Occult Confessions

Communicating with the dead became a worldwide phenomenon beginning with two little girls in Hydesville, New York in 1848. Maggie Fox led an eventful and tragic life. In addition to sparking the spiritualist movement, she was engaged to an Arctic explorer and attempted to snuff out the very movement she helped launch. But was she really channeling the spirits of the dead or was she perpetrating one of America's greatest hoaxes?

Our team tackles the mysterious power of Marie Laveau. Along the way, we explore the history of New Orleans, the power of zombie poison, the practice of Afro-Caribbean Voodoo, and the biography of one of Voodoo's most famous practitioners.

We explore the history of Joan of Arc; the various miracles ascribed to her; the Catholic, paranormal, and rationalist interpretations of her voices; and conspiracy theories related to one of the most interesting women in medieval Europe.

We open our series on the connection between women and supernatural power by exploring ancient Greek oracles, bacchic orgies, the Roman vestal virgins, and medieval witch trials.

The Chevalier's editor was a player in the British occult scene and was inspired by occult celebrities like Edward Buller-Lytton. In this episode, we follow the career of one of the most significant figures in American spiritualism and one of America's first occultists.

Two books rocked the American spiritualist scene in 1876, both published by the British-American medium Emma Hardinge Britten and both written by a single man under the pseudonym of the Chevalier Louis de B. The Chevalier details elaborate occult exploits all across the globe including fantastic astral projections, exorcisms of elemental demons, astrology, and visions of planetary heavens that turn traditional and even relatively liberal views of God and the afterlife upside down. Scholars and amateur historians have tried and failed to pin down the mysterious adept's identity. Ghost Land kicks off our in-dept investigation looking for the real Chevalier.

Paschal Beverly Randolph was a pioneer of American occultism. He began his career as a medium before branching out with his own occult philosophy involving Rosicrucianism and sex magic. The African American Randolph studied medicine and was also involved in efforts to educate recently liberated slaves in the southern United States. Randolph expressed his technique and ideology in fictional novels as well as non-fiction manuals. A tragic figure, he died young, shot in the head in an apparent suicide.

In this episode we analyze the life story of one of America's most famous mystics, Helena Blavatsky. We consider her world travels, training in Tibet, theories about the soul and afterlife, Egyptian inspirations, and Indian occultist connections.

Occult Confessions explores the history of magical belief and practice across time and cultures. Welcome to the podcast.