clipped from: wildhunt.org   

Famed ghost-hunter, paranormal investigator, and popularizer of Pagan faiths Hans Holzer passed away on Sunday at the age of 89. While most will remember him for his ghost-hunting and investigations into the Amityville house (the subject of several films), he also played a key role in the spread of Witchcraft/Wicca and other Pagan faiths in America during the 1970s. With books like “The New Pagans”, “The Truth About Witchcraft”, and “Confessions of a Witch”, Holzer responded to a need that the still nascent Pagan publishing industry couldn’t fill.

While many modern Pagans barely know Holzer outside of his books on paranormal phenomena, he played a key role in making Wicca/Witchcraft the world religion it is today.
Holzer also cleared a path in the publishing world that eventually allowed Pagan authors like Margot Adler to write serious examinations of what we now call the “Pagan community”.