Long before the film there was the written word. Long before we settled down in
front of video or now DVD players for our fright-fests, we would read tales of 
terror by candlelight.
For most, this has been lost, however there are still those that prefer the pages
to celluloid or even both and why not?
This section then is for you. To help you to search through the rubbish and find
stories worth your time to read. If you're an avid reader of horror novels then
why not join 'Castle Dracula' as an official 'staff member' reviewing them.
To do so, just click on the 'Join My Staff' link in the menu to the left for details
of this and other vacancies.

- Raising Hell -
- Robert Masello -

Raising Hell is a non-fiction book related to the occult. It was written by Robert Masello 
who is best known for being a writer and a story editor for the television series 
'Poltergeist: the Legacy although he has written several occult related novels.
The book itself is broken into 5 chapters. The first is entitled 'Black Magic and Sorcery.'
This section includes an in depth look at the origins of 'the magician,' 'the pentagram' and
how it works, 'Books of Magic,' 'Demons,' 'spells,' 'curses,' 'death,' 'Black Mass' and many
other topics.
The second chapter is about raising the dead and explains aspects of 'Necromancy' and those 
who choose to 'summon the dead.'
The third chapter is a brief history of many of the mystical orders such as the 'Cabbala,' 
'Freemasons,' 'The Order of the Golden Dawn' amongst others.
Next we come to a full chapter dedicated to 'Alchemy.' It covers everything from the art 
itself to the people who tried to pursue it.
Lastly is 'Fate and Fortune' which of course is about 'telling the future' and those fortunate
(or unfortunate) to be able to do it.
The book also carries a wide bibliography of many books relevant to the topics covered in the 
book.
The sub-title of the book is 'A concise history of the Black Arts and those who dared to 
practice them' and this is exactly what the book is about. It is good enough to be in any library
of those who practice any of the arts or even someone with a fleeting interest. 
Each section is short but is to the point and covers the topics well.
'Raising Hell' is not a hard book to read, nor is it boring. Every couple of pages we have an 
illustration or a quote which helps us understand the text. 
It even has a glossary of terms some may not have come across before.
This is an excellent book by Robert Masello, binding history with information relevant to the
occult in a spellbinding fashion.

Reviewed By Zilliah.

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