William Buehler Seabrook was a journalist and explorer whose interest in the occult lead him across the globe where he studied magic rituals, trained as a witch doctor, and famously ate human flesh, likening it to veal. Despite his studious accounts of magical practices, he insisted he had never seen anything which could not be explained rationally. His book on witchcraft is notable for its thoughtful focus on arch-occultist Aleister Crowley, who stayed at Seabrook's home for a short time.