The Witches of New York

Witches of New York portraits a series of psychics, astrologers, and fortune-tellers operating within 19th century New York City, written from the perspective of the popular American humourist Doesticks. The author went from one New York City “witch” (psychic, astrologer, clairvoyant, etc.) to another, to prove how inaccurate they were in their predictions. His description of the people, their homes, their families and help, their voices, and – of course – their predictions is bitter sweet: often funny, but also cynical, cruel and devastating. Almost all of the people he describes, with name and address, were living in poverty, yet Doesticks shows no sympathy for their situation, and the first publication of this book will almost certainly have worsened their conditions.

However, keeping this in mind, the book offers a unique insight in this particular, mostly commercial, rather tragically and less serious niche of the 19th century American occult movement. Not as a piece of history of the “Ginzburg-kind” – as Doesticks has no occult knowledge whatsoever, and is inappropriately applying the term witch – but as a Dickens-fan doing house visits, to create something that offers tongue-in-cheek moments for the bohemian scene of Victorian New York. Yet it are these house visits, which preserve this book as a unique piece of documentation. As in the days of Doesticks, no-one else produced such a diverse picture of this controversial and colourful group of people. Preview and more on www.vamzzz.com