Most of you reading this website think of Magic as something unreal, unbelievable, fictional, … but nonetheless fun to read about. You think that in order to enjoy reading books about the Dark Arts it is first necessary to suspend your disbelief in the Occult.

You are wrong! A World of Magic, of Devils, Demons, Spirits, Fiends, Monsters and Ghosts, really does exist. This is my world, and this series of books will let you in to some of its secrets.

For this Occult World is out there, very real, and accessible … but only with considerable insight. Some very special people, with a vast store of esoteric knowledge and skills, and operating within particular mystical enclosures in the `real` world, regularly enter this `extranatural` domain, this underworld.

With friends and colleagues, I have travelled extensively in this mystical and mythical domain. The Richard Croft Occult Series of books tells of our exploits on that other side. Those who accompanied me were at first highly sceptical, however, their cynicism rapidly disappeared when they were confronted by monstrosities in this alternative reality. Here for example is the testimony of my fiancé, Charlotte Wales, written after her traumatic experiences described in the first book in the series, Sons of Asterion.

I Believe in Magic

A LETTER FROM CHARLOTTE WALES

Dear Reader

Science tells us that our world obeys natural laws, driven by cause and effect. Science says Magic is errant nonsense, just a means for the cynical to manipulate the feebleminded. According to Science, alternative magical realities should be dismissed as delusions. Demons, evil spirits, hobgoblins, ghosts, or ghouls are nothing but drug-fueled hallucinations or insanities. Such creatures, figments conjured up in an individual’s isolated fantasy world, can never cross the threshold into our reality or be experienced by others. On this subject Science is unequivocal. However, science is wrong.

Many scientists think they understand our world, but they are deluding themselves. They are trapped within their own self-important theories. We humans understand nothing. We only think we do. The universe and everything in it, to its very core, is Chaos. Out of that Chaos have emerged thinking entities, like us. In thinking, these creatures can only ever grasp an infinitesimal fraction of what they are, and of where they are. Each sentient species has constructed its own interpretation, differing from others, which is sufficient for it to survive and prosper. The human species, however, is unique in that it deludes itself into believing it is on the verge of true understanding; that there is a single unifying order within its grasp, which will clarify the Chaos.

Sheer hubris. Humanity couldn’t be more wrong.

Our heads generate a variety of different ways of observing and interacting with the Chaos, just so that we can make our way in the world we perceive. However, one way dominates … normality. Normality has been reinforced over multiple generations, by the use of language and communication. All alternative realities have been banished as a form of fabricated mysticism, although they still remain accessible. But with most of the expanding human population believing in normality, it is getting harder and harder to step into these other worlds. The sheer power projected by the believers of normality, makes it nigh on impossible for most of us to enter these other worlds, or for beings from there to cross over into our normality. Nevertheless, with the appropriate rituals and incantations, and in the right conditions, some special individuals can still throw off the shackles of the normal, and experience the supernatural.

Science says we cannot interact with alternative realities, and that we cannot go to these special places … but I have been there. Science says talk of demons crossing over into our normal world is sheer nonsense … but I have seen demons. I used to believe in Science, in all that Science told me, but now I know … Science is wrong.

Yours faithfully

Charlotte Wales.