The dark gods

by Anthony Roberts

The Dark Gods (1st ed.)

Genres: Occult, Nonfiction

1 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 1985

Reviews

[Geoff Gilbertson]

I am the co-writer of "The Dark Gods." I became a web designer after I became an author.

I'm not sure now I believe everything I wrote. I am glad we got five stars.

I now live in London.

And I can be emailed by anybody who has read our book at:

geoffgilbertson@hotmail.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Geoff.

[Bill Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing artifact on multiple levels - sociological, historical and religious - Anthony Roberts's and Geoff Gilbertson’s The Dark Gods is naturally out of print and generally pricey - I stalked it on Amazon for over a year before I managed to spot an offer at a nearly reasonable price. Perhaps if you can get a copy, you might enjoy this bit of esotericism. I offer some thoughts below and a description which may provide some amusement if you cannot obtain the relic itself. It is similar to much of the UFO mythology (if you are familiar especially with Jacques Vallée) and pulls together previous mythological eras to deduce that yes, all of this paranormal phenomena from dragons to fairies to the Devil of Dr. Faustus are in fact related to the same entity or entities causing UFOs. The book is quite clever and though many of its ‘facts’ can be disputed (such as some of the famous UFO sightings have possible hoax or ‘prank’ explanations (google as you read) and also some of the esoteric communications cited are also presently judged to be hoaxes (google ‘Leo Taxil Harvard’ and take a look at the Houghton Library Blog)). Nonetheless I still recommend this book (and gave it 5 stars) because the reasoning here is spectacular and entertaining. I’m surprised to be honest that this is not already a mini-series on Netflix (though watching the Trollhunter series with my kids I find that perhaps it is, albeit in fictional form). Simply put, the UFOnauts (and the demons and devils of previous ages) are here to disrupt human harmony, creating “schisms” and “diverse cults” (including at the level of government and academia which must maintain an ‘official’ stance about ‘little green men’). I will also mention in passing as part of this review, some previous experiences of my own that touch on this issue. Whether they are merely psychologically driven events or ‘facts’ I will let you be the interpreter.

Before we start, I will mention I was surprised to find C. S. Lewis included in this work, yet despite its leanings towards 'magical' occultism, much of this book is from a quasi-Christian perspective. I was a bit surprised to find Lewis mentioned as I said, as this book has such a 'magical' reputation. I figured it would likely have a completely negative take on any organized religion, and also since in The Screwtape Letters C. S. Lewis doesn’t seem to hold out too much hope for magicians. I will also mention in passing that I’ve heard laughter is the best weapon against the Devil, somewhere or other but also mentioned in this book. (The other primary defenses of course- “Get thee behind me Satan. For I am a beloved child of God” and the Lord’s Prayer.)

In the mid-90s I had a brush with someone thinking along similar lines. He was a kid, maybe 20, a musician living on the streets in New York City, in and out of those pay-by-the night hotels. He was a talented musician. I wish I knew what happened to him. One night he crashed on my couch. He told me he could see fairies and pixies in the foliage and that ‘there are powerful sorcerers working against me’. We were watching the film Casino, a scene towards the end of supreme violence, and he said something about how the meaning of ‘what’s happening on the screen now’ was to distract us from ‘what’s really happening’ - something like that. At the time I thought not much of it. People said all kinds of crazy things back in the NYC mid-90s performance art scene. Now reading The Dark Gods, I am remembering his words. He also put on this play called I think The Death of Karen Carpenter and after she died on stage it featured a finale with aliens and ray guns and someone screaming “you never loved her!” This kid seemed completely sincere when he spoke of seeing fairies hiding in the bushes alongside the broken sidewalks in Brooklyn. He did not sound crazy to me even if I never took his words too seriously. He told me the last time I saw him that he was trying to scrounge enough cash for a bus back to Kansas. I had lent him an old cheap Yamaha acoustic and I never saw him or that guitar again.

Another connection. When I was living in Philadelphia in the early 90s, I had some familiarity with a street performer named Kathy Change who is now become somewhat famous posthumously. Wikipedia calls her an ‘activist’ but I always thought of her in the context of performance art. She would eventually burn herself alive in the middle of the campus green in front of the main U Penn library. (I did not witness this as I was in New York at the time, but a friend of mine was working in the library then and looking out his office window he could see it. I will never forget his words-‘For the next 3 days every time I shut my eyes it was all I could see.’) Before this suicidal act of hers (in 1996) we would see her a lot out there dancing and singing. She had one performance where she dressed up in a chicken costume and was singing ‘we’re all gonna burst out of our shells’. Or dance around in a loincloth and bikini top singing off-key and waving a giant banner with a picture of a peace sign on the front and the planet earth on the back. One afternoon I saw Kathy Change standing out in the street and I decided to talk to her. It was a fairly busy street and other people were around. She was between performances, just standing on the street so maybe that’s why I decided to try and talk with her. I asked her what she thought of the world, like what her theory was about the world, her ‘worldview’ or something like that, and her response stuck with me. She said that she thought ‘the government is Satan and Satan is an alien, but Satan is good because he’s teaching us to be free.’ Later when she burned herself alive I felt like I should remember what she said and perhaps you can see how she was on a similar wavelength to this book.

1 other brief note on Findhorn - this book has a few mentions of Findhorn, which reminded me of the movie My Dinner with Andre - which if you haven't seen it is worth a viewing and also discusses Findhorn, the esoteric commune.

I will conclude (did you make it this far?) with a recommendation- if you haven’t read it, I would suggest you try a somewhat related book by Erica Lagalisse, Occult Features of Anarchism-With Attention to the Conspiracy of Kings and the Conspiracy of the Peoples, about the connections between the hermetics, heretics and anarchists in the Western tradition. Riddled with paradox of course yet quite an enjoyable read, even if written entirely from the perspective of a leftist academic and consequently without much in the way of a sense of humor.

[Andrew Hennessey · Rating 5 out of 5]

masonic brother pike in 1879 had a plan for 3 world wars ... and he wrote to his co-conspirator guiseppe mazzini .. 'we shall unleash the nihilists .. [create serious sh*t/mywords:] .. and then the masses not knowing where to turn will embrace Lucifer ...

[Signor Mambrino]

This starts off interesting, but Jesus Christ it's unbearable by the end. I'm just super glad I didn't have to spend hundreds of dollars to read it. Seriously, don't waste your time trying to track this garbage down. It's boring as hell.

[Sarah Huntington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this book a few years ago on the Mysterious Universe podcast and I've been searching for it since. The prices have always been ridiculously high and I could never justify spending that much ( hundreds) for a single book. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into a charity shop and there it was, sitting on the shelf, a hardback copy. I just about screamed.
Anyway, this book has really interesting theories and ideas. I firmly believe a person needs to consider all aspects of the phenomenon regardless of any current bias or narrative. An open mind and all that. I'll be thinking about the ideas for a while, the possibilities, and the implications. That's not to say I believe a single word, but I don't need to believe to consider. Really well written and the research was impressive. A piece of the puzzle? Maybe.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read which sets forth the idea that much of the creatures of Folkfore and the UFO phenomenon are , in fact, demons, here called the Dark Gods. Demons are not thought of in terms of traditional Christian theology.

As a Christian I can accept the reality of demonic involvement in history and, thus, was able to appreciate most of the book's argument. The traditional Conspiracy theory that takes up the centre of the book I found it difficult to accept.

The book brings a neglected aspect of history to the fore. One that would be much derided by those of a materialist mentality but to those who believe in a Biblical theological view will find only too relevant.

[Count-daniel Fogarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shocking book which my last 17 years of intense research seems to parallel. Amazing book!

[Arthur B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impressively imaginative exercise in paranoia. Nonsense, of course. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...