BORGO PRESS BOOKS BY VICTOR J. BANIS
The Astral: Till the Day I Die
Avalon: An Historical Novel
The C.A.M.P. Cookbook
The C.A.M.P. Guide to Astrology
Charms, Spells, and Curses for the Millions
Color Him Gay: That Man from C.A.M.P.
The Curse of Bloodstone: A Gothic Novel of Terror
Darkwater: A Gothic Novel of Horror
The Daughters of Nightsong: An Historical Novel (Nightsong Saga #2)
The Devil’s Dance: A Novel of Terror
Drag Thing; or, The Strange Tale of Jackle and Hyde
The Earth and All It Holds: An Historical Novel
A Family Affair: A Novel of Terror
Fatal Flowers: A Novel of Horror
Fire on the Moon: A Novel of Terror
The Gay Dogs: That Man from C.A.M.P.
The Gay Haunt
The Glass House: A Novel of Terror
The Glass Painting: A Gothic Tale of Horror
Goodbye, My Lover
The Greek Boy
The Green Rolling Hills: Writings from West Virginia (editor)
Green Willows: A Novel of Horror
Kenny’s Back
Life & Other Passing Moments: A Collection of Short Writings
The Lion’s Gate: A Novel of Terror
Love’s Pawn: A Novel of Romance
Lucifer’s Daughter: A Novel of Horror
Moon Garden: A Novel of Terror
Nightsong: An Historical Novel (Nightsong Saga #1)
The Pot Thickens: Recipes from Writers and Editors (editor)
San Antone: An Historical Novel
The Scent of Heather: A Novel of Terror
The Second House: A Novel of Terror
The Second Tijuana Bible Reader (editor)
The Sins of Nightsong: An Historical Novel (Nightsong Saga #3)
Spine Intact, Some Creases: Remembrances of a Paperback Writer
Stranger at the Door: A Novel of Suspense
Sweet Tormented Love: A Novel of Romance
The Sword and the Rose: An Historical Novel
This Splendid Earth: An Historical Novel
The Tijuana Bible Reader (editor)
Twisted Flames
The WATERCRESS File: That Man from C.A.M.P.
A Westward Love: An Historical Romance
White Jade: A Novel of Terror
The Why Not
The Wine of the Heart: A Novel of Romance
The Wolves of Craywood: A Novel of Terror
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 1970, 2007, 2012 by Victor J. Banis
NOTE: None of the traditional herbs, potions, or remedies for physical or mental ailments included in this book have been validated by any medical or government authority. The reader employs them solely at his or her own risk.
Published by Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidebooks.com
DEDICATION
I am deeply indebted to my friend, Heather, for all the help she has given me in getting these early works of mine reissued.
And I am grateful as well to Rob Reginald, for all his assistance and support.
INTRODUCTION
In this country and time, magic is very much in disrepute. Bring the subject up at a dinner gathering, and most of those present, if not all, will wrinkle their noses in amusement and openly pooh-pooh the matter. But what is truly amusing is that these same skeptics remain unaware of how strong and ingrained is their belief in the supernatural and how often they appeal to it.
“Of course I don’t believe in magic. Oh, good luck on your trip.” “There’s no such thing; I make my own luck, and I plan to continue doing so, knock on wood.” “People are finally coming to realize how silly all this supernatural nonsense is, Lord willing.” Such conversational paradoxes would be funny if they weren’t so common and so unconscious.
The truth is, we all believe in magic to some extent and try to influence natural events by its use, whether we cross our fingers, knock on wood, avoid black cats, hesitate to walk under ladders, blow out a match before the third cigarette is lit, toss spilled salt over our left shoulders, wish one another luck, wear good luck charms, carry rabbit’s feet, finger rosaries, pray, become nervous on Friday the thirteenth, or perform any of hundreds of symbolic gestures that have carried down to us from generations of believers.
If we are reluctantly persuaded to admit that we do use certain magic charms and conjurations, we are often downright horrified that anyone should think we actually believe in them, or expect them to work, or give any credence to witches.
Here again, we make liars and fools of ourselves. It would be sheer nonsense to say that witches haven’t existed and don’t exist right now. And they use magic, in many instances the same sort of magic we all utilize. And the simple truth is, it works—at least, some of the time.
In some instances, there is absolutely nothing surprising about this success. Any man of science who examines the history of witchcraft, for instance, will discover that witches have always concentrated a great deal of their attention on healing physical ailments, frequently by the use of herbs. And a little examination will prove that some of their cures had every reason to work. Often the witches of the Middle Ages were expert herbalists, using healing techniques that have since become commonplace. It was once thought clever to laugh at the witches of England who used a type of mold to heal various ailments—until we discovered the healing powers of penicillin, which is produced from mold. Witch doctors amused Britishers with their use of a certain drug to heal “illnesses of the soul,” until someone investigated this strange drug and found the parent of the modern-day tranquilizer. Witches recommended
