The Magic Island

by Seabrook, William; King, Alexander; Ollmann, Joe; Romero, George A.

• ISBN13: 9780486799629
• ISBN10: 048679962X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-04-21
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

"The best and most thrilling book of exploration that we have ever read … [an] immensely important book." — New York Evening Post
"A series of excellent stories about one of the most interesting corners of the American world, told by a keen and sensitive person who knows how to write." — American Journal of Sociology
"It can be said of many travelers that they have traveled widely. Of Mr. Seabrook a much finer thing may be said — he has traveled deeply." — The New York Times Book Review
This fascinating book, first published in 1929, offers firsthand accounts of Haitian voodoo and witchcraft rituals. Journalist and adventurer William Seabrook introduced the concept of the walking dead ― zombies ― to the West with his illustrated travelogue. He relates his experiences with the voodoo priestess who initiated him into the religion's rituals, from soul transference to resurrection. In addition to twenty evocative line drawings by Alexander King, this edition features a new Foreword by cartoonist and graphic novelist Joe Ollmann, a new Introduction by George A. Romero, legendary director of Night of the Living Dead, and a new Afterword by Wade Davis, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society. 

Author Biography

Journalist and explorer William Seabrook (1884–1945) possessed a fascination with the occult that led him across the globe to study magic rituals, train as a witch doctor, and sample human flesh. In addition to publishing more than a dozen books, he wrote for The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, and Vanity Fair.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Joe Ollmann

Introduction by George A. Romero

Foreword to 1929 Edition

PART ONE: The Voodoo Rites

I. Secret Fires

II. The Way Is Opened and Closed

III. The Petro Sacrifice

IV. The "Ouanga" Charm

V. Goat-Cry Girl-Cry

VI. The God Incarnate

PART TWO: Black Sorcery

I. The Altar of Skulls

II. ". . . Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields"

III. Toussel's Pale Bride

IV. Celestine with a Silver Dish

PART THREE: The Tragic Comedy

I. A Blind Man Walking on Eggs

II. A Nymph in Bronze

III. "The Truth Is a Beautiful Thing"

IV. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President!"

V. But the Truth Becomes Somewhat Tangled

PART FOUR: Trails Winding

I. The White King of La Gonave

II. The Black Queen's Court

III. A Torn Scrap of Paper

IV. Portrait of a "Gros Negre"

V. "Polynice and His White"

VI. The "Danse Congo"

VII. "No White Man Could Be As Dumb As That"

VIII. Portrait of a Scientist

IX. Morne la Selle Adventure

X. The Soul of Haiti

From the Author's Notebook