Skip to main content

Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult

Image
By

The tale of two forgotten mystics: Tahra Bey, who took 1920s Paris by storm as an ‘Oriental’ missionary, and Dr Dahesh, who harnessed Western science to create a pan-religious faith in Lebanon. Travelling the world, they reflected the desires and anxieties of a troubled age.


Tuesday, 15 April 2025

6.30 pm doors. 7 pm start. 

£10 / £7 Concessions / £7 Livestream  Advance Booking

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL

Tube: Holborn

London Fortean Email List

The interwar period was a golden age of the uncanny. Clairvoyants, fakirs, Theosophists, mind-readers, miracle-workers and jinn-summoners—all assured the masses that, just like the newly discovered invisible forces of electricity, radiation and magnetism, unseen spiritual powers commanded a realm of hidden human potential. This was a transnational movement of eccentrics, gurus and prophets, with East and West interacting in unexpected ways.

Drawing on untapped sources in Arabic as well as European records, Raphael Cormack follows two of the most unusual and charismatic figures of this age: Tahra Bey, who took 1920s Paris by storm as an ‘Oriental’ missionary; and Dr Dahesh, who harnessed Western science to create a pan-religious faith in Lebanon. Travelling between Cairo, New York and Jerusalem, Paris, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro, the two mystics reflected the desires and anxieties of a troubled age. These forgotten holy men, who embodied the allure of the unexplained at a time of dramatic change, speak to our own unstable world today.


Raphael Cormack is an award-winning editor, translator and writer. The author of the widely acclaimed Midnight in Cairo, he is Assistant Professor of Modern Languages at Durham University. He is the author of Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult (Hurst Publications, March 2025), which will be available on the night. 

Tuesday, 15 April 2025

6.30 pm doors. 7 pm start. 

£10 / £7 Concessions / £7 Livestream  Advance Booking

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL

Tube: Holborn

London Fortean Email List

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

By
  *** TUBE STRIKE *** Although the tube strike has been called off, we'd already shifted the date of our next meeting at the Bell, Jeremy Harte speaking on Gypsies and the Supernatural , from Tuesday July 25 to Tuesday August 1 . Please note that we're sticking with this new date.
91 comments
Read more

Time-Slips

By
  Time-Slips 26 November 2024 In the early years of the 20th century, two ladies visited the gardens of Versailles. Whilst there, they apparently slipped back in time to the late 18th century. They published a book describing their experience, which in later years was debunked as misperception and hallucination. Case closed. Or is it? There are a plethora of similar contemporary reports of apparent slips through time, from brief glimpses to full interactive experiences. Most reports describe features from the past, but a few describe possible slips forward in time. Dr Ann Winspe r has been researching people apparently travelling through time for the last 20 years. She describes some of these fascinating cases and looks at possible explanations, as well as how not all can be explained through misperception and psychology. Venue: The Bell 50 Middlesex Street E1 7EX (Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East) Date: 26 November 2024 Doors: 7.30pm Start: 8pm Tickets: £5/£...
2 comments
Read more

Into the Uncanny: Danny Robins, Chris French & Deborah Hyde

By
‘The ghosts of today don’t live in castles or stately homes, they’re in normal houses and workplaces, witnessed by people just like you and me. But are they the dead returning from the “undiscovered country” of death, or the product of that equally mysterious location, the human mind?’ Friday 4 October 2024 6.30 pm doors. 7 pm start.  £16 / £11 Concessions Advance Booking Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn London Fortean Email List Danny Robins is on a mission to solve the greatest mysteries – do ghosts exist? His thrilling new book tells the stories of ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary things and want to understand them. It is also a journey of self-discovery, as Danny explores what the paranormal means to us, and considers the exciting yet terrifying prospect that we are not alone. Are you Team Believer or Team Sceptic – and do you dare to find out? Helping you decide are Uncanny crew members Chris French and Deborah Hyde. Danny Robi...
3 comments
Read more