{"product_id":"embracing-the-darkness-by-john-callow-9781845114695","title":"Embracing the Darkness","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs dusk fell on a misty evening in 1521, Martin Luther—hiding from his enemies at Wartburg Castle—found himself seemingly tormented by demons hurling walnuts at his bedroom window. In a fit of rage, the great reformer threw at the Devil the inkwell from which he was preparing his colossal translation of the Bible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA belief—like Luther's—in the supernatural, and in black magic, has been central to European cultural life for 3000 years. From the Salem witch trials to the macabre novels of Dennis Wheatley; from the sadistic persecution of eccentric village women to the seductive sorceresses of TV's \u003cem\u003eCharmed\u003c\/em\u003e; and from Derek Jarman's punk film \u003cem\u003eJubilee\u003c\/em\u003e to Ken Russell's \u003cem\u003eThe Devils\u003c\/em\u003e, John Callow brings the twilight world of the witch, mage, and necromancer to vivid and fascinating life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe takes us into a shadowy landscape where, in an age before modern drugs, the onset of sudden illness was readily explained by malevolent spellcasting. Dark, winding country lanes could terrify by night, as the hoot of an owl or shriek of a fox became the desolate cries of unseen spirits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWitchcraft has profoundly shaped the western imagination and endures in the forms of modern-day Wicca and paganism. \u003cem\u003eEmbracing the Darkness\u003c\/em\u003e is an enthralling account of this fascinating aspect of the western cultural experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PTY Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46868411613420,"sku":"9781845114695","price":88.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/25960193482844.jpg?v=1759757016","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/embracing-the-darkness-by-john-callow-9781845114695","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}