Dæmonibus inita

Extract from Seán Manchester's autobiographical works:

“To understand witchcraft

we must descend into the

darkness of the deepest

oceans of the human mind.”

~ Jeffery Burton Russell

W

There is a clear choice between the paths of darkness and the path that beholds the Light. Sarah became “the sheep that went astray and is now found.” In the published account, I comment:

“When [the cult leaders] were gone I felt a great relief as though a cold shadow had moved away. … In her heart she knew that she would one day have to make a choice. … I watched her cry herself to sleep and when she woke the next evening I took her to my home where she would remain for as long as she needed. A large crucifix caused Sarah to recoil when we arrived. … Her allegiance to the Satanists would put us both in extreme danger. The days and nights ahead would be crucial as the power of Light and the forces of darkness fought for a girl whose soul was still intact and heart was largely innocent.” (From Satan To Christ, Holy Grail, 1988, pages 67-68).

Sarah renounced the dark occult and her nightmares subsided, as did her fear of the coven. One by one, the others left and supported everything claimed by Sarah in From Satan To Christ. Helping other victims of the Left-hand Path accelerated the healing process for Sarah who reconfirmed her faith by rejoining the Christian Church. We both worked behind the scenes on Central Television’s The Devil’s Work, which was transmitted in 1989, and, in the same period, Jeremiah Films’ Devil Worship, The Rise of Satanism. The latter film included other members who had belonged to the same coven. They gave witness to all Sarah had claimed in the book published a year earlier. Andrew Boyd, in his coverage of the documentary, confused Sarah with another coven member with the same forename who appeared in the film. The other “Sarah” was Sarah Everett, and it was her that Boyd was alluding to when he described in his book “a Black Mass from the viewpoint of the priestess.” (Blasphemous Rumours by Andrew Boyd, Fount, 1991, pages 184-185).

The former priestess, Sarah Everett, gave a gory account of sacrificing animals by decapitation with a sharp knife: “There’s something about sacrifice; if you do it once, you want to do it all the time. Once you’ve actually passed the barrier of sacrificing an animal, you get sort of blood lust where you really want to do it, and I really wanted to do it.”

From Satan To Christ, on the other hand, makes absolutely clear: “Again and again, blood sacrifices would be the main topic under discussion. From the earliest ceremonies Sarah had engaged in blood-lettings for the purpose of worshipping Mars. This met with her approval since it only involved initiates cutting a finger to drip blood into the wine being offered. … When it came to live animals being sacrificed, though, Sarah refused to participate or be a witness. She would remain in the temple while the ritual took place in the garden. The coven wanted her to feel guilty for not enjoying their killings, but she never could and never would.” (From Satan To Christ, Holy Grail, 1988, page 36).

Sarah brought to the attention of the publisher and author of Blasphemous Rumours seven major errors contained in his references to her in his popular and widely read book. She also remarked that no mention had been made of the fact that she had renounced the occult and had returned to Christianity. The following month, Andrew Boyd expressed how “distressed and disturbed” he had been to receive Sarah’s letter.

Three months after her initial complaint, he conceded:

“As a Christian, it was never my intention to cause unnecessary distress with this book, which was written with victims at heart. This juxtaposition appears to have arisen as a result of deletions at the editing stage of the book. To cause upset to those who have already suffered so much would have been the last thing I would have wanted. So for the distress …  I make [a] heartfelt and unreserved apology.”

He and his publisher (Fount, an imprint of HarperCollinsReligious) agreed to insert an erratum slip at the front of each copy of Blasphemous Rumours, which made it clear that Sarah “had never engaged in animal sacrifices and was the first member of the group to expose its satanic practices,” adding, “she has subsequently entered the Christian Church and today helps to rescue others ensnared in satanic cults.” Sarah accepted the gesture, even though the book had already been distributed to most shops without an erratum included, and she did not pursue the author and his publisher, as she was entitled so to do. Boyd responded on September 27th: “It is only grace that can span the gap that all too often results from our own shortcomings and I thank both of you for your own good grace over this unforeseen and unfortunate matter.”

I found Sarah’s private coven diaries to be an invaluable resource when telling her story. When no longer needed, “we watched and held each other close as the fire leapt into the night sky ― consuming her magical diaries, coven correspondence, robes, cords, images, talismans and amulets. Everything that had an association with the satanic order to which she once belonged was cast into the flames, causing acrid fumes to billow from the pyre. It was truly over. Sarah was no longer a Satanist. When we returned home I noticed that Sarah had found and replaced the crucifix from which she had shied on her first visit. At last she had seen the Satanists for what they really were and would no longer regard Christ and His followers as the enemy. A period of self-disgust and shame followed in the wake of her realisation that the world of witchcraft had thoroughly deceived her. … No longer am I obliged to wear ‘wolf’s clothing’ to do my work as I have exhausted my usefulness in this capacity. Others will fill my place and work undercover to pluck victims from the darkness.” (From Satan To Christ, Holy Grail, 1988, pages 71-72).

Sarah alongside myself  not long after her rescue.

The telling of Sarah’s story helped many victims and perhaps those who might otherwise become victims, but, of course, it came under attack from those on the Left-hand Path. Donna Crow stated how she was “appalled by this book” and provided the following addendum at the foot of her review: “In case I am suddenly branded a ‘Satanist’ by certain parties, you will know what utter rubbish it is. As I have stated on a number of occasions I am not of a religious disposition.” (Erebus Rising #2 “Holier Than Thou” by Donna Crow, Deadly Nightshade, 1995, pages 48-49).

The previous issue of Erebus Rising magazine contained Crow’s glowing review of David Farrant’s truly dire Beyond the Highgate Vampire pamphlet. They were in contact and, as I would later learn from Crow, had already met in a pub to discuss their mutual interest. Soon after her statement denying that she was a Satanist, and following the meeting with Farrant, she came out as a member of the Church of Satan.

Describing herself as a “sorceress,” Donna Crow joined Fortean Times’ online forum on 3 September 2001. In her first message, published on the “Witchcraft – Fact versus Fiction” thread on Fortean Times’ specialist topic “Esoterica,” Crow announced:

“Yes I’m a witch ― not the fluffy wiccan or pagan kind though. More of a ― well ― Satanic witch.” Later she explained: “Satan represents Man and Nature. God is an invention by Man for the control of Man.” The following day she published: “When I finally happened upon Satanism I figured I’d give it a go. I never really thought that sensory indulgence and egotism would bring happiness, but, hey, it worked for me.”

By 19 November 2001, Crow was ready to reveal more: “As a Satanic witch I’m the antithesis of the miserable ‘goth’ type. I’m glamorous and use my ‘womanly wiles’ … I don’t believe in gods and goddesses, and have inverted that kinda [sic] faith by having ultimate self-belief. … Wicca, Paganism, etc, seem to me to be misguided at best. Hearkening back to the ‘goode olde days’ when everyone worshipped the ‘great goddess’ or ‘mother earth’ is a fallacy based, as it is, upon fiction. … Personally, I’m sticking with LaVey’s ‘self-empowerment’.”

Perhaps as an afterthought, she later posted on the same day: “I’d just like to say that I also practice Satanic rituals. … Satanism is common sense (amongst other things), therefore I don’t believe in all that ‘love thy neighbour’ and ‘turning the other cheek’ [Christ]ian nonsense. … When all the ‘usual’ methods of getting rid of [persistent nuisances etc] fail, I will perform a ‘destruction’ ritual. So far, it hasn’t failed.”

On 23 November 2001, Crow elaborated: “Even if the recipient doesn’t believe in magic, the idea will play on their negative state of mind until they themselves cause their own ‘misfortune.’ This often has a snowball effect so that they may become reckless with their own safety, for instance, and crash the car.”

Finally, on 27 November 2001, she owned: “Personally, I’d been living a Satanic life without realising it until I happened upon LaVey’s work.”

Anton Szandor LaVey founded the Church of Satan in 1966 in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht (April 30th). LaVey identified his particular brand of Satanism in his book The Satanic Bible (1969). A derivative group, and offspring of the Church of Satan, is the Temple of Set founded by Michael Aquino in 1975. One of the delusions to be established at the outset is the lie that leading Satanists do not believe in or truly worship the Devil. Immeditaely prior to his death, Anton LaVey revealed that he viewed Satan as a true entity that he absolutely worshipped. LaVey deceived a lot of people who joined the Church of Satan by claiming that Satan only represented the repressed forces of nature, but was not a real entity. Interviews with former Charles Manson family member Susan Atkins, who was in prison after being convicted of eight murders, resulted in Atkins exposing LaVey’s deception. As a former associate of LaVey’s, who danced for him and spent personal time with him before joining the Manson family, Atkins was privy to conversations with him before he became popular. Atkins revealed repeatedly that, while LaVey promoted a watered down, almost palatable form of Satanism to those whom he deceived, he acknowledged the exact opposite to her and to his inner core of Satanists within the Church of Satan. Atkins revealed that LaVey told her emphatically, while she was in his home, that they truly worshipped Satan as a real entity and as the one who began the initial rebellion against God. He appreciated that few people would wittingly turn their lives over to the Devil, and allow themselves to be deceived by their worst enemy, so a user-friendly form of diabolism was devised propagating the false claim that Satan merely represents a force in nature. Yet anyone who has made a study of Left-hand Path occultism will know that for them lying is among one of the highest virtues. Satanists serve the one whom Jesus Christ repudiated as “the father of lies” (John 8: 44).

LaVey let his guard down when responding to other Satanists who claimed he was “not extreme enough.” While in a defensive mode, Lavey admitted that the image he presented publicly was deceptive, declaring: “If they’re at all intelligent … they’ll realize that there’s only so much I can say publicly … I will not advance things in print which make my position untenable. … How long would the Church of Satan have lasted if I hadn’t appeased and outraged in just the right combination? It required a certain amount of discretion and diplomacy to balance the outrage.”

John Pope with Farrant in December 1973.

In an interview, following his release from jail, David Farrant was asked whether he considered himself to be a Satanist. He answered: “I wouldn’t describe myself one way or the other.” In the same tape-recorded interview, he confirms that he had been consorting with witches and black magicians from as early as August 1970. He can be heard boasting of witchcraft spells that would harm those who oppose him, and arguing in favour of ritual animal sacrifice. Infiltrating his depraved world, I deduced that, while he is open to manipulation, his own theatricals have little to do with witchcraft or occultism, and everything to do with gratuitous self-publicity and self-aggrandisement. In the 1970s and 1980s, he wanted to be seen as a black magician, and did all he could to foster that image, while protesting his “white witch” credentials when there is a hue and cry about his bogus claims. His modus operandi was shock, followed by denial, followed by publicity. Everything was done for publicity.

In October 1972, Alex Sanders attended a much publicised in the press Hallowe’en ritual at Highgate Cemetery’s north gate. Manufactured by Farrant, who was alone on the inside of the gate where attempts were made to light a fire accompanied by incomprehensible mutterings, Sanders, wearing a hooded duffle jacket, looked suitably bemused. The “King of the Witches” shuffled about among the small crowd of onlookers in Swains Lane, invariably outnumbered by reporters and photographers, while Farrant peered through the iron railings in the hope of being arrested to make the local headlines. It became embarrassing for everyone, as the phoney witch stood hunched in his grease-stained mackintosh with nothing much to do or say. A few flash photographs were taken before the handful of people and many more journalists who came to witness the promised ritual departed disappointed. Arch-showman Sanders was singularly unimpressed by Farrant’s puerile antics in the name of wicca. It was the only time they would be in each other’s proximity.

“Master Therion” John Pope  making the sign of the Beast.

In the following year, 1973, Farrant joined forces with someone who introduced himself as the “Master Therion,” who, decades later, would still be giving the clear impression that he is as much a black magician in his later years as he ever was in his early twenties. On his London Horror Tours website, “Therion,” as most called him in the 1970s, is unambiguous in how he sees himself, ie “a master of the black arts, a third degree witch and Odinist.” Standing in masonic regalia complete with apron, next to what is claimed by him to be the “Grand Master, Forsyth Lodge, American Freemasonry,” who turns out to be a certain “A H Marriott,” “Therion” informs us on his website that he “is a blood relation to Jack the Ripper and Dracula.” More disturbingly is the inclusion in his self-description that he “served his apprenticeship with the late Andraus Nickifaru, gangland boss 1968 to 1988.”

This unsavoury link to London’s criminal underworld, bearing in mind “Therion’s” boast of having killed the rock musician Graham Bond in the mid-1970s, brings the story full circle when the life and death of Joe Meek is examined. Duncan Campbell, a senior staff reporter for City Limits magazine, before he moved to The Guardian newspaper, took an unusual interest in Farrant during the 1980s. The journalist helped him gain publicity from time to time, and seemed largely sympathetic to the disingenuous campaigns run by Farrant to curry favour with an increasingly hostile public. He was always ready to promote Farrant’s publicity stunts, as if they were somehow worthy of the public’s attention. As previously revealed, “Campbell had an interest in the criminal underworld … [and] later published a book about criminals and the environment in which they operate.” (A Concise Vampirological Guide, Gothic Press, 1997, page 89).

A report in the third edition of the Evening News, 3 February 1967, reveals the horrifying circumstances of Joe Meek’s violent end: “The man behind The Tornados and The Honeycombs was shot in the head. A 12-bore shotgun lay beside him on the first floor landing outside his studio flat.” Suicide or murder? Speculation continues to this day, but the death itself happened to occur within days of the incident when two convent schoolgirls witnessed vampire spectres at Highgate Cemetery. The inquest, held at St Pancras on 9 March 1967, heard Professor Francis Camps, who performed the post mortem, inform the jury that “Meek had a wound near his right ear.”

Since publication of the first biography of Joe Meek in 1989, the speculation has grown to obscure the facts and encompass a wide array of bizarre theories. The only facts that can be unquestionably stated about the events of 3 February 1967 are that at approximately 10.30am, at 304 Holloway Road, London N7, Robert George “Joe” Meek, aged 37, lay dead, and Mrs Violet Shenton, aged 54, lay dying of gunshot wounds to the head and back respectively. A maze of myth, legend and fact now unfolds where an assortment of protagonists materialise, including the Kray twins, the Richardson gang, a blackmailer (unidentified) or some black magician with whom Meek might or might not have become involved. The most popular methods of entry put forward are either the murderer slipped in from the street while the door was open and hid somewhere, or that he came in through one of the two traps or the skylight on the roof. The method of exit would most likely have been the roof, as the murderer climbed out and hid on the roof until the police had gone, and then climbed down the back of the building to make his escape.

The Kray Twins were supposed to have shown an interest in The Tornados, and the Blue Rondos had played at a Kray owned club in the Highbury Corner area a couple of times, a mile south of 304 Holloway Road. The Krays did have a lot of interest in the entertainment world, north and east London being their “patch,” so it is possible that Meek met them once or twice. They may have tried to obtain protection money from him, believing Meek to be wealthier than he actually was, but to kill someone like him was not their method or style. They tended to kill their “own kind.” Both gangs had been accused in an earlier incident when Joe was found half conscious in his car, having been beaten up, but the truth seems to be that nobody has a clue what really happened. It would appear that the gangland fraternity is merely a handy scapegoat to pin the blame on.

Oddly enough, the “black magician” would seem to be the most likely perpetrator, if any of them can really be described as “likely.” If Joe was really as involved as we are led to believe, and he had maybe witnessed or heard about some dubious satanic ritual, this could provide a possible motive. However, the identities of the person or persons involved are so vague that it is unclear exactly whom to identify. However, The Death of Joe Meek by Kim Lowden reveals that “Joe Meek was fascinated by the occult. He spent nights wandering graveyards trying to record voices of the dead. He believed in spiritism.” More about Joe Meek’s penchant for the occult is found on the “Meeksville” internet website where his mysterious death is examined in great detail. The same internet source was to provide the following:

“There is some evidence that Joe was playing around with the 'black arts,' particularly from Margaret Blackmore, who saw a lot of Joe in his last few weeks. She claims that Joe told her that she was like Lady Harris who was, according to Joe, one of Aleister Crowley's girlfriends who painted a set of tarot cards and was alleged to be very beautiful. Although a Lady Harris indeed worked with Crowley to create their famous Thoth Tarot deck, she was in fact a lady of mature years who was also the wife of an eminent British politician. Later on, Pamela Coleman Smith and A E Waite tried to repeat the experiment and created the equally famous Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Smith, as far as can be made out, was a rather attractive and somewhat dramatic-looking woman. Joe's account sounds like an amalgam of the two; whether Joe got his facts wrong or whether Blackmore has her recollections muddled up isn't clear, but certainly someone didn't know very much about some historical facts which were very easy to check, and that may be true in general of Joe's interests in that direction. More frightening is the fact that Joe supposedly knew David Farrant. Again, the source in the book is not named; I have been in contact with someone else who knows Farrant independently of any Joe connection, and has stated that Joe met Farrant a couple of times. Having said that, I can't confirm it, as I have no way of proving whether my contact genuinely asked Farrant about it or not. Farrant was (and probably still is) a self-styled High Priest of Satan, and is still feared in some parts of North London, where he can still be seen wandering around the Archway area occasionally. He allegedly led the Highgate Cemetery desecrations in the early 70's, and most people who have encountered him say that he is at first charming, but you quickly realise he's not the kind of guy you really want to hang around too long.”

The rather more prosaic fact of the matter is that David Farrant was first and foremost an inveterate publicity-seeker who knew less about the real occult than the average man in the street. That is not to say that he is benign, or incapable of wickedness. His deceptions and lies are especially injurious, and his dabbling in places reputed to have satanic associations, or thought to be contaminated by demonic entities, undoubtedly might easily have led to his becoming possessed, which I believe to be the case.