The Occult: A History

Let the title scare you off and you'll miss a fine volume on just about everything we have conjured up in our brief history. I particularly found the concept of 'Faculty X' (somewhat of a seventh sense) to be fascinating. Colin Wilson was a celebrated author in the sixties, with his popular work 'The Outsider'. Here, Wilson provides examples of everything from apparitions to physical transfer across continents of a person, to scientific study of unexplained phenomena. The book is quite long and must be digested over time. After all, the secrets of our time require plausible explanation. And even then, would you believe? Put yourself to the test... griff

I find that almost everything Colin Wilson has written is extremely fascinating. This book is no exception. I would also highly recommend reading his books on The Outsider.

This isn't the book that set me on the path of magick, but it definitely is the one that kept me there! Great survey course on magick and mysticism, all rolled into one big fat book. For all you would-be magicians out there, see how the great ones did it, and learn from their errors. The chapter on Rasputin and Gurdjieff is worth the price of the book by itself! And his theory of Faculty X will haunt you. Once you've made it through this tome, check out Wilson's sequel, Beyond the Occult.

Very Gullible!.In this book, one of Mr. Wilson's most accessible, we learn of witches, ghosts, magic and spells, demons, offbeat cults, and a lot more for much of recorded history. Very entertaining, and makes a great Halloween gift, but the only problem is that Mr. wilson, despite his great intellect and writing skills, seems to fall for about every humdrum and humbug rumor about his subject without subjecting it to serious, objective evaluation. Myriad cases are described throughout this excellent and entertaining book, but perhaps the best is the Flying, Levitating St. Joseph, in which the author simply accepts all supposed witnesses from nearly 400 years ago with not a shred of skepticism. Other similar cases abound. So read this book with at least a minimal sense of rational doubt!

this is a very very interesting book, a very good introduction to the subject, very engrossing and entertaining i would say. it is also a true mark of wilson's grip on the subject, that every time i am reading this book, things start to happen to me!