Mind Control, occult scenarios, conspiracy and ritual crimes… In "James Shelby Downard’s Mystical War," author Adam Gorightly chronicles the famed conspiracy researcher’s life long battles against Masonic Sorcery as an investigator and exposer of the Science of Symbolism, Onomatology (Science of Names) and Mystical Toponomy (Science of Places). "James Shelby Downard’s Mystical War" picks up where Downard left off and follows the bread crumbs down a rabbit hole where only the brave (or crazy!) dare follow.
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More About the Author
A self-described 'crackpot historian,' for two decades Adam Gorightly's articles have appeared in nearly every 'zine, underground magazine, counter-cultural publication, and conspiratorial website imaginable. Bringing a mischievous sense of Prankster-Discordianism to the zany world of fringe culture, once Gorightly connects his dots, readers are plunged into alternative universes which forever alter their view of 'reality.'
His landmark work, The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control and the Manson Family Mythos is by far the best ever compiled on the Tate-Labianca murders. Far from being portrayed as prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's caricatured bogeyman, Gorightly paints a broader picture of Manson in relation to Hollywood porn films, Anton LaVey's Satanism, Scientology and the Process Church, MK-ULTRA, designer drugs, and the true Beatles-Helter Skelter story.
An even wilder ride (if that's possible) can be found in The Prankster and the Conspiracy which examines the remarkable life of Kerry Thornley--a 1960s Zen radical chaos-creator who was quite realistically being groomed as a Lee Harvey Oswald 'patsy-double' before the Kennedy assassination. Everyone from Ken Kesey, Robert Anton Wilson, and Jim Garrison make appearances during this no-holds barred adventure.
Other intriguing releases include Death Cults; the hipster biography, James Shelby Downard's Mystical War; and The Beast of Adam Gorightly: Collected Rantings. In the latter, he describes the time when Doc Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates dropped LSD and pitched a no-hitter; and how J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye has been used as a control mechanism to trigger mind-numbed Manchurian Candidates. Other subjects include Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, the Disneyland Dead, and Hitler Was a Good American.
--Victor Thorn
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are two ways to read "James Shelby Downard's Mystical War": you can believe it's true, or you can try to prove it's not. That is the sum total of any conspiratorial inquiry despite the seriousness most writes try to impart. At the end of the day the real test may be whether it gets under your skin or not. This one will!
Adam Gorightly lends to the Downard epoch his own brand of kitschy weirdness and a droll humor that blunts the sharp edges of a tale that is both tragic and compellingly lurid. You want this to be true even as you recoil---it's the essence of a great thriller with the added twist of reality.
Once you read the bizarre turns in Downard's recounting of the JFK assassination you may never want to cross the 33rd parallel again. Once you understand the scope of the illuminist technocrat's stronghold in American culture you may consider hiding. Rarely is a writer so equal to the subject he covers!
Adam Gorightly lends to the Downard epoch his own brand of kitschy weirdness and a droll humor that blunts the sharp edges of a tale that is both tragic and compellingly lurid. You want this to be true even as you recoil---it's the essence of a great thriller with the added twist of reality.
Once you read the bizarre turns in Downard's recounting of the JFK assassination you may never want to cross the 33rd parallel again. Once you understand the scope of the illuminist technocrat's stronghold in American culture you may consider hiding. Rarely is a writer so equal to the subject he covers!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was mildly disappointed in this short work, especially at the listed price. If you have already read James Shelby Downard's "Carnivals of Life and Death," Michael Hoffman's "Secret Societies & Psychological Warfare," Craig Heimbichner's "Blood on the Altar," and Bowart's "Operation Mind Control" most of the material in this book will be a review.
However, for readers not acquainted with those works, I do recommend this book as a starting point for locating additional resources for conspiracy research. The author mentions the notorious "Sirius Rising" recordings of Downard, supposedly now in the hands of William Grimstad. I have heard at least one volume of these recordings, sold by Michael Hoffman, and I highly recommend seeking out your own copy while patiently waiting for the remaining tapes to be released - let's hope in our lifetime.
However, for readers not acquainted with those works, I do recommend this book as a starting point for locating additional resources for conspiracy research. The author mentions the notorious "Sirius Rising" recordings of Downard, supposedly now in the hands of William Grimstad. I have heard at least one volume of these recordings, sold by Michael Hoffman, and I highly recommend seeking out your own copy while patiently waiting for the remaining tapes to be released - let's hope in our lifetime.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By T. Nicholas
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
James Shelby Downard is the most outrageous of all conspiracy theorists. He initially achieved cult notoriety for his wacky theory that the JFK assassination was a ritual sacrifice carried out by Free Masons as part of a complex magical spell meant to set society on a path toward chaos and moral decay. His writings are crude, but highly entertaining in their extravagance. His method of deduction amounts to a game of word association gone haywire, and his autobiographical writings read like a tripped out, ultra-paranoid version of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - "we see the recurring theme of good triumphing over evil, with our hero in the role of a 'Pharmakos' (Masonic sacrificial victim) who wasn't going to take it sitting down; a bad ass dude with a lifelong battle against The Brotherhood." One of my favorite escapades involves the time a pre-pubescent Downard took a trip to Jekyll Island (birthplace of the Federal Reserve), where he witnessed none other than "Alexander Graham Bell (or one of Bell's 'doubles') engaged in homo-erotic sex magic fellatio in which 'vital energy and/or occult power described as a type of magnetism is transferred.'" Yeah. The guy is THAT bonkers. And it makes for a pretty good read.
Gorightly doesn't do him justice though. There's a million directions this book could have gone in. It could have been a simple, well organized overview of Downard's writings and ideas, either straight-faced or comical. It could have explored further the possibility that Downard is just an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Adam Parfey and Michael Hoffman. It could have placed Downard in his socio-historical context, examining the pervasive fears of deviant sexuality, loosening social mores, and racial miscegenation that run throughout his various fantastic claims. At the very least, we could have gotten a curated selection of the highlights from Downard's writings. Instead, Gorightly quickly moves beyond Downard altogether, and the majority of the short book is filled with pretty standard, run of the mill conspiracy stuff about MK-ULTRA, the Son of Sam, the Jonestown massacre, blah blah blah, with no connection to JSD whatsoever. It doesn't help that Gorightly is a dry, boring writer who for the most part seems to lack the sense of humor his subject requires of him. You're better off going straight to the source.
Gorightly doesn't do him justice though. There's a million directions this book could have gone in. It could have been a simple, well organized overview of Downard's writings and ideas, either straight-faced or comical. It could have explored further the possibility that Downard is just an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Adam Parfey and Michael Hoffman. It could have placed Downard in his socio-historical context, examining the pervasive fears of deviant sexuality, loosening social mores, and racial miscegenation that run throughout his various fantastic claims. At the very least, we could have gotten a curated selection of the highlights from Downard's writings. Instead, Gorightly quickly moves beyond Downard altogether, and the majority of the short book is filled with pretty standard, run of the mill conspiracy stuff about MK-ULTRA, the Son of Sam, the Jonestown massacre, blah blah blah, with no connection to JSD whatsoever. It doesn't help that Gorightly is a dry, boring writer who for the most part seems to lack the sense of humor his subject requires of him. You're better off going straight to the source.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mystical Mystery
This book delves into a man that very little is really known about. This book is a good jumping-off point for any reader who wants to know more about James Shelby Downard.
Published 1 day ago by QuantumFrank
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still Absorbing -- Therefore Awesome!
Gorightly is one of those guys I've been introduced to through my friend Greg Bishop. These are writers whose knowledge has enlightened me in ways I had not imagined, and their... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Walter B. Bosley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too much too far
I just received this slender tome today, and read it not knowing what to expect, It seems like the stuff you encounter when someone has read too much into conspiracies, or thought... Read more
Published on April 21, 2010 by muzo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
I knew very little about James Shelby Downard when I started reading this and I found it so interesting that I read straight through to the end. I highly recommend!
Published on January 12, 2010 by Lesley Gunter
5.0 out of 5 stars
James Shelby Downards Mystical War
James who? That is what I said when I ordered this book. But this wound up being a fantastic journey of connectedness, there just aren't many who analyze spider webs and frame... Read more
Published on October 17, 2009 by J. Mael
5.0 out of 5 stars
Small Powerhouse
James Shelby Downard's Mystical War by Adam Gorightly
A thin book, outwardly not promising much, yet what it offers in tightly interwoven factoids that coalesce to an... Read more
A thin book, outwardly not promising much, yet what it offers in tightly interwoven factoids that coalesce to an... Read more
Published on August 9, 2009 by George-Peter Paxinos
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slipstream into the Downardian current
Adam Gorightly neatly summarizes the life and thought of James Shelby Downard in this slender, enticing read. Read more
Published on March 21, 2009 by Craig Heimbichner
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent book
Adam does a great job of delving into the mind that came up w/the great and unique King Kill 33 theory. He takes you thru Downard's childhood to adult life. Read more
Published on March 5, 2009 by Paul Cox
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