Mysteries was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1978, seven years after The Occult and serving as its direct sequel. Where the earlier book provided a historical survey of the Western occult tradition, Mysteries examines specific categories of paranormal phenomena in greater depth: dowsing and water divining, ley lines and earth energies, the Loch Ness monster and lake creatures, UFOs and alien encounters, poltergeists and hauntings, precognition and synchronicity.
Wilson’s method is characteristic: he presents the evidence with journalistic thoroughness (he visited sites, interviewed witnesses, and corresponded with researchers), then frames it within his philosophical system. The paranormal, in Wilson’s view, is not a separate category of experience but an eruption of the same expanded consciousness that produces great art, scientific breakthroughs, and mystical illumination. A dowser detecting underground water is exercising the same faculty as a poet perceiving the hidden connections between things — the difference is one of application, not kind.
The book is more speculative than The Occult — Wilson is willing to entertain wilder hypotheses (earth energies, UFOs as interdimensional visitors) and the quality of the evidence varies enormously. But his intellectual honesty is genuine: he acknowledges when the evidence is weak, distinguishes between well-documented phenomena and dubious claims, and never suggests that acceptance of the paranormal requires abandoning rational thought.
Collecting Mysteries
First edition (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1978): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
- Very good/very good: $15–$40