Horowitz is the former editor-in-chief of TarcherPerigee[16] and a former vice-president at Penguin Random House.[17] His best-known works are Occult America (2009),[18]The Miracle Club (2018),[19] and Modern Occultism (2023).[20] In 2022, Ferdinando Buscema noted that "Horowitz is among the most articulate and respected voices in the contemporary occulture scene."[21]
Early life
The son of a legal aid attorney and a medical secretary, Horowitz grew up in Bellerose, Queens, before moving to New Hyde Park, New York.[22][23][24] He was raised in a traditional Jewish household and had an Orthodoxbar mitzvah.[25][26] He developed an interest in the occult through books of folklore at his local public library, book-club catalogs at elementary school, and astrological content, such as newspaper horoscopes, whose references he historically researched.[27] Horowitz received a bachelor of arts in English literature from Stony Brook University, where he was editor-in-chief of the school's student newspaper, The Statesman.[28] In 1987, he won the Martin Buskin Award for Outstanding Campus Journalism.[29] Before entering publishing, he worked as a police reporter.[30]
Horowitz is the author of Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation, which received the 2010 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award,[34] and was noted for exploring the impact of occult and esoteric philosophies on mainstream politics and culture; the Washington Post stated that "Horowitz teases out fascinating stories of the 'dreamers and planners who flourished along the Psychic Highway'... In showing how the paths of these figures occasionally intersected with the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Horowitz argues that the influence of the occult extends beyond the séance room and into the mainstream of American thought.”[35] He has also noted that Rosicrucianism and the Shakers have contributed to America's history of religious experimentation.[36]
Horowitz believes that occultism is a uniquely Western tradition, and that the Renaissance-era rediscovery and adaptation of pre-Abrahamic belief systems inaugurated a new era for those beliefs, thereby making occultism, as integrated into modern society, an ancient revivalist movement.[37]
His 2023 book Modern Occultism was noted for its historical comprehensiveness, surveying occult-themed philosophies from late-antiquity to the present.[41][42]
Writing in The Washington Post in 2010, Horowitz identified themes and language from occult scholar Manly P. Hall in the speeches of President Ronald Reagan, including the story of an "unknown speaker" at the signing of the Declaration of Independence and America’s assignation "to fulfill a mission to advance man a further step in his climb from the swamps."[43]
Horowitz has argued that occult and UFO themes are increasingly converging due to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and has postulated that interdimensional theorizing could provide a unifying hypothesis of anomalies, from ESP to cryptids.[44] Regarding recent developments in neuroplasticity and psychological studies that consider consciousness as more than an epiphenomenon of the brain, he has remarked, "We possess vast amounts of high-quality, heavily juried, meta-analyzed, and replicable data telling us that there is an extra-physical capacity to the psyche."[45]
Horowitz advocates for the validity of academic parapsychology research, defending its findings in books, articles, and talks,[46][47][48] and he is a critic of professional skepticism.[49][50]
Horowitz has called attention to the worldwide problem of violence against accused witches, helping draw notice to the human rights element of the issue.[51]
In 2009, Horowitz was on the faculty of the urban holistic learning center, the New York City Open Center,[70] for its annual Esoteric Quest.[71] He presented lectures at the Open Center entitled The Psychic Highway: New York’s 'Burned-Over District' and the Growth of Alternative Spirituality in America[72] and Made in America: The Hidden History of ‘Positive Thinking’.[73]
Chinese government censors excised nearly 40% of a Mandarin translation of Horowitz's 2014 book One Simple Idea, a history of the positive-mind movement.[74]
Horowitz has also appeared on seasons one and two of the History Channel show The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd.[79] In an interview in November 2024 with Decider, Aykroyd noted, "I love Mitch Horowitz. He's great... I kind of relate to him in a way."[80]
Horowitz hosted, co-wrote, and produced the 2022 documentary The Kybalion, directed by Ronni Thomas and shot on location in Egypt.[81][82] He appeared on seasons I and II of Shudder’sCursed Films on AMC+, a selection of SXSW 2020.[83][84]
He is also featured in documentaries including Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, directed by Kier-La Janisse, a selection of SXSW 2021.[85][86]
In September 2024, Horowitz became part of the cast of the Shudderhorror series V/H/S/Beyond, playing the role of a historical commentator.[14] Beginning in October 2024, he appears on the MGM+ miniseries Beyond: UFOS and the Unknown.[89][90]
Publishing
Horowitz was a vice-president at Penguin Random House and editor-in-chief of TarcherPerigee, its imprint focused on spirituality and metaphysics.[17] Horowitz published titles in world religion, esoterica, and the metaphysical,[91] as well as works in philosophy, social thought and politics, including Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by director David Lynch,[92]2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck and Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber. He has published a number of works by religious scholar[16]Jacob Needleman, including The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders and What is God?[93] While at Tarcher, he oversaw the work of writer-editor Mike Solana, who later became a vice president at Peter Thiel'sFounders Fund.[94]
In 2003, Horowitz published a trade-sized "Reader’s Edition" of The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall.[95] In 2022, he introduced Taschen's reissue of Hall's original work.[96]
Horowitz has edited and introduced anthologies including Neville Goddard's Final Lectures[97] and The Secret History of America by Manly P. Hall.[98]
^Horowitz, Mitch. "My Father Fought the Sex Pistols", Medium, June 4, 2018. Accessed December 23, 2023. "In 1977, we moved from our bungalowed Queens neighborhood of Bellerose to the supposedly safer and rosier environs of New Hyde Park, about three miles east."
^Horowitz, Mitch (April 30, 2010). "Reagan and the occult". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
^Horowitz, Mitch (2022). Uncertain Places: Essays on Occult and Outsider Experiences. Inner Traditions. pp. 10–35. ISBN978-1-6441-1592-3.
^Mitch Horowitz (October 18, 2023). "Archons of Materialism". Mitch Horowitz YouTube channel. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
^Horowitz, Mitch. "The Crisis of Professional Skepticism", Medium, February 27, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023. "In any case, the crisis of professional skepticism now presents an irony in which self-perceived defenders of reason brutalize truth in its name. That is the antithesis of science, good criticism, and good ethics. Our culture needs a new cohort of skeptics who strive to do better."
^Horowitz, Mitch (2022). Uncertain Places: Essays on Occult and Outsider Experiences, Chapter 23: The Preface the Chinese Government Banned. Inner Traditions. p. 275. ISBN978-1-6441-1592-3.