Peter Haining – The Black Magic Omnibus

Peter Haining – The Black Magic Omnibus (Robson, 1976: Futura, 1977)

I’ve never seen the Robson edition but the contents were recycled over two Futura paperbacks the following year and its a strong selection, the first volume perhaps moreso than the second.

The Black Magic Omnibus: Volume 1 – ed. Peter Haining (Futura, 1977)

Introduction – Peter Haining
Prologue – Dennis Wheatley

Roger Zelazny – The Salvation Of Faust
Dorothy Pitkin Buck – Transgressor’s Way
August Derleth – Lesandro’s Familiar
Manly Wade Wellman – The Liers In Wait
Seabury Quinn – Is The Devil A Gentleman?
Margaret Irwin – Monsieur Seeks A Wife
Eric Frank Russell – The Rythm Of The Rats
Jerome Bixby – The Magic Potion
Robert Arthur – The Mirror Of Cagliostro
Aleister Crowley – The Dream Circean
M. P. Shiel – The Primate Of The Rose
H. P. Lovecraft – Witches’ Hollow
Shirley Jackson – The Daemon Lover
Ursula Le Guin – April In Paris
Fritz Leiber – Cry Witch!

The Black Magic Omnibus: Volume 2 – ed. Peter Haining (Futura, 1977)

Introduction – Peter Haining

Robert Graves – An Appointment For Candlemass
Samuel M. Clawson – Double Hex
Gaston Leroux – In Letters Of Fire
Hans Heinz Ewers – Vampire’s Prey
Feodor Sologub – Invoker Of The Beast
William Sambrot – Night Of The Leopard
Jorge Luis Borges – The Circular Ruins
W. B. Seabrook – The Wedding Guests
Avram Davidson – The Power Of Every Root
Richard Matheson – By Appointment Only
MacKinlay Kantor – The Witch Doctor Of Rosy Ridge
Joan Fleming – Writer’s Witch
Larry M. Harris – The Power Of The Job
Gordon MacCreagh – Dr. Muncing, Exorcist

Epilogue – Ray Bradbury

William Seabrook – Witchcraft

William Seabrook – Witchcraft: Its Power In The World Today (Sphere, 1970: originally published 1942 [?])

Seabrook’s The Magic Island (1929) should have been included in the Dennis Wheatley Library Of The Occult series, especially as it would appear to be a major influence on the second half of DW’s Strange Conflict.

Seabrook (1886-1945) was a journalist by trade but would become a fearless explorer into the mysteries of the Dark Continent. As well as attending a particularly bloody voodoo ceremony (as described in Goat Cry, Girl Cry), Seabrook reputedly took part in a cannibal feast as part of his research. His most famous story/ article, Dead Men Working In The Cane Field, is certainly one of the finest ever written on the traditional zombie theme.
You can find it in Peter Haining’s collection Zombie: Stories Of The Walking Dead (Target, 1985)

Cover shown is the November 1970 reprint