The Necromancers: Best of Black Magic and Witchcraft

by Peter Haining

library book

Genres: Horror

Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Peter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.

Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.

In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).

He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in the corner of a forgotten bookshop that creaked with mildew three decades ago. A dark and nasty little read. :-D

[Shawn]

PLACEHOLDER REVIEW

The preparations and theory behind the sorcerous activities that take place in “The Black Lodge”. Aleister Crowley's piece here (actually, the 19th chapter from Moonchild with some minor editing so as to present as a standalone piece), proves two things – pulling chapters from longer narratives inherently does them an injustice because important material (such as character background and motivation) is not present (having previously been dispatched with in the narrative) and, two, as has often been said, believers tend not to be the best authors of fiction. In other words, this is an extract that provides the culmination of an occult operation but spends far more time on the background and details of the procedure (in the Golden Dawn occult system approach, of course – sometimes to an inexplicable degree of gobbledygook), and where it happens (a secret chamber under a criminal's den, with a secret entrance and an extra secret escape hatch contraption!) than on characters. Crowley, alas, whatever else he was, was not a very good author of fiction as displayed here.

[Mike Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would warn all young people to be ever so careful not to devote their lives and submit to the dark overhanging ugliness of death , filth ,and decay.
I have seen people who dabbled a little to much of this abomination and have become lost souls who will wale and scream in unknown wastelands of the dark astral planes.
The Black ''Lords of Materiality '' residing on earth are 12 in number ,- six Orient , and six Occidental . They are the'' Entities ''spoken about in the Bible as spiritual -''evil in high places''.


Hoever just don't sacrificing your Sisters Hamsters , or drag home dead Cat's