Dear Morbid Anatomy Friends: 

Above is a video of an event we produced for Hauser and Wirth Gallery on Tuesday, June 28th, 2018.  Entitled "A Night of Folk Necromancy," it was the last event of our Utopia/Dystopia series, and explored a variety of encounters between the living and the dead, from accidental hauntings to deliberate conjuration of ghosts, and everything in between. Thanks so much to the fabulous presenters for sharing this recording!

Following is the original description of the event; hope you enjoy!

A Night of Folk Necromancy

The evening’s three speakers, Dr. Alexander Cummins, Jesse Hathaway Diaz, and Mallorie Vaudoise, will examine folk expressions and interrelations of ancestor veneration, spirit conjuration, ghost-lore, eschatology, charm-craft, demonology, and the mass of rituals, protocols, and beliefs signalled by the terms ‘nigromancy,’ ‘necromancy.’

Talks include:

• How to Summon A Ghost in Seventeenth-century England by Alexander Cummins
• The Corpse between the Covers: Summoning the Dead through Ink and Breath (But Not In The Way You Think…) by Jesse Hathaway Diaz
• Naples is for Necromancers by Mallorie Vaudoise

About Dr. Alexander Cummins

Dr. Alexander Cummins is a professional diviner and trained historian as well as a consultant sorcerer. He received his doctorate in early modern British magic from the University of Bristol. His work focuses on grimoires, divination, astrological magic, and magical medicine as well as folk necromancy. Dr Cummins currently resides in Brooklyn with his amazing wife and their vast expanse of a cat.

About Jesse Hathaway Diaz

Jesse Hathaway Diaz is a folklorist, diviner, artist and performer living in New York City. With initiations in several forms of witchcraft from both Europe and the Americas, he is also a lifelong student of Mexican Curanderismo, an initiated olosha in the Lucumí orisha tradition, and a Tatá Quimbanda. He is also a member of the experimental theatre group Dzieci, based in New York City. He is half of Wolf and Goat, a store specializing in occult art, esoterica and materia magica from many traditions including Traditional Craft and Quimbanda.

About Mallorie Vaudoise

Mallorie Vaudoise is a Brooklyn-based spiritualist of Italian descent. She is currently apprenticing with renowned Italian folk musician Alessandra Belloni. Vaudoise is the creator of Italian Folk Magic, a blog dedicated to the cults of the Madonnas, saints, and dead."