Vampire: a wild story in scraps and colors

It has taken forever, or at least it has seemed like forever! I’ve just made this hard cover edition of Vampire: a wild story of scraps and colors available for the first time. It is a massive book with over 500 pages. It is also my favorite book of the trilogy because I think it is the most autobiographical of them all.

 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/joe-e-bandel-and-hanns-heinz-ewers/vampire-a-wild-story-in-scraps-and-colors/hardcover/product-23163792.html

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Searching For The Soul

Searching for the Soul

 

Like man himself! In the beginning man was with God and part of the indivisible All, and he tore himself loose in spite of it. From this awareness of self over the course of billions of years there developed an awareness of the contradiction, “I”—and the world! And yet a part of the All clung to this “I”, was still imprisoned in this physical body, grew with it, died with it and was inseparable from its earthly remains.

And a great desire for liberation caused this soul to seek a false path and grope in the shameful darkness. It always ran back by the way which it had come to its original awareness of the “I” instead of to the “Not—I”, and did not know that the goal was at the other end.

The soul was conscious of the contradiction between the “I” and the “Not—I”, but the soul accepted the physical body as part of the “I”, even as the “I” itself did, and did not realize that the physical body was only a part of the “Not—I”. Thus man’s physical body became the unfortunate bridge that always led the soul back to the physical world of which it was a part. And all those souls driven by desire passed over it and descended deeper and deeper until they sank into God.

Yet how comical it was when the pious cried out that one must conquer the body! Their words were so wise, yet their understanding was so wrong. They did not conquer the body—but rather strengthened its power by all they did. They conquered the soul of man and became as beasts; they conquered the beasts inside and became as God.

But the time must come for the striding forth of the liberated human being. When the knowledge becomes so deep and so firmly rooted that each one knows his body is nothing other than some tree that stands in the forest, than some bird that flies in the air: than any foreign object that lies far in the distance! When each passionately feels that his body has nothing in common with his soul—and is as alien to him as a stone in the street , when the assurance reaches each consciousness that the external world may be all-embracing, yet, it fails to hold one thing, namely, the soul—then that great day will dawn—

Then the soul of man will tend the body well, like a temple, like a good house in which one dwells. Only, it will be a stranger, something external from us, and this knowledge alone will be the great conquest of the body. Then the bridge that leads downward will be broken; then the lunacy of our forefathers will perish; then the eternal desires will laugh happily as they kiss freedom and truth amidst their tears over the dark errors of the ages.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

 

The above was written by German author Hanns Heinz Ewers over a century ago! Or rather it is my translation of his words and thoughts into the English language. As I partake in more online discussion groups, in particular Mensa discussion groups I find that believing in the individual soul is not politically correct. I also find that attitude a little bit two-faced. Consider the question, “Is a loved one the same person after having a debilitating stroke? Is their awareness, their consciousness, still the same but hindered by physical damage caused by the stroke? Or have they in some way become less human? I have seen stroke victims struggle to find the words they desire to express and the frustration that they feel being physically unable to do so. To me this is direct evidence that individual awareness remains even though it might not be able to physically express itself

 

The question really becomes whether conscious awareness is purely energetic in nature or mechanical. Is individual awareness capable of being separated from the physical body or is it simply an expression of the physical body that dies when the physical body dies? While science almost unanimously denies the existence of the soul, it entertains such thoughts as the possibility of integrating human consciousness with machines or computers. Movies such as “Avatar” envision the ability of human awareness to transfer itself from one physical body to another! For some reason science admits the possibilities of these things while denying the possibility of the existence of the soul. I find that very troubling!

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Lemuria Volume I

Those interested in Hanns Heinz Ewers will enjoy Lemuria Volume I, a collection of short stories by rival fantasy author Karl Hans Strobl.

This book contains the stories:

The Mermaid

The Witchfinder

At a Crossroads

The Head

The Repulsion of the Will

The Tomb at Pere Lachaise

The Wicked Nun

The Bogomil Stone

The Manuscript of Juan Serrano

Familiar Moves

 

Of these stores only “The Head” and “The Wicked Nun” were ever translated into English. As always, these are my own translations of these stories. Lemuria is too large to publish in one volume so I am publishing it in several volumes that include other stories by Karl Hans Strobl from “The Crystal Ball and other Stories” and “The Orchid Garden”.

I am currently finishing up Lemuria Volume I and should have it available by the end of February. (This month). This will include hard cover, quality paperback, epub and pdf editions.

 

-joe

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Hanns Heinz Ewers Volume II update

I’ve created several editions of Hanns Heinz Ewers Volume II including:

Hard Cover

Quality Paperback

PDF edition

Epub edition (this has a different cover to distinguish it from the PDF)

I have also corrected and revised Hanns Heinz Ewers Volume I (hard cover and quality paperback editions only) and made a hard cover available. This includes the short story Sibylla Madruzzo which is an out take of Sorcerer’s Apprentice and was published as a short story. I also changed the title of The Crucified Minstral to The Crucified Clown which is more in keeping with the story. The ebook editions remain the same.

Lastly I’ve created a bare bones quality paperback edition of Sorcerer’s Apprentice with no extra material at all other than the Mahlon Blaine artwork. The hard cover remains as the more collectable edition with the extra material. This is available in quality paperback and epub editions.

While this may make the shopping more confusing I’ve tried to specify which editions are which in the descriptions. I hope that this will satisfy more readers and allow more choice. Half of my book orders are for ebooks so this is being stressed at this time.

I am now turning my attention to finishing Vampire and hope to have it completed shortly.

-joe

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Hanns Heinz Ewers Volume II

Bandel Books is pleased to announce the new publication of Hanns Heinz Ewers Volume II.

This is the second volume in a collection of short stories by Hanns Heinz Ewers and translated by Joe E. Bandel and includes: “The White Maiden”,”Eleven Thousand Virgins and the Four Holy Three KIngs”,”The Water Corpse”,”Carnival in Cadiz”,”How Eleven Chinese Devoured Their Bride”,”From the Journal of an Orange Tree”,”Of Geese, Spirits, Leeches and the Cat Organ”,”Fairyland”,”Alraune and her Chauffeur”,”The Last Will and Testament of Stanislawa d’Asp”,”Mamaloi”,”The Worst Betrayal”,”The Lost Monkey”, plus a short introduction by Joe E. Bandel.

It can be purchased as a quality paperback from Lulu Publishing:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/joe-bandel-and-hanns-heinz-ewers/hanns-heinz-ewers-volume-ii/paperback/product-21421641.html

Pdf Version here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/joe-bandel-and-hanns-heinz-ewers/hanns-heinz-ewers-volume-ii/ebook/product-21422322.html

Epub edition will follow shortly.

Enjoy

-joe

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Anarchist World, the new ezine!

For those interested in what is new in the world of Hanns Heinz Ewers, I suggest they clink on the link at the right to “Anarchist World”. This new webpage is a type of ezine intended to widen the readership of my translations. It is also intended to take off some of the pressure to perform that I feel from always having one new book to complete by some deadline; especially when I am working two jobs and have very little time for my hobbies.

So, enjoy some previously unreleased titles from:

Hanns Heinz Ewers Volume II

Vampire

The Book of Fables

Moganni Nameh

India and I

As well as contributions from:

Lemuria

Jugend

Simplicissimus

Satan’s Children

Mia Holm

From Out of Decadence: a novel

Fire Lilly

and some of my own works.

Please think of this as an ezine that is constantly bringing new and interesting things to read. If you enjoy it, consider supporting it with a small monthly donation; the price of a cup of coffee and a doughnut! I would like to quit my weekend job so that I can spend more time writing and translating. That will require the support of others that share my dream of a free and lasting Anarchist World!

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Hanns Heinz Ewers Brevier

Hanns Heinz Ewers Brevier is now available in hardcover and pdf editions. The Side Real Press limited edition is out of print after two weeks! I may have a few individual copies for sale of my own. Email me at joebandel@hotmail.com.

Hanns Heinz Ewers Brevier is available as a hardcover and ebook from Bandel Books Online.

Here is the link for the POD version:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/joe-bandel-and-hanns-heinz-ewers/hanns-heinz-ewers-brevier/hardcover/product-20605647.html

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Hanns Heinz Ewers-Sorcerer’s Apprentice

“Sorcerer’s Apprentice”

I am pleased to announce that my translation of Hanns Heinz Ewers “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is now available in Hard Cover, quality paperback and pdf version at lulu.com. Here is the link:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/anarchistbanjo

The First Volume in the Frank Braun trilogy. This is the first uncensored English translation of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. It includes an Introduction by Dr. Wifried Kugel; the poems, “Prometheus” by Goethe,and “Hymn to Satan” by Carducci; “The Satanism of Hanns Heinz Ewers”, “Duality-The Male”, “Duality-The Female”,and “Duality-Sexual Alchemy” by Joe Bandel and the complete text of “Synagogue of Satan” by Stansislaw Przybyszewski also translated by Joe Bandel.

For several years after writing “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” Hanns Heinz Ewers gave highly successful lectures on “The Religion of Satan” which were based upon “The Synagogue of Satan”. His view of “Satanism” is highly different than what is popular today and shows that his belief in the future of humanity lies in the balancing of the male/female aspects within us and not in two eternal forces in opposition, good/evil. For him Satanism was the emancipation of women.

Due to the extensive footnotes/endnotes and illustrations this will not be offered in epub version. The epub version has difficulty with both footnotes and large numbers of illustrations.

On a side note, Side Real Press has the text prepared for “Hanns Heinz Ewers Brevier” which will also be coming out soon in limited edition through Side Real Press and regular hardcover at Lulu. More on this when it is available.

thanks,

-joe

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The Satanism of Hanns Heinz Ewers Part 6

The Synagogue of Satan by Stanislaw Przybyszewski 1897

Translated by Joe Bandel 2011

Part Six

The church was happily finished with nature. The hypocritical priest was torn away from his wife and began to perpetrate unmentionable sexual obscenities. His marriage was dissolved and now he began to rape and put horns on his male sheep. But, as previously mentioned, celibacy became the standard practice over all.

Now the church had to deal with logic and reason. Earlier man had been forbidden to seek after the nature of God. Now man was forbidden above all else to seek after the physical application of logic and reason.

“Every word corresponds to an idea and every idea is the essence of reality. Thus it follows that grammar is logic and logic is the true science.”

With that logic and reason was settled. If an idea was the essence of reality, then man didn’t need to see physical things at all, didn’t need to learn about them, didn’t need to observe them. Man perceived the world through his thoughts in the same way he perceived truth and reality. Everything was in his mind. Ideas were the ultimate reality.

Man gave up thinking about the physical world and with enthusiasm turned to some fragments of Aristotle that Harun al Rashid had translated into Arabic. Now man commented on poor Aristotle, wrote long commentaries on the commentaries. They mutilated the fragments, made the pagan into a Christian, and showed how he proved the divinity of Christ and his martyrdom by splitting hairs. The entire structure of Christian doctrine was found to originate from Aristotle and based on his philosophy.

An airhead from Avicenna became the prince of thinkers and both great church doctors became sterile mules. Thomas Aquinas brooded over the psychology of the angels and Duns Scotus discovered the marvelous “machine cogitationis” (thinking machine). If existence is a dream, then words are things! Beautiful! Yet even more: every combination of words represents combinations of things and their realities. Setting words together in certain sequences is called perception of reality. This logical sequence of associated words gives us the thinking machine, gives thought without thinking. Thus concluded the church.

Satan—as philosopher, he who had created the most unfathomable philosophical systems of the orient, he who delighted in the poetic subtleties of Plato, he who split the most competent heads of the good God with his Manichean heresies, smiled evilly and was amused at this child’s play.

“But how is it,” he asked with a sly wink of an eye to the church doctors, “How is it when a farmer pulls a swine to the market? What is doing the pulling? The farmer or the rope?”

An entire century painfully racked its brains over this question. Opinions were divided and the most competent athletes of lunacy could not resolve the question. The thinking machine had destroyed thought and the ability to think. The church exhaled in relief. But in that moment, just as the church thought it could proceed calmly and peacefully in its business of pulling the hide over the ears of the farmer, a fearful storm was raised.

Abelard dared utter a little, tiny thought. The idea is not real. Abstraction is not reality.

He was as beautiful and majestic as a god, according to the statement of a chronicler of the time. There was no woman in France that could resist him. He was extraordinarily learned for his time with a brilliant gift of eloquence. Abelard began to speak out as a man of men. He developed and popularized the most appalling jumble of church doctrines and came to surprising and new conclusions that threw the old doctrines of the church into the trash heap.

Anselmus had to believe in order to know. Now Abelard had to prove and understand before he could believe. The crime was not in the deed itself, but in the intention. Consequently there were no sins that came out of ignorance or habit. What was original sin? No sin at all, only a punishment. But what of the entire work of salvation? That was an act of love. God wanted to establish the law of love and for that reason he sent his son to earth.

That was a terrible heresy for the time, but Abelard’s philosophy spread with an unusual swiftness over entire Europe. The prime intelligencia of his time sat at his feet, from which later emerged two popes, twenty cardinals and fifty bishops. This new churchly philosophy penetrated into the populace. Abelard taught unceasingly that everyone had to interpret divinity according to their own understanding. With one stroke the spiritual power of the church was broken. All the people began to discuss sacred things. They began to form their own conclusions. Great and small, educated and uneducated, even little children violated the sacred sanctuary and the secrets of the church.

St. Bernard of Clairvoux lamented in his denunciation of Abelard, “Irredetur simplicium fides, eviscerantur arcana Dei, quaestiones de altissimus rebus temerarie ventilantur.” (The faith of the morally simple people is derided; the secrets of God eviscerated and questions concerning the highest things are frivolously discussed.)

Arnold of Brescia, Abelard’s most gifted student, leaned against the papacy. He wanted the church to return to the form of the first Christian congregations. With wild enthusiasm the people listened to his teachings, that the power of the church should only be spiritual, as Christ had wanted it and for the first time the unheard of battle cry resounded, “Rome must be free!” Pope Lucius II was killed and his successor, Eugene III had to flee in order to escape the vengeance of the people.

The kings of Castile had the entire works of Aristotle translated and in its wake came the Arabs and the Jews with the pantheism of Averroes and the subtleties of the kabbalah. Under the protection of Emperor Fredrick II, Arabian doctors dared the unheard of—to cut open a human corpse. And Frederick II, debaucher and atheist, a witty and refined philosopher—with a big grin—asked the Muslims, “My dear Gentlemen, what do you think about God?”

A spirit of skepticism and unbelief seized all the people and the “I” was brought to the fore with drunken enthusiasm. To be able to prove everything and at the same time refute it, that was considered the highest philosophical art. Simon de Tournay suddenly cried out after brilliantly laying bare the essence of the Christian doctrines, “O pètit Jèsus, petit Jèsus, comme j’ai èlevè ta loi! Si je voulais, je pourrais encore mieux la rabaisser!” (O little Jesus, little Jesus. How I have fortified your teachings! If I wanted to, I could refute them even better!)

Richard the lionhearted declared himself a brother-in-arms with the Sultan Malek Adhal and offered him his sister for a wife. Henry II, king of England, threatened the pope that he would become Muslim and King John charmed everyone with the most beautiful jokes about his excommunication.

The people of the twelfth century paid no attention to God. They believed that Christ had ruled for a long enough time already and that is was finally time for the Holy Spirit to have its turn. One messiah after another stepped up. Countless sects began to form. The people no longer sought after an external God. He was inside them and spoke through their own mouths.

*****

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The Satanism of Hanns Heinz Ewers Part 5

The Synagogue of Satan by Stanislaw Przybyszewski 1897

Translated by Joe Bandel 2011

Part Five

And Satan’s revenge came. He burrowed himself deeply into the earth until it became possessed. Around the year one thousand the people began to despair of God. Signs and wonders were happening all over the earth. The army of Otto the great saw the sun go out and return as a pale saffron yellow. In Rome the devil visited Pope Sylvester V in person. The seasons of the year appeared to turn themselves around. It snowed in summer and heavy thunderstorms broke out in the middle of deepest winter. “Holy Fire” ate the flesh of the people until it fell from their bones in gangrenous tatters.

The earth was delirious and the people became beasts. Starvation was a problem over the entire world and at home the people began to devour the corpses of the dead. The craving for human flesh became a mania. People despised animal flesh, did not even consider it. Humans were supposed to devour humans. Thus Satan got the revenge that he desired.

[Translator’s note: This section refers to the writing of monk historian Ralph Glaber who documented these times and the mass hysteria that surrounded the turn of the millennium. Here is an excerpt taken from the medieval sourcebook online. One must consider that due to volcanic eruptions at the time many parts of the world were plunged into a miniature ice age. Perhaps these were the end of days foretold in the book of Revelations and Christ has ruled the new Christianized earth for the last one thousand years. Perhaps his time has come and gone.]

Medieval Sourcebook:
Ralph Glaber: On the First Millenium

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/glaber-1000.html

For, in the seventh year before that date, Mount Vesuvius (which is also called Vulcan’s Caldron) gaped far more often than his wont and belched forth a multitude of vast stones mingled with sulphurous flames which fell even to a distance of three miles around; and thus by the stench of his breath he began to make all the surrounding province uninhabitable.. . . It befell meanwhile that almost all the cities of Italy and Gaul were ravaged by flames of fire, and that the greater part even of the city of Rome was devoured by a conflagration. During which fire, the flames caught the beams of St Peter’s church, beginning to-creep under the bronze tiles and lick the carpenters’ work. When this became known to the whole multitude that stood by, then, finding no possible device for averting this disaster, they turned with one accord and, crying with a terrible voice, hastened to the Confession [Coulton note: The part of the choir in which the celebrant makes his confession before saying mass. See Dom Martene, De Antiquis Ecclesiae Ritibus, lib. i, c. iv, art. 2, ad fin. At St Peter’s of Rome, this is the space eastward of the Saint’s tomb]. even of the Chief of the Apostles, crying upon him with curses that, if he watched not over his own, nor showed himself a very present defender of his church, many throughout the world would fall away from their profession of faith. Whereupon the devouring flames straightway left those beams of pine and, died away.. . . At this same time a horrible plague raged among men, namely a hidden fire which, upon whatsoever limb it toned, consumed it and severed it from the body [Coulton note: this is St Anthony’s fire, one of the curses of the Middle Ages, which modem medicine has traced to poisons generated in corrupt rye-bread.] Many were consumed even in the space of a single night by these devouring flames.. .. Moreover, about the same time, a most mighty famine raged for five years throughout the Roman world, so that no region could be beard of which was not hunger stricken for lack of bread, and many of the people were starved to death. In those days also, in many regions, the terrible famine compelled men to make their food not only of unclean beasts and creeping things, but even of men’s, women’s, and children’s flesh, without regard even of kindred; for so fierce waxed this hunger that grown-up sons devoured their mothers, and mothers, forgetting their maternal love ate their babes. [Coulton note: The chronicler then goes on to speak of two heresies which arose in France and Italy, of the piety of King Robert of France, etc., etc.]

The vengeance seeking Satan first wanted the people to eat the flesh of children, then those that fell on the wayside, until at last it was dared to openly sell human flesh in public. Countless packs of wolves came out of the woods and devoured any others that still remained living. A great fear dominated that the world would become depopulated. The prelates and city officials gathered together and devised ways so that at least the strongest could stay alive and the world not die out.

The people sought in vain to reconcile themselves with God. In vain they swore the “Treuga Dei” (peace of God) with their bitterest enemies. In vain the kings, clothed with crowns and scepters, said the most despairing prayers along with the choir boys—it was all for nothing.

If God would not help, then Satan must! The people began to make fun of God. They trampled the consecrated host, his body, into the dirt and dung, spit on his holiest symbols. Satan began to reap his harvest. For a long time he had mockingly and scornfully whispered to the despairing, “Behold how good your God is! Don’t you see that he has damned you already and wants nothing more to do with you?”

If we are all damned, then there is no help for us. Alas! We might as well give ourselves entirely over to Satan. Christ shed his blood for the salvation of mankind. Heh! Salvation? What kind of salvation is this, that people have to eat each other, that the earth burns under our feet like a red hot iron and pestilence causes the flesh to fall from our bones?

Scorn, threefold scorn on this salvation! We spit on the salvation that is supposed to come after this earthly hell. This future salvation is only a lie like everything else. What about the promises of salvation here on earth? Look, the church, Christ’s holy bride, has become a whore that sells herself with the most frightful haggling.

During this time it was considered a disgrace for any gentleman to be without lands. The land was not for purchase. It was indivisible like a person and had to remain undivided. It got passed on to the eldest son.

But what about the other children? Now that was what the church was there for. The temple of God became the synagogue of Satan so the good fathers could make use of their filthiest passions to engender the most fertile of evils. The countless children of the Barons and Dukes became abbots and bishops. The people were called together and told to choose or else… The people never expected the “or else” so they chose.

Atto de Veciel tells how the countless sheep elected a little child of six years to the highest ministry. The child climbed onto a chair, prattled a couple of sentences from the catechism and was proclaimed a bishop. At times a child would forget the sentences, and then a dove would suddenly land on its head and help the people to choose. Behold! That was even more favorable. The Holy Spirit itself had chosen.

At the same time the worthy successors to St. Peter scandalized the entire world. Two women made their lovers into popes. The son of a Jew and a twelve year old boy decided over the fate of Christendom.

The good father of sin was satisfied. He knew that now his reign was established. The church took stock of itself.

“Reform the church!” screamed the entire world.

Pope Gregory VII began the reformation. Woman, oh ever and again it was woman, had to be destroyed within the church. With wild fanatical zeal the monk pope proclaimed the requirement of celibacy.  He himself was a monk and incited the other monks against the worldly priests. The monks threw their burning torches underneath the people and a horrible terror began. The destructive instinct of the people, that eternally hungry beast, was unleashed without bounds.

Had there ever been a better opportunity for the people to avenge themselves on the blood suckers that raged against them a thousand times worse than the castle lords themselves? The people threw themselves upon the priests, who with stiff necked despair refused to give up their wives. They drove them away from the altars, beat them, mutilated them or tore them to pieces in the cathedrals. The people trampled them with their feet, soiled them, spit on those things that a short time ago they had revered as holy.

They drank the Holy Wine after mixing it with urine and threw the consecrated host to the four winds. The power of the priest was broken. The people no longer believed them to be the representatives of God. They had no power or authority. The monks and the pope ruled the world.

Dunstan permitted the concubine of an English king to be mutilated. Pope Gregory VII rewarded an abbot with a bishopric after the abbot had a monk castrated. The theologian Manegeld openly taught that married priests should be killed.

Nature was raped; the church pushed the woman away in disgust as an unclean animal, a serpent of Satan, as eternal death incarnate. The fanatical madman Pietro Damiani roamed through entire Italy and in countless sermons always renewed his attacks on woman.

“C’est ả vous que je mảdresse, e’cume de paradis, amorce de Satan, poison des âmes, glaive des coeurs, huppes, bijoux, chouettes, louves, sangaues insatiables…(I am addressing you, scum of paradise, bait of Satan, poison of the soul, spear of the heart, all dressed up with jewels, you little chicks, she-wolves, insatiable bloodsuckers…)

The holy doctors declared that man should distance himself from woman. The world was populated enough and going to perish soon. Peter of Lombardy professed that marriage was a sin, at least a venial sin.

*****

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