Familiar Spirits

Familiar Spirits

"Familiar Spirits" is a memoir published in 2000 by American writer Alison Lurie. In it, she recounts a friendship with poet James Merrill and his life partner David Jackson which began in the 1950s.

Merrill and Jackson were both wealthy, well-educated men, who lived an openly gay life decades before that was common. Together, the two men spent many years gathering Ouija board messages during séances, a fact of which Lurie was made aware of early on, and about which she never lost her early skepticism. For Merrill, the poetic result was a 560-page apocalyptic epic called "The Changing Light at Sandover" (1982), which is in large measure transcribed from supernatural voices. In "Familiar Spirits", Lurie attempts to provide several rational and explanations for Merrill and Jackson's epiphanies and revelations.


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  • Familiar spirits — Spirit Spir it, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. {Conspire}, {Expire}, {Esprit}, {Sprite}.] 1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] All of spirit… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • FAMILIAR SPIRITS —    certain supernatural beings presumed, agreeably to a very old belief (Lev. xix. 31), to attend magicians or sorcerers, and to be at their beck and call on any emergency …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Familiar spirit — In early modern English superstition, a familiar spirit, imp, or familiar (from Middle English familiar , related to family) is an animal shaped spirit who serves for witchery, a demon, or other magician related subjects. Familiars were imagined… …   Wikipedia

  • familiar —    A spirit that maintains regular contact with a person, sometimes acting in service or guardianship, or providing information and instruction. The term familiar is from the Latin term familiaris, meaning “of a household or domestic.”… …   Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

  • Spirits of turpentine — Spirit Spir it, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. {Conspire}, {Expire}, {Esprit}, {Sprite}.] 1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] All of spirit… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spirits of wine — Spirit Spir it, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. {Conspire}, {Expire}, {Esprit}, {Sprite}.] 1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] All of spirit… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • familiar spirit — noun a spirit (usually in animal form) that acts as an assistant to a witch or wizard • Syn: ↑familiar • Hypernyms: ↑spirit, ↑disembodied spirit * * * noun 1. : a supernatural often malignant spirit in the service of an individual …   Useful english dictionary

  • Familiar spirit —    Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to answer questions, were said to have a familiar spirit (Deut. 18:11; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chr. 33:6; Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Isa. 8:19; 29:4). Such a person was called by the Hebrews an ob,… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • familiar — Synonyms and related words: Bohemian, abreast, accepted, accustomed, acquaintance, acquainted, acquainted with, advocate, affable, alter ego, amicable, amigo, ancestral spirits, angel, arrogant, attendant godling, au courant, au fait, audacious,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • Animal spirits — Spirit Spir it, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. {Conspire}, {Expire}, {Esprit}, {Sprite}.] 1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] All of spirit… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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