Dudley Wright

Discover the fascinating world of the Druids and their unique religion that was imbued with life. While their faith was polytheistic, they recognized the supremacy of a divine being represented by the sun. Their veneration of the celestial bodies laid the foundation of their astronomical science, allowing them to regulate their festivals and religious ceremonies. Today, we can still learn from the Druids' knowledge and reverence for nature. Explore their wisdom and connect with ancient traditions that honor the power and eternal being of the universe. Originally published in 1920, Wright's work remains an evocative and compelling examination of the spiritual workers of early Britain. Dudley Wright (1868-1950) epitomized a multifaceted English intellectual, delving into realms ranging from history and literature to the occult and Islamic studies. Notably, he steered the helm of England's eminent Masonic publication, The Freemason, during a significant period. His professional journey was marked by a relentless pursuit of understanding across religious, theosophical, and esoteric domains. Wright's extensive literary output encompassed volumes and essays exploring diverse subjects including Buddhism, Judaism, paranormal phenomena like poltergeists, and even the enigmatic life of Jesus Christ.

Englantilainen lehtimies ja hengellinen ”totuudenetsijä” Dudley Wright kokosi vuonna 1914 tämän kirjan eri kansojen vampyyreja koskevasta kulttuurista ja kansanperinteestä. ”Tänä päivänä vampirismi otetaan vakavammin kuin vielä sata vuotta sitten ja tässä kirjassa pyritään mahdollisimman täydellisesti tarjoamaan kaikki tapaukset, jotka ovat koottavissa eri maista. On avoin kysymys kuinka paljon tieteellistä totuutta piilee näissä tarinoissa, joita näinä aikoina voitaneen pitää liioitteluna.”

The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites, has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

Dudley Wright's Vampires and Vampirism was first published in 1914. This Curious Publications edition reprints that original version and is filled with tales of vampirism from around the world, including this one: "Peter Plogojowitz, an inhabitant of a village in Hungary called Kisolova, who, after he had been buried more than ten years, appeared by night to several persons in the village, while they were asleep, and squeezed their throats in such a manner that they expired within twenty-four hours. There died in this way no less than nine persons in eight days; and the widow of this Plogojowitz deposed that she herself had been visited by him since his death, and that his errand was to demand his shoes; which frightened her so much that she at once left Kisolova and went to live somewhere else." These circumstances determined the inhabitants of the village to dig up the body of Plogojowitz and burn it, in order to put a stop to such troublesome visits. ... he was found to be free from any bad smell, and perfectly sound, as if it had been alive, except that the tip of the nose was a little dry and withered. The beard and hair were grown fresh and a new set of nails had sprung up in the room of the old ones that had fallen off. Under the former skin, which looked pale and dead, there appeared a new one, of a natural fresh colour; and the hands and feet were as entire as if they belonged to a person in perfect health. They observed also that the mouth of the vampire was full of fresh blood, which the people were persuaded had been sucked by him from the persons he had killed."

Vampires and Vampirism (1914) is a work from another era, a time when belief and wonder led some to travel down pathways of knowledge in search of truth and terror, not knowing what they would find. Written in response to an “awakened [popular] interest in supernormal phenomena” in the early twentieth century, Dudley Wright’s Vampires and Vampirism traces the history of vampirism around the world, from ancient Babylonia, Assyria, and Greece, to Great Britain, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Beginning with the question “What is a vampire?”, Wright seeks to first define the term before moving into an analysis of how belief in vampirism emerged from various and distant religious and cultural traditions. Each chapter uses a scholarly mix of ancient and modern sources to enlighten the reader, and the book culminates in a chapter titled “Fact or Fiction?”, which allows the reader to hear from believers and skeptics alike. The book includes harrowing personal accounts of outbreaks of vampirism in British India and Mexico, as well as a lengthy bibliography. In a world where matters of occult nature, such as astrology, have reentered the popular consciousness, Vampires and Vampirism is sure to be of interest. It is also a fascinating document of a time when Europeans—faced with spiritual doubt and inspired by religious traditions and myths from the outer reaches of empire—sought to establish new systems of belief, new orders they hoped could replace those they feared were quickly becoming lost. At times despicable, and always controversial, Dudley Wright was a tireless searcher whose life included conversions to Islam and Catholicism, forays into anti-Semitism—later retracted—and a deep, spiritual involvement with organizations dedicated to matters both visible and invisible, true and beyond belief. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this new edition of Dudley Wright’s Vampires and Vampirism is a classic of history and horror reimagined for modern readers.