Features
Hex appeal: the rise of middle-class witches
In King James VI of Scotland’s Daemonologie, written in 1597, he vigorously encourages witch-hunting and, in particular, the tossing of…
How the occult captured the modern mind
The British science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, proposed a ‘law of science’ in 1968:…
Satanic verses: the origins of Roman Catholic black metal
In his youth in the early 2000s, Emil Lundin became obsessed with the idea of recording the world’s ‘most evil…
The gym, the hairdresser, the campaign trail: the inside story of Kemi’s first year
On the day of the local elections in May, when the Tories suffered a historic setback, Kemi Badenoch went to…
My debt to the teacher who introduced me to Wagner
We saw the world end in Berlin, again. Another Ring Cycle – hurrah! – in the beautiful Staatsoper theatre on…
The irreplaceable Lady Annabel Goldsmith
During Jane Austen’s time, their roles would be reversed. Lady Annabel Goldsmith, who left us last week at 91, would…
The Ultras: meet Britain’s new Islamo-socialist alliance
Ayoub Khan seemed delighted. Last Thursday, it was announced that fans of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv would…
The westerners helping Hamas win the propaganda war
After two years of war, and despite Israel’s many successes on the battlefield, Hamas can also claim a kind of…
The battle for Farage’s mind
If New Labour was Margaret Thatcher’s greatest achievement, then Reform UK is perhaps Tony Blair’s. Distaste for the three-time election…
‘Trump isn’t easy’: Piers Morgan on his friends – and foes
When I meet Piers Morgan, he warns me he’s glued to the ‘moment in history’ happening on his TV screens…
The sheer joy of nighties
One of the many problems with the internet is that it’s increasingly difficult to know if something has become ubiquitous…
Prince Andrew: from playboy to PlayStation
Oh God, not that. That’s all we need, I thought, reading in a long account of Prince Andrew’s current travails…
Would you spend £30 on a Charlie Bigham’s ready meal?
Ready meals: the after-work time-saver, the dinner-party cheat – or a poor imitation of proper, cooked food? The proto-ready meal…
The parents gaming special educational needs
As a foster carer and adopter, I’ve spent more mornings than I care to count coaxing my 13-year-old daughter into…
Ukraine must stand as a fortress of European freedom
It is 35 years since I was last in Warsaw and the city is unrecognisable. Back then it was grimy…
Why Sheridan Westlake is the Tories’ best weapon
Who is responsible for Labour’s recent woes? For some Conservatives, the answer is obvious – Sheridan Westlake. He is that…
Here be dragons: the truth about Chinese espionage
On 3 July a Chinese man, Xu Zewei, was arrested in Milan to face extradition on nine charges relating to…
Britain’s glassmaking tradition is fracturing
We live in a strange era in which much of our day-to-day experience is constructed for us digitally on a…
French parents do it better
I arrived in Paris as an au pair in 2022. I was in my early twenties and armed only with…
Labour’s class war on moorland
This year has been a bad one for wildfires in Britain. In June, nearly 30,000 acres burned near Carrbridge in…
Can anyone stop J.D. Vance becoming president?
As Donald J. Trump flew to the Holy Land on Sunday to declare peace, his Vice-President took to the airwaves…
Confessions of a skip-diver
Call me disgusting, but I like rubbish, and I like it best from a skip. I am also in good…
The Spectator state of mind
It is party time in New York as we toast the launch of The Spectator’s swish new office on Fifth…
My toxic affair with my Land Rover
For the past decade I’ve been in a toxic relationship. Sure, there were red flags – most of them on…
My personalised number plate is worth more than my car
A poll has confirmed what most people know already – personalised number plates are vulgar, divisive and a complete waste…
