At the Heart of Darkness: Witchcraft, Black Magic and Satanism Today

by John Parker

Book Overview

A detailed, comprehensive study of the occult in its modern context. The author reveals the existence of a massive network of occult organizations and delves deeply into the current practices of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806514280
• ISBN13: 9780806514284
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Carol Publishing Corporation
• Length: 334 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Wicca and Human Sacrifice

No doubt Wiccans hate this book because it describes how Gerald Gardner's coven had performed a human sacrifice so Hitler would lose WWII. "The group were deadly serious about their secret rituals to keep Hitler at bay and decided beforehand that they could leave nothing to chance. But to be 100 per cent effective there would have to be a human sacrifice. It is said that the oldest and frailest member of the coven volunteered to die during the ritual, set for what proved to be the coldest May night in many years. According to Francis King, ...all but the frail old man had covered their bodies with an ointment, which was in reality a heavy grease used among other things to keep the body warm. The coven was also known to use an hallucinogen, the fly agaric mushroom, which could be eaten only in exceedingly small doses...The old volunteer duly collapsed and died, and it is not known whether it was from an overdose of mushrooms, over-exhaustion or the cold. The great sacrifice had been made and the potency of their magic could have been enhanced when two other members of the coven died from pneumonia in the following two weeks, and two others passed to the waiting room for reincarnation not long afterwards." (pages 45-46 of the edition I read) Wicca is not thousands of years old, it was created by Gerald Gardner through the years of 1939-1954. It's a hoax, and has nothing to do with "Mediterranean figurines", other than the minds of the deluded folks who think they have magic powers. This book is a great read, if for no other reason than the quotation above.

Very Good Book

As an agnostic, I found this book to be as unbiased as a book like this could be. I think that John Parker shed some much needed light on this subject, and it seems as though the people who could not appreciate it are most likely the ones who become involved in such religions for the wrong reasons. I enjoyed reading about the interviews, the history behind these subjects, and also just a bit of the science behind some of their "medicinal" creations. Read this book with an open mind that is interested in the history of it all.

Great Book

This is a great book and I thouroughly enjoyed it. I know that the author did their homework. This is one of the first books ever that openly admitted that most Witches were Satan worshippers. I am also glad to know that most Wiccans were offended by it..Hail to the Hebrew God and Jesus Christ.

Good introduction to Pagan religions.

While this book doesn't actually go over spells and the like. It serves as an excellent history of modern pagan religions. All 3 sections of the book are outstanding. Parker actually exposes some of these witches for what they are... devil worshippers albeit he is called "The Horned God" or "Pan". Nevertheless, this deity was still the basis for "Satan". Parker misinterprets a few things over the course of the book, my only complaint. An example of that is his ignorance of the symbolic meaning of Satan to Satanists. In summary, id recommend this book to anyone wanting to know a little about Pagan religions.