The Magic Circle (1886) by John William Waterhouse.
• The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic has just been published in France by Editions Delcourt. A preview here shows how carefully they’ve managed to translate and reletter my page designs.
• Among the new titles at Standard Ebooks, the home of free, high-quality, public-domain texts: Algernon Blackwood’s stories of John Silence, occult detective.
• Relevant to some of my recent reading: The Necronomicon Wars, an examination of the many attempts to give life to HP Lovecraft’s fictional grimoire.
Altered States is tremendously exciting to watch—and not only during its psychedelic interludes when goat Jesus is being crucified and writhing red figures are toppling, Hieronymus Bosch–like, into hell and abstract splotches give the impression of cells endlessly dividing or murky membranes dissolving and beautiful women stare into Magritte skies and waves of lava crash as though the molten core of humanity itself were erupting. Even in its quieter moments, it is a beautiful film, with Hurt’s every appearance shot by cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth to emphasize his character’s alien otherworldliness.
Jessica Kiang explores the creation of Ken Russell’s flawed but fascinating psychedelic feature, Altered States
• A new catalogue of lots at another After Dark: Gay Art and Culture online auction. Homoerotic art, photos, historic porn. etc.
• Tarot decks through the ages: a video showing some of the cards from Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection.
• More psychedelia: Neuroscientist Grigori Guitchounts asks “What is your brain doing on psychedelics?”
• At the Daily Heller: Ryan Hughes has published a weighty collection of his typeface designs.
• Old music: Caged (25th Anniversary Edition) by Ian Boddy & Chris Carter.
• At the BFI: Rory Doherty selects 10 great Technicolor melodramas.
• At Dennis Cooper’s: The Old School Horrors of Terence Fisher.
• Photographs from the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
• Ambientblog celebrates 20 years of existence.
• RIP Dave Ball.
• Necronomicon (1970) by Les Baxter | Liriïk Necronomicus Kahnt (1975) by Magma | Necronomicon–The Magus (2004) by John Zorn
John, I share your preference for the George Hay Necronomicon. It just looks more Lovecrafty than the rest. I own the French version (Le Necronomicon, of course) published in the mid-90s. It includes Lovecraft’s own history of the dread tome. I also share with the author of the article a lack of appreciation of Colin Wilson. Much better the approach to the subject by Pauwels/Bergier and the Wilsons – Robert Anton and Peter Lamborn.
“Flawed but fascinating” perfectly describes Altered States. I’ve always found it dissatisfying but I keep coming back to it. I agree, it’s the performances by Hurt and Brown. I am curious what Chayefsky’s version of the movie would have been like though.
Has there ever been a completely satisfying movie that takes the psychedelic experience as its subject? (As opposed to psychedelia as a style.) I have a Roger Corman box set that contains The Trip which is a lot of fun. I always expected someone to have a go at Carlos Castenada but there are so many mine fields surrounding such a project that I suppose “wiser” heads always prevailed.
The book I’ve been reading is The R’lyeh Text, the sequel to the Hay volume. The Colin Wilson piece in it is really bad, filled with factual errors and ludicrous claims about Atlantis. The Robert Turner material seems more promising.
Altered States is interesting for me for the tension between Chayefsky’s argumentative script and Ken Russell’s wild visuals. I think if Chayefsky had been allowed more control over the picture it wouldn’t be the kind of cult film it is today. I like The Trip very much but the only film I’ve seen to date that accurately conveys the psychedelic experience is Enter the Void. Gaspar Noé is as much of an acquired taste as Ken Russell but even if you don’t like his film I think you have to admire his ambition.