Basil Crouch's Biography (Books)
Basil Crouch A.K.A. Basil LaCroix was\is one of those old-time great Magicians who learned by the pragmatics of worldly travels in lieu of the theoretics found in most books. (I'll just rip it out from "Dark Side" haphazard).
Basil spent his youth in a circus amongst the main artistes who were pure Romany, all members of the Manouche Tribe who revere Sara the Black Virgin & Jacques deMolay (GrandMaster of the Templars). The leading Witchdoctor taught him many trix of Magick.
He also learned many strange Spells from an Australian Aborigine Witchdoctor.
In the late 1960's he masterminded 'coven-style' Occult groups consisting of 6 or 7 women, reaching very advanced stages of development, like producing actual Apports using thoughtform entities, just mindblowing stuff.
His teachings excited alot of jealousy within Occult Societies who wanted this kind of thing kept secret.