I’m often asked how I came up with the magical system of the Downside books. It’s based loosely on British Traditional Witchcraft, with a bit of folklore and legend and even made-up stuff thrown in. So I thought it might be interesting to list here the books that I’ve read that helped contribute to that system, and to the world in general–a few of them were quite important in creating Downspeech, for example (The Word Museum was the big one there), and in helping me get the “feel” of Downside right.
Some of these books were more useful than others; some were really only there for a little background, or as a way of comparing my idea with some others ones, or whatever. And admittedly, this isn’t my entire witchcraft library, it’s just the ones I found the most useful or interesting. I have several of those “Wicca 101” type books, which are interesting, but many contain essentially the same information and they’re available on most bookstore shelves anyway. Plus since I’m not Wiccan and didn’t base the system of the books in any way on Wicca it seems pointless to include them here.
Also, it’s very possible some of these will be extremely difficult to find. I’m pretty sure some are out of print; I picked up quite a few of them at used bookstores or secondhand shops. But it’s still worth looking. You never know what will turn up online or at Goodwill or Oxfam, right?
So, in no particular order:
MASTERING THE ART OF WITCHCRAFT Paul Huson
CRONE’S BOOK OF SPELLS AND CHARMS Valerie Worth
HIGH-RISE WITCH Fiona Walker-Craven
CALL OF THE HORNED PIPER Nigel Aldcroft Jackson
THE GOODLY SPELLBOOK “Lady Passion” & “Duivei”
NECROPOLIS: LONDON AND ITS DEAD Catharine Arnold
UNDERGROUND LONDON: TRAVELS BENEATH THE CITY STREETS Stephen Smith
HUBBUB: NOISE, FILTH & STENCH IN ENGLAND Emily Cockayne
POWER WITHIN THE LAND R.J. Stewart
WITCHCRAFT IN ENGLAND Christina Hole
THE LORE OF THE LAND: A GUIDE TO ENGLAND’S LEGENDS Westwood & Simpson
THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES Manly P. Hall
THE GOLDEN BOUGH Sir James Frazer
THE FAIRY FAITH IN CELTIC COUNTRIES Arthur Edward Waite
THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 5000 SPELLS Judika Illes
THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WITCHCRAFT Judika Illes
LIVING DRUIDRY Emma Restall Orr
WITCHCRAFT IN ENGLAND 1558-1618 Edited by Barbara Rosen
IRISH WITCHCRAFT FROM AN IRISH WITCH Lora O’Brien
CHILDREN OF THE SALMON (AND OTHER IRISH FOLKTALES) Eileen O’Faolain
MAGIC OF THE CELTIC UNDERWORLD Steve Blamires
BLOOD MAGICK Seth
CASSELL’S DICTIONARY OF WITCHCRAFT David Pickering
THE STATIONS OF THE SUN Ronald Hutton
THE BOOK OF BLACK MAGIC Arthur Edward Waite
THE SECRETS OF HIGH MAGIC Francis Melville
THE MAGICAL UNIVERSE: EVERYDAY RITUAL & MAGIC IN PRE-MODERN EUROPE Stephen Wilson
NATURAL WITCHCRAFT Marian Green
A WITCH ALONE Marian Green
THE BOOK OF RESULTS Ray Sherwin
A WITCH’S TREASURY OF THE COUNTRYSIDE Melusine Draco & Paul Harris
BASIC SIGIL MAGIC Phillip Cooper
KINDLING THE CELTIC SPIRIT Mara Freeman
TALISMANS & AMULETS Felicitas H. Nelson
CURIOUS COUNTRY CUSTOMS Jeremy Hobson
PANATI’S EXTRAORDINARY ENDINGS OF PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY Charles Panati
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SECRET SIGNS & SYMBOLS Adele Mozedar
THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD E.A. Wallis Budge
WITCHES WEREWOLVES AND FAIRIES Claude Lecouteaux
THE LONDON MOB Robert Shoemaker
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON’S FAIRY TALES
THE BROTHERS GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES
PERRAULT’S FAIRY TALES
THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF BIRDS Adele Nozedar
THE OCCULT Colin Wilson
CONMEN & CUTPURSES Edited by Lucy Moore
THE WORD MUSEUM Jeffrey Kacirk
THE POCKET BOOK OF DEATH Morgan Reilly & Joanna Tempest
CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER Thomas de Quincy
THE HORNED SHEPHERD Edgar Jepson
AT DAY’S CLOSE: A HISTORY OF NIGHTTIME A. Roger Ekirch
THE GANGS OF NEW YORK Herbert Asbury
THE HELL-FIRE CLUBS Geoffrey Ashe
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS E. & M.A. Radford
ENTERTAINING SATAN John Demos
RELIGION & MAGIC IN ANCIENT EGYPT Rosalie David
CELTIC MYTHS & LEGENDS T.W. Rolleston
STRANGE TALES Rudyard Kipling
THE WORST JOBS IN HISTORY Tony Robinson
TREADING THE MILL Nigel G. Pearson
THE BLACK ARTS Richard Cavendish
