h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Aleister Crowley (originally Edward Alexander Crowley) 1875 - 1947 British writer and "magician'. He became interested in the occult while an undergraduate at Cambridge, and later founded the order known as the Silver Star. He travelled widely, settling for some years in Sicily with a group of disciples at the Abbey of Thelema, near Cefalù. Rumours of drugs, orgies, and magical ceremonies led to his expulsion from Italy. He liked to be known as "the great beast' and "the wickedest man alive' - and certainly many who associated with him died tragically.