'Witchcraft: It's a growing cult in Britain, says the King', The Bolton News, 21 March 1970

The Bolton News, Saturday 21 March 1970, page 6. Alan Foster interviews Alex Sanders at his Notting Hill Gate flat, with Maxine playing with their two-year-old daughter Maya. Sanders describes being initiated at seven by his grandmother in Manchester, puts Britain's witches at about 4,000 and growing, explains why covens work naked, and says that if he ever left witchcraft he would become a Roman Catholic, 'the nearest thing to witchcraft I know'. Foster then puts the other side through Dennis Wheatley, who reports a sudden surge in sales of his black magic novels and warns of the kick-seekers drawn in. Two photographs ran with the piece. The first, of a symbolic 'marriage' with the goddess Diana, prints almost entirely black in this copy, so only the second, a Black Mass scene from Legend of the Witches, is included here. How to cite: Alan Foster, 'Witchcraft: It's a growing cult in Britain, says the King', The Bolton News, 21 March 1970, p. 6. Alexandrian Witchcraft Timeline & Archive.

WITCHCRAFT It’s a growing cult in Britain, says the King ALEX SANDERS is the King of the Witches. He claims that he can use his powers to kill. And many people believe him. [1st photo] The symbolic “marriage” of the initiate with the goddess Diana performed by the high priestess and Alex Sanders. [2nd photo] Part of the Black Mass as seen in the film “Legend of the Witches.” Sanders, is a short, slight man who wears polo-neck sweaters and slacks. He doesn’t look all that regal, but he heads an evergrowing cult - one that began centuries ago and is still being practised in woodlands and on moors throughout Britain. Sprawled on a cushion in front of the fire, his brooding face in shadow, he doesn't initiate conversation. His wife, Maxine, young and attractive, is like any mother as she plays with Maya the couple’s two-years-old daughter. It was only slowly that Alex Sanders was persuaded to talk about himself and his beliefs. “I became a witch when I was seven-years-old. I discovered my grandmother practising the rites in her house in Manchester. She initiated me.” The statement was made in a flat monotone. For Alex Sanders the boyhood terror had been forgotten. So had the pain of the knife point drawing blood. Dedication In the warm domesticity of his Notting Hill Gate flat, Alex Sanders assured me he would never use his powers to harm anyone in a serious physical sense. “I can hurt my enemies sufficiently through their consciences or by causing them minor physical discomfort,” he said. He made it clear that power comes only progressively to a witch. It is a craft which is acquired by long dedication and application. According to Sanders there are about 4,000 witches in Britain but their numbers are increasing steadily. He claims to be an hereditary witch - one from a family in which occult power has been passed through the distaff side in alternative generations. For good What was it that attracted people to witchcraft? “The ability to see into the future. It takes time to attain second sight perhaps up to six months before witches see their first visions in either a crystal bowl of ink, or the tarot cards.” He added that he had never known a witch who had failed to be clairvoyant within two years. Was there any difference between black and white witchcraft? “White is used for the good of the petitioner and must not harm even his enemies. Black involves harm being done to either the petitioner or his enemies, and sexual seduction of women.” But surely the fact witches performed their rites naked encouraged erotic behaviour? “We are naked because we believe nothing should come between us and our god. Clothes are a form of concealment, of deception even. We must keep nothing from each other. “Only the elder of the coven, must be apart. He usually wears a loin cloth so that he can quickly be recognised.” Began to write He described witchcraft as a way of life. “It affects everything we do or think. We try to wear the colours and metals recommended to us by the teachings, and we use the powers we have to help us and others in everyday life.” Sanders said that “all sorts” of people become witches. “I have initiated clergymen, housewives, mechanics, doctors. businessmen, farmers, teachers and secretaries.” I went to see an authority, Dennis Wheatley, invalided out of the services after being gassed in the first world war, turned to literature during his long convalescence. He studied ancient history, its legends and religions, then, in 1933, he started to write. He made what might be a most pertinent comment. “Of the 56 books I have had published so far, only seven have occult plots. In the past these have sold well, but no better than my historical romances and spy thrillers. But in the past 18 months, there has been a sudden up-surge in sales of my black magic novels.” Wheatley theorises that people are impatient with the shortcomings of the established, conventional religions, and because every human seeks something beyond just the material, he can quickly become a victim of persuasive propaganda and in a permissive society, the more erotic the better. The danger could be that at a time when ritual murder is becoming fashionable, the emotionally immature and the kick-seekers may be persuaded into a willing acceptance of what witchcraft claims to be able to do. In middle Alex Sanders insists witchcraft is no more than a pagan religion devoted to healing and comfort. Dennis Wheatley will have none of it. And the established church sits uncomfortably in the middle, believing that the power of the broomstick can be destroyed ultimately by bell, book and candle. One final comment from the King of the Witches may not be out of place “In my early days as a witch, I attended the spiritualist church to develop my healing powers. But if ever I forsook witchcraft, I would become a Roman Catholic. It is the nearest thing to witchcraft I know.” ALAN FOSTER