Henri Gamache was the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of an otherwise unknown author who was active in the United States during the 1940s, and who wrote on the subject of

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. All his books were published in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and most of them consist of semi-scholarly popular compilations that draw from (and give credit to) previously-published works on

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

. His works are noted for their connection to the Afrocentric theories of

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

Disputed identity

Henri Gamache's most popular books are ''The Master Book of Candle-Burning'', a classic of practical

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

hoodoo

folk magic In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized rel ...

, ''Terrors of the Evil Eye Exposed'', a work dealing with worldwide belief in the

evil eye The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...

, and ''Mystery of the Long Lost Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Books of Moses'', which is based upon the Garveyist assertion that

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

, the leader of the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s, was a Black

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

. The identity of Henri Gamache is disputed. Some researchers take at face value the mid-1950s copyright renewal claims of a book publisher named Joseph W. Kay (a.k.a. Joseph Spitalnick), in which Kay claimed to be the actual author of all works by both Henri Gamache and a pseudonymous occult author of the 1930s,

Lewis de Claremont Lewis de Claremont, also spelled Louis de Clermont, was the pseudonym of an American author on occultism who flourished during the 1930s. Books attributed to de Claremont include ''7 Steps to Power'', ''7 Keys to Success'', ''The Ancient's Book of ...

(also spelled Louis de Clermont). The falsity of Kay's claims with regard to the works of de Claremont is demonstrable, because the de Claremont books were first published by another company and only assigned to Kay upon republication, and this obvious attempt at deception in turn casts doubt upon Kay's claim to the Gamache authorship. Joe Kay died in 1967, but interviews with younger members of the Kay family have brought out the fact that the elder Kay obtained copyright ownership and publication rights to the previously published writings of a Mr. Young, whose first name is lost, in exchange for a debt owed. Young is mentioned as a writer of occult books within the pages of the ghost-written autobiography of the famous

stage magician Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

Benjamin Rucker, better known as

Black Herman Benjamin Rucker (June 6, 1889 – April 15, 1934) was an American stage magician, better known by his stage name Black Herman. He was the most prominent African-American magician of his time. He appears as a major character in Ishmael Reed's 19 ...

. Thus it seems that both Henri Gamache and Lewis de Claremont / Louis de Clermont were not pseudonyms for Joe Kay (Joseph Spitalnik), but for Mr. Young, the ghost-writer of the Black Herman autobiography. In 2013,

Catherine Yronwode Catherine Anna Yronwode (née Manfredi; May 12, 1947) is an American writer, editor, graphic designer, typesetter, and publisher with an extensive career in the comic book industry. She is also a practitioner of folk magic. Early life Catherine A ...

published an account of an interview with Ed Kay, the son of Joseph Kay, in which Ed Kay stated that he recalled Henri Gamache as the pseudonym of a "young college educated

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

woman who worked for my father and wrote books for him" Catherine Yronwode and Mikhail Strabo. ''The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic in Rootwork, Conjure, and Spiritual Church Services''. Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2013

Books by Mr. Young

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

) Black Herman enjamin Rucker ''Secrets of Magic, Mystery, and Legerdemain''. Martin Publishing, 1925. Republished in 1938 by Dorene Publishing.

Books by Henri Gamache

* ''The Master Book of Candle-Burning". 1942 * ''The Magic of Herbs". 1945 * ''Mystery of the Long Lost 8th, 9th, and 10th Books of Moses''. 1945 * ''Terrors of the Evil Eye Exposed''. Raymond Publishing, 1946. Republished as ''Protection Against Evil''. Raymond Publishing, 1969.

References

{{reflist Gamache, Henri 20th-century American non-fiction writers Hoodoo (spirituality)