Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1992, Page 37
which she watches her nanny‟s “transformation” into one of the “white people,” a woodland
demon. The diary details her increasing involvement in and preoccupation with a Druidic past
(see, for example, the recent film, The Wicker Man, depicting the survival of Druidic sacrifice).
In the novel‟s epilogue, the narrator informs us that the writer of the diary has committed
suicide in front of a curiously well-preserved statue of some ancient and nameless deity.
This novel presents a classic portrayal of the potentially suicidal adolescent. Her father is
detached and emotionally uninvolved. His primary concern is his business. He reproves her
interest in the occult as being beneath the social dignity of a genteel woman. He does not
recognize that her interest in the “beyond” reflects her inner emptiness, an emptiness that is
the product of her isolation and/or the loss of her mother. Moreover, he does not appreciate
that the populist character of occultism and of occult rituals could be very seductive to a
young woman who is otherwise unengaged in social activities.
Potential recruits involve themselves in occultism/satanism (as did the protagonist in The
White People) because of the opportunity it promises its adepts to understand and manipulate
the arcana of the physical world. To the depressed adolescent, the promise of empowerment
“to become a member of a gnostic elite” is extraordinarily seductive, particularly when the
alternative is severe depression. In this novel and in real life, it is not surprising that the
vulnerable adolescent chooses to identify with the witches/demonic elite who “control” powers
beyond the limited imagination of adults.
In The White People, the adolescent is ultimately able to reexperience the closeness which
she enjoyed with her mother, only now her mother is transformed and transmuted into an
immortal and mythic white princess. Her ultimate suicide represents her regression from the
world of adult sexuality toward a position of childlike dependence in which she is nurtured by
the “white person/goddess,” whom she has regained and hopes to revive. Thus, the girl‟s
suicide represents both the ultimate regression and an act of empowerment in which she is
transmuted into a “goddess.”
Suicide and Films of the Occult
The adolescent‟s suicide in The White People is presented as the outcome of adult
detachment, self-involvement, and smug adult rationalism. The events leading to the suicide
are rationalized as part of the adolescent‟s desire to possess a “gnosis,” which will grant her
the power to undo her isolation and restore her mother to her. These issues are presented
within a social context that views the “old gods” as part of an enduring but persecuted
society. Comparable issues have been raised in recent films. An examination of these films
can heighten our appreciation of the adolescent‟s pursuit of self-destructive practices as part
of a quest for empowerment.
Beetlejuice is a particularly cogent recent example. This “comedy” with its special effects and
witty commentary on the primary narcissism of its artistic “trendoids,” portrays a situation not
dissimilar to The White People. Lydia is a 16-year-old girl dressed entirely in black whose
preoccupation is taking pictures of her trendoid parents and their manic poseur interior
decorator, Otho. The girl‟s parents have recently purchased a charming Victorian house,
which they are determined to transform into a postmodern object. Characteristically, when
told by her parents that they will build a darkroom, Lydia remarks, “My whole life is a dark
room--one big dark room.”
Her stepmother, Delia, is a sculptor who creates ominous, organic shapes in bronze,
commenting that “this is my art and it‟s dangerous.” Lydia‟s father, Charles, appears to be
more accessible, but he too is manipulated by his wife‟s outbursts (“I‟ll go insane and I‟ll take
you with me”). His primary passion is his real-estate deals (Lydia archly suggests that her
father will never sell the house even if it were haunted because “father never walks away
from equity”).
which she watches her nanny‟s “transformation” into one of the “white people,” a woodland
demon. The diary details her increasing involvement in and preoccupation with a Druidic past
(see, for example, the recent film, The Wicker Man, depicting the survival of Druidic sacrifice).
In the novel‟s epilogue, the narrator informs us that the writer of the diary has committed
suicide in front of a curiously well-preserved statue of some ancient and nameless deity.
This novel presents a classic portrayal of the potentially suicidal adolescent. Her father is
detached and emotionally uninvolved. His primary concern is his business. He reproves her
interest in the occult as being beneath the social dignity of a genteel woman. He does not
recognize that her interest in the “beyond” reflects her inner emptiness, an emptiness that is
the product of her isolation and/or the loss of her mother. Moreover, he does not appreciate
that the populist character of occultism and of occult rituals could be very seductive to a
young woman who is otherwise unengaged in social activities.
Potential recruits involve themselves in occultism/satanism (as did the protagonist in The
White People) because of the opportunity it promises its adepts to understand and manipulate
the arcana of the physical world. To the depressed adolescent, the promise of empowerment
“to become a member of a gnostic elite” is extraordinarily seductive, particularly when the
alternative is severe depression. In this novel and in real life, it is not surprising that the
vulnerable adolescent chooses to identify with the witches/demonic elite who “control” powers
beyond the limited imagination of adults.
In The White People, the adolescent is ultimately able to reexperience the closeness which
she enjoyed with her mother, only now her mother is transformed and transmuted into an
immortal and mythic white princess. Her ultimate suicide represents her regression from the
world of adult sexuality toward a position of childlike dependence in which she is nurtured by
the “white person/goddess,” whom she has regained and hopes to revive. Thus, the girl‟s
suicide represents both the ultimate regression and an act of empowerment in which she is
transmuted into a “goddess.”
Suicide and Films of the Occult
The adolescent‟s suicide in The White People is presented as the outcome of adult
detachment, self-involvement, and smug adult rationalism. The events leading to the suicide
are rationalized as part of the adolescent‟s desire to possess a “gnosis,” which will grant her
the power to undo her isolation and restore her mother to her. These issues are presented
within a social context that views the “old gods” as part of an enduring but persecuted
society. Comparable issues have been raised in recent films. An examination of these films
can heighten our appreciation of the adolescent‟s pursuit of self-destructive practices as part
of a quest for empowerment.
Beetlejuice is a particularly cogent recent example. This “comedy” with its special effects and
witty commentary on the primary narcissism of its artistic “trendoids,” portrays a situation not
dissimilar to The White People. Lydia is a 16-year-old girl dressed entirely in black whose
preoccupation is taking pictures of her trendoid parents and their manic poseur interior
decorator, Otho. The girl‟s parents have recently purchased a charming Victorian house,
which they are determined to transform into a postmodern object. Characteristically, when
told by her parents that they will build a darkroom, Lydia remarks, “My whole life is a dark
room--one big dark room.”
Her stepmother, Delia, is a sculptor who creates ominous, organic shapes in bronze,
commenting that “this is my art and it‟s dangerous.” Lydia‟s father, Charles, appears to be
more accessible, but he too is manipulated by his wife‟s outbursts (“I‟ll go insane and I‟ll take
you with me”). His primary passion is his real-estate deals (Lydia archly suggests that her
father will never sell the house even if it were haunted because “father never walks away
from equity”).
