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Augustus Montague Summers (10 April 1880 – 10 August 1948) was an English author, clergyman, and teacher. He initially prepared for a career in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
at
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
, and was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1908. He then converted to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and began styling himself as a
Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned (" ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers onl ...
. He was, however, never affiliated with any Catholic
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
or
religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious pract ...
, and it is doubtful that he was ever actually ordained to the priesthood. He was employed as a teacher of English and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
while independently pursuing scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century. The latter earned him election to the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...
in 1916. Noted for his eccentric personality and interests, Summers became a well known figure in London society as a result of the publication of his ''History of Witchcraft and Demonology'' in 1926. That work was followed by other studies on
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
,
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s, and
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
, in all of which he professed to believe. Summers also produced a modern English translation, published in 1929, of the 15th-century witch hunter's manual, the ''
Malleus Maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise on witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name ''Henricus Institor'') and first ...
''. He has been characterized as "arguably the most seminal twentieth century purveyor of
pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...
occult 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 a ...
ism."


Early life

Montague Summers was the youngest of the seven children of Augustus William Summers, a rich banker and
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...
in
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...
, Bristol. Summers was educated at
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
before studying theology at
Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...
, with the intention of becoming a priest in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
. In 1905, he received a fourth-class Bachelor of Arts degree. He then continued his religious training at Lichfield Theological College. Summers self-published his first book, ''
Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; grc-gre, Ἀντίνοος; 27 November – before 30 October 130) was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and probable lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his ...
and Other Poems'', in 1907. Its contents reflected the influence of the literary
Decadent movement The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourishe ...
while showcasing Summers' own preoccupations with
pederasty Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and an ...
,
medievalism Medievalism is a system of belief and practice inspired by the Middle Ages of Europe, or by devotion to elements of that period, which have been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and variou ...
,
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, and the
occult 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 a ...
. Summers was ordained as
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
in 1908 and worked as a curate in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
and
Bitton Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in England, to the east of the Greater Bristol area on the River Boyd. It is in South Gloucestershire. The parish of Bitton has a population of 9,307, and apart from the villa ...
, near Bristol. He never proceeded to higher orders, however, probably because of rumours of his interest in
Satanism Satanism is a group of Ideology, ideological and Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 19 ...
and accusations of sexual impropriety with young boys, for which he was tried and acquitted. In 1909, Summers converted to Catholicism and began studying for the Catholic priesthood at St John's Seminary, Wonersh, receiving the clerical
tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...
on 28 December 1910. After 1913 he styled himself as the "Reverend Alphonsus Joseph-Mary Augustus Montague Summers" and acted as a Catholic priest, even though he was never a member of any Catholic
order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
or
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
. Whether he was actually
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
as a priest is disputed. According to some sources, Summers had transferred from the seminary in Wornesh to the
Diocese of Nottingham The Diocese of Nottingham, England, is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite and a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Diocese of Westminster. The diocese covers an area of , taking in the English counties o ...
, but the local bishop refused to ordain him after receiving incriminating reports of Summers' prior conduct. Other sources claim that Summers travelled to Continental Europe and was ordained there by
Cardinal Mercier Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, th ...
in Belgium or by Archbishop
Guido Maria Conforti Guido Maria Conforti (3 March 1865 – 5 November 1931) was a Roman Catholic Italian archbishop who founded the Xaverian Missionary Fathers on 3 December 1895. He was known to make frequent visits to his parishes and worked to support the re ...
in Italy. According to yet another version of events, Summers was ordained as a priest by Ulric Vernon Herford, the self-styled "Bishop of Mercia" and one of several '' episcopi vagantes'' ("wandering bishops") operating in Britain at the time. Summers' interest in Satanism appears to have derived in part from his reading of the works of the French writer
Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel '' À rebour ...
, particularly the novel '' Là-bas'' (1891), which includes an account of a Black Mass. Summers himself later claimed in private conversation to have attended Black Masses in
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
,
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, and
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. There are also testimonies from former associates, including the poet J. Redwood Anderson, suggesting that Summers may even have conducted such ceremonies himself.


Literary scholarship

From 1911 to 1926 Summers found employment as an English and Latin teacher at several schools, including Brockley County School in south-east London. He was interested in the theatre of the
Stuart Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...
and established himself as a scholarly authority on the subject. He successively edited the plays of
Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...
, William Congreve,
William Wycherley William Wycherley (baptised 8 April 16411 January 1716) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays ''The Country Wife'' and ''The Plain Dealer''. Early life Wycherley was born at Clive near Shrewsbury, Shropsh ...
,
Thomas Otway Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for '' Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682). Life Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his fathe ...
,
Thomas Shadwell Thomas Shadwell ( – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1689. Life Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, Weeting-with-Broomhill or Santon House, Lynford, Norfolk, and educated at Bu ...
, and
John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...
. He also helped to create a new society called "The Phoenix" that performed those neglected works. Summers' work on Restoration drama earned him election as fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...
in 1916. Several decades after his death, Robert D. Hume characterized Montague Summers' scholarship on Restoration drama as pioneering and useful, but also marred by sloppiness, eccentricity, uncritical deference to Sir
Edmund Gosse Sir Edmund William Gosse (; 21 September 184916 May 1928) was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhoo ...
and other similar gentlemen-amateurs, and even occasional dishonesty. Hume judged Summers' studies on ''The Restoration Theatre'' (1934) and ''The Playhouse of
Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
'' (1935) to be particularly fruitful sources. In his own day, Summers' credibility among university-affiliated scholars was adversely impacted by the acrimonious disputes in which he engaged with others working in the same field. The other major focus of Summers' literary scholarship was
Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
. He edited three collections of Gothic horror short stories, as well as an incomplete edition of two of the seven obscure Gothic novels, known as the "
Northanger Horrid Novels ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's '' The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first o ...
", that
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
mentioned in her Gothic parody novel '' Northanger Abbey''. He was instrumental in rediscovering those lost works, which some had supposed were inventions of Jane Austen herself. He also published biographies of Austen and
Ann Radcliffe Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. Her technique of explaining apparently supernatural elements in her novels has been credited with gaining respectability for G ...
, a writer of Gothic fiction. Summers' ''Gothic Bibliography'', published in 1940, has been characterized as "flawed but useful." Summers compiled three anthologies of supernatural stories, ''The Supernatural Omnibus'', ''The Grimoire and other Supernatural Stories'', and ''Victorian Ghost Stories''. He has been described as "the major anthologist of supernatural and Gothic fiction" in the 1930s. He also edited the poetry of
Richard Barnfield Richard Barnfield (baptized 29 June 1574 – 1620) was an English poet. His obscure though close relationship with William Shakespeare has long made him interesting to scholars. It has been suggested that he was the "rival poet" mentioned in ...
, a contemporary of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. Summers' introduction to his 1936 edition of Barnfield's poems stressed the
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
theme of some of those works, particularly ''The Affectionate Shepherd''.


The occult

From 1916 onwards, Summers regularly published articles in popular occult periodicals, including ''
The Occult Review ''The Occult Review'' was a British illustrated monthly magazine published between 1905 and 1951 containing articles and correspondence by many notable occultists and authors of the day, including Aleister Crowley, Meredith Starr, Walter Leslie ...
'' and the Spiritualist periodical ''Light''. In 1926 his work on ''The History of Witchcraft and Demonology'' appeared as part of the series on "History of Civilization" published by Kegan Paul and edited by C. K. Ogden. In the introduction to that book, Summers wrote: The book sold well and attracted considerable attention in the press. That success made Summers "something of a social celebrity" and allowed him to give up teaching and write full time. In 1927 a companion volume, ''The Geography of Witchcraft'', also appeared in Ogden's "History of Civilization" series. In 1928, Summers published the first English translation of
Heinrich Kramer Heinrich Kramer ( 1430 – 1505, aged 74-75), also known under the Latinized name Henricus Institor, was a German churchman and inquisitor. With his widely distributed book ''Malleus Maleficarum'' (1487), which describes witchcraft and endors ...
's ''
Malleus Maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise on witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name ''Henricus Institor'') and first ...
'' ("The Hammer of Witches"), a 15th-century Latin manual on the hunting of witches. In his introduction, Summers insists that the reality of witchcraft is an essential part of Catholic doctrine and declares the ''Malleus'' an admirable and correct account of witchcraft and of the methods necessary to combat it. In fact, however, the Catholic authorities of the 15th century had condemned the ''Malleus'' on both ethical and legal grounds. Other Catholic scholars contemporary with Summers were also highly critical of the ''Malleus''. For instance, the Rev. Herbert Thurston's article on "Witchcraft" for the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' of 1912, refers to the publication of the ''Malleus'' as a "disastrous episode." Summers then turned to
vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or dea ...
, producing ''The Vampire: His Kith and Kin'' (1928) and ''The Vampire in Europe'' (1929), and later to
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
with ''The Werewolf'' (1933). Summers' work on the occult is notorious for his unusual and old-fashioned writing style, his display of erudition, and his purported belief in the reality of the subjects he treats. In 1933, copies of Summers' translations of ''The Confessions of
Madeleine Bavent The possessions at Louviers (Normandy, France), similar to those in Aix-en-Provence, occurred at the Louviers Convent in 1647. As with both the Aix case and its later counterpart in Loudun, the conviction of the priests involved hinged on the con ...
'' and of
Ludovico Maria Sinistrari Ludovico Maria Sinistrari (26 February 1622 – 1701) was an Italian Franciscan priest and author. Biography Born in Ameno, Italy, he studied in Pavia and entered the Franciscan Order in 1647. He taught philosophy and theology to students in ...
's ''Demoniality'' were seized by the police due to their explicit accounts of sexual intercourse between humans and demons. At the ensuing trial of the publisher for
obscene libel The publication of an obscene libel was an offence under the common law of England. Prior to the abolition bsection 1of the Criminal Law Act 1967 of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, it was regarded as a misdemeanour. It has been abo ...
, anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard testified in defence of the scholarly value of the works in question. The publisher, Reginald Caton, was convicted and the unsold copies destroyed. According to Brian Doherty, Summers' later work on witchcraft, published in the 1930s and 1940s, "adopted a far more paranoid and conspiracy-driven worldview" than his earlier writings on the subject. These later writings draw extensively from earlier
conspiracy theorists A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
such as the French counter-revolutionary Abbé Augustin Barruel and the English Fascist
Nesta Helen Webster Nesta Helen Webster (née Bevan, 24 August 1876 – 16 May 1960) was an English author who promoted antisemitic canards and revived theories about the Illuminati.Who are the Illuminati? ''Independent on Sunday'' (London) 6 November 2005. Sh ...
. As such, Summers' work may have influenced the "
Satanic Panic The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in the United States in th ...
" of the 1980s and 1990s.


Other pursuits

Summers cultivated his reputation for eccentricity. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' wrote he was "in every way a 'character' and in some sort a throwback to the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
." His biographer, Father
Brocard Sewell Michael Seymour Gerveys Sewell (30 July 1912 – 2 April 2000), usually now known by his religious name Brocard Sewell, was a British Carmelite friar and literary figure. Biography He was born in Bangkok, and brought up in Cornwall, England. Ed ...
(writing under the pseudonym "Joseph Jerome"), paints the following portrait: Summers wrote works of
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
on
Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...
and
Anthony Maria Zaccaria Anthony Maria Zaccaria, CRSP (Italian: Antonio Maria Zaccaria; 1502 – 5 July 1539) was an early leader of the Counter Reformation, the founder of religious orders (Barnabites) and a promoter of the devotion to the Passion of Christ, the Eucha ...
, but his primary religious interest was always in the occult. While
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
, with whom he was acquainted, adopted the persona of a modern-day witch, Summers played the part of the learned Catholic witch-hunter. Despite his conservative religiosity, Summers was an active member of the
British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology The British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology (BSSSP) was founded in 1913, "to advance a particularly radical agenda in the field of sex reform, based on the writings of gurus such as dwardCarpenter and avelockEllis." Magnus Hirschfeld, t ...
, to which he contributed an essay on the
Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusati ...
.M. Summers, "The Marquis de Sade: A Study in Algolagnia", included in ''Essays in Petto'' (1977
Google Books
/ref> In 1926, Summers advertised in the London ''
Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time speci ...
'' for a secretary to assist him with his literary work. A young
Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...
responded, but found Summers uncongenial and turned down the position. Connolly privately mocked Summers in
blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and Pa ...
as "a sorcerer / a fruity unfrocked cleric of
the Nineties File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-16s and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, F-15s fly over burning o ...
/ Like an old toad that carries in his head / The jewel of literature, a puffy
satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, ex ...
/ That blends his Romish ritual with the filth / Scrawled on Pompeian pavement."Jeremy Lewis, ''Cyril Connolly: A Life'' (Jonathan Cape, 1997), p. 143 The posthumously published personal diaries of socialite and later
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician Sir Henry Channon relate how Channon first met Summers at a dinner party in Summers' honour given by Lady Cunard in January 1928. Channon's diaries then describe a series of visits to Summers' home in Richmond. Channon recounts that, in more than one occasion and at Channon's suggestion, Summers took Channon upstairs to his private chapel after dinner and beat him over the altar. Channon characterized Summers as a "lecherous priest", "a madman", and "as dangerous as he is brilliant", cutting off contact with him after a couple of months. The popular novelist
Dennis Wheatley Dennis Yeats Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) was a British writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series w ...
relates that he was introduced to Summers by the journalist and politician Tom Driberg while Wheatley was researching occultism for his novel ''
The Devil Rides Out ''The Devil Rides Out'' is a 1934 novel by Dennis Wheatley telling a disturbing story of black magic and the occult. The four main characters, the Duke de Richleau, Rex van Ryn, Simon Aron and Richard Eaton, appear in a series of novels by Whea ...
'' (1934). A weekend visit by Wheatley and his wife to Summers' home in Alresford was cut short by the Wheatleys, who determined "never to see the, perhaps not so Reverend, gentleman again". Summers and Wheatley continued to correspond on friendly terms, but Wheatley reportedly based the character of the evil Canon Copely-Syle, in his novel ''To the Devil – a Daughter'' (1953), on Montague Summers. Montague Summers wrote several original works of fiction, but none of these were published during his lifetime. The unpublished manuscripts include two plays: '' William Henry: A Play in Four Acts'' and ''
Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househ ...
'' (whose text is now lost and whose title is sometimes listed as ''
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...
''). A number of ghost stories and a short novel, ''The Bride of Christ'', were found among Summers' papers and published long after his death.


Relations with the Catholic Church

Summers presented himself as an uncompromising defender of Catholic orthodoxy, but none of his books on religious subjects was ever published with the approval of Catholic authorities (see '' nihil obstat'' and '' imprimatur''). His work on witchcraft attracted very negative comment from an important Catholic scholar, the Jesuit Herbert Thurston, who wrote in 1927 that Father Thurston also called attention to the fact that Summers did not figure in any register as either an Anglican or a Catholic priest, but was instead a literary figure with distinctly Decadent tastes. According to Bernard Doherty, Thurston may have been concerned that Summers' writings on witchcraft could have been a "mystification" akin to the Taxil hoax of the 1890s, intended to bring ridicule upon the Catholic Church. In 1938 another prominent English Catholic, Mons.
Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a high reputation as a classicist, Knox wa ...
, angrily objected to having his own essay on G. K. Chesterton published in a collection on ''Great Catholics'' edited by Fr. Claude Williamson, after Knox learned that the book would also include an essay on
John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...
by Montague Summers.Gerard P. O'Sullivan, "Prologue: The Continuing Quest for Montague Summers," in Montague Summers, ''The Vampire: His Kith and King – A Critical Edition'', ed. Jonathan Edgar Browning (Berkeley, CA: Apocryphile Press, 2011), pp. xxviii- lxxii The prominent Catholic historian
Jeffrey Burton Russell Jeffrey Burton Russell (born 1934) is an American historian and religious studies scholar. Early life Russell received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1955 and his PhD from Emory University in 1960. Care ...
, a specialist in the religion of the European
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, wrote in 1972 that


Death

Montague Summers died at his home in
Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Comm ...
in August 1948. The Catholic rector of
St Elizabeth of Portugal Church St Elizabeth of Portugal Church is a Grade II listed Roman Catholic parish church in The Vineyard, Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London. It is adjacent to The Vineyard Life Church. Dedicated to a 14th-centu ...
refused a public
requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
mass, but allowed instead a private graveside ceremony. Summers' grave in
Richmond Cemetery Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The cemetery opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expande ...
was unmarked until the late 1980s, when Sandy Robertson and Edwin Pouncey organised the Summers Project to garner donations for a gravestone. It now bears his favoured phrase "tell me strange things". Summers bequeathed his estate and papers to his long-time personal secretary and companion Hector Stuart-Forbes, who was later buried in the same plot as Summers. An autobiography of Summers was published posthumously in 1980 as ''The Galanty Show'', though it left much unrevealed about the author's life. In the 2000s, many of Summers' personal papers were re-discovered in Canada, where they had been kept by members of Stuart-Forbes's family. A collection of Summers' papers is now at the
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
library.


Works


Books on the occult

*''The History of Witchcraft and Demonology'', 1926 *''The Geography of Witchcraft'', 1927 (reprinted ) *''The Vampire, His Kith and Kin: A Critical Edition'', 1928 011(reprinted by Senate in 1993 as simply ''The Vampire''; reprinted with alternate title: ''Vampires and Vampirism'' ), edited by
John Edgar Browning John Edgar Browning (born October 14, 1980) is an American author, editor, and scholar known for his nonfiction works about the horror genre and vampires in film, literature, and culture. Previously a visiting lecturer at the Georgia Institute of ...
*''The Vampire in Europe: A Critical Edition'', 1929 011(reprinted ) (reprinted with alternate title: ''The Vampire in Lore and Legend'' ), edited by John Edgar Browning *''The Werewolf'', 1933 (reprinted with alternate title: ''The Werewolf in Lore and Legend'' ) *''A Popular History of Witchcraft'', 1937 *''Witchcraft and Black Magic'', 1946 (reprinted , ) *''The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism'', 1947


Poetry and drama

*''Antinous and Other Poems'', 1907 *''William Henry'' (play), 1939, unpublished *''Piers Gaveston'' (play), 1940, unpublished


Fiction anthologies edited by Summers

*''The Grimoire and Other Supernatural Stories'', 1936 *''The Supernatural Omnibus'', 1947


Other books

*''St. Catherine of Siena'', 1903 *''Lourdes'', 1904 *''A Great Mistress of Romance: Ann Radcliffe'', 1917 *''Jane Austen'', 1919 *''St. Antonio-Maria Zaccaria'', 1919 *''Essays in Petto'', 1928 *''Architecture and the Gothic Novel'', 1931 *''The Restoration Theatre'', 1934 *''The Playhouse of Pepys'', 1935 *''The Gothic Quest: a History of the Gothic Novel'' 1938 *''A Gothic Bibliography'' 1941 (copyright 1940) *''Six Ghost Stories'' (1938, not published until October 2019) *''The Bride of Christ and other fictions'' (posthumous, 2019)


As editor or translator

*''Works of Mrs. Aphra Behn'', 1915 *''Complete Works of Congreve'', 1923 *''Complete Works of Wycherley'', 1924 *'' The Castle of Otranto'' by Horace Walpole, 1924 *''The Complete Works of Thomas Shadwell'', 1927 *''Covent Garden Drollery'', 1927 *''Horrid Mysteries'' by the Marquis de Grosse 1927 (part of an incomplete edition of the ''
Northanger Horrid Novels ''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's '' The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first o ...
''). *'' The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest'' by 'Ludwig Flammenberg' 1927 (part of an incomplete edition of the 'Northanger Horrid Novels'). *''Demoniality'' by Ludovico Maria Sinistrari, 1927 *'' The Malleus Maleficarum'' of Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, 1928 *'' The Discovery of Witches'', 1928 by Matthew Hopkins (reprinted ) *'' Compendium Maleficarum'' by Francesco Maria Guazzo, translated by E.A. Ashwin, 1929 *'' Demonolatry'' by Nicolas Remy, translated by E.A. Ashwin, 1930 *''The Supernatural Omnibus'', 1931 (reprinted ) *''Dryden: The Dramatic Works'', 1931-32 *''Victorian Ghost Stories'', 1936 *''The Poems of
Richard Barnfield Richard Barnfield (baptized 29 June 1574 – 1620) was an English poet. His obscure though close relationship with William Shakespeare has long made him interesting to scholars. It has been suggested that he was the "rival poet" mentioned in ...
'', 1936 *''The Complete Works of
Thomas Otway Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for '' Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682). Life Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his fathe ...
'', 1936 *''Gothic Bibliography'', 1940


Bibliography

*d'Arch Smith, Timothy. "Montague Summers, A Bibliography". London: Nicholas Vane, 1964. (Revised edition 1983, Aquarian Press). *Jerome, Joseph. ''Montague Summers: A Memoir''. London: Cecil and Amelia Woolf, 1965 (edition limited to 750 copies). "Joseph Jerome" is a pseudonym of the Carmelite Father
Brocard Sewell Michael Seymour Gerveys Sewell (30 July 1912 – 2 April 2000), usually now known by his religious name Brocard Sewell, was a British Carmelite friar and literary figure. Biography He was born in Bangkok, and brought up in Cornwall, England. Ed ...
*Frank, Frederick S. ''Montague Summers: A Bibliographical Portrait''. London: The Scarecrow Press. 1988


References


External links


The Montague Summers papers at Georgetown University



The Demonologist: Montague Summers
* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Montague 1880 births 1948 deaths People educated at Clifton College English short story writers English non-fiction writers English Roman Catholics 20th-century Anglican deacons Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Vampirism Werewolves Witchcraft in England English male dramatists and playwrights English male short story writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century occultists 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English clergy Burials at Richmond Cemetery 20th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers