensationalism was ripe. Roland does a good job in this book when showing us what a load of BS this all was. I also liked the way the author takes a stand immediately by saying that the devil doesn't exist and is a fabrication of the Catholic Church. He doesn't cut around corners, and if your beliefs are somewhat more traditional, then you most probably won't enjoy this book.

[Sparrow Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I'm not particularly adept with the history of occult, so I couldn't say if there were any inaccuracies in that regard, but I liked the author's presentation of the information. I liked that there was decided fairness in his tone, and overall I found the content fascinating - and at times horrific. I would read it again.

[Allison Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and written in a way that was easy to understand and had some shocking parts as well. I really liked the parts about paganism and how Christianity has roots in that tradition.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covered a wide range of subjects in very brief detail. It was enough to get you intrigued on the subject matter but that’s about it. It doesn’t go as in depth as I would have liked and I feel like there was quite a bit of information shoved into only 250 pages.

[Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book on the history of the occult.

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too scattershot, superficial and piecemeal to be fully enjoyed, and without any kind of real referencing, this is simply pure opinion. Nothing wrong with having an opinion but it will carry more weight if it's reinforced with good referencing. This book, on the other hand, actually cites the Wikipedia article for Alan Moore, so that should give a potential reader some insight on how authoritative this work is.

Further, it's difficult to know what stance the author is taking on his subject. His arguments for and against his subject material waver from not only chapter to chapter, but sometimes paragraph to paragraph. So, in conclusion, you wish there was more depth, better research and it was written with strong argumentation. As others have pointed out - this is a coffee table level work.

[Kimm · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author tells you straight out in the first paragraph what his stance is on the subject of this book: He's there, "stating for a fact that there is no devil, Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer or Old Nick in this world or the next." That certainly puts a damper on things, doesn't it? The author isn't shy about exposing his biases either: real witches of antiquity were evil, accused witches of the so-called Burning Times were victims of jealousy (and no one knows, not even Neo-pagans, how many accused witches were actually put to death), the founders of the Witchcraft Revival were charlatans and ego-maniacs (except for Dion Fortune who the author veritably worships), and Anton LaVey as well as Satanism in general is particularly despised. All connections between magic/paganism and rock-n-roll are thoroughly debunked. The one section I did enjoy and felt was presented professionaly was that on the panic over ritual murders by Satanic cults that had every family on alert back in the 80's (including my own).

Aesthetically, the paper the book is printed on is a delight for the fingers, the large text makes for easy reading, and the tome is chock full of gorgeous photos, sketches, and paintings (all black & white).

[Sophie Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read on this subject, and I was unfortunately extremely disappointed.

This book was superficial, presented ideas as facts with absolutely no references or back up material, and was riddled with an inconsistent smattering of frankly bizarre value judgements. Every twenty to thirty pages I was treated to a “burn” of a person or group that reads like an attempt at a stand up comedy zinger. This included comments on music taste.

Many times in this book Roland provides “quotes” but it is entirely unclear what source he got the quote from or what context it appears in. Imagine my terrible smugness when I got to the end of this book thinking to myself “what’s this guy’s references? Wikipedia?” only to turn the page and see a wikipedia page is legitimately mentioned in the acknowledgment section as a resource. (Yes, the reference list is an “acknowledgements” list.)

[Shannon S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative look at all forms of the occult from the outside in. Allows you to see the larger pictures and facts about how everything REALLY was. Highlighted this book a ridiculous amount...super interesting stuff!

[Blackcatmoon66 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Authors prospective of the subject. Very informative on people who are supposedly involved as well. Learned a lot from reading this book.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book full of true and scary facts