As regular BB readers know, Mark and I are both lifelong fans of The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone were a big influence on my own quest for strange stories, real and imagined. Serling was a champion of equal rights and social justice, and those themes frequently informed his plot lines. — Read the rest

The real anxieties behind our fascination with apocalysm.

The latest episode of The Midnight Archive weird culture video series talks to my friend Mitch Horowitz, author of the excellent Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation, about his popular Occult New York Walking Tour. — Read the rest

"Medication," from Andrew Brandou's Jonestown series

When does a religion become a cult? That's the question former BB guestblogger Mitch Horowitz, author of the excellent Occult America, recently tackled in the Wall Street Journal:

To use the term cult too casually risks tarring the merely unconventional, for which America has long been a safe harbor.

Boing Boing guestblogger Mitch Horowitz is author of Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation and editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin publishers.

Friends, It has been a pleasure to be a part of the Boing Boing nation as a guest blogger these past two weeks. — Read the rest

Horowitz on Occult New York

Boing Boing guestblogger Mitch Horowitz is author of Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation and editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin publishers.

When discussing the occult, a natural question arises: Just what is the occult? In short, the occult encompasses a wide range of mystical philosophies and mythical lore, particularly the belief in an "unseen world" whose forces act upon us and through us. — Read the rest

I'm delighted to welcome Mitch Horowitz as a guestblogger on Boing Boing. Mitch is a fantastic tour guide to the fringes of reason, high weirdness, deep esoterica, secret societies, and mystery religions. Mitch's fantastic new book Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation shares a "sacred space" on my bookshelf with works by Manly Hall, Robert Anton Wilson, Charles Fort, Jacques Vallee, and Erik Davis. — Read the rest

Tomorrow sees the release of Dan "Da Vinci Code" Brown's long-awaited new novel The Lost Symbol. Apparently, one big theme of the book is the influence Freemasonry had on American history. (In fact, one of the Boing Boingers is a Freemason. — Read the rest

As trite a cliché as it sounds, we live in "uncertain times." So, why not pay a visit to "uncertain places?" Uncertain Places is also the new book by Mitch Horowitz. His title references the last active sites of pagan ceremony and worship in the early Middle Ages—and the shifting belief systems of our own era. — Read the rest

Skeptics deem Rhine's famous ESP trials a bust. The record says otherwise.

One of my intellectual heroes is parapsychologist J.B. Rhine (1895-1980), who pioneered ESP card experiments at Duke University in the early 1930s. One evening, one of my kids went online to test my judgment—and found it wanting. — Read the rest

Skeptics Eviscerated a Cornell Psychologist Whose Published Evidence Said Yes. A Decade Later, His Data Has Stood Up.

More than ten years ago, a prominent research psychologist, Daryl J. Bem, published a paper in a respected academic journal that presented evidence for precognition. — Read the rest

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the US theatrical release of The Golem: How He Came Into the World, an exquisite early horror film adaptation of the Jewish supernatural myth of a clay creature brought to life through occult means to protect a 16th century Prague ghetto. — Read the rest

Several years ago I was preparing a talk on the life of occult journeyer Madame H.P. Blavatsky (1831–1891) for the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. — Read the rest

Mind metaphysics, or positive thinking, is a fascinating and mysterious field of personal exploration and inquiry. The guiding principle and basic tenet of mind metaphysics is that thoughts are causative, i.e. thoughts — those intangible acts of cognition, attention and intention — can actually shape reality and the material world in accordance with our wishes and desires. — Read the rest

When occult historian Mitch Horowitz's excellent 2009 book Occult America was published, he received a phone call from an admiring fan: Stephen K. Bannon. Over at Salon, Mitch writes about the right wing's weird connection to New Age mysticism:

(Bannon) professed deep interest in the book's themes, and encouraged me in my next work, "One Simple Idea," an exploration of positive-mind metaphysics in American life….

Over at Medium, BB pal Mitch Horowitz, author of the excellent Occult America and One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life, writes about how "if America loses its smiley-faced coffee mugs and ethic of better tomorrows — themes extolled by presidents ranging from Ronald Reagan ('nothing is impossible') to Barack Obama ('yes, we can') — we also risk losing a basic part of what makes our nation work." — Read the rest

BB pal Mitch Horowitz, noted author of esoteric and downright weird books, writes:

The CIA (the funniest guys ever!) is now taking a humorous approach to its UFO files, releasing reams of info and inviting people to play Agent Mulder for a day.

Intrepid explorers of high weirdness Mitch Horowitz (author of Occult America) and Ronni Thomas (director of The Midnight Archive) created a fun 13 episode video series called "History of Superstitions." Above is the episode about the number 13.

BB contributor Mitch Horowitz, author of the excellent Occult America, has a new book due out shortly that traces the fascinating cultural history of the New Age and self-help movement, titled One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life. — Read the rest