Aleister Crowley
I racconti della bestia

Aleister Crowley was a renowned magician, writer, occultist, poet, painter, and mountaineer: we are undoubtedly facing a strong and eclectic personality. His most well-known text is the famous Magick, and his influence has been significant in various fields, including music. His face appeared on the famous Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. His residence at Boleskine House in Scotland was purchased by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. The entire esoteric dark genre represented by various Current 93, Coil, and Death In June has been influenced by Crowley (The Death In June cited him in The World That Summer with the famous phrase "Love is the law, love under will" contained in the song "Rule Again"). Especially the early records of Current 93 (the name is borrowed directly from Crowley's 93 Current, the definition of the religion of Thelema) by David Tibet such as Lashtal, Nature Unveiled and Dogs Blood Rising were explicitly inspired by his sexual magic ceremonies. And, staying within the realm of dark music, even Steve Sylvester with his Death SS dedicated a record of his group to the Law of Thelema.

And it is precisely Steve Sylvester who introduces the first Italian anthology of short stories by Aleister Crowley titled I racconti della Bestia and now published by Edizioni Arcoiris in the series “La biblioteca di Lovecraft.” The volume is curated by Jacopo Corazza and Gianluca Venditti. The reference to Lovecraft reminded me of the parallel drawn by the occultist Kenneth Grant between the “lovecraftian” deities and Crowley's magical philosophy. A comparison that fascinated me but always left me puzzled. That said, it was time for Crowley's stories to finally become available. In fact, very recently, 2 stories had been made available in the magazine Hypnos which we find, in a different translation, in this volume. They are bizarre stories imbued with occultism and esoteric theories. It's almost as if they were written under the influence of hypnosis or hallucinogenic substances. Yet they are still readable today and are more than a simple curiosity for bibliophiles.

Crowley incorporates elements of esotericism a bit like Gustav Meyrink did, but without possessing his literary style. Perhaps the criticism that can be leveled at these stories is that the content (the magic) takes precedence over the form. However, one cannot deny a certain “magical” charm and a “weird” attitude. Crowley admired and was in contact with the great German writer Hanns Heinz Ewers from whom, at certain moments, he seems to have inherited a certain penchant for perverse sex.

Surely, among the stories present, The Violinist struck me, full of a genuine hypnotic atmosphere in which the music evoked by the protagonist reminded me of that of Erich Zann. But also The Face is, in its way, remarkable: it tells the story of a Chinese doctor who, to avenge a mother who denied him her daughter's hand, through hypnosis makes the two women hang him, staging a suicide. The Fox also leaves a mark: it is a story where we find scenes of sadomasochism that would have pleased Hanns Heinz Ewers. But even the short Illusion d'amoureux is notable: the sulfurous and decadent setting in which, in an all-black room, a woman lies on the sofa and longs to merge with the statue of a deity placed nearby, is worthy of Edgar Allan Poe. But in all the stories we find dark symbolisms and nameless horrors.

An unmissable volume for every lover of the occult, for followers of Crowley, but also for fans of “weird” literature. I racconti della Bestia is curated by Jacopo Corazza and Gianluca Venditti. The translation is by Luca Baldoni. Available on the Arcoiris website: https://www.edizioniarcoiris.it/41-la-biblioteca-di-lovecraft.

Aleister Crowley I racconti della bestia – pages 142 – Euro 13 – Edizoni Arcoiris – 2019 –