Gloomy Magic: Culture, Spirituality and Death

All people die, and from all the deceased, bodies remain, and these bodies require special, ritual handling from the living. Thomas Pröwer, a historian, anthropologist, and practicing magician, has compiled in this book the funeral rites, religious and magical beliefs of numerous cultures from antiquity to the present day, supplemented with stories from people of the corresponding traditions about their encounters with death. Each belief system, each story not only interests the curious reader; they also contain valuable lessons on how to face what awaits each of us.