The Magic Island Author:William Seabrook This is the book that introduced Black Magic, Zombies and the World of Voodoo as practiced on the island of Haiti. It created a tremendous sensation and became a best seller when first published in 1929. What many people do not realize is that Voodoo is a living religion still widely practiced in the United States especially in New Orleans and B... more »rooklyn.
This book introduced the world of zombies, of dead people who walk as though they were alive. It brought on an endless stream of horror movies that are still coming out today or are still in production. It showed a world of human sacrifices. It showed a living religion, Voodoo, wherein is the ritual eating of flesh and drinking of blood, witchcraft, sorcery and black magic; a religion where the image of the Catholic Virgin and the cross stand with a host of gods, the black counterparts of the Greek Gods. It found living things that we have long thought dead in the storehouses of anthropological lore.
It is the first articulate White witness to its rituals, songs, its sacrifices. This book recounts the adventures and emotional experiences of Mr. Seabrook who spent many months living among the natives. Although he had traveled over half the world, he sensed the mystery of this Island of Black Magic. He found among the millions of blacks who dwell in electric-lighted towns, jungle-covered mountains, dark valleys, an emotional wisdom that we, and perhaps the whole civilized world, have lost. He found a people who know that life itself is a beautiful and terrifying adventure.« less