Magic has stepped out of the movies, morphed from the pages of fairy tales, and taken root in the modern mind. Soccer moms are getting voodoo head washings in their backyards, young U.S. soldiers send chants toward pagan gods of war, and a seem-ingly normal family has determined that they are in fact elves. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are turning toward the supernatural in new ways, blending the ancient and the modern for a hyper-charged spirituality. They are reaching back in time to powers that have sustained the human imagina-tion for thousands of years.

For many of us, magic is taking hold in less obvious ways. Almost unconsciously we find ourselves noting mysterious synchronicities that point to a plan for our lives. We are heeding premonitions, marking good omens, scrutinizing our dreams, and interpreting visions as direct communications. Thinking we might be called crazy, most of us never utter a word to anyone.

But others of us are bolder. The community of Wiccans, witches, and pagans is growing faster than any other religious group in America. Voodoo, hoodoo, and Santeria are attracting middle-class believers across the country.

National bestselling author and award-winning religion reporter Christine Wicker leaves no talisman unturned in her hunt to find what's authentic and what's not in America's burgeoning magical reality. Her investigation leads her from the voodoo temples of New Orleans to the witches' covens of Salem to a graveyard in north Florida as she probes the secrets of an underground society and learns lessons she never dreamed could be taught.

Her new teachers are an odd crew: Myrna the Death Puppet, Tracy, Queen of the Vampires, and Siva, a tenderhearted satanist, along with people who truly believe they are fairies, werewolves, and dragons. The reporter in Wicker listens harder than she ever has, and she doesn't let herself roll her eyes — not even once. What she learns repels her, challenges her, and then changes her in ways she never could have imagined.

And if you let it, it might change you, too.

"Apparently vampires not only exist but are alive, well, and possibly living in your home town. It's also likely that the spirit of novelist Zora Neale Hurston is in North Carolina giving magical people very specific instructions about what to do with her grave dirt. At least this is what Wicker suggests with a lot of wit, a serious dash of journalistic curiosity, and always respect for even the strange and unbelievable characters she encountered as she journeyed across America in search of all things magical. A former religion reporter for the Dallas Morning News and author of several books including Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead, Wicker tries to sort out the difference between religion and magic, and examines the many varieties of magical experience found across America. Wicker is many things for readers — a memoirist, a reporter, a narrator of fascinating stories and well-written dialogue and, not least, a humorist. Readers will find themselves unable to put this book down, absorbed in the story Wicker has to tell that is as much filled with laugh-out-loud moments as it is with insights into a topic that continues to fascinate both Muggles and magicians alike." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Journalist Wicker, a religion reporter, recounts her exploration into the increasingly popular trend of magic and mysticism in the US. This is a memoir of her own experiences and anecdotes of people she met in different parts of the country who had interests in voodoo, Wicca, Satanism, hoodoo, werewolves, and vampires. She lists some sources and offers a bibliography. There is no index.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Journalist Wicker, a religion reporter, recounts her exploration into the increasingly popular trend of magic and mysticism in the US. This is a memoir of her own experiences and anecdotes of people she met in different parts of the country who had interests in voodoo, Wicca, Satanism, hoodoo, werewolves, and vampires. She lists some sources and offers a bibliography. There is no index. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Christine Wicker is the author of the highly acclaimed national bestseller Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead. She is a former religion reporter for the Dallas Morning News and has won numerous awards for her journalism, including the Clarion Award, the Wilbur Award, the Sunday Magazine Editors' first place for feature writing, and seven first-place prizes from the Dallas Press Club. She lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin, with her husband.