Category: esoteric and occult

Folk Horror

That is not dead which can eternal lie… The term folk horror dates from 1970, and it originally applied to British films that explored the idea that potent ancient forces and deep-rooted evils survive in the landscape, scarcely acknowledged by the modern world. Commonly, these dark forces are mobilized by active witches or pagan groups,…Continue Reading Folk Horror

Occult City: A Book That Never Happened

I offer the following in what we might call the spirit of intellectual archaeology. Back in 2003, when velociraptors roamed the Earth, I had what I thought was a bright idea for a book project titled Occult City: Alternative Spiritualities in an American Metropolis, 1880-1940, the city in question being Philadelphia. That seemed sensible because…Continue Reading Occult City: A Book That Never Happened