Efram Sera-Shriar

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Associate Professor at University of Copenhagen, Associate Director of Research at Durham University. Historian of occultism and science, anthropologist. (https://www.eframserashriar.com/)
Efram Sera-ShriarJan 5, 2024

My first blog of 2024 is about popular occulture! Among other things it looks at occult-themed video games for the SNES. I hope you enjoy it!

You can read it here: https://www.eframserashriar.com/post/from-phantasmagoria-to-video-games-a-short-history-of-popular-occulture

From Phantasmagoria to Video Games: A Short History of Popular Occulture

Throughout the modern era there has been a popular appetite for occult-themed experiences. Think back to those wonderful phantasmagoria shows of the early nineteenth century. Phantasmagoria were magic lantern shows that projected all kinds of frightening images onto screens. It is often considered the first “horror theatre.” The earliest phantasmagoria shows began in the late 1790s, but they continued to be popular throughout the following century. Audiences attending phantasmagoria would encoun

Efram Sera-Shriar
Efram Sera-ShriarJun 21, 2023
There is a long history of magicians exposing disreputable mediums as frauds. I've written a new blog about one of them: William Marriott.

Read it here: https://www.eframserashriar.com/post/gambols-with-the-ghosts-the-secret-catalogue-for-fake-mediums
Gambols with the Ghosts: The Secret Catalogue for Fake Mediums

When one thinks of stage magicians during the early decades of the twentieth century, they usually think of the big names like Harry Houdini or Harry Kellar. SOURCE: Poster of Harry Kellar’s Famous Self-Decapitation Performance, circa 1880s Both of these figures were famous for their incredible physical displays, which often mirrored the kinds of performances witnessed at spiritualist events. Poster for Harry Houdini’s Famous Parody Performance of a Spiritualist Séance, 1909 Kellar’s ties to spi

Efram Sera-Shriar
Efram Sera-ShriarMar 23, 2023

Ever thought about turning a goat into boy? Well the famed psychical researcher Harry Price did and in 1932 he conducted an experiment using 15th-century transfiguration #magic. Check out my new latest blog:

https://eframserashriar.com/post/harry-price-s-brocken-experiment-can-a-goat-be-transformed-into-a-boy

#Occult #Paranormal #Folklore

Harry Price’s Brocken Experiment: Can a Goat be Transformed into a Boy?

In 1932 the famed psychical researcher Harry Price travelled to the Harz Mountains in Germany to conduct an experiment using transfiguration magic. Could one use Early Modern witchcraft to transform a goat into a boy? SOURCE: Harry Price and his Ghost Hunting Equipment, 1947 The details of this experiment were documented in Price’s book, Confessions of a Ghost-Hunter from 1936. SOURCE: Cover to Harry Price, Confessions of a Ghost-Hunter, (Putnam & Co. Ltd., London, 1936. Price had travelled to

Efram Sera-Shriar
Efram Sera-ShriarMar 16, 2023

In 1924 the Daily Sketch publicly exposed spirit photographer Ada Deane as a fraud. The image in the top right corner was not the spirits of a group of fallen soldiers, but faces cut-out from images of footballers and boxers still alive.

#Occult #magic #paranormal #HPS #WW1

Efram Sera-ShriarFeb 23, 2023

CFP: "Occultism and Popular Culture in Europe". Our new research group @UCPH_Research is delighted to announce this amazing upcoming event.

Details can be found 👇
https://cn-csi.com/cfps/call-for-papers-occultism-and-popular-culture-in-europe/

#Horror #Gothic #Occult #Magic #HPS #HistSci #Hist Art

Call for Papers: Occultism and Popular Culture in Europe - CNCSI

Occultism and Popular Culture in Europe Date:  22 November to 23 November 2023 Location: Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen   There has been a long […]

CNCSI
Efram Sera-ShriarFeb 23, 2023
And the award for creepiest packaging goes to this chalk packet from 1938
Efram Sera-ShriarFeb 12, 2023
Today is Darwin Day (12 Feb). Here is my favourite portrait of him with the eminent, and equally brilliant, Wallace.
Efram Sera-ShriarFeb 6, 2023

This is a wonderful photo of Will and Joe Thomas, 2 Welsh mediums from Cardiff. It was taken by William Hope in 1920. Arthur Conan Doyle was a staunch supporter of them, which led to a rather significant fight with Houdini in the newspapers in 1923.

#Occult #Paranormal #Magic

Efram Sera-ShriarJan 31, 2023

Woo-hoo! Our grant for starter funds was successful! As of February 2023 I will be co-leading a project titled "The Rise of Popular Occulture in Europe" at the University of Copenhagen!! Details to come, and I hope you can join us.

#Occult #Horror #Gothic #Victorian #Paranormal #HPS

Efram Sera-ShriarJan 28, 2023

This is a photo of the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Supernormal Pictures, c. 1922. It was taken by #psychic photographer William Hope and you can see a few key figures in this picture including A.C. Doyle and A. Wallace.

#Occult #Ghost #Paranormal #Magic #HPS