tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37612518217963288102024-10-25T03:11:07.077+01:00Dr Leo Ruickbie's Witchcraft BlogWitchcraft, Wicca, paganism, magic, the occult and the paranormal, these are the things that keep me up at night, discussing them, writing about them and sometimes experiencing them.Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-41016440032177074462014-10-31T21:41:00.001+00:002014-10-31T21:41:23.605+00:00Something for Hallowe'en
Yours truly having some fun with Hallowe'en:
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/529024/Halloween-traditions-and-superstitionsLeo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-52426778818876198612014-09-10T09:06:00.000+01:002014-09-10T09:06:09.938+01:00Black Magic Code "It began with a letter to a dead man..."
My article 'The Black Magic Code' on Trithemius, cryptography and nigromancy published in Abraxas Journal. For more details see http://fulgur.co.uk/shop/abraxas/abraxas-journal-issue-6/Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-29467556758889922612014-03-04T10:29:00.001+00:002014-03-04T10:32:25.558+00:00
Vampires
Just found this review at http://pelicanist.blogspot.de/2013/08/the-universal-vampire.html:
Another observation that caught my eye was that the start of
popularising the vampire was, ironically enough, the Enlightenment. Leo
Ruickbie gathers together what was, at that time, impressive testimony
as to the actual existence of such creatures, from medical, legal and
military sourcesLeo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-31408719719762029372013-12-02T13:13:00.000+00:002013-12-02T13:13:00.408+00:00Ruickbie certainly knows his stuffFrom The Vampirologist blog:
It features another excellent article, by Leo Ruickbie. Readers may recognise him as the author of A brief guide to the supernatural (2012).
A brief guide serves as a classic example to why you (ok, I) shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I was expecting a threadbare pop-culture treatment, but it's incredibly well-researched. Ruickbie certainly knows his Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-73738555370505999462013-11-30T12:58:00.000+00:002013-11-30T12:58:00.054+00:00
A Brief Guide to the Supernatural featured on The Ghost Club website.
The perfect introduction to the world of all things eerie, inexplicable and otherworldly.
http://www.ghostclub.org.uk/Books.htmlLeo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-34706736772020631182013-11-15T13:07:00.000+00:002013-11-15T13:07:00.524+00:00Good Ghost GuideMagonia Review of Books: A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting
With more than 300 pages of text and more than 50 of endnotes, this book is not really a ‘brief’ guide. Combining practical assistance on preparation, equipment and investigation techniques and protocol, including the all-important health and safety advice, with a brief history of ghost hunting and a sociological analysis of ghost hunters, Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-46754093419603428862013-11-04T13:20:00.000+00:002013-11-04T13:20:00.744+00:00A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting on YouTubeA Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting now has its own youtube video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGNB4qNvhY
It looks and sounds like a computer generated video for http://www.thebookwoods.com/book3/9780762450770.htmlLeo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-49729610617434557712013-10-29T12:55:00.000+00:002013-10-29T12:55:27.328+00:00Approved by Egon SpenglerEgon Spengler Would Approve: A Review of Dr. Leo Ruickbie's "A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting"
Dr. Leo Ruickbie may be a specialist in the field of witchcraft, but if A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting is any indication, the man knows he way around a haunted house as well.
[...]
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it doesn't really matter as far as this book goes, because the catalog of Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-29988932919317097052013-09-12T10:02:00.003+01:002013-09-12T10:02:46.441+01:00Friday the 13thYou'll want to stay at home tomorrow after you read this (maybe): http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/428727/Why-are-we-so-scared-of-Friday-the-13th by yours truly (of course).Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-86537377828828715392013-09-02T19:03:00.000+01:002013-09-02T19:03:00.013+01:00More Evil and Wickedness for 2014
[CFP] 15th Global Conference: Perspectives on Evil and Human Wickedness
Saturday 22nd March – Monday 24th March 2014
Prague, Czech Republic
Call for Presentations
This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference seeks to
examine and explore issues surrounding evil and human wickedness. In
wrestling with evil(s) we are confronted with a multi-layered phenomenon
which invites Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-14894806274349377942013-08-27T15:30:00.000+01:002013-08-27T15:30:02.961+01:00Britain's Spookiest PlacesJust had my first article published in the Daily Express:
THE UK is blessed - or cursed - with the greatest number of haunted
places imaginable. From the crumbling battlements of ruined castles and
grand royal palaces to cosy country pubs and individual houses, ghosts
have been sighted, heard, felt and sometimes smelt the length and
breadth of the land.
Read the full story here:
http://Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-56212448237647862632013-08-13T10:59:00.000+01:002013-08-13T10:59:06.061+01:00Dave EvansJust received this in the email this morning from Mandrake. Very sad news.Dear All In case you've not already heard, the founder(?) of this list [Society for the Academic Study of Magic] and the one time journal JSM just died after a long journey with illness, here's a post from Al Cummings: "Today I found out that a good friend of mine - the teacher, writer, and magician, Dave Evans - has Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-30508336834389319972013-07-30T09:07:00.000+01:002013-07-30T09:13:12.177+01:00
Call for Chapters
Following on my work on witchcraft accusations against children, I've
teamed up with Simon Bacon to work on an anthology exploring the many
issues surrounding children/childhood and conceptualisations of
monstrosity and evil. We're particularly keen to open up a wide-ranging
debate from cinema to the criminal courts. If you've got an idea, send
it in!
Book Project. Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-2595705222577437512012-11-11T16:17:00.001+00:002012-11-11T16:17:43.741+00:00Universal Vampire Book ProjectHere's a description of the project from the editors:
The Universal Vampire Series, 2 Vols.
Vol. 1 – The Universal Vampire: Origins and Evolution of a Legend
Vol. 2 – The Hip and the Atavistic: Images of the Modern Vampire
Editors
Barbara Brodman, Nova Southeastern University
James E. Doan, Nova Southeastern University
Project Overview
For almost 200Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-59424687686583506562012-11-11T16:08:00.000+00:002012-11-11T16:08:23.189+00:00Universal Vampire UpdateJust heard from the editors that the forthcoming multi-volume blockbuster The Universal Vampire is scheduled for publication in April 2012. The publishers were 'very impressed with the quality of the essays in the collection'. A brief description of my chapter can be found here http://www.academia.edu/1536481/Evidence_for_the_UndeadLeo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-36980357908213337002012-10-03T22:38:00.000+01:002012-10-03T22:38:00.890+01:00CFP: Esotericism and Health
Call for Papers ESSWE 4: Western Esotericism and Health
Datum: June 26, 2013 -to- June 29, 2013
Call for Papers: ESSWE4 - The Fourth International Conference of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism
Western Esotericism and Health
26-29 June 2013, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Issues relating to health (understood in a broad sense) can be seen as
an Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-3371716352562567492012-09-30T22:13:00.002+01:002012-09-30T22:13:45.542+01:00Spiritualism Anthology Details ReleasedJust arrived in my inbox are the full(er) details of the forthcoming anthology on spiritualism:
the anthology is to be published as:
Christopher M. Moreman (Ed.), The Spiritualist Movement: Speaking with
the Dead in American and around the World (ABC-CLIO, 2013). It is
scheduled for release in the summer.
Sub-titles (and authors for each) are:
Vol. 1: American Origins and Global Proliferation Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-91098629488866651022012-07-06T10:26:00.000+01:002012-07-06T10:26:54.574+01:00Magonia Review of The Supernatural Magonia Review of Books, review of Leo Ruickbie, A Brief Guide to the Supernatural: Ghosts, Vampires and the Paranormal (Constable and Robinson, 2012), dated 29 March 2012:
The book is well referenced in the form of footnotes and makes a good general introduction.
See the full review at http://pelicanist.blogspot.de/2012/04/shortreviews04.htmlLeo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-62017988945847885702012-06-11T09:27:00.000+01:002012-06-11T09:27:01.017+01:00Wanted: Old Gods
Preternature Volume 3:2. Old Gods and Ancient Ones [Call for Papers]
Call them pagan
or ancient, earth-based or demonic, or by names like Hekate, Isis,
Poseidon, Ereshkigal, Loki, and Anath, the Old Gods have been topics of
energetic scholarly discussion, literary recreation, and artistic
depiction for decades. As supplanted as they might seem to historians,
the Old Gods live on and Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-15136839658427180002012-06-08T10:53:00.000+01:002012-06-08T10:53:27.334+01:00'Vampire' Corpses Found In Bulgaria
Ancient 'Vampire' Bodies Found In Bulgaria
Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed centuries-old skeletons with
iron rods through their chests - believed to have been victims of an
old anti-vampire ritual.
According to Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the National History Museum
in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, two skeletons from the Middle Ages have
been discovered near the Black Sea town of Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-50814446542462566752012-06-07T12:44:00.000+01:002012-06-07T12:44:00.379+01:00Goth Tech Conference CFPCFP: International Gothic Association Biennial Conference 2013
Gothic Technologies/Gothic Techniques
Biennial Conference of the International Gothic Association
August 5 – 8, 2013
University of Surrey, United Kingdom
Confirmed Keynote Speakers: Professor Roger Luckhurst (Birkbeck College, University of London), Professor Fred Botting (Kingston University), other Keynotes TBA
Recent Gothic Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-41450261863953473132012-06-06T12:58:00.000+01:002012-06-06T12:58:00.217+01:00The International Gothic AssociationYes, there is an International Gothic Association! It's an academic society for the study of everything Gothic with a peer-reviewed journal Gothic Studies. According to their website:
The International Gothic Association unites teachers, scholars,
students, artists, writers and performers from around the world who are
interested in any aspect of gothic culture: fiction, drama, poetry, art,
Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-56316094055123986762012-06-03T12:52:00.000+01:002012-06-03T12:52:00.130+01:00Hekatean Curse Tablets
Black Magic Revealed in Two Ancient Curses
Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 22 May 2012
At a time when black magic was relatively common, two curses involving snakes were cast, one targeting a senator and the other an animal doctor, says a Spanish researcher who has just deciphered the 1,600-year-old curses.
Both curses feature a depiction of a deity, possibly the Greek Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-73413786838960237152012-06-01T12:39:00.001+01:002012-06-01T13:07:17.653+01:00Vampire Autopsies
What happens when you cut open a vampire? Read this analysis of the 18th century vampire epidemic and the medical experts who examined the undead corpses in the Fortean Times, issue 288 (Special, 2012).
Visit: Fortean Times
For back issues of Fortean Times call +44 (0)844 844 0049Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3761251821796328810.post-32376041061054603182012-01-05T08:00:00.004+00:002012-01-05T08:50:04.816+00:00Obama Will Lose, Says Mexico's Chief WitchThe Brujo Mayor - Supreme Sorcerer, Witch-in-Chief, or Grand Wizard as the BBC likes to call him - of Catemac in southern Mexico has made public his New Year predictions. Top of the list: Obama will lose the 2012 elections.Speaking at a press conference in Mexico City, Brujo Mayor Antonio Vazquez revealled that Obama was finished. Vazquez was quoted as saying, "I feel Obama will lose. They will Leo Ruickbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13588562964987979383noreply@blogger.com0