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A review by barry_x
Hellebore #6: The Summoning Issue by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
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!