October 2021: Supernatural/Superstition

When I originally thought of this topic, I guess I was also thinking superstition.

Supernatural:
“The supernatural encompasses supposed phenomena or entities that are not subject to the laws of nature. ... Though the term "nature" has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the medieval period and did not exist in the ancient world.

The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is typically attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception.”
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural

Superstition:
“A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural and is attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, charms, astrology, fortune telling, phantoms, and certain paranormal entities, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific (apparently) unrelated prior events.”
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition

Some topics that might fit include: witches, occult (demons), werewolves, spirits (ghosts, fairies, angels), magic and magicians, religion (deity, angels, prophecy, revelation), astrology, and maybe you all can think of more! I think there’s actually more than I initially thought that could work for this.

The majority of book suggestions I’ll make this time will be ones I’ve not read, but have found via tagmash.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark / Carl Sagan
Amulets and Talismans / E. A. Wallis Budge
Religion and the Decline of Magic / Keith Thomas
Satanism and Witchcraft: The Classic Study of Medieval Superstition / Jules Michelet
Irish Cures, Mystic Charms & Superstitions / Lady Wilde, Sheila Anne Barry
The History of Witchcraft and Demonology / Montague Summers
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places / Colin Dickey
Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society / Jean-Claude Schmitt
Magic in the Middle Ages / Richard Kieckhefer
The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe / Valerie Irene Jane Flint
Magic in the Ancient World / Fritz Graf
Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy / Emile Grillot de Givry

Don’t forget to share in the wiki what you read: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Challenge#October_2...

One of my fav books on this topic (which also can fit with Decembers cold theme) The bear and the nightingale and the two excellent sequels. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the Domovoi, the Rusalka and and Vodniks to life in the cold cold land with christiantiy starting to come in to play.

what I find interesting is the number of cultures who use the supernatural to protect them by all sorts of things And in Jewish folklore, the Golem, created by inserting the word of god in the creatures mouth, will procted the creater. the book The Golem and the Jinni is a wonderful story of these two beings in Lower east side NY.- other examples The shin and kami from china and japan, In south america, The Acalica are Bolivian weather Fairies that posess special control over the rain, hail, and frost. They live underground and are rarely seen, taking the form of small, wizened men when they appear. Bakru are South American Fairies that are created by magic to become familiars. In Senegal, West Africa Yumboes and alternatively used name Bakhna Rakhna literally means good people, an interesting parallel to the Scottish fairies called Good Neighbour. so many reading possibiities.

I think I'm going to do a reread of the six novels of Charles Williams:

• War in Heaven (1930)
• Many Dimensions (1930)
• The Place of the Lion (1931)
• The Greater Trumps (1932)
• Shadows of Ecstasy (1933)
• Descent into Hell (1937)

Read them all back in my college days, which means half-a-century or so ago, and I've had one or two around the house somewhere since then. A few months ago, I was in one of my favorite used books stores (The Title Page just down the road from Villanova University) and Beverly had a boxed paperback set she'd just got in, hadn't even priced or shelved yet, which she gave me for $25.

Williams was an Inkling, a friend of C.S. Lewis and a particular friend of Dorothy Sayers. It seems that it was because of Williams that Sayers was at least sometimes admitted to the otherwise all-male company of the Inklings.

Tolkien never cared for him, I suspect for a variety of reasons. Tolkien the Roman Catholic had the life-long pipe dream of winning Lewis to Rome and saw Williams (staunch Church of Englander but with a touch of "Methodist enthusiam" that contrasts with Tolkien's Thomist rationalism) as a rival. Also, Williams wasn't Oxbridge (he attended but did not graduate from University College London and worked in various capacities at Oxford University Press rather than as a university don) and spoke with a cockney accent, neither of which would endear him to Tolkien's snobbery. (Though I may love Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy even more, I'm a devout Middle Earther, which still doesn't mean Tolkien couldn't be a snob.)

There's a Charles Williams Society of which the now-retired Archbishop of Canterburg Rowan Williams is President but which isn't accepting new members and doesn't seem very currently active.

I haven't actually decided what I'll read, but in my research to figure out some suggestions (though I didn't include it), I have an idea of what I *might* read.

I won't do my actual planning until mid-Sept, though.

But, this is the one I'm considering:

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything / Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen

I think I will reading Sorceress by Celia Rees. This is a sequel to Witch Child which I read earlier this year and continues the story of a 17th century witch.

I have two on the shelf I'll think over, the Bear and the Nightingale (>2 cindydavid4: thanks for the reminder), and The Master of All Desires by Judith Merkle Riley, a reread from long ago.

I have had this Kindle trilogy for quite sometime. It is tagged as both supernatural and paranormal. I think I'll give it a try. Blood Coins: The Judas Chronicles--Books One, Two, and Three

I'll be reading Elizabeth Gaskell's Gothic Tales.

am now reading Matrix and think this would be the perfect book to use for the supernatural. Really enjoying the imagery Goff gives to the visions, and how very real the supernatural are here

Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic - the fourth in her Practical Magic series - is due in a few days - and it will fit this topic just fine. There is real magic in the series but it is subtle enough to fit here I think.

S.N. Hale'ole (author), Martha Warren Beckwith (trans.), The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai 4****. 1917 translation of a mid-19th century version of an indigenous myth/legend, the first fiction written in native Hawai'ian. Started this in late September to get a review written since this was an Early Review from May. Just now finished it, and it can be a bit of a slow read.

I'm going to call this "supernatural"; calling it "superstition" could really be offensive to indigenous Hawai'ian traditions.

I read "Stitches in Time" by Barbara Michaels and gave it 5*.

"When an antique bridal quilt appears under mysterious circumstances at the vintage clothing shop where Rachel Grant works, she is fascinated. She has never been able to resist handmade textiles from the past, for she believes that through the ages, women wove protective magic into their fabrics in order to mark the important events of their lives: birth, marriage, and death. But there is more than good in the quilt's magic power. Day by day Rachel sees and feels the power growing, as she senses the quilt influencing her thoughts and actions. "

The quilt bears the curse of its maker and the curse follows the descendants of the original victim.

I have quite a number of books TBR that I would call "supernatural" but that I really do not want to call "superstition" since the latter designation would be offensive to the beliefs of followers of non-Abrahamic religions. I'm thinking, for example, of the Sanskrit epics Mahabharata (10-volume box-set translation by Bibek Debroy) and Valmiki Ramayana (3-volume box-set translation by Bibek Debroy).

Both Mahabharata (which includes Sri Krishna as a major supporting character) and Ramayana (in which Rama is the major character), two major epics of world literature, are certainly "supernatural." They are also among the most important religious works of Hinduism, though, so I definitely would not want to refer to them as "superstition."

Would books like these qualify?

>14 CurrerBell: I'm going to say either superstition OR supernatural will work. It doesn't have to fit both.

And I may not even get to my own book this month. There's a longer hold list at the library than I had hoped for. I will read it (and post here) when I get to it.

when I think of superstition, I am not thinking of religous beliefs, but itn 'old wives tale' types of memes like black cats, walking under a ladder, rabbits foot for luck, knock wood, breaking a mirror (oh, walk on a crack, break your mother's back is another on) etc

Might be interesting to find a book about superstitions around the world, to see what other people are scared to do like
this:13 Superstitions From Around the World

I am reading The Removed by Brandon Hobson. It is set in present day Oklahoma and involves a Cherokee family. The world of the novel is imbued with the supernatural—I’ll say more when finished. I’m planning to read The Bear by Andrew Krivak, and this might be a good time to reread Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. As I recall, one of the ministers in that play makes a careful distinction between superstition and supernatural.

Crucible is one of my all time fav plays. Aside from the great writing, the take on the McCarthy era was very apt. We did it in hs and I remember sitting in the audience every night, getting goosebumps around the yellow bird moment.

We are starting to make plans for 2022! You can join in here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/335727#

I finally got around to reading Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla 3***, which I read in one of those overpriced "deluxe" editions. Even though I have the complete Le Fanu on Kindle, I've just never gotten around to him. A few days ago I stumbled across this pretty looking and very slim hardcover w/dj in B&N and figured that might get me to reading it.

Important as a precursor to Bram Stoker by a quarter century or so, but reading Carmilla convinces me that the greatest vampire novel in my book is still Octavia Butler's Fledgling.

>16 LibraryCin: Well, my mistake! The book has come in for me already. I thought it would be longer with more holds, but maybe some have their holds paused.

I have finished The Removed, a gripping and profoundly moving novel. It’s the story of the Echota family, set in Oklahoma during the first 6 days of September, in the present day. September 6 is the National Holiday of the Cherokee Nation, commemorating the Trail of Tears. It is also the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Ray-Ray Echota, who had been shot and killed during the Festival by a racist policeman. The world of this novel is filled with prophets, demons, spirit messengers, most of all, spirits of the ancestors. These are indeed supernatural—but not extraordinary; they are an accepted part of everyday life. One of the novel’s narrators is Tsala, an ancestral spirit who refused to leave his home and was killed at the beginning of the Trail of Tears. The other narrators are Ray-Ray’s mother, his brother, and his sister, none of whom have found an effective way of coping with his death. Suspenseful plot, carefully developed characters, powerful theme and emotional appeal, all made this a 5 star read for me.

Read The Plague of Coins by Aiden James. The story of William Barrow, aka Judas Iscariot. Seems Judas is immortal and has come back to earth to collect the 30 pieces of silver. This book was his quest for coin #22 and took him to Teheran and The Garden of Eden. I will say the author was witty with words; but this book is way out of anything I would ever want to read, but I did! 195 pages 3 stars

Roald Dahl, The Witches 4****. I ought to get around to watching one or another of the movies – preferably the 2020 version, I guess, since the ending was changed (to Dahl's distaste) on the 1990 version.

Eric Redman, Bones of Hilo 3***

Murder mystery and police procedural. Are the ancient harpoon, the sacrificial altar, and other indigenous Hawai'ian artifacts clues? Or are they red herrings?

This isn't Redman's first book. He's a former contributing editor to Rolling Stone and he's published in various newspapers. He's also written the non-fiction The Dance of Legislation: An Insider's Account of the Workings of the United States Senate. But this is his first foray into fiction, a mystery/procedural, and it can sometimes be a bit clumsy. The truly "guilty" party became fairly obvious before the final reveal, and the subsequnt moralizing became a bit platitudinous.

For those not familiar with Hawai'ian geography, a frontispiece map of Big Island might have been helpful.

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything / Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen
4 stars

The subtitle pretty much tells what this book is about. What to know all the health benefits of mercury, radium, arsenic and strychnine? That’s just the start! Of course, there is also a look at bloodletting and leeches, and much much more.

This is told with humour and plenty of fun illustrations from the past. Very interesting stuff. Some of what they look at here were things doctors actually did, but some other things were what the “quacks” were selling. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much I’ll remember. It looks at so many different things in short bursts of information, but was definitely interesting as I read it. The authors are a doctor and a journalist.

I see there have been a few things read, but don't forget to add them to the wiki, too! Link included in >1 LibraryCin:

I completely forgot to list The face in the glass, a collection of ghost stories by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Probably because they are not really scary by today's standard.

The Victorian Chaise Longue by Marghanita Laski. Is this an account of time travel or of a terrible nightmare that will not allow the dreamer to awake? I can’t decide. It’s a well crafted horror story either way which I enjoyed very much. Set in London in the present day of the writer and in the middle of the 19th century, the story’s heroine Melanie, recovering from TB, is finally allowed out of her bedroom to rest in the drawing room for a change of scenery. There she is lovingly settled by her husband, her nurse, and her doctor on the hideous chaise longue of the title. She falls asleep, then awakes from her nap on the same chaise in a nighmareish house in Victorian london. She awakes (or does she?) as herself, in the body of a consumptive woman whose disease is much further advanced than her own. At first she struggles to wake up, then with increasing desperation, to convince the people around her that she belongs to a different time and place. The atmosphere is suffocating, dark, and hopeless,as Melanie becomes ever more lost in the grim world and in the dying body of 19th century Millie. A four star read for me.

The Library Window by Margaret Oliphant. A psychological horror story which hints at the supernatural, and points very clearly to the plight of young Victorian women who are not allowed the education afforded to young men.
Also Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James. Not scary but quite creepy, all based on the exploits of antiquaries (collectors of old stuff), and great little period pieces in their own right.

>30 dianelouise100: This book has stayed on my to-read list for years, surviving periodic purges but only just. Its safe now, and closer to the top.

>30 dianelouise100: I loved Laski's Little Boy Lost and I have The Village on my shelf. My library doesn't have Chaise Longue, and Persephone have now gotten quite expensive to mail to the U.S. :(

>31 scunliffe: Ooh, have just ordered an Oliphant short story collection from the library which includes that one. I've been slowly reading Oliphant's Carlingford series (we've been doing group reads in the 75ers group). Next up for me is The Perpetual Curate.

>33 kac522: If you go to ViaLibri and search, your will see that you can pick up a used copy in the U.S. for less than $20 and minimal shipping

>33 kac522: I ordered a new copy from Blackwells Bookstore in Oxford ( blackwells.co.uk ) for about $20. They ship for free to U.S. and are a fine source for Persephone books.

>34 scunliffe:, >35 dianelouise100: Thanks for the suggestions! I'd never heard of ViaLibri. I've ordered from Blackwells, but didn't realize they carried Persephone. Good to know!

>36 kac522: ViaLibri is a meta search engine that goes through all the sites listing used books pretty well world wide, particularly useful for finding out of print books or less expensive versions of in print books. Or beautiful limited editions of a selection of books ($$$). It is more time efficient, but less fun than browsing used bookstores, and doesn't have that same lovely old-paper odor.
Ironic that you use Blackwell's, it was my go to bookshop when I was an undergraduate, and is still one of my prime targets when I go back to England, like Foyles in London.

I completed my read of Sorceress by Celia Rees. This was the sequel to Witch Child which I read earlier this year, both books follow the life of Mary Newbury's life. Mary had been brought to the American Colonies as a servant, was denounced as a witch and eventually took shelter with the native Americans.

War in Heaven by Charles Williams 3***.

I read all of Williams's novels, his collection of Arthurian poetry, and some of his literary criticism some half-century ago and I'm using this month's RTT theme for a reread of the novels. War in Heaven (1930) was his first novel, and it had its strong points (humorous satire) but fell flat at the end with a very confused ritual mass involving the Graal (as Williams spells it).

I do expect the subsequent novels to get better, as I'm reading them in chronological order of publication.

The ancient witchcraft prevalent in Yorkshire had taken over the people of Lesser Malling trapping young Matt. As he tried to escape, he was constantly thwarted. Everything seemed to be centred on a defunct nuclear power plant updating the nightmarish scenario in Raven’s Gate to the recent past.

I am a bit late with my choice of Seven Gothic tales where ghosts are disappointingly rare. But we get a glimpse at Denmark's recent past in some of the stories.