Category: Library

Fortean Times: Aleister Crowley and Aldous Huxley

Huxley’s alleged psychedelic encounter with the Beast [in Berlin] has taken on the dimensions of an urban legend, and a quick perusal online will find it cited as fact on several websites, including those hosting the burgeoning number of academic books and papers devoted to Crowley. So, what did happen?

Owner hopes ‘House of the Unholy’ on banks of Loch Ness will raise the spirits of curious visitors | HeraldScotland

Strange noises have been emitting from Scotland’s “most haunted house”, where, secluded among trees and by the banks of Loch Ness, the self-proclaimed wickedest man on Earth performed his dark… Read more »

Phil Baker: City of the Beast

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Exciting news of a new book by Phil Baker, biographer of Austin Osman Spare and Dennis Wheatley, with a Foreword by Timothy D’Arch Smith. Due for publication by Strange Attractor Press in November 2021, City of the Beast: The London of Aleister Crowley is a work that combines biography and pyschogeography to trace Aleister Crowley’s life in London.

Loch Ness house will be restored and holiday homes built nearby | Daily Mail Online

The former home of notorious occultist Aleister Crowley – once dubbed ‘the wickedest man in the world’ – is set to be restored after its owners were given the green light to repair the fire-damaged building. Permission to build 10 holiday homes in the grounds of Boleskine House, which overlooks Loch Ness, has also been granted by the Highland Council.

Plans to turn fire-ravaged Loch Ness house of Aleister Crowley into holiday lodges | Daily Mail Online

Plans have been submitted to turn Boleskine House, on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland, into 10 holiday ‘twin units’ with guided tours of the grounds. Source: Plans to turn… Read more »

James Randi, Magician Who Debunked Paranormal Claims, Dies at 92 – The New York Times

James Randi, a MacArthur award-winning magician who turned his formidable savvy to investigating claims of spoon bending, mind reading, fortunetelling, ghost whispering, water dowsing, faith healing, U.F.O. spotting and sundry… Read more »

The Quietus | Savage Pencil on the Underside of Edwardian Culture

Legendary comic book artist and writer Savage Pencil discusses three Edwardian underground figures: Montague Summers, Austin Osman Spare and Louis Wain… From his ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Zoo’ series for Sounds in the 1970s, to designing artwork for the likes of Sonic Youth, Sunn O))), The Fall and Current 93, under the name Savage Pencil he has established a wild, hallucinatory style – a trip that’s equal parts hilarious and terrifying.

Row over house that belonged to Jimmy Page and Aleister Crowley | The Times

When Jimmy Page bought an imposing mansion on the banks of Loch Ness in 1970, he was drawn to the property because it once belonged to infamous occultist Aleister Crowley. The Led Zeppelin guitarist sold up after 22 years and few visits, reportedly concluding that there were “bad vibes” there. Today there are claims that occult groups are still haunting the “most notorious home in the Highlands”.