SkepticReport: 19th Century Supernatural Belief

A recent article from the "SkepticReport" blog nicely breaks down a historical outline of supernatural beliefs in the 19th century. Interestingly, ghostly fictional works by Charles Dickens, M.R. James, and Sheridan Le Fanu are mentioned in passing, as the author Stephen Dewey muses on the persistence and popularity of the supernatural in this era. As anyone remotely acquainted with the finest weird fiction writers realizes, this century was crucial in creating the type of literary atmosphere needed to launch the more traditional careers of M.R. James, Machen, and Blackwood, and crack the door open for newer models of the outre represented by the likes of H.P. Lovecraft.

The skeptic blog's contribution intelligently and accurately describes the supernatural forces waning to obscurity as others rose to prominence in the Victorian age. Believers in the paranormal may find that parts of this piece ruffle their feathers--it is, after all, hosted on a skeptic's website that takes the usual snarky tone and ultra-rational viewpoint common to much of the internet's self-described skeptic community. However, you would be hard pressed to find a more recent analysis of supernatural trends critical to the rise of the weird aesthetic as we know it, so even the most zealous paranormal examiner should be able to set aside their own bias and that of the skeptic for an enlightening look at the supernatural in history.

-Grim Blogger