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Hellebore Zine #6
Hellebore #6: The Summoning Issue
From the Witch of Endor to Aleister Crowley, from the Satanic feminism of the suffragette era through to the current occult revival, The Summoning Issue delves into the history of witchcraft, magic, and the occult to analyse the impulses behind acts of conjuration: the thirst for forbidden knowledge, the pursuit of liberation, and the desire for wealth, status, and fame.
Spirits or deities, angels or demons. The calling of a supernatural agent may bring power, but also comes with many risks. In these pages, games of cards usher in cloven-footed strangers, runic inscriptions conjure up demons, a communal warning is uttered every Bonfire Night, and the pagan dead rise from ancient barrows.
Hellebore is a collection of writings and essays devoted to folk horror and the themes that inspire it: folklore, myth, history, archaeology, psychogeography, and the occult.
Featuring words by Christine Ferguson, Victoria Anne Pearson, Per Faxneld, Efram Sera-Shriar, John Reppion, Katherine Weikert, Verity Holloway, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, and Francis Young. Artwork by Courtney Brooke (Lightwitch), Ellen Rogers, and Nathaniel Winter-Hébert.
Spirits or deities, angels or demons. The calling of a supernatural agent may bring power, but also comes with many risks. In these pages, games of cards usher in cloven-footed strangers, runic inscriptions conjure up demons, a communal warning is uttered every Bonfire Night, and the pagan dead rise from ancient barrows.
Hellebore is a collection of writings and essays devoted to folk horror and the themes that inspire it: folklore, myth, history, archaeology, psychogeography, and the occult.
Featuring words by Christine Ferguson, Victoria Anne Pearson, Per Faxneld, Efram Sera-Shriar, John Reppion, Katherine Weikert, Verity Holloway, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, and Francis Young. Artwork by Courtney Brooke (Lightwitch), Ellen Rogers, and Nathaniel Winter-Hébert.
92 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2021
5 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 31, 2021
As engaging and fascinating as ever. Leads to yet another book buying spree
April 10, 2023
It’s been quite a while since I read an issue of Hellebore, but it is always a delight to return to their pages. Some of these articles are the best I’ve ever read from this little independent magazine. The 2021 Samhain issue concerns summoning rituals, objects used to summon, and of course, historical figures famous for the act of summoning.
‘Hell Is Other Readers’, ‘The Devil’s Prayer Book’, ‘Spinster Satanism’ and ‘The Land Between God and the Devil’ are all excellent and tap into my personal interests of feminism and heresy. Meanwhile, I personally found ‘Dr Dee’s Ottoman Adventure’ quite inaccessible and difficult to follow, being so unfamiliar with its subject, Dr John Dee. It’s always going to be the case that you get along with some articles rather than others, but I greatly enjoyed the majority here that were included.
The final article concerning the inversion of Guy Fawkes from villain to a figurehead of rebellion is particularly wonderful, and hands down my favourite Hellebore article to date.
Onto the next issue… I have a lot to catch up on!
‘Hell Is Other Readers’, ‘The Devil’s Prayer Book’, ‘Spinster Satanism’ and ‘The Land Between God and the Devil’ are all excellent and tap into my personal interests of feminism and heresy. Meanwhile, I personally found ‘Dr Dee’s Ottoman Adventure’ quite inaccessible and difficult to follow, being so unfamiliar with its subject, Dr John Dee. It’s always going to be the case that you get along with some articles rather than others, but I greatly enjoyed the majority here that were included.
The final article concerning the inversion of Guy Fawkes from villain to a figurehead of rebellion is particularly wonderful, and hands down my favourite Hellebore article to date.
Onto the next issue… I have a lot to catch up on!
January 8, 2022
Fascinating introduction to a number of occult topics ranging from spirit photography, to the practice of summoning of the dead at crossroads to Aleister Crowley's Boleskins Manor.
Read
February 21, 2026Rappel des articles:
•Hell is Other Readers: the article recounts stories of mysterious books and arcane manuscripts to reflect on the anxieties they embody.
•The Devil’s Prayer Book: in Ireland, card decks became known as The Devil’s Prayer Book, and a simple game could be an act of summoning. The author tells tales of leisurely gatherings joined by cloven-footed strangers.
•Spinster Satanism: the tale of a quirky spinster who finds emancipation through Satan became a bestseller in the 1920s, a rousing fears of a witchcraft revival. The author examines the enduring legacy of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s ‘Lolly Willowes’.
•Gallery/Technologies of the Séance Room: some of the most fascinating occult stories hiding behind seemingly mundane objects in the collections of the Museums of Science.
•The House of the Great Beast: the infamous Scottish home of Aleister Crowley had a sinister legacy even before the Great Beast’s tenure there. The author unearths the secrets of Boleskine House, from necromancers to a ghostly severed head.
•The Land between God and the Devil: the article discusses early Medieval fears of barrows as liminal places, where criminals were executed and witches gathered to summon the Devil.
•Conjuring the Cunning Man: on the life and afterlife of George Pickingill, the Essex farm labourer who went from taming sheep and curing warts to being hailed as a touchstone of modern witchcraft.
•Dr Dee’s Ottoman Adventure: his supposed dealings with the Devil soiled his reputation in Britain, but Dr John Dee would have thrived at the Ottoman Court.
•Remember, Remember: on the many masks of Guy Fawkes and how the 5th of November became a ritual performance infused with different meanings.
•Hell is Other Readers: the article recounts stories of mysterious books and arcane manuscripts to reflect on the anxieties they embody.
•The Devil’s Prayer Book: in Ireland, card decks became known as The Devil’s Prayer Book, and a simple game could be an act of summoning. The author tells tales of leisurely gatherings joined by cloven-footed strangers.
•Spinster Satanism: the tale of a quirky spinster who finds emancipation through Satan became a bestseller in the 1920s, a rousing fears of a witchcraft revival. The author examines the enduring legacy of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s ‘Lolly Willowes’.
•Gallery/Technologies of the Séance Room: some of the most fascinating occult stories hiding behind seemingly mundane objects in the collections of the Museums of Science.
•The House of the Great Beast: the infamous Scottish home of Aleister Crowley had a sinister legacy even before the Great Beast’s tenure there. The author unearths the secrets of Boleskine House, from necromancers to a ghostly severed head.
•The Land between God and the Devil: the article discusses early Medieval fears of barrows as liminal places, where criminals were executed and witches gathered to summon the Devil.
•Conjuring the Cunning Man: on the life and afterlife of George Pickingill, the Essex farm labourer who went from taming sheep and curing warts to being hailed as a touchstone of modern witchcraft.
•Dr Dee’s Ottoman Adventure: his supposed dealings with the Devil soiled his reputation in Britain, but Dr John Dee would have thrived at the Ottoman Court.
•Remember, Remember: on the many masks of Guy Fawkes and how the 5th of November became a ritual performance infused with different meanings.
February 12, 2024
What a superb issue of Hellebore this is!
This time the theme is 'Summoning' of this folk horror / occult zine and some of the pieces are simply brilliant. For those who don't know, 'Hellebore' is a small press zine, the art direction is awesome and evocative and each article is scholarly, yet accessible and fully referenced. Indeed, I am noting that most of the contributors to the zine are from academia but the content is never dry, and always leaves you wanting just a little bit more.
My personal highlights in this issue include;
'Hell is Other Readers' by Christine Ferguson which explores the lure of an evil book in fiction. It's an old trope but that dusty book that contains spells should not be blown and opened! I saw quite a few novels in this article that I had never heard of and I just need to read now! (I actually added, then removed some thinking, 'there is only so far I want to go here').
'Spinster Satanism' by Per Faxneld is an exploration of a Satanic feminist novel called 'Lolley Willowes' by Sylvia Townsend Warner written in the 1920's - another book I simply have to read.
'The House of the Great Beast' by Jon Reppion explores the legacy of Alesiter Crowley's home. It was notorious when Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin bought it and I remember seeing stories about it in the newspapers. What's really interesting is that the house had quite a lot of curious history both before Crowley and after Page.
My favourite piece is by Verity Holloway - she's contributed previously to Hellebore and I love her work and her research. In 'Conjuring the Cunning Man' she tells us about a witch who lived in a remote village at the turn of the 20th century and his reputation for magic. Was he a troublesome beggar? Was he a hedge-wizard? The article shares claims from the 1970's that he was a leader of several covens and a direct link to Gardnerian witchcraft (which have been debunked). It's a superb piece about a unique character.
Love reading these zines!
This time the theme is 'Summoning' of this folk horror / occult zine and some of the pieces are simply brilliant. For those who don't know, 'Hellebore' is a small press zine, the art direction is awesome and evocative and each article is scholarly, yet accessible and fully referenced. Indeed, I am noting that most of the contributors to the zine are from academia but the content is never dry, and always leaves you wanting just a little bit more.
My personal highlights in this issue include;
'Hell is Other Readers' by Christine Ferguson which explores the lure of an evil book in fiction. It's an old trope but that dusty book that contains spells should not be blown and opened! I saw quite a few novels in this article that I had never heard of and I just need to read now! (I actually added, then removed some thinking, 'there is only so far I want to go here').
'Spinster Satanism' by Per Faxneld is an exploration of a Satanic feminist novel called 'Lolley Willowes' by Sylvia Townsend Warner written in the 1920's - another book I simply have to read.
'The House of the Great Beast' by Jon Reppion explores the legacy of Alesiter Crowley's home. It was notorious when Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin bought it and I remember seeing stories about it in the newspapers. What's really interesting is that the house had quite a lot of curious history both before Crowley and after Page.
My favourite piece is by Verity Holloway - she's contributed previously to Hellebore and I love her work and her research. In 'Conjuring the Cunning Man' she tells us about a witch who lived in a remote village at the turn of the 20th century and his reputation for magic. Was he a troublesome beggar? Was he a hedge-wizard? The article shares claims from the 1970's that he was a leader of several covens and a direct link to Gardnerian witchcraft (which have been debunked). It's a superb piece about a unique character.
Love reading these zines!
December 4, 2024
[Hellebore] (31/10/2021). Issue Number 6. SB. 88 Pages. Purchased from Hellebore.
“…a collection of writings and essays devoted to folk horror and the themes that inspire it…”
In “Technologies of the Seance Room”, Efram Sera-Shriar neglects to note that the cousins responsible for the ‘Cottingley Fairies photographs’ admitted, in 1983, that they’d faked them. He’s also, for me, far too upbeatedly open-minded about the thoroughly debunked ‘spirit photographer’ and ‘medium’, William Hope. Oliver Lodge’s fantastic claims are repeated unchallenged. A pointless essay.
I found “Dr Dee’s Ottoman Adventure” (sic) to be dry, esoteric and, in large part, impenetrable - stultifying.
The opposite is true of “Remember, Remember” (Bonfire Night).
Numerous interesting and well-researched articles.
Several of the pieces, for instance “The House of the Great Beast”, are hampered by screwed up images. A persistent fault in this publication.
“…a collection of writings and essays devoted to folk horror and the themes that inspire it…”
In “Technologies of the Seance Room”, Efram Sera-Shriar neglects to note that the cousins responsible for the ‘Cottingley Fairies photographs’ admitted, in 1983, that they’d faked them. He’s also, for me, far too upbeatedly open-minded about the thoroughly debunked ‘spirit photographer’ and ‘medium’, William Hope. Oliver Lodge’s fantastic claims are repeated unchallenged. A pointless essay.
I found “Dr Dee’s Ottoman Adventure” (sic) to be dry, esoteric and, in large part, impenetrable - stultifying.
The opposite is true of “Remember, Remember” (Bonfire Night).
Numerous interesting and well-researched articles.
Several of the pieces, for instance “The House of the Great Beast”, are hampered by screwed up images. A persistent fault in this publication.
November 16, 2023
By this point, Hellebore have pretty much set out what they are and are continuing to offer their usual blend of folk horror and occulture more or less to the standards set by previous issues. Solid, but as always one could wish they trimmed back some of the terser articles and allowed the deeper articles to sprawl a bit more. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
November 1, 2022
Favourite essays in this issue are Spinster Satanism by Per Faxneld, which examines the feminist impact of Lolly Willowes, and Remember, Remember by Francis Young, which shines a light on the evolving meaning of Bonfire Night.
November 6, 2021
I cannot praise this series of folk horror & occult articles highly enough. Something new to learn and be beguiled by in each and every issue.
December 29, 2021
Another great selection of essays to send you off in more interesting directions!
March 20, 2023
A fascinating collection of essays on the esotericism of the occult.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews