Queer Horror

Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture


book      non-fiction

  • Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture
  • Author: Arthur Evans
  • Publisher: Fag Rag Books
  • Year: 1978
  • Country: US
  • 180 pages
Warnings
 
Nudity:1
Sex:1
Violence:3
book cover

Description:
An in depth study of how witchcraft and homosexuality existed in early man, touching upon their existence in the stone and bronze age, up to the dark ages. The focus is upon how Europeans and Christianity molded the two together even as they tried to destroy both of them.

Qvamp says:

An interesting book, but a bit dated nowadays. Published by a grant from the NEA, the focus of the book is two-fold. One is a study of gays and witchcraft and their condemnation by the Europeans. The other is a diatribe on the evils of a capitalistic, technological and industrial patriarchy.

A lot of information. However, due to the fervor with which it was written, as well as the fact that it was written 25 years ago, I am suspect of some of the information contained within.

Rating D-
Queer Vampire Rating D-
Amount of Gay Content same-sex relationship

 

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User Ratings

By: Starfarmer ( starfarmer@gmail.com )
Overall Rating: B     Queer horror Rating: A    

I was first introduced to many of the sources used by Evans in this book through radical feminist works(such as Merlin Stoe's 'When God Was A Woman', etc.) I was astonished to stumble upon this book which looks at the historical sources from a distinctly LGBT viewpoint.

Please note that this is a serious, scholarly work (the title alone should tell you this!) I get the impression that Evan's original manuscript was much longer than what actually got published (there are evidences of bad edits); not surprising given the richness of the material.

Evans writes from a radical anarchist stance, something that may be unfamiliar to many of today's readers. As such, the tone is often plodding and pedantic. But the bottom line is that to my knowledge no other book brings together these ideas and these sources in this way. Any reader will almost certainly find something truly profound here that he or she has never encountered before. And fortunately, the book's literary flaws are easy to dismiss, since it is not intended as entertainment. If nothing else, the extensive bibliography can launch a reader on a major voyage of discovery about who we are.

 

By: hobberdidance ( hobberdidance@yahoo.com )
Overall Rating: A     Queer horror Rating: A    

I read Arthur's book several years ago, and although many of the 'facts' presented are likely exagerated, the over-all feel of the book is superb! I especially enjoyed the authors rants against the establishment, the patriarchy, and the church. I definitely recommend 'Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture' to wiccans, pagans, queers, faeries, anarchists, and to those sympathetic to our causes!
My website,
www.hairymartha.blogspot.com

 

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