Editing August Strindberg (section)

==Occult studies==
[[Alchemy]], [[occultism]], [[Swedenborgianism]], and various other [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] interests were pursued by Strindberg with some intensity for periods of his life.

In the curious and experimental 1897 work ''[[Inferno (Strindberg)|Inferno]]'' – a dark, paranoid, and confusing tale of his time in Paris, written in French, which takes the form of an autobiographical journal – Strindberg, as the narrator, claims to have successfully performed alchemical experiments and cast [[black magic]] spells on his daughter. Much of ''Inferno'' indicates that the author suffered from [[paranoid delusions]], as he writes of being stalked through Paris, haunted by evil forces, and targeted with [[Altered state of consciousness|mind-altering]] [[Raygun|electric rays]] emitted by an "infernal machine" covertly installed in his hotel. It remains unclear to what extent the book represents a genuine attempt at autobiography or exaggerates for literary effect. [[Olof Lagercrantz]] has suggested that Strindberg staged and imagined elements of the crisis as material for his literary production.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lagercrantz |first1=Olof |title=Olof Lagercrantz |date=1979 |publisher=Wahlström & Widstrand |location=Stockholm}}</ref>