What do you think?
Rate this book
The Magic Island
"The best and most thrilling book of exploration that we have ever read … [an] immensely important book." — New York Evening Post
"A series of excellent stories about one of the most interesting corners of the American world, told by a keen and sensitive person who knows how to write." — American Journal of Sociology
"It can be said of many travelers that they have traveled widely. Of Mr. Seabrook a much finer thing may be said — he has traveled deeply." — The New York Times Book Review
This fascinating book, first published in 1929, offers firsthand accounts of Haitian voodoo and witchcraft rituals. Journalist and adventurer William Seabrook introduced the concept of the walking dead ― zombies ― to the West with his illustrated travelogue. He relates his experiences with the voodoo priestess who initiated him into the religion's rituals, from soul transference to resurrection. In addition to twenty evocative line drawings by Alexander King, this edition features a new Foreword by cartoonist and graphic novelist Joe Ollmann, a new Introduction by George A. Romero, legendary director of Night of the Living Dead , and a new Afterword by Wade Davis, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society.
"A series of excellent stories about one of the most interesting corners of the American world, told by a keen and sensitive person who knows how to write." — American Journal of Sociology
"It can be said of many travelers that they have traveled widely. Of Mr. Seabrook a much finer thing may be said — he has traveled deeply." — The New York Times Book Review
This fascinating book, first published in 1929, offers firsthand accounts of Haitian voodoo and witchcraft rituals. Journalist and adventurer William Seabrook introduced the concept of the walking dead ― zombies ― to the West with his illustrated travelogue. He relates his experiences with the voodoo priestess who initiated him into the religion's rituals, from soul transference to resurrection. In addition to twenty evocative line drawings by Alexander King, this edition features a new Foreword by cartoonist and graphic novelist Joe Ollmann, a new Introduction by George A. Romero, legendary director of Night of the Living Dead , and a new Afterword by Wade Davis, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society.
345 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1929
30 people are currently reading
1202 people want to read
About the author
William B. Seabrook
36 books59 followersWilliam Buehler Seabrook was a journalist and explorer whose interest in the occult lead him across the globe where he studied magic rituals, trained as a witch doctor, and famously ate human flesh, likening it to veal. Despite his studious accounts of magical practices, he insisted he had never seen anything which could not be explained rationally.
His book on witchcraft is notable for its thoughtful focus on arch-occultist Aleister Crowley, who stayed at Seabrook's home for a short time.
His book on witchcraft is notable for its thoughtful focus on arch-occultist Aleister Crowley, who stayed at Seabrook's home for a short time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 8, 2008
The Magic Island supposedly introduced the zombie to the west, which is why I decided to read it.
The early zombie flicks definitely reflect the racial tension and American paternalism of Seabrook's travelogue. There is weird mix of disregard and respect for Haitians in his tone. The illustrations are horribly racist, so much so that I had to fold the pages because I felt really gross for looking at them. Seabrook supports the idea of overall white superiority and condescends to black Haitians. But he was also willing to hang out with black peasants, and he gives a decent amount of press to a discourse on race politics from a member of the black aristocracy.
It's difficult for me to say whether I liked the book or not because of Seabrook's attitude toward black Haitians. I felt uncomfortable while reading the book, but it really made me think about how racism is inherent in a lot of western art and culture. I had kind of the same feeling while reading this book as Elly described after watching Mad Men for the first time-- it was fascinating in part because everyone is so wrong in their thoughts and actions by today's standards.
The early zombie flicks definitely reflect the racial tension and American paternalism of Seabrook's travelogue. There is weird mix of disregard and respect for Haitians in his tone. The illustrations are horribly racist, so much so that I had to fold the pages because I felt really gross for looking at them. Seabrook supports the idea of overall white superiority and condescends to black Haitians. But he was also willing to hang out with black peasants, and he gives a decent amount of press to a discourse on race politics from a member of the black aristocracy.
It's difficult for me to say whether I liked the book or not because of Seabrook's attitude toward black Haitians. I felt uncomfortable while reading the book, but it really made me think about how racism is inherent in a lot of western art and culture. I had kind of the same feeling while reading this book as Elly described after watching Mad Men for the first time-- it was fascinating in part because everyone is so wrong in their thoughts and actions by today's standards.
January 26, 2019
Written in 1929, this is a remarkably unbiased account of the author's experiences in Haiti. Ranging from Voodoo rituals to cock fights to mountain hikes, he treats the Haitian people with credibility and respect. The Americans - occupying the island following the assassination of their President in 1915 - are not portrayed in a particularly complimentary (but probably accurate) light. Very entertaining and enlightening. Well worth reading, if only to gain historical perspective.
May 4, 2019
La edición que leí en español es la de Valdemar que se titula "La isla mágica. Un viaje al corazón del vudú", y creo que es importante decir que sólo una parte del libro hace referencia al vudú y sus ceremonias. El libro es en realidad el relato del autor de su experiencia viviendo una temporada en Haití, así que no habla sólo de religión y creencias y ceremonias relacionadas a éstas, sino también de las costumbres de la gente, su gobierno, política, su relación con los estadounidenses, etc.
Si dejamos de lado los comentarios racistas y machistas que hace Seabrook (hay que recordar que el libro fue escrito hace casi 100 años), "La isla mágica" resulta muy interesante en verdad.
Si dejamos de lado los comentarios racistas y machistas que hace Seabrook (hay que recordar que el libro fue escrito hace casi 100 años), "La isla mágica" resulta muy interesante en verdad.
December 1, 2020
This book was essentially Seabrook's journal during his time in Haiti that he later published. I enjoyed that it focused a lot on his discovery and experience with Vodou/Voodoo- it felt like I was discovering with him.
Important note: This book was written in 1929 by an American author. Keep in mind that Jim Crow laws are in place and lynching is widely accepted in the United States. Seabrook does have at times a "white saviorist" tone and pats himself on the back for not being aggressively racist. To be fair, him going to Haiti and treating the locals with kindness during this time is pretty remarkable for a white American.
Important note: This book was written in 1929 by an American author. Keep in mind that Jim Crow laws are in place and lynching is widely accepted in the United States. Seabrook does have at times a "white saviorist" tone and pats himself on the back for not being aggressively racist. To be fair, him going to Haiti and treating the locals with kindness during this time is pretty remarkable for a white American.
December 13, 2007
Unlike vampire movies, which can all be said to owe their existence to the novel Dracula, there never was one major zombie novel. However, this book was very influential, and inspired many early zombie films, such as White Zombie (starring Bela Lugosi). Exactly how accurate the book is, is a separate issue.
Read
March 23, 2021I read this for research...it's a horribly racist quasi-ethnographical account of early 20's Haiti. Seabrook's knowledge on Vodun rites seems to be extremely limited, and any reader wanting to understand the Haitian "zombi" within a Vodun context might refer to more modern texts to read further about Vodou's conceptualization of the soul.
June 26, 2021
A fascinating account of voodoo and Haitian culture. Who knows how reliable it is.
Though the narrator is quick to defend the validity of the things he records and the humanity of the people involved, and notes other contrasting attitudes as, there is nonetheless an undertone of kindly racism in his characterisation of the Haitians as naive and childlike in their ways.
Though the narrator is quick to defend the validity of the things he records and the humanity of the people involved, and notes other contrasting attitudes as, there is nonetheless an undertone of kindly racism in his characterisation of the Haitians as naive and childlike in their ways.
July 22, 2019
If you are looking for the source of the modern zombie obsession this is it. However, this book is more travelogue than zombie manifesto. The section about zombies in the book is very small.
Seabrook's book though published in 1929 so it's interesting to see how progressive he is in dealing with the Haiti/USA narrative -- readers on the Left may be pleasantly surprised. Though some of the language would be considered problematic today at the time it would have been noted as culturally sensitive.
All in all a good book.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.
Seabrook's book though published in 1929 so it's interesting to see how progressive he is in dealing with the Haiti/USA narrative -- readers on the Left may be pleasantly surprised. Though some of the language would be considered problematic today at the time it would have been noted as culturally sensitive.
All in all a good book.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.
February 16, 2023
Libro ameno y divertido, donde las historias de vudú y magia negra forman parte de un todo mayor, una exhaustiva radiografía que Seabrook hace de Haití: su historia, costumbres, política, religión, geografía, etc... Todo en un tono lúdico, con mil anécdotas extravagantes que dan cuenta de la singular historia de este país, además de las propias vivencias del autor, en las que el choque cultural deja más de una risa. Muy recomendable.
November 24, 2023
I found William Seabrook's account of Haiti to be largely sympathetic to the Haitian people. He presented a reasonable recounting of his encounters with Voodoo practitioners that was calm, factual, and thoughtful with none of the luridness found in other books of that era. Being a product of that era, he used dated adjectives to describe the Haitian people, adjectives such as savage, comic, and childish.
October 23, 2021
Ok I am actively choosing not to completely finish this book. I’ll admit, I only picked it up for the historical reference to zombies. I did so full well knowing that said reference would be very very short. I thought I knew better. I thought it would be worth it. It’s not. Read the introduction by Romero and skip the book.
June 21, 2022
I finished this book about two months ago, but I remember really enjoying it. I think this is such a fun ride to a place and time that may not exist anymore, at least not with internet and social media being what it is. A very unique well written account of Seabrook's experience in Haiti. It would be a fun Netflix series with Johnny Depp as Seabrook.
September 1, 2022
Dated and not at all politically correct. But it was a fascinating look into a often forgotten time with American colonialism.
July 12, 2023
Once the zombies were done I got bored.
January 8, 2025
I'm not saying there's nothing problematic in this book, but it seems shockingly enlightened for a colonialist white author in the 1920s.
November 3, 2024
La primera mitad del libro es la que, en mi opinión, contiene toda la salsa: Los rituales y prácticas relacionados con la religión Vudú (lo que incluye un breve capítulo sobre los zombies, y la teoría del autor acerca de cómo puede crearse el zombie).
Mas o menos a partir de la mitad, el autor deja el tema del vudú y pasa a comentar anécdotas relacionadas con asuntos políticos, turísticos, etc respecto a Haití. Es cuando para mí, pierde interés. En todo caso, creo que la primera mitad del libro ya hace que merezca la pena, pues son observaciones acerca del vudú y los zombies muy tempranas (principios del siglo XX), lo que le da un valor antropológico innegable.
Mas o menos a partir de la mitad, el autor deja el tema del vudú y pasa a comentar anécdotas relacionadas con asuntos políticos, turísticos, etc respecto a Haití. Es cuando para mí, pierde interés. En todo caso, creo que la primera mitad del libro ya hace que merezca la pena, pues son observaciones acerca del vudú y los zombies muy tempranas (principios del siglo XX), lo que le da un valor antropológico innegable.
December 24, 2025
I am not looking forward to reading this, but probably should as I begin the whole revision process. I'm sure there will be a review!
Finally read in December 2025:
This book has been on my to-read shelf for years. I work on the US occupation of Haiti, so figured I should probably read it although I was dreading it. I fully expected it to be racist and imperialist and all the other bad -ists. I was surprised when reading reviews to see some readers saying that it was not as racist as they expected and that Seabrook seemed more enlightened than some of his peers.
I read this over two weeks at a rate of about a chapter a day. I did not want to fully immerse myself in the yuck. The book was well-written and engaging enough. However, it is definitely racist and gross. More on that later. Also, the illustrations are disgusting. There are some interesting photographs at the end of the book.
I would definitely classify this text as a memoir, but I would not use it as an authority on Haitian history, or religious practices or Haitian culture. Some parts seem largely correct, but there are also glaring errors. Pretty much anything to do with Haitian Creole should be ignored. Much of the La Gonave chapters reads like a fantasy.
Now the racism...
It was weird that the author so often referred to the people he encountered as "black." Over 95% of the Haitian population is Black. Women were quite often referred to as wenches.
p.90: "The Haitian peasants are thus doublenatured in reality — sometimes moved by savage, atavistic forces whose dark depths no white psychology can ever plumb — but often, even in their weirdest customs, naive, simple, harmless children."
p. 127: "The most interesting and pervasive of the American innovations is the belated lesson in race-consciousness which we have been at pains to teach the Haitian upper classes.
These urban Haitians, free, vain, independent, and masters in their own land for a long hundred years or more, had accumulated money, education, a literature, an aristocratic tradition, and had somehow forgotten that God in His infinite wisdom had intended the negroes to remain always an inferior race. Indeed, as many Americans in Haiti will testify, there were members, whole families and social groups among the upper class, who were proud of being Haitians, proud actually of being negroes."
p. 128: "And one of the most difficult problems of the American occupation has been to teach these people their proper place. It has been difficult, because the Haitians have refused to accept this lesson graciously. It has been doubly difficult because a very important minority among the Americans have complicated the problem by treating the Haitians as if they were white."
p. 133: "I am anxious to present Major Davis fairly, because he seems to me important as being typical of most Marine Corps officers in Haiti today. I never saw him commit a brutal act, never even an intentionally offensive gesture toward any Haitian. There is no question involved here of swaggering about in Prussian boots and pushing people off the sidewalk. Reports of that sort, in my sincere belief, after living in Haiti with my eyes open, are propagandist rot. We had to kill a few of them at first, for various reasons. But that is all fortunately ended. Our attitude now in Haiti is superior, but kindly."
p. 141: "The French colonial masters chose mistresses and concubines from their slave girls. They chose the prettiest, healthiest, and most desirable. It was deplorable morally if you like, but it was biologically sound. It was probably also agreeable."
These are not the most racist passages, just what I came across as flipping through pages to write this review. Reading histories of the occupation as well as the Marines' own records will show that more than "a few" Haitians were killed by the occupation forces. Many more were physically and sexually assaulted, including children. So glad that Seabrook had a fun time visiting, though!
Finally read in December 2025:
This book has been on my to-read shelf for years. I work on the US occupation of Haiti, so figured I should probably read it although I was dreading it. I fully expected it to be racist and imperialist and all the other bad -ists. I was surprised when reading reviews to see some readers saying that it was not as racist as they expected and that Seabrook seemed more enlightened than some of his peers.
I read this over two weeks at a rate of about a chapter a day. I did not want to fully immerse myself in the yuck. The book was well-written and engaging enough. However, it is definitely racist and gross. More on that later. Also, the illustrations are disgusting. There are some interesting photographs at the end of the book.
I would definitely classify this text as a memoir, but I would not use it as an authority on Haitian history, or religious practices or Haitian culture. Some parts seem largely correct, but there are also glaring errors. Pretty much anything to do with Haitian Creole should be ignored. Much of the La Gonave chapters reads like a fantasy.
Now the racism...
It was weird that the author so often referred to the people he encountered as "black." Over 95% of the Haitian population is Black. Women were quite often referred to as wenches.
p.90: "The Haitian peasants are thus doublenatured in reality — sometimes moved by savage, atavistic forces whose dark depths no white psychology can ever plumb — but often, even in their weirdest customs, naive, simple, harmless children."
p. 127: "The most interesting and pervasive of the American innovations is the belated lesson in race-consciousness which we have been at pains to teach the Haitian upper classes.
These urban Haitians, free, vain, independent, and masters in their own land for a long hundred years or more, had accumulated money, education, a literature, an aristocratic tradition, and had somehow forgotten that God in His infinite wisdom had intended the negroes to remain always an inferior race. Indeed, as many Americans in Haiti will testify, there were members, whole families and social groups among the upper class, who were proud of being Haitians, proud actually of being negroes."
p. 128: "And one of the most difficult problems of the American occupation has been to teach these people their proper place. It has been difficult, because the Haitians have refused to accept this lesson graciously. It has been doubly difficult because a very important minority among the Americans have complicated the problem by treating the Haitians as if they were white."
p. 133: "I am anxious to present Major Davis fairly, because he seems to me important as being typical of most Marine Corps officers in Haiti today. I never saw him commit a brutal act, never even an intentionally offensive gesture toward any Haitian. There is no question involved here of swaggering about in Prussian boots and pushing people off the sidewalk. Reports of that sort, in my sincere belief, after living in Haiti with my eyes open, are propagandist rot. We had to kill a few of them at first, for various reasons. But that is all fortunately ended. Our attitude now in Haiti is superior, but kindly."
p. 141: "The French colonial masters chose mistresses and concubines from their slave girls. They chose the prettiest, healthiest, and most desirable. It was deplorable morally if you like, but it was biologically sound. It was probably also agreeable."
These are not the most racist passages, just what I came across as flipping through pages to write this review. Reading histories of the occupation as well as the Marines' own records will show that more than "a few" Haitians were killed by the occupation forces. Many more were physically and sexually assaulted, including children. So glad that Seabrook had a fun time visiting, though!
November 18, 2010
This is a really good book if you are in to travel literature type stuff. The book covers a long trip to Haiti by Mr. Seabrook and his various adventures upon the island. In the first part of the book you get alot of good first had account of voodoo rituals and songs. In the second major part of the book you get the rest of his adventures throughout the island with a variety of people American and Haitian with stories which cover politics, history, and just everyday life. Nothing in the book is boring and kept me coming back for another round of reading. He makes a great many keen observations within the book which are worth the reading all for themselves alone.
September 5, 2007
I have read a number of editions of this book. This edition doesn’t have the photos (quite interesting) or the horrifically racist illustrations of the late 20’s and early 30’s editions. The book has also has been reprinted a number of times under several different titles (jungle magic..Etc). The major flaw with this book is the inherently racist slate and its leanings on the sensational. A great read but take the anthropology information with a grain of salt. This is not a definitive text or even a very good introduction to the various sects of Haitian voodoo.
September 5, 2007
I have read a number of editions of this book. This edition doesn’t have the photos (quite interesting) or the horrifically racist illustrations of the late 20’s and early 30’s editions. The book has also has been reprinted a number of times under several different titles (jungle magic..Etc). The major flaw with this book is the inherently racist slate and its leanings on the sensational. A great read but take the anthropology information with a grain of salt. This is not a definitive text or even a very good introduction to the various sects of Haitian voodoo.
November 14, 2014
I found this book at a library book sale and was delighted to read about the author's descriptions of a little-written-about part of the world during the 1920s. I wouldn't judge it on it's "political correctness" as the term didn't even exist in the 1920's (did it??). What's fascinating is the idea that this book introduced the concept of zombies to western culture! Think about that next time you watch Walking Dead. The author himself was a fascinatingly bizarre character who tragically ended up committing suicide.
July 21, 2010
An enjoyable and engaging read about Haiti in the 1920's. Some of the essays are more realistic, some sensationalistic, calling into question the reliability of the account, despite the author's repeated claims that they are true. Less sensationalistic than many other books on Voudou. Contains exciting travel, political and adventure writing. Seabrook veers far off the political correctness trail, but it could have been much worse for 1929. Appalling illustrations.
Currently reading
July 8, 2008Seabrook introduces a new word to the English language: "zombie".
Want to read
November 19, 2009I have the 1929 edition of this book (recently acquired...it was my great-grandfather's) and it definitely has some very interesting illustrations.. can't wait to read it
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews