Aiming at guiding the reader into the hidden mysteries of the Night Primeval, The Benighted Path is certainly one of the most intriguing and sophisticated elaborations of a nocturnal magical vision.

Twisting beyond the placid boundaries of civilization is an ancient occult pathway. Its voyagers do not march the linear road of human progress and spiritual ascent but instead orient their souls to the luminous, haunted darkness of the Depth. Many have glimpsed this eerie dimension when sleep has delivered them onto the back of the charging Night-Mare, and recollections of these brief visitations survive in countless tales of terror and in the folklore of locales rumored to be fey or cursed. Rare, however, is the individual who willingly pays the tariff and passes irretrievably through that twilight of existence in order to become Benighted – for the bounties are plentiful.

Drawing on the shadow aspects of a variety of traditions, including the Death Cult of Ancient Egypt, Traditional Witchcraft, and folklore, Gavin masterfully conjures a chthonic esoteric theory and praxis as a result of more than 2 decades of personal occult work.

The Benighted Path is an intense exploration of the liminal, the powers of the land, and inner shadow spaces designed to awaken the aspirant’s true Monstrous Soul. Only so empowered the Benighted may offer their adoration to the Gorgon and partake of the Sidereal Feast.

Enriched by appropriate conjurations, ritual instructions, and a treatise on the Faustian pact this work should be of great interest to any practitioner of Traditional Witchcraft, chthonic magic, and earth-based esotericism.

Richard Gavin is an acclaimed author of non-fiction esoterica and supernatural horror fiction. His previously published works include The Moribund Portal: Spectral Resonance and the Numen of the Gallows for Three Hands Press.