The Occult: A History

The Occult: A History is a 1971 book (ISBN 0-394-71813-5) by English writer, Colin Wilson.

Topics covered include Aleister Crowley, G. I. Gurdjieff, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Kabbalah, primitive magic, Franz Anton Mesmer, Gregor Rasputin, Daniel Dunglas Home, Paracelsus, P. D. Ouspensky, William Blake, Giovanni Jacopo Casanova, Cornelius Agrippa, and various others.

The book is divided into the following sections:

Part One: A Survey of the Subject

• Magic-The Science of the Future
• The Dark Side of the Moon
• The Poet as Occultist

Part Two: A History of Magic

• The Evolution of Man
• The Evolution of Magic
• The Magic of Primitive Man
• Adepts and Initiates
• The World of the Kabbalists
• Adepts and Imposters
• The Nineteenth Century--Magic and Romanticism
• The Beast Himself
• Two Russian Mages

Part Three

Man's Latent Powers

• Witchcraft and Lycanthropy
• The Realm of Spirits
• Glimpses