The Anatomy of Witchcraft

by Peter Haining

hardcover

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Peter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.

Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.

In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).

He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.

Reviews

[Andy]

This book is the sort of book I would have loved to have found in a second hand book store when I was 12 or 13. Musty, pulpy and spooky. Culled mostly from news paper stories and supposed interviews, it can't help but appear to have something of a Weekly World News kind of sensationalism to it, delving into the creepy vision of witch craft that people had in the 60's in the UK and then in 70's Hollywood. However, it is interesting to see the change in how Wicca has been viewed by the public. The more interesting parts come towards the end of the book where it looks into voodoo and magic among African American witches.

If anything, this book is interesting to read as a document in itself, but should be considered more for entertainment than anything else, though it definitely brought up all the key names in witchcraft and gives a good starting point for anyone who wants to research further and elsewhere. Either way it's a quick read. Grab it if you see it.

[Signor Mambrino]

This was not a particularly good book, and it's certainly not reliable. but reading it was entertainig enough.