Steampunk, as a genre, is highly focused on how technological developments would play out during that era. Dieselpunk has that focus on science, to a similar extent, but there's always a supernatural element to dieselpunk, too. There is this duality that is featured very heavily in dieselpunk - light vs dark, good vs evil-type stuff - which plays well with both these elements. In the genre, science and magic are both tools that can be used interchangeably - or often side-by-side - within this greater fight for the soul of humanity. One of the comics I like to read, "The Adventures of the 19XX," features both heavily, with science often enabling or enhancing the inherent power of magic. Magic - and by extension, the occult - is perceived as ancient and natural. As such, the effects are chaotic and cannot be controlled, only harnessed - in the right context, of course.
I went to the black swamp village
Where strange people live
I saw a scrawny drunk old man
Who gave me a flask to drink
He started speakin' unusually
Sounded kinda 'of' scared
He said listen to me carefully 'cause
I'll tell you something I never tell
I went to the cemetery
Where lies my dead wife
And believe me the graves were opened
And skulls and bones raised
To understand the occult in the context of The Great War Era, you have to consider where the genre falls historically. It is encompasses the space between two of the most violent wars in human history and, during it's core years, there's a both the height of economic prosperity and depths of economic devastation. Add onto it the rising influence of organized crime and the even darker ideology of Nazism, the populace looked to ancient knowledge and intuition for solace. To be honest, the period was not unlike what the world has been like since 2001. But I digress. There are many occult influences that converged during this time period to create a veritable smorgasbord of supernatural plots within the dieselpunk genre.
During the late 1800s, Spiritualism, a movement based on the belief that the spirits of the dead exist and have the capacity to speak to the living, had gained a level of popularity across both the United States and Europe. However, during the 1920s, three distinct branches of spiritualist beliefs began to emerge. Syncretism, which involves individual practitioners being loosely organized around a central figure (usually a medium), but without a set hierarchy or set of beliefs. Some adopted elements of theosophy - such as elements of Eastern religions, astrology, and ritual - whereas others combined their spiritualist beliefs with those of their Christian faith. The Spiritualist Church also evolved during this time. The Spiritualist Church sought to put a formal structure around spiritualist practices and provided education on their methods. The third branch evolved into the early foundations of parapsychology. The Society for Psychical Research (SPR, which still exists today) sought to investigate the claims of spiritualists. Through their research, they debunked many fraudulent mediums, which were rampant during a time when people wanted to know what had happened to their loved ones in the war.
During the 1920s, there was also a growing interest in the traditions of Ancient Egypt. In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the pharoah Tutankhamun and "Tut-mania" took hold of the Western world. Fashion of the 1920s heavily featured scarab beetles, gold accents, and even hieroglyphics printed or embroidered onto various accessories and garments. Along with this interest in "desert garb" came rumors of curses and cursed objects. Tales of unfortunate endings for those who visited Tut's tomb swirled around parties. The Curse of the Pharaohs is believed to fall on anyone who disturbs the mummy of an Egyptian high-born person (especially pharaohs) and it does so indiscriminately, regardless of whether the intent was research or thievery. Several members of Carter's team died shortly after Tut's tomb was opened, adding fuel to the fire.
Finally, the first half of the 20th century saw the rise and fall of various occult and esoteric organizations, and the birth of many neo-pagan religions that still exist today. During the 1910s, Aleister Crowley began laying out the structure for Thelema and was a leader within the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), which I was very intrigued to find out has a group here in San Antonio. The Law of Thelema was formally documented in "The Book of the Law," which was published in 1904. Gerald Gardner, considered the "Father of Wicca," began formulating the foundations of his new religion in the late 1930s and through the 1940s. And Victor Anderson, founder of the Feri tradition, was also initiated into witchcraft practice during this time. It should also be noted that Rosicrucianism was very popular during this time period and several well-known writers and poets were members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, to include Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and William Butler Yeats. Like the Mafia, secret societies like The Order of the Golden Dawn feature heavily as the big baddies in dieselpunk fiction that take on a more magical bent.
That's all for today. Some suggestions for dieselpunk media that encapsulates the use of occult influence within the genre are the Indiana Jones movies (because cursed objects belong in a museum!), "The Adventures of the 19XX" series by Paul Roman Martinez, "Small Town Witch: Love & Wonder" by Alex Singer and Jayd Ait-Kaci, and the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
"Black Swamp Village" Video
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