Cults, occultists and Stella Gibbons: Part VII

The material inspired by Stella Gibbons’s novel The Shadow of a Sorcerer has stretched to one more article.

Her occultist villain Esmé Scarron is a classic, textbook case. Much of what he says and does is scripted; it is all very predictable. Changing for the better is not part of the script, but it is an interesting exercise to think about things that he could have done and people who could have shown him the way.

What does Esmé Scarron really need?

Scarron needs to think about the inner differences between him and healthy, wholesome, decent human beings. He may be far above most people in some ways - wealth and scholarship for example - but he is far below in others.

Scarron needs to learn how to get what he wants using normal methods, not manipulation, psychological black magic and the ‘neutral force’ that he allows to run through him. He says that this force gives him his power and enables him to heal people, but he uses it to influence them against their will and best interests and to damage them.

He needs to realise that this force is a two-edged sword. Using it may have a damaging effect on him. For example, by influencing people around him so that they can’t make connections, he may be blocking himself from making some key connections.

Esmé Scarron needs to realise that he is on a path that leads to Hell.

In theory, he could redeem himself by losing some arrogance, showing some humility and looking at what other people have done to get off this path. People like him rarely do this though. In any case, he is a prisoner and hostage. The evil forces he has called up may not let go of him that easily.

Some positive role models

Esmé Scarron could have learned a lot from people he probably wouldn’t have given the time of day to. It is amusing to imagine him taking tea with and advice from a few fictional witches - not that he 

ever would.

Cults, occultists and Stella Gibbons: Part I

I have both learned about and been reminded of many things since I produced the article about white and black magic in the books of Stella Gibbons. 

While re-reading her biography recently, I saw something that prompted me to take another look at her novel The Shadow of a Sorcerer. I noticed a lot more relevant material this time around and made some new connections, so there is something to add to what I have previously written about this book.

First, what I saw that gave rise to this article:

Stella Gibbons and Aleister Crowley

When I first read Out of the Woodshed by Reggie Oliver, I was mainly interested in the details of Stella Gibbons’s early life. Much of the other information didn’t register, and I overlooked two references to infamous people. This time around, their names jumped out at me. One was Adolf Hitler - his connection with Stella Gibbons has been described elsewhere - and the other was the occultist Aleister Crowley. 

Her nephew tells us that Stella Gibbons once saw Crowley outside the Café Royal in central London. I don’t know the date, but guess that it was in the 1930s. 

Her impression was unfavourable. When her nephew asked hopefully if this was because of Crowley’s air of supernatural malignancy, she said no, what repelled her was that he had the look of a man who was desperately trying to attract attention. 

This is spot on. Such people have forfeited their inner sources of sustenance and are often disconnected and empty, so they need to live off others to fill the void. They may be prisoners and hostages too, desperate for someone or something to save them. 

After reading about this encounter, I remembered Esmé Scarron, the evil occultist in The Shadow of a Sorcerer, and wondered whether Stella Gibbons had used Crowley as the inspiration for this character. Her book was published in 1955, so there were many years after the sighting in which she could have talked to people and done some research.

Whatever the source, Esmé Scarron is a person of great interest.