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of this project. They are: Paul Barrett, a great friend and ally, who gave generously of his time and intellect in working through the manuscript with me; Laurie Fox, a wonderful literary agent and a deeply thoughtful friend, whose guiding hand greatly strengthened the book; Allison Orr, my wife and eternal rock, whose insights guided me through the work’s inception and its earliest stages; and Philip Rappaport, senior editor at Bantam, whose incisive eye, thoughtful comments, and personal support across the whole arc of the project have made it a privilege to work with him. Thanks also to my colleague Gabrielle Moss, editor at Tarcher/Penguin, for the benefit of her great intellect and dedicated efforts as I completed this work. I am also grateful for the copyediting efforts of Kathy Lord and Loren Noveck at Bantam.

My special gratitude is due Lisa Barnes, publicity manager at Random House, who promoted the book with terrific commitment, intelligence, and doggedness—her written materials and perfect framing of the book’s themes were an author’s dream. I can’t thank her enough. Random House senior editor Jill Schwartzman shepherded the book into its present paperback and electronic editions with grace, enthusiasm, and care—she’s an editor who makes a writer feel right at home.

My gratitude goes to the biannual journal Esopus, which published earlier portions of the chapter on Ouija; to Science of Mind magazine, and especially its editor Amanda Pisani, who ran an earlier version of the chapter on Frank B. Robinson; and to the magazines New Dawn, Sub Rosa, Atlantis Rising, and Lapis, in whose pages I worked through parts of the chapter on Manly P. Hall.

While writing this book, I have greatly benefited from discussions with Joel Fotinos, Michael Gomes, Obadiah Harris, K. Paul Johnson, Jay Kinney, Robert Murch, Jacob Needleman, Richard Smoley, Jim Steinmeyer, Mark Thurston, Kevin Todeschi, and Ptolemy Tompkins.

And a thank-you in more than words can say to my sons, Caleb and Tobias, who put up with a father’s occasional absences as this book was being completed, and to their mother, Allison, the sun in our skies.

Mitch Horowitz is a widely known writer and speaker on the history and impact of alternative spirituality. For more than twenty years, he has been an editor at New York publishing companies and is currently editor-in-chief at Tarcher/Penguin, one of the leading publishers of spiritual and metaphysical literature. Horowitz has written for U.S. News and World Report, Parabola, Boing Boing, Esopus, Fortean Times, Venture Inward, New Dawn, Atlantis Rising, Sub Rosa, Science of Mind, and the Religion News Service. He has discussed occult and paranormal topics on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, All Things Considered, The History Channel, The Montel Williams Show, Coast to Coast AM, and other national media. Occult America is his first book. Horowitz lives in New York City with his wife, Allison Orr, a network news producer, and their two sons, Caleb and Tobias. His website is www.MitchHorowitz.com.