In some parts of the world such practices are still very much alive and believed in. Prayers and rituals for protection against the demonic are also popular.
This very much reminded me of a side mission in my campaign. Right down to the manual, the ritual, time, date and dangers. Poor Ralph! 
That book image even looks like one I have in the campaign.
Some campaign background: As it happens, the demon summoned in my campaign was originally what made the working title for the module as I first started working on it, when it was referred to as “Better The Demon”, a word play on “Better the devil you know”. I had chosen the title as the party (of my players) had met this demon once before, and already banished it previously. However, when I determined to make the campaign accessible to everyone (and not just my players), I wrote in a second “Background” choice at the start of the game, and the full campaign name was chosen: The Scroll. I much prefer the newer title, as it is better for the story arc itself.
As a Christian, I do, of course, discourage any kind of necromancy. It is quite astounding how the Dark Ages brought about so many misunderstandings.