London Fortean Society:
Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age
15th April 2025 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Doors open: 6:30pm
Brockway Room | Virtual event

The interwar period was a golden age of the uncanny. Clairvoyants, fakirs, Theosophists, mind-readers, miracle-workers and jinn-summoners—all assured the masses that, just like the newly discovered invisible forces of electricity, radiation and magnetism, unseen spiritual powers commanded a realm of hidden human potential. This was a transnational movement of eccentrics, gurus and prophets, with East and West interacting in unexpected ways.
Drawing on untapped sources in Arabic as well as European records, Raphael Cormack follows two of the most unusual and charismatic figures of this age: Tahra Bey, who took 1920s Paris by storm as an ‘Oriental’ missionary; and Dr Dahesh, who harnessed Western science to create a pan-religious faith in Lebanon. Travelling between Cairo, New York and Jerusalem, Paris, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro, the two mystics reflected the desires and anxieties of a troubled age. These forgotten holy men, who embodied the allure of the unexplained at a time of dramatic change, speak to our own unstable world today.
Raphael Cormack is an award-winning editor, translator and writer. The author of the widely acclaimed Midnight in Cairo, he is Assistant Professor of Modern Languages at Durham University.
Age Recommendation:
16+
Price: *All ticket prices below include a £1 booking fee*
In person (advance): Standard £10 • Living Support £7 • Students £7
In person (on the door): Standard £11 • Living Support £8 • Students £8
Online: Standard £7
Access Information
This event is in the Brockway Room, which is located on the ground floor.
All the ground-floor rooms are fully accessible by wheelchair. Main Hall (street access, step-free), Brockway Room (street access, step-free), Bertrand Russell Room (street access, shallow ramp). There is also an accessible toilet on the ground floor opposite the Brockway Room.
Further Info
This event will be held with an in-person audience at Conway Hall and online via livestream. Everyone wishing to join this event must register for a ticket in advance.
If you have any accessibility enquiries, please contact us at info@conwayhall.org.uk / 020 7405 1818.