The Rollright Stones This is one of those awkward things to write; to talk about a place of peace and beauty and encourage people to visit it- which place may then not be so beautiful nor peaceful if loads of people then go there to see how beautiful and peaceful it is, and in the process trample the area flat. Difficult- OK, a risk; but here goes.

So how old is Witchcraft really? The role of Margaret Murray in stirring the muddy waters of Witchcraft history This essay, again adapted-edited here from Master's degree studies (hence the writing style) will attempt to outline the debatable place and role of Margaret Murray in our understanding of the continuing history of witchcraft. Briefly, what Murray did was a 'folkloric' approach, using any available evidence from history, anecdote, mythology and folk custom to support her postulate of an unbroken chain of witch-beliefs and practices, based around a pre-Christian fertility cult dedicated to the Goddess Diana, enduring to the present day.

Is it Hailing or Not (Are We Satanists?) This slight annoyance of being regularly asked by ‘fluffy pagans’ if we are Satanists probably goes with the territory of being chaos magicians - at the very least we are supposed to eat a baby a week, it seems.  

One key difference between my research into Black Dogs in the UK and the folklore of Big Cats in the Australian bush is the importance of science or at least the appropriation of scientific rhetoric.

"let us therefore advise our friends to gather the specimens in time, or it may come to pass when the last Thylacine dies that scientific men across Bass straight will contest as fiercely for its body as they did for the last Tasmanian Aboriginal man not long ago".

I invariably find it fascinating the sheer weight of cultural baggage associated with areas deemed fringe or edgy in research.  Often I find it is to the point where analysis is crippled to a level akin to the possibility of a web debate on Palestine/Israel doing anything but descending into acrimony and name calling.  Subjects like phantom Black Dogs, Ghosts, Witchcraft etc become marginalised and then become this site of unease marked by bizarrely aggressive scepticism on the one hand and naïve New Age credulity on the other.  Generally this pattern continues until a figure like Prof’ Ronald Hutton or the like brings an area of research in from the cold and to the realms of academic respectability.    

Money Magic Mastery is now available in paperback.

Fortean Times reviews the Black Dog of Bungay Excerpt: ...Shock! is well-researched, up-to-date and thoroughly comprehensive – and if a disappointment to any who hoped the Black Dog might be something more than legend, it makes a rewarding read for those who sort-of always knew that it could not be real....

New book chapter in Academic Satanism title

Local paper interview one of the authors of 'Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay' Excerpt from the newspaper: Book sheds light on legend 19 March 2010 THE story of the Black Dog of Bungay is the town's best known and enduring legend, which has carried its name far and wide, nationally and internationally.

New Review from Dark Dorset of “Shock! the Black Dog of Bungay” A new review of “Shock! the Black Dog of Bungay: A Case Study in Local Folklore” is now up at Dark Dorset.

Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay Book launch part three

Shock! the Black Dog of Bungay book launch  - part two

Bungay launch of “Shock! the Black Dog of Bungay” on Youtube - Part One