Throughout his life, particularly in the period leading up to World War II, Vladimir Bartol was interested in various esoteric practices and phenomena, such as palmistry, spiritualism, telepathy, hypnosis, telekinesis, fortune-telling from coffee grounds, predicting the future by laying cards and observing atmospheric phenomena, secret societies, and similar subjects. He experimented with some of these practices himself and wrote expert discussions about others. The article outlines the European context of esotericism in literary cultures in the first decades of the 20th century, and then examines Bartol’s professional and, in particular, literary texts in which he addresses esoteric themes in various ways. It turns out that Bartol’s attitude towards esotericism is ambivalent; as a scientist and psychologist, he displays a healthy scepticism towards these phenomena, while at the same time, in his literary texts and especially in his personal interest in paranormal, he shows an openness to esotericism – and even a fascination with it – similar to that found, for example, in Thomas Mann (whom Bartol also quotes in connection with esoteric practices). The discussion concludes with the observation that this fascination, especially in some short fiction, creates a tension of ambiguity that is aesthetically productive.

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