The Mountaineer Folk Music Heritage Pioneer Recording Artists WWVA and the "World's Original Jamboree" Tune In Stay Tuned Country Comes to Television The Renaissance of Folk and the Rise of Bluegrass West Virginia and the National Country Scene Retrospect Afterword
Bill Ellis, associate professor of English and American studies at Penn State Hazelton, is the author of Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media. He has served as president of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research and of the American Folklore Society's Folk Narrative Section and is an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"[Ellis's] desire to position folkloristics as a mediating tool in
the discussions about Satan and satanic influences, so that 'the
result is not strife but harmony, ' is an intriguing application."
-- Journal of American Folklore
"A lively examination of the occult, including Satanism and
superstitions of all types, in light of Christian mythos." --
What's New
"A welcome counterbalance to alarmist tales of occult influence."
-- Books & Culture
"As a Christian and a scholar of the occult, Ellis brings an
important perspective to the subject that should dispel for
believers the supernatural silliness of Satan. There is, in fact,
no such thing as the supernatural and the paranormal. There is just
the natural and the normal and mysteries we cannot explain. In
Lucifer Ascending Ellis has sensitively and brilliantly illuminated
much darkness enveloping many mysteries associated with the occult.
Believers and non-believers, scholars and general readers, will be
entertained and educated by Ellis's compelling narrative on all
matters Satanic. This is first class myth busting." -- Dr. Michael
Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for
Sci
"At the core of Mr. Ellis's work is the relationship between
knowledge and power." -- Chronicle of Higher Education
"Building on the success of Bill Ellis's very important Raising the
Devil, this new book continues his exploration of dark -- and
satanic -- themes in American culture. A very rewarding study." --
Philip Jenkins, Penn State University, author of Moral Panic:
Changing Concepts
"Ellis builds a sober and persuasive argument that the recent
hysteria over the influence of Satan in America, much of it
emanating from the Christian right, reflects a misunderstanding of
a cyclical or dialectic process that has repeated itself for
centuries." -- salon.com
"Ellis's overarching thesis is that these kinds of folk practices,
perhaps especially when they invoke the presence or power of Satan,
are not so much antireligious as they are alternatively
religious.... Recommended." -- Choice
"Examines occult phenomena from the viewpoint of the people who
actually practice them. This solidly written and serious study,
which uses little known primary resources, is recommended for
academic and public libraries alike." -- Library Journal
"Examines superstition in folklore and popular culture and connects
it to the concentration today on the oppressed classes (women,
children, the uneducated) and the need for myth and a more personal
spirituality." -- Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance
"Shows how the occult has been a common element in youth culture
for hundreds of years. Using materials from little known
publications and archives, Lucifer Ascending details the true
social function of individuals' dabbling with the occult." --
Planet Utica
"This is a good book that is likely to be of significant use to
scholars and of interest to many general readers. It takes a
complex, nuanced, and balanced look at topics that are currently
highly loaded in our culture and draws some interesting
conclusions." -- Anne Lafferty, Ethnologies
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