For growing ranks of pagans, October 31 means a lot more than Halloween

By Susanne Gargiulo ("CNN," October 31, 2011)


Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/36452/?&section=occult

USA - As pumpkins, witches and faux cobwebs have taken over much of North America for Halloween, Clare Slaney-Davis is preparing an October 31 feast that some would consider much spookier, with table settings for her grandparents, a great-aunt and other relatives who have passed away.

As she and her living guests eat, they'll share stories and memories of loved ones they've lost.

The Christian debate over Halloween

Slaney-Davis, who is based in London, isn't preparing the feast for Halloween. Instead, she and pagans around the world are celebrating Samhain, the beginning of the pagan new year, a night when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is believed to be the thinnest of any time during the year.

That's why it's a night devoted to ancestors. "We honor them, and we recognize that we don't live in a world of people who are merely dead or alive," says Slaney-Davis, 46. "Ancestors are central to us."

Along with the Catholic holiday All Saints' Day, Samhain is considered an ancient forerunner of Halloween. Samhain began as a Celtic celebration marking the end of harvest and the beginning of winter's hardship.

Today, pagans play down the Halloween-Samhain connection. But the growing popularity of the pagan new year in Europe and North America is part of what many experts say is a global revival of paganism.

Slaney-Davis, who trained as a witch and a druid, says her religion has nothing to do with ghosts and ghouls. "To me, being a pagan means being in divine balance with nature and being responsible for my actions," she says. "I understand that my behavior has an effect on people I don't even know exist. It is not a theology of perfection but one of belonging."

Over-the-top jack-o'-lanterns

But it is a theology that's gaining ground. According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, the number of members of "other religions" or "new religious movements," categories that include pagans, more than doubled between 1990 and 2008, to 2.8 million.

The survey, conducted byTrinity College in Connecticut, reported that the numbers of Wiccans and neo-pagans had also doubled in that time.

Contemporary pagan religions like Wicca and druidism are considered neo-pagan movements.

"(Paganism) is one of the fastest growing religions in the world," says Michael York, a retired religious scholar from Bath Spa University in the UK. "True numbers are impossible to come by because many people are wary to admit they are pagan, and reliable statistics just don't exist."

Movies that scare the people who scare us

While paganism covers a range of individual religious groups, including Wicca, druidism, and shamanism, they're bound by some common denominators, such as roots in ancient, pre-Christian beliefs, and their view of nature and the whole physical world as sacred.

"In traditional religions you have a conflict between God and nature," says York. "But for pagans, nature becomes the truest expression of the divine."

That, he says, is a big reason why paganism is seeing a revival: "If nothing else, because of the impending destruction of our environment, and our focus on finding a way to live in balance with nature."

Another key pagan belief is the freedom for each person to determine his or her own way to and view of the divine. "Paganism doesn't put restrictions on what you can and cannot believe," says Jason Pitzl-Waters, co-founder of the Pagan Newswire Collective and the pagan blog The Wild Hunt. "It grows out of an ethos that there isn't just one sacred way to understand the world."

But that lack of dogma has become something of a stumbling block for the movement. "Because paganism is very individual, it creates the problem of not having a unified voice, because nobody speaks for the movement as a whole," says York.

Another problem pagans face is one of image: For centuries, including during the Roman Catholic inquisition, pagans were denounced as heretics and devil-worshippers.

"One of our greatest challenges is to overcome the hostility of groups that still see us as evil," says Pitzl-Waters. "To some conservative Christian groups, we are an early warning sign of societal collapse."

Just last week, an opinion column in The Christian Post, an online newspaper, warned that the "dark festival" of Samhain is an invitation to the devil. The column said that "even though you don't consciously call upon Satan, his demons are nevertheless present any time a Wiccan goes through a spiritual door by using magic." It calls on Wiccans to ask forgiveness for their sins and to turn to Jesus.

"Part of what is scary for conservative religions is that as a pagan, I consider myself part of the divine," says Holli S. Emore, executive director at South Carolina's Cherry Hill Seminary, which has one of the world's first graduate-level programs for pagan ministry. "That means God lives in me, and that is blasphemous to some. To me, it's a big responsibility to do good and act right."

Scholars say that the neo-pagan view of God being everywhere and in everything is not a foreign idea on the global religious stage. "Much of modern paganism looks to older religions like Shinto, Hinduism and indigenous religions, which see spirit in everything," says Jenny Blain, senior lecturer in sociology at Sheffield Hallam University in England and author of several books on paganism.

"If you add all those to modern paganism, that is a considerable part of the world that does not live with traditional Abrahamic views," she says.

There are signs that paganism is gaining some acceptance in the nonpagan world. For the first time last year, the government of Britain recognized druidism, an ancient pagan belief system, as a religion.

"People either see paganism as dangerous or as a joke," says Pitzl-Waters. "But it is a serious global movement. Paganism has arrived as a world religion. It's not just a bunch of counterculture types playing witchcraft games."

That said, traditional witchcraft rituals, like gathering in circles and uttering spells, have an important place in modern paganism, which further unsettles more traditional religious believers.

"Because Christianity is more conservative, anything seen as supernatural or magic automatically becomes of the devil," says York. "Because of that dichotomy, paganism is automatically seen as satanic."

"People fear what they don't understand," says Emore. "But spells are basically prayers with props. What we call magic is the intentional use of power to achieve change, and just like with prayer, what you are doing is tapping into an inner resource. Gathering in a circle and acknowledging the four elements is nothing new – this is something Native Americans and many ancient nature-based religious people did as well."

For neo-pagans, the four elements – earth, air, water and fire – are closely linked to their view of a sacred planet. "The attributes associated with each element become tools in our meditation and in practices such as spells," says Emore. "Water is associated with emotions and intuition, air with intellect and communications, earth with foundation and stability, and fire with passion and action."

To York, paganism's ancient rituals also help bring a sense of enchantment back into life.

"The ancients had a sense of the magical, but with Christianity came a diminishment," he says. "The magical was denied, everything became inanimate, and from a pagan perspective we lost our connection with the sacred. I think we are rediscovering that now."

"Pagans understand there comes a winter, which is a time to ready for rebirth," York says. "For us, the last 2000 years has been the pagan winter."

Paganism returns to the Holy Land

By Ofri Ilani ("Haaretz," March 22, 2009)

Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/30564/?&section=occult

Tel Aviv, Israel - Like many other soldiers who took part in the Gaza operation, Omer, 20, occasionally took a few moments to pray, but he did not pray to the Lord of Israel. Omer considers himself pagan, and has sworn allegiance to three ancient gods. During combat, he says they appeared before him, giving him strength during the most arduous moments.

Omer is still in the army, and therefore refused to be interviewed for this story. Yet he did say he belongs to a religion whose goal is to revive worship of ancient gods.

In an online Hebrew-language paganism forum, Omer's accounts of his Gaza experience are standard fare. Another user recalled how he prayed to Anat, the Canaanite god of war, while serving in an elite combat unit.

The two soldiers are part of a tiny community of pagans that has developed in Israel. Influenced by movements in the United States and Europe, followers believe in multiple gods.

"Modern paganism is comprised of a wide variety of religions and faiths, most of which are based on ancient pagan rituals," said Rinat Korbet, a Bar-Ilan University researcher who wrote her thesis on the pagan community in Israel based on its online presence.

"People seek to take the essence of ancient paganism and suit it to our time period. Many of the followers have home altars where they can express their belief in nature and the gods. All the people I interviewed also took part in ceremonies and community rituals, in environments conducive to the spirit of paganism."

Korbet will present her research at the First Israeli Conference for the Study of Contemporary Spiritualities which opens tomorrow at the University of Haifa.

Due to Jewish sensitivity to idol worship, which is perceived as a sin, most Israeli pagans reveal their beliefs only to those who share them. They usually keep religious gatherings, such as the "holiday of equality" (Vernal equinox) on March 21st, secret.

Alon Kobets, 29, a neo-paganist from Rehovot, is one of the few who decided "to come out of the closet."

"Some people live in fear, but I'm past hiding my faith," he said. "Some guys live with religious families. They can't tell their parents, 'I don't believe in Judaism, I'm a pagan.' They'd chop off their heads."

Several years ago, Kobets took an interest in Wicca, a neo-pagan religion founded 50 years ago in England. Wicca calls for worshiping nature and an ancient goddess. Kobets abandoned Wicca upon enlisting in the IDF, but enthusiastically re-embraced it after completing his army service.

Now he runs the Wicca Israel Web site, one of the local pagan community's most widely visited and important sites. He estimates that there are 150 Israeli pagans.

"It finds expression in the rituals, like in all religions, but also in the world view that divinity is here. A person, a cat or a car - all of these things are life on some plain," he said.

"In a country like ours, which naturally has interreligious tension, being a pagan is not easy," Korbet said. "Worshiping other gods is something very sensitive in Judaism. We all were educated [to think] this is intolerable and illogical."

Contradiction to Judaism

Kobets says neo-paganism is a pluralistic religion, and every follower sets his own worship method. Nonetheless, the pagans interviewed for this article agreed their faith runs counter to Judaism, and added that they do not consider themselves Jewish.

"Judaism is a religion, it's something imposed and artificial," said Samuel, who runs a paganism forum on the Web portal Tapuz.

"I don't consider myself a Jew, but I do consider myself Israeli," he said.

Kobets agrees. "There is a problem with Judaism. Judaism contradicts paganism. Judaism has only one god, and if you do not believe in him, you will be driven off with stones."

How does one choose which gods to worship?

"Every individual picks himself a pantheon. There are many options," said Samuel, 31, who works as a jewelry designer.

"Nobody invents new gods," Kobets said. "People read mythology and try to make contact with and talk to some god or goddess."

Because the main sources of neo-paganist religions are England and the U.S., some Israeli worshipers pray to Nordic or Celtic gods. Others seek to revive the worship of ancient Canaanite gods who were fought by biblical prophets.

"As part of the interest in local traditions, there is a focus on Canaanite gods and traditions that existed here," Kobets said. "People are interested in it, but from what I gather I don't believe this is the dominant theme. I've seen more people who believe in Celtic Druidism, Shamanism and Indian religions."

Korbet wrote her thesis in the department of information science at Bar-Ilan University, under the supervision of Dr. Dan Bouchnik. She analyzed Web sites and forums used by pagans, and their philosophy regarding the Internet.

"Ancient paganism took place largely in nature, forests and villages," she said. "Modern paganism can take place in urban settings, and it can be more symbolic. If worship was once done in physical, holy places, now the Internet is being used as a virtual, spiritual venue. Neo-paganist believers have no qualms about using the Internet, though they prefer practicing their rituals in the real world. Advanced religious knowledge is something they would prefer not to divulge on the Web, and usually they will not invite someone to take part in a ritual exclusively online."

Korbet will be one of dozens of lecturers at the spirituality conference. Conference organizer Dr. Marianna Ruah-Midbar said there have been a wealth of studies on New Age topics in recent years.

"Some phenomena were not studied only marginally, if at all, for years, and now they are of central interest to academe," she said. "This conference is the first multi-disciplinary meeting of researchers who specialize in Judaism, law, medicine, sociology, film and more."

Ruah-Midbar believes paganism has a bright future in Israeli culture.

"At the moment paganism is not a large-scale practice here, but I believe it has very big potential," she said. "Pagan religions are the fastest growing religions in the West, and it could succeed here too, because Hebrewism and Zionism could connect to paganism due to the emphasis on land and Hebrew holidays. Paganism is a close, unusual parallel of more common practices, like environmentalism or traveling to the East. In practice, it really is not very different."

Cornish Teachers Should 'Explore' Paganism, Church of England Says

By Lucy Sherriff ("Huffington Post," April 23, 2012)


Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/37143/?&section=occult

UK - Teachers in Cornwall have been told by the Church of England to celebrate all Cornish beliefs in school, including "exploring" Paganism, over fears some families are being marginalised.

Sue Green, education director at the Church of England's Diocese of Truro, said Cornwall's heritage was "quite unique" and it was imperative the spiritual and religious heritage of the area is celebrated.

"For many of our schools there will be children who come from Pagan families and we wouldn't want those children to feel marginalised," Green told the BBC.

But she added "no school is being told to teach about Paganism".

Green's support of teaching the faith follows the recent announcement Paganism is to be included in the school curriculum in Cornwall.

Earlier this April, Cornwall Council told its schools pagan beliefs should be taught alongside Christianity.

Fiona MacDonald, co-ordinator of Cornwall's Pagan Federation, said the group welcomed the decision to include Paganism on the curriculum.

"We have been campaigning for schools to introduce it for the past 10 years," she told The Huffington Post UK. "It is not a question of teaching children Paganism, rather teaching children about Paganism.

"We are just normal human beings with different ideas," she added.

The polytheistic faith focuses on putting "humankind back in harmony with the Earth," and is based on a deep respect for nature. Shamanism, Wicca or Witchcraft, Druidry and Heathenry are all included under the umbrella term.

Fiona MacDonald, co-ordinator of Cornwall's Pagan Federation, said the group welcomed the decision to include paganism on the curriculum.

New chaplain at prison, a Witch, brews brouhaha

By Stephanie Simon ("Los Angeles Times Service," January 16, 2002)

Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/9439/?&section=occult

It started out as a simple job search. But it turned into a witch hunt.

Make that a Witch hunt. For the person hired last month as Wisconsin's newest prison chaplain was the Rev. Jamyi Witch -- who said she long ago chose that last name, ``Because I am one.'' Witch is proud to be a witch and to be the first Wiccan priestess in the nation to serve as a full-time state prison chaplain.

Yet her appointment has put some taxpayers in a tizzy.

A state representative -- from, of all places, West Salem -- is leading a drive to yank funding for Witch's $32,500-a-year post, saying taxpayers ``shouldn't be forced to accept this hocus-pocus.'' Two other lawmakers have joined him in outrage; one called Witch's appointment ``morally dangerous.'' Meanwhile, callers have swamped the prison switchboard, the state Legislature and radio talk shows with pro-Witch or anti-Witch tirades. And they've contacted the new chaplain directly, too: One day she came home to 76 phone messages and 432 e-mails.

``It's been off the Richter scale,'' said state Rep. Scott Walker, a Republican who is lobbying to boot Witch.

`SACRED DUTY'

Walker said his constituents are fiercely opposed to Chaplain Witch. But Witch said she has received mostly supportive calls. Aside from a few death threats, she said, ``The overwhelming consensus has been: `You go, girl. We're behind you.' ''

Witch, 43, is accustomed to people looking around for a pointed hat when they meet her. To her, however, ``witch'' is simply a religious description -- like ``Protestant'' or ``Jewish.'' It denotes a practitioner of Wicca, a pagan religion that sees the divine in every element of nature. Religious scholars estimate there are at least 50,000 Wiccans in this country and perhaps as many as 200,000.

Wiccans do practice magic. But it's not eye-of-newt abracadabra. Witch's brand of magic involves focusing psychic energy on a worthy goal, using meditation to achieve good. It is, she said, just another word for prayer.

And it can be used only for healing. Wiccans are absolutely forbidden to use magic to enact curses.

That prohibition disappointed some of the inmates Witch counseled as a volunteer minister in several prisons before she got the chaplain job at maximum-security Waupun Correctional Institution in southeast Wisconsin. ``I lost a lot of men when I explained it. If they didn't have the power to melt prison bars, they weren't interested,'' she recalled with a chuckle.

Still, several inmates -- sometimes a dozen or more -- stuck with Wicca at each prison she visited. ``Those who felt the calling of Mother Nature and Goddess Earth stayed,'' she said.

Witch stayed, too, drawn to the volunteer work, feeling a ``sacred duty'' to help the prisoners find a path to a better life. Although she changed her last name (from Welch) in part to spark conversation about her faith, Witch insists she never proselytizes. She works only with people who come to paganism on their own.

WARDEN SILENT

Her critics, however, don't trust her. And they have nightmares of her using her chaplain's post to suck criminals into the ``cult'' of bizarre ritual that Wicca represents to them. In their view, a chaplain should be showing inmates that they're accountable to an almighty God, not showing them how to sprinkle herbs as offerings to the goddesses of Mother Earth. ``There isn't one study that I'm aware of that shows that witches have reformed any prisoners,'' said Republican Rep. Mike Huebsch, the lawmaker from West Salem.

Stung by the brouhaha that Witch's appointment has stirred, the warden at Waupun declined requests for interviews. Last month, however, he defended Witch as the best of nearly a dozen candidates he had interviewed – with the character to do the job well. ``Jamyi is an outstandingly approachable person, somebody that I wouldn't mind approaching on spiritual matters myself,'' Warden Gary McCaughtry told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

VOLUNTEER WORK

In addition to her volunteer prison ministry, Witch has worked with battered women in shelters and dying patients in hospices. A mother of two, she is a Girl Scout leader and school volunteer in Mount Horeb, an artsy town that bills itself as ``the troll capital of the world'' because the main street is lined with carved wooden trolls.

Witch earned her ordination as a Wicca priestess from a nearby congregation called Circle Sanctuary.

Witch spent years studying the Wiccan faith and counseling pagans in crisis in preparation for ministry.

``I'm a good person. I really am,'' Witch said, rubbing the ears of a sick old greyhound she rescued after his racing career ended. ``I have earned this position.''

State officials say Witch does indeed meet all the requirements for the job of chaplain, and they point out that it would be illegal to deny her the post on the basis of her faith. Members of hate groups or satanic cults are not allowed to serve as chaplains. But in Wisconsin, Wicca is recognized as a religion.

While several states allow volunteer Wiccan chaplains in their prisons, Witch is apparently the first to land a full-time, tax-funded post.

Critics point out that only 30 out of 1,200 inmates at Waupun identify themselves as Wiccan. (There is one other full-time chaplain there, a Protestant.) ``Why are we paying a woman $35,000 a year to work with just 30 inmates?'' asked Walker.

In response, Witch notes that a large part of any chaplain's job is to bring in volunteer ministers of other faiths, so that all spiritual needs can be met. For instance, she recently organized a religious feast, presided over by a visiting imam, for Muslim inmates to mark the end of Ramadan.

Chaplains also are responsible for making sure all prisoners have the tools they need to worship, be it a Bible or sacred crystals. In fact, Witch said, very little of her job involves one-on-one spiritual ministry, although when called upon, she said she can offer guidance to anyone of any faith.

``They think I'm teaching all the inmates to chant spells,'' she said with a rueful smile. ``If I had one-eighth of the power that people are crediting me with, I wouldn't be sitting in . . . [the prison] working my butt off.

Dispelling the myths about witchcraft

By Laura Holmes ("Portsmouth Herald," October 29, 2001)

Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/9430/?&section=occult

Debra Wiley says she cringes every time someone asks her, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" "I don't walk around asking people, 'Are you a good Christian or a bad Christian?'" says Wiley, a self-proclaimed Wiccan witch from Dover.

Maybe if people were better educated about her religion, she says, they would know better.

Wiley and her friend, Scarlett Ridgway, a Wiccan witch from Portsmouth, have been "out of the broom closet" for many years. Neither of them hide the fact they are witches, but because of 500 years of persecution in Europe and America, and decades of negative stereotyping, many others are not so public.

The possibility of harassment, verbal abuse and, in extreme cases, violence make many witches afraid to take advantage of one of America's most prized possessions — freedom of religion — "all because of misunderstanding," says Rebecca Murphy, a Wiccan witch and licensed pagan minister from Manchester.

"Look up the word 'witch' in a dictionary and you'll read, 'A person who practices black magic,' or something similar. Even though it's in the dictionary, that definition is not accurate. And that's because the dictionary follows popular culture, not the other way around. Until the word 'witch' and its correct definition is in general use for, I believe, 10 years, it won't change," says Murphy.

Witch, witchcraft, Wiccan, pagan; these words are not interchangeable, but try to define them, and that, says Murphy, is a problem.

"We're still trying to define some of them ourselves," she says.

Historically, a "witch" was the wise woman of the community, the person to go to for healing, advice and matchmaking. But through political and religious attacks, that image has been twisted into an evil, old hag with a green, warty face.

So what is a witch today? It depends on whom you ask, says Murphy, but generally speaking, a witch is any person who practices the "science of witchcraft." This includes herbalism, astrology, color therapy, gemology and other ways in which witches believe they can influence the physical and spiritual planes.

"You can be a witch and a Wiccan, and you can be a witch without being a Wiccan. You can be a witch of voodoo. You can also be a Satanic witch. You can even be a Christian and be a witch — I've met some.

"African medicine men and women use witchcraft; they're called witch doctors. The core of it is each one of those means something different to each one of those witches," says Murphy.

On the other hand, defining paganism is simpler. It describes any faith other than Christian, Muslim or Jewish.

"Pagan encompasses a lot of different groups — Druid, Native American, Strega or Italian witchcraft and Wicca are the more familiar ones," says Murphy.

So, what is Wicca? Again, it depends on whom you ask. It's a religion, but it has no dogma and no scriptures. It has values and morals, says Murphy, but no Bible.

"A Catholic can say, 'You have the 10 Commandments, you have to go to church once a week, you get communion, you're supposed to do this and this and this, and in this order because this is how it was written, this is how it's supposed to be.' You can't do that with Wicca. There is no Holy Book of Shadows," she says. "And there's a reason for that — we don't need one."

Instead, says Murphy, Wiccans learn from nature and its cycles of birth, death and rebirth as an example of divine perfection and as a basis for their value system. "As above, so below" is a phrase many Wiccans use to remember the divinity's presence in nature.

Even though Wicca is open to interpretation, there are tenets. They include male and female aspects of divinity; the sacredness of the earth and its seasons; and that "magick," or spell-casting, can influence reality. Other than that is personal preference.

"It's a very personal, choice-centered path," says Wiley. "You can take what you like from other studies, like the Celtic path or the Fairy path, and combine them. You can even add aspects of Native American or Judeo-Christian religions into your ritual or prayer; like calling on angels. I use angels quite often and believe in them strongly," says Wiley.

Ancient lore, modern practice

Made a legally recognized religion in 1986, many aspects of Wicca are ancient in origin. Its practices were adopted from the beliefs and rituals of earth-based pagan societies of old Europe, which were passed down verbally through families.

This lore, combined with ritual from other religions, and the more "recently" adopted practices, such as crystal-healing, Tarot cards and candle-magick, make today's Wicca a hybrid.

"We're building a new foundation on bits and scraps of what we found and what we know. Wicca is, in and of itself, a paradox. It's a very ancient religion that's learning how to be new. We have an ancient background, but we have a whole new set of rules we're working by. You can say, 'OK, on the morning of the solstice you should go out and watch the sunrise and dance for hours.' Well, hey, most of us have day jobs and I don't think I can call in to work with that excuse," says Murphy.

But modern-day Wiccans have learned to merge their "mundane" lives with their "magickal" ones. As solitary witches, or within a coven, they cast circles and spells in their living rooms or backyards, at the beach or in a forest, even online.

"We're a very low-overhead religion. We don't need churches, we don't need priests, we don't need ministers, because we are that ourselves," says Wiley.

Focusing on the spiritual, whether solitary or in a coven, witches, including men (they are not called warlocks or wizards) embark on a road of religious study.

Very few have the benefit of being born into a family of witches, so most rely on personal research or apprenticeship for their knowledge.

And like any other religion, the degree to which witches practice varies. Some, like Murphy, Wiley and Ridgway, incorporate Wicca into their day-to-day lives. Others may only perform rituals during the pagan holidays or for specific need.

Either way, a focal point for all Wiccan witchcraft is the "wheel of the year," the eight holidays, or Sabbats, of the seasonal calendar: Samhain (Halloween), Imbolc (Candlemas), Beltane (May Eve), Lughnassad or Lammas (August Eve), Ostara (spring equinox), Mabon (fall equinox), Litha (summer solstice) and Yule (winter solstice).

Sabbats and their associations define the core of the religion's rituals, as well as its spiritual shape.

"We celebrate the changing seasons — the gift of Mother Nature bringing forth the springtime and the harvest, and then the awakening of the God who is actually the opposite of Mother Nature. He is the time that the earth sleeps, the time of winter, the time of quiet reflection.

"He stands in protection of the earth while the Goddess sleeps, and then in the spring when she awakens, he brings forth the blooming flowers. So it is a very beautiful religion," says Wiley.

Dispelling myths on magick

More so than the belief system of Wicca, it is perhaps the ritual aspect of the religion, the how-to part of Wiccan witchcraft, the magick — so spelled to discern it from the work of theatrical magicians such as David Copperfield and Penn and Teller — that seems to be the most misunderstood. From Hollywood movies such as "Practical Magick" and "The Craft," and television programs like "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" and "Charmed," to American culture throughout, magick has been portrayed with only minimal accuracy.

First, witches can't fly. Nor can they turn someone into a toad, or anything else. They certainly can't point a finger and make things "happen." And contrary to almost every horror movie, simply reading a spell from a book won't make it work. Even Harry Potter is way off the mark.

What's missing from every depiction of witchcraft in our culture, says Murphy, is the spiritual aspect, the divine connection.

"Words are just words. They can describe the feeling and they can describe how to do a spell, but until you can will your spiritual self to connect to your higher power, be it God, Goddess or whatever, nothing's going to happen."

Witches and Wiccans do cast spells. That's how they hope to influence the outcome of their lives and the lives of those who seek their help. A spell is just another word for prayer, says Wiley, and ritual and ritual tools simply make the prayer more effective.

"We set up our prayer space or sacred circle, we acknowledge the four compass points and bring them together, and we call the Lord or the Lady. We do these things because it is the best way that we know how to bring as much conscious, positive energy to a table, to a prayer circle as possible," says Ridgway.

No devil for witches

Another depiction that Wiccans wish would stop is, of course, devil worship. In the history of religion, the devil, or Satan, is actually a recent Christian concept, says Murphy.

"When the Roman Empire invaded the Celtic Empire, Christians changed the nature god revered by the pagans into an evil god — Satan," she says.

That association continued and found its way to America via the Spanish Inquisition of the 14th and 15th centuries, when witches were falsely accused of devil-worshipping and then tortured, burned, hanged and drowned.

Then and now, says Ridgway, devil worship is part of Satanism and never had anything to do with Wicca.

"We don't have a devil. We do believe in positive and negative aspects, but they deal with nature and people, not something in a divinitory realm," says Ridgway.

Wiccans, she says, can't blame the Devil for doing bad things. "We believe that if we do something, we need to take full responsibility for it," says Ridgeway.

Part of that responsibility stems from the two Wiccan laws that help foster good behavior: the Wiccan Rede and the three-fold law. The Wiccan Rede reads: "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt," which basically means don't do anything that will harm anybody. The three-fold law is a universally accepted belief among Wiccans that whatever is sent out, be it negative or positive, comes back to the sender three-fold.

Both laws remind Wiccans that their thoughts and their deeds affect them as much as they do others.

"Debra and I both have had people come up to us and say 'I want to make so-and-so fall in love with me. Give me a spell.' It doesn't work that way. If someone came to me in that kind of pain, I might be able to help them cast a spell of healing, or a spell of peace, to help them find their own path to the person they're truly supposed to be with," says Ridgway.

Wiccans also need the permission of the person they want to help before attempting any kind of spell.

"Say you're going through a difficult time and I wanted to pray for strength for you. I have to get your OK first," says Ridgway.

Like witchcraft, Halloween has been totally reinvented by popular culture, Wiley says. Compared to its origins as the end of the agricultural year, it's been completely disguised as a children's holiday or a festival of fear for adults. For Wiccans, Halloween is a celebration of a good harvest and a time to give thanks, as well as a time to reflect on the past year and plan for the year to come.

In witchcraft lore, says Wiley, it's also the night when the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world is the thinnest.

"Like the Feast of the Dead, All Saints Day and All Soul's Day, it is a time to call on your ancestors for guidance, to pray to them, and thank them, even give them an offering," says Wiley.

Wicca — like Halloween, witchcraft and witches — is centuries old and shares many similarities with other religions. Upon true scrutiny, says Murphy, people will find that Wicca really isn't that different.

"Eventually, all religions had their roots in the same place," she says. "We deviated, we splintered, we even changed the entire concept a time or two, but we all began from the same starting point and we're all going to end at the same finishing point — we just took different paths to get there."

Student Suspended For Wearing Pentacle

By ("Channel Oklahoma," July 28, 2001)

Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/9413/?&place=north-america&section=occult

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. -- A Midwest City high school student returned to the classroom Wednesday after a one-day suspension for wearing a pentacle in class.

Sabrina Erickson practices Wicca, a type of paganism based on earth, wind, air and water.

When Erickson refused school officials' request to take off the five-starred pentacle at school, she was suspended for violating a dress code that prohibits disruptions in class.

"If Christians blatantly wear their crosses, or if Jews can wear a Star of David, why can't I wear my pentacle," Erickson said on Eyewitness News 5 Tuesday.

After meeting with school officials on Tuesday, Erickson was allowed to return to class. The suspension was based on the principal's misunderstanding of Wicca, Erickson said.

Satanic or ritualistic crime and murder

By ("Examiner," April 14, 2009)


Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/30784/?&place=united-states&section=occult

San Luis Obispo, USA - Fifteen year old Elyse Marie Pahler was "sacrificed to Satan" by three San Luis Obispo, CA teen-agers in one of the most grisly murders on record.

The suspects Roger Casey, Jacob Delashmutt and Joseph Fiorella -- all teenagers -- took Elyse to a hidden location about a quarter-mile from her home, fed her drugs, raped her, tied a belt around her neck "to make it easier to stab her", and offered her up as the "ultimate sin against God".

Elyse knew her killers from the school bus. Delashmutt, Fiorella and Elyse attended Arroyo Grande High School in San Luis Obispo, 195 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Delashmutt was expelled from the school in September of 1995; Fiorella left in February 1996 to be home-schooled. Casey attended a nearby school. The three stabbed the girl to death at at an alleged "Satanic altar". The boys "selected and stalked" Elyse believing that a virgin sacrifice would earn them a "ticket to Hell".

Elyse disappeared July 22, 1995 and had been reported missing until Casey came forward and led authorities to her body on March 14, 1996. The girl left her house voluntarily the night she died, although it wasn't clear where she was headed or at what point she encountered her killers. If the teenagers are tried as adults and the jury finds special circumstances, they face up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. If tried as juveniles, they face up to about 7 years in juvenile detention. < http://www.mayhem.net/Crime/cults1.html >

Some experts believe the Pahler murder proves their allegations that Satanic and ritualistic crimes are a very real problem in US society.

In spite of mankind's advances in the arts and sciences, there remains a number of people who have not been able to -- or refuse to -- shake-off the practices of pagan rituals, some of which date back thousands of years. Included within the broad spectrum of paganism are so-called Satanic cults which are suspect in a number of bizarre crimes throughout the United States.

According to investigative journalist and author Maury Terry, there exists a network of Satan-worshiping cults with members crisscrossing our nation. Terry, whose research takes him to just about every state of the union, participated in a special regional police conference in Ohio, co-sponsored by the American Federation of Police and the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

His expertise on the subject of ritualistic violence is a tremendous resource for the news media and law enforcement. This writer attended the conference as a result of violent incidents occurring in northern Manhattan -- my jurisdiction at the time; incidents involving animal sacrifices including the killing and mutilation of cats, dogs, chickens, and even a lamb stolen from a petting zoo.

The world of the Satanic cultist is filled with ritualistic violence, perverse sexual activity and abuse, Heavy Metal music and the use of illegal drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines (crank, speed, meth, crystal), psylocybin (an hallucinogenic drug similar to LSD), heroin and other others. This is a world which, even in the beginning of the 21st Century, continues to attract a large number of young people who follow the precepts of Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible, a volume that has millions of copies in print today.

SATANIC CULTS

It must be made clear to anyone investigating ritualistic crimes: what constitutes a Satanic cult? And what are the differences between these cults and Religious Satanists

Religious Satanists are members of a group which are well organized and structured with a hierarchy. A perfect example is Chicago's Temple of Set: a church that is recognized as a religion by the US and Illinois governments. They enjoy the same tax-exempt status as mainstream religious institutions. Surprisingly, the High Priest of the Temple of Set, Michael Aquino, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the in the US Army Reserves even while practicing his religion.

He is outspoken about his beliefs and has appeared on nationwide television (The Oprah Winfrey Show, for instance) to explain his faith and his church's practices. As far as police agencies are concerned, members of the Temple of Set have never violated the law when practicing their worship and liturgical rites including the Black Mass.

On the other hand, Satanic cults are self-styled Satanists who are sometimes involved in activity that strongly resembles college-fraternity hazing; and, as with college campus hazing, these practitioners may become extremely cruel and vicious, temporarily losing control. Their behavior mirrors the emotionally-charged, mindless behavior exhibited by angry mobs and rioters, with little or no thought to the consequences of their acts.

When substance abuse is added to the mix of these improvised rituals -- accentuated by loud, pulsating music coupled with the euphoric excitement of primal lust -- these frenzied pseudo-Satanists may indulge in behavior closely resembling the activities of a Jeffrey Dahmer or a Richard Ramirez (California's Hillside Strangler), two frightening serial-killers who openly displayed an unhealthy obsession with the occult. In several cases where the practitioners completely lost control, hapless victims fell prey to their bloodthirsty rituals and would suffer the pain of a helpless sacrificial lamb.

Although rare, reports from police departments across the country reveal that the Satanic cults may begin their worship service with the understanding that an animal or even a human being will be killed and used as a sacrifice to whomever these cult members worship. Murder is rare, but it is a possibility, especially when drugs such as crack, PCP and LSD are part of these dramatic events that are created by leaders and worshipers alike. Crack and the other substances are known to make some users extremely violent, fearless and/or dangerously paranoid and psychotic. Again, murders committed by groups of Satan worshipers are rare, but police officers and detectives investigating a crime scene or missing persons report should consider this avenue of investigation if evidence of the person's involvement with cults comes to light.

According to Ed Briggs, crime reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch , Satanic cults seduce teenagers and young adults with sex and drugs and the promise of power over others. Also, involvement in this religion is the ultimate in rebellion against parental control, especially if the parents are religious Christians, Jews, Muslims, or part of any mainstream religious organization including Religious Satanism which is recognized by the federal government as a legitimate religion deserving of all privileges enjoyed by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc. churches and temples.

As with their rebellion against parents and parental control, Satanic cult members thrive on their rebellious behavior against society in general. The cultist's perfidy is a source of pleasure for him or her, especially the teenager who may have been forced to attend mainline church services each week..

Then, according to Briggs, an award-winning newsman, there are times when ritualistic abuse is used to break down a young person's resistance. The unwilling recruit may be repeatedly raped or sodomized or worse -- acts of bestiality are performed.

RELIGIOUS FANATICS

How many Satanic practitioners are there in the US?

"The adherents of this violent [quasi-]religion number over 300,000, " claims Lieutenant Larry Jones of the Boise, ID Police Department.

"The kids become involved in sacrificial rituals, violent song lyrics, Satanic symbolism, suicide notes or recordings, all enhanced with illegal, mind-altering drugs, which play a major role [in the drama of a Black Mass]. And the added secrecy of the cult members makes estimating their numbers impossible." says Detective Jerry Simandl, a veteran of the Chicago Police Department and assigned to the Gang Crime Task Force.

Are there any estimates based on other information or police intelligence? The San Francisco Police Department's Sandi Gallant can only estimate that " ... at most 1% of Heavy-Metal music fans become seriously involved in the occult."

It should be pointed out that when Det. Gallant talks about Heavy-Metal music, she isn't referring to bands such as Guns & Roses, Metallica and other popular musicians, but to the sub-category of HM music known as Black Metal, played by bands that are truly underground with a limited audience. However, even the tamer, well-known Metal bands such as Blue Oyster Cult occasionally enter the domain of the Black Arts (witchcraft). Several years ago, two Long Island, NY teenagers committed suicide listening to the Blue Oyster Cult hit song Don't Fear the Reaper.

THE VIOLENCE OF SATANIC CULTS

Readers should be warned that not all practitioners of Satanism are violent savages whose thirst for blood is insatiable. Those living the lifestyle of Satan-worshipers rarely commit murder and rape during their religious rituals. In fact. sadly, more people have been murdered in the name of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. than in the name of Satan.

However, there have been cases in which Satanism, the occult or involvement in the once popular game of Dungeons & Dragons proved fatal for the unsuspecting victim. One example of the total revolt against authority and parental control, and embracement of evil is a case in Bergen County, New Jersey: Thomas Sullivan, a 14 year-old Boy Scout repeatedly and methodically stabbed his mother to death before turning the weapon on himself, taking his own life. Investigation revealed an unhealthy obsession with Satan, Black Metal music, drugs and a morbid fascination with death. In this case, the actor was a loner whose Satanism was a personal and private matter, based almost entirely on what he saw on television or motion pictures.

SATANIC RITUALS

During the course of these so-called religious rituals, drug use is usually rampant and heightens the frenzy and blood-lust of the cultists. According to Pat Pulling, a criminologist Who lectures police departments on the occult and Satanism, rituals may include:

- Victim is placed in a coffin or make-shift coffin.

- Paraphernalia and symbols such are pentagrams, 666 symbols, inverted crosses, etc.

- Heavy feeding of drugs, especially hallucinogens.

- Kidnapping victims.

- Sexual abuse aimed at confusing a recruit and destroying his/her moral foundation.

- Incestuous sex acts (family is involved in the cult).

- Animal or (rarely) human sacrifice.

- Cannibalism.

- Cremation (destruction of victim along with evidence).

There is considerable ritual abuse during Satanic ceremonies. Indoctrination of the young is the purpose of much of this abuse. Ritual abuse is defined as repeated physical, emotional, mental and spiritual assaults combined with a systematic use of symbols, ceremonies and images designed to turn a person against himself and society. Drugs, again, are utilized during this process of systematic degradation.

A dramatic and arguably frightening part of Satanic religious practices is the so-called Black Mass. It is a rite dating back to the 14th Century Europe and a large part of the Satanic revival of 19th Century France. The ceremony, as practiced by self-styled, makeshift Satanic groups -- as opposed to, say, the Temple of Set, a legitimate religious organization -- is derived from the Roman Catholic or Episcopal mass with Satan the object of worship and praise. There are reports that in some cult-masses, the altar is the nude body of a young woman and the gold chalice may contain a bizarre and nauseating mixture of blood, urine and turnips. There are groups who add an hallucinogenic drug such as psylosybin or methamphetamines.

During the Black Mass, at least as it's performed by self-styled Satanic groups, animal sacrifices are commonplace and sexual experimentation follows large doses of illegal drugs. Although there have been reports of human sacrifices, especially infanticide, these incidents are extremely rare. Those claiming they are not rare but routine say that the infants used in the monstrous ceremony is one that has been conceived and raised just for the purpose of ritual murder. These police officers -- Sandi Gallant among them -- say that birth records of these babies do not exist since the children are born using midwife who's a member of the group or even a physician-member. Children born into a cult are called Generationals.

PROFILE OF THE SATANIST

Who is drawn to this religion? Who gets involved in demonic activity? Well, a profile was developed by Pat Pulling, the leading expert in this area of psychology. The profile is similar in structure to those developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Science Unit. In fact, the creator of the Criminal Profiling System, Special Agent Robert Ressler, during his interviews with over 100 serial-killers and unusually violent criminals, found elements of the occult in the psyche of a few of these killers. Most notable is the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz, although his involvement in the occult was all but totally ignored. (I interviewed the man who coined the term serial killer, Robert Ressler, in the book Crime Talk still available at Amazon.com.)



The yet to be captured psychopathic murderer known as the Zodiac Killer is another example of a dabbler in the occult creating his own makeshift quasi-religion. However, these two men were loners and not part of any group, although Maury Terry claims there is a connection between Son of Sam and a few groups in this nation's heartland. Pat Pulling, one expert who believes -- as does Maury Terry -- in a transcontinental network, created a Ressler-styled profile for men and women likely to become involved in Satanic cults or a profile for people who are, because of their psychological makeup, susceptible to cult recruiting tactics:

- Adolescents from white, middle-class and upper-middle class homes.

- Above average intelligence but easily bored with schoolwork.

- Over- or under-achievers.

- Creative and curious.

- Some have a history of family abuse or sexual abuse.

- Rebellious teens or those with low self-esteem seeking power over others.

How do young people become involved? (Take Note: the following are opinions of so-called experts.)

- Through so-called Black-Metal music, most successful being Venom. Some of the more popular bands such as Ozzy Osbourne (of Black Sabbath fame) may touch on

Satan and evil, but they are entertainers, not cult recruiters).

- Fantasy role-playing in games such as Dungeons & Dragons. A surprisingly large number of homicides and suicides have been linked to D & D such as the Joseph Vite case in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the Juan Kimbrough case in Oakland, California. Both were murdered as part of a game of D& D.

- An unhealthy obsession with movies, books and videos about Satanism and the Black Arts (witchcraft).

- Involvement with Satanists at a rock concert or party (college campuses are ripe for recruiters). The promise of sex and drugs is an attractive incentive.

- Involvement with classmates heavily into occult, Satanism or serious fantasy role-playing.

INVESTIGATION OF RITUALISTIC CRIMES AND VIOLENCE

Investigation and prosecution are very difficult since Satanic crimes are cloaked in secrecy. It is estimated that on a small percentage of these criminal acts are ever exposed and even when the murder case uncovers perps, there is no indication of the crime being religion-inspired.

In addition, the profile of Satanic cult members indicates that they are quite intelligent and therefore adept at hiding pertinent evidence. They may even go as far as manipulating the crime scene in order to throw off investigating detectives. Because illegal drugs are very often part of their modus operandi , these cultists are doubly careful in avoiding the attention of police agencies.

Testimony given by victims are insufficient to bring cases to trial and prosecutors and district attorneys are hard to convince. According to Lieutenant Lawrence Haike of the Richmond, VA Police Department's detective bureau, "Short of commission of a crime, ritualistic [perps] are protected under the US Constitution's protection of freedom of religion...and in Satanism freedom of religion is just one step across the line from murder."

According to Detective Sandi Gallant of the San Francisco PD, there are many problems with investigation and prosecution of ritualistic crime cases. In her police training program -- offered to police agencies across the country and with a waiting list of over a year -- Detective Gallant offers the following list of case difficulties and legal roadblocks:

- Investigators disregard original statements regarding rituals and Satanism; therefore detectives and officers only document the outward appearances of the crime such as sexual abuse.

- No physical evidence is found to substantiate statements given by victims or former cult members.

- Crime scenes are never found.

- Crime scenes are found, but do not fit the descriptions given.

- Crime victims are interviewed together in the presence of parents or legal guardians. They may be ashamed to discuss their victimization in front of them or they are terrified to discuss the case because their parents or guardians are part of the cult.

- The suspects and the news media become aware of the case prematurely.

- Because of the illegal drugs involved, it may be difficult for investigators to believe the statements made by victims or former cultists, especially when drugs such as LSD and psylosybin are involved.

- There is an inability to establish a corpus delecti ("body of the crime"):

- Although murders are reported, no bodies are found (Satanists believe in cremation).

- Even though children claim they saw other children who were kidnapped, no record can be found with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or with the FBI.

- The prosecutor wishes to downplay the Satanic or occult nature of the crime in order to avoid problems with witness credibility, etc.

- The statements of victims and witnesses may appear outlandish and the reputation of the accused may appear impeccable.

Investigators arriving at the crime scene of a homicide or suicide should remain open-minded with regard to possible ritualism or Satanic connections to the crime. The crime scene should be searched for any evidence linking the crime to occult activity. If such activity is suspected, chances are drugs may be involved.

According to Satanic Cult expert, Maury Terry, "Satanism in some cases is merely a by-product -- the real motivation of cult leaders is drugs and drug distribution."

New head of voodoo brings on the charm

By Marc Lacey ("International Herald Tribune," April 4, 2008)

Extracted from http://wwrn.org/articles/28206/?&section=occult

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - The goat tethered to a tree outside of Max Beauvoir's home is doomed.

Beauvoir, tall and majestic with closely cropped white hair, is a voodoo priest who was just named the religion's supreme master, a newly created position that is aimed at reviving voodoo.

His grand residence on the outskirts of the Haitian capital serves as a voodoo temple for practitioners and a late-night hangout for those paying customers eager to take in an exotic evening of spiritual awakening.

Called the Peristyle de Mariani, it is where Beauvoir and his followers dance around a giant totem to the beat of drums. It is where they light bonfires to summon the spirits. And it is where they drain the blood of animals like that scrawny white goat to, among other things, heal the sick.

On a recent night, Haiti's voodooists convened for a special ceremony. With music blaring and devotees dancing with all their might, two children threw white rose petals on a red carpet. Then along came Beauvoir.

Popular in Haiti even among many of those who attend Christian churches, voodoo lacks the formal hierarchy of other religions. Most voodoo priests, known as houngans, operate semi-independently, catering to their followers without a whole lot of structure.

But many of Haiti's houngans recently came together into a national federation and named Beauvoir, 72, as their public face. He is now the spokesman for a religion that followers believe too often gets a bad rap and is in dire need of an image overhaul. (Think "voodoo economics.") Even before he got the job, Beauvoir was a voodoo promoter extraordinaire. With his own Web site, www.vodou.org, and a following among foreigners intrigued by voodoo, Beauvoir is criticized by some purists as too much of a showman.

"My position as supreme chief in voodoo was born out of a controversy," Beauvoir said, explaining how Haiti's elite have marginalized the houngans that generations ago wielded significant influence in society. "Today, voodooists are at the bottom of society. They are virtually all illiterate. They are poor. They are hungry. You have people who are eating mud, and I don't mean that as a figure of speech."

Beauvoir, a doctor's son who was not particularly interested in spiritual matters in his youth, left Haiti in the mid-1950s for the City College of New York, where he studied chemistry. Then he went off to the Sorbonne for graduate study in biochemistry. After various jobs in the New York area, he returned to Haiti in the early 1970s to conduct experiments on traditional herbal remedies.

It was then that voodoo called.

His nonagenarian grandfather was dying and the entire extended family had gathered around his bed. Before he went, though, the old man pointed at Beauvoir and ordered him to take over his duties as a voodoo priest.

Beauvoir said he was taken aback. He did not know the man well and could not understand why he had been selected from the 20 or so other family members in the room. And he knew almost nothing about voodoo.

But that was decades ago. Beauvoir has devoted the rest of his life to studying the religion, a mix of Christianity (introduced by slaves to mask their paganism from their masters) and animism that traces its origins to West Africa, which is also where Haitians, descendants of slaves, originated. The more he learns about voodoo, Beauvoir said, the more convinced he is that it can, and should, play a role in resolving Haiti's problems, especially given the religion's reach among the most disenfranchised people.

As it is now, he said, the government seeks the input of Catholic and Protestant leaders when grappling with societal issues. "But do they call for the input of the voodooists?" he asked, shaking his head.

Haiti has long been a battleground for Christian missionaries who view voodoo as devil worship and work tirelessly to convert the population to Christ. Voodoo also has one god, modeled on God of the Christian Bible, but it incorporates pagan elements that make Christians uneasy: casting spells and catering to spirits that are seen as the major forces of the universe.

To turn things around, Haiti's voodooists decided they needed to organize themselves and confront voodoo-bashing head on.

"We decided to come together and form a new voodoo structure," Beauvoir said. "We Haitians want to move forward in life. We need to find our identity again, and voodoo is our identity. It's part of our collective personality. We feel the government we have is relying too much on foreigners to fill their pockets."

Voodoo and politics have long been intertwined in Haiti, with some past leaders reaching out to voodooists as a way of burnishing their populist credentials. Beauvoir has himself been linked with François Duvalier, or Baby Doc, the dictator who fled the country in 1986 after a popular uprising against him. And Beauvoir opposed Jean-Bertrand Aristide's rule, becoming a hated figure among loyalists of the former Catholic priest.

In "The Rainy Season," her book on Haiti, Amy Wilentz portrays Beauvoir as an opportunist who preys upon his people and has "the oily manner of a man whom you wouldn't want to leave alone with your money or your child."

Beauvoir waves off such criticism. He acknowledges that he received death threats from political opponents in the mid-1990s and was worried enough about his safety - and that of his wife and two daughters - that he fled Haiti for the United States. He settled in Washington, D.C., where he continued with voodoo ceremonies from his apartment not far from the White House. Recently, though, he returned home and wasted no time in grabbing the voodoo spotlight.

Speaking of the current crop of political leaders, Beauvoir is as harsh as some are about him.

"They have been seduced by Western attitudes," he said of current leaders. "They believe foreigners think that way so they have to think that way. They fear that if they don't oppose voodoo, they won't get a dime in their bowl."

The movie industry is another focus of Beauvoir's wrath. And he speaks as something of an insider, having helped the anthropologist Wade Davis with his investigation of voodoo, which first became a book, "The Serpent and the Rainbow," and later a Hollywood movie.

On the big screen, zombies are scary monsters, Beauvoir complained, and not the carefully controlled subjects of voodoo science that he believes them to be.

"The voice of Hollywood has grown beyond the border of the United States," he said. "It's everywhere. The voice of Max Beauvoir is very small compared to that."