Cajetan Tschink (22 April 1763 – 26 August 1813) was an Austrian writer, philosopher, and professor whose literary work primarily focused on

skepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

of the

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

. His most prominent work was the

Gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean ...

''Geschichte eines Geistersehers. Aus den Papieren des Mannes mit der eisernen Larve'', translated into English by Peter Will as ''The Victim of Magical Delusion''.

Biography

Cajetan Tschink was born on 22 April 1763 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was of Hungarian background. Tschink joined the

Carmelite Order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

in 1780, but left before receiving his ordination and in 1792 attended the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

to study philosophy. Tschink's philosophical focus was the work of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

, and he held a position as professor of philosophy at the University in Olmütz (modern day

Olomouc, Czech Republic Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava River, the city is the ecclesiastica ...

) where he taught and wrote on logic, metaphysics, and practical philosophy. He stayed in this position until his death on 26 August 1813.

Genre and style

Tschink worked within the

Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...

genre that was popular in Germany in the 1790s. He was an early adopter of the Gothic form of ''Geisterseherroman'' ("Necromancer novel" lit. ghost-seer novel"), which was invented by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

with his unfinished 1789 novel '' Der Geisterseher.'' ''Geisterseherroman'' is characterized by fraudsters and charlatans trick the gullible by using seemingly supernatural means, the machinations of which are revealed to the audience to have mundane explanations through

phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (), alternatively fantasmagorie and/or fantasmagoria, was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images – such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts – typicall ...

-style stage effects such as trap doors, hidden mirrors, translucent veils, and pyrotechnics, and through technologies such as the

moving panorama The moving panorama was an innovation on panoramic painting in the mid-nineteenth century. It was among the most popular forms of entertainment in the world, with hundreds of panoramas constantly on tour in the United Kingdom, the United States, a ...

eidophusikon The ''Eidophusikon'' () was a piece of art, no longer extant, thought up by the English actor David Garrick and created by 18th-century French painter Philip James de Loutherbourg. It opened in Leicester Square in London in February 1781. Descri ...

, and

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that uses pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lens (optics), lenses, and a light source. ...

. Tschink's most prominent novel was ''Geschichte eines Geistersehers. Aus den Papieren des Mannes mit der eisernen Larve'', which was translated into English by Peter Will as ''The Victim of Magical Delusion''. The novel describes supposed spiritual apparitions that are shown to be images produced by a simple magic lantern projector. The various tricks presented are performed by a mysterious figure called Alumbrado (a reference to the

Alumbrados The (, ''illuminated''), also called the , were the practitioners of a mystical form of Christianity in the Crown of Castile during the 15th–16th centuries. Some were only mildly heterodox, but others held views that were clearly heretical, ...

, a Spanish mystic sect suppressed by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

) who makes miracles to convince people God speaks and acts through him, serving his ends of an

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

conspiracy. Much of Tschink's work is didactic, with clear lessons, where the credulous characters are mocked for falling for the delusions. This contrasts with the fact that the popularity of the Gothic genre comes from incredulous elements, and relied on them for sales. The quick adoption of ''Geisterseherroman by'' Tschink was followed by other imitations of Schiller, including

Karl Friedrich Kahlert Karl Friedrich Kahlert (25 September 1765 – 8 September 1813) also known by the pen names Lawrence Flammenberg or Lorenz Flammenberg and Bernhard Stein was a German author of gothic fiction. He is best known for ''The Necromancer; or, The Tale o ...

's '' Der Geisterbanner'' 'The Necromancer''

Carl Grosse Carl Friedrich August Grosse (5 June 1768 – 15 March 1847) also known as Edouard Romeo Vargas-Bedemar was a German author, translator, aesthetic philosopher, and mineralogist. He is best known for his gothic novel ''Der Genius'', which was tran ...

's ''Der Genius'' 'Horrid Mysteries''">Horrid_Mysteries.html" ;"title="'Horrid Mysteries">'Horrid Mysteries'' G. Bücher's ''Der Geisterseher. Eine venetianische Geschichte wundervollen Inhalts'', and C. A. G. Seidel's ''Die Geisterseherinn'', all of which were written in the mid-1790s. Unlike Schiller, who emphasized the psychological elements of the supernatural delusions, Tschink was interested in the machinery of the delusions, providing exhaustive detail of his explanations.Bridgwater, 2013: 182–183. Tschink's description of a magic lantern-induced spectral image predates the famous illusion Pepper's ghost">Pepper's Ghost Pepper's ghost is an Magic (illusion), illusion technique, used in theatre, Film, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts, in which an image of an object offstage is projected so that it appears to be in front of the audience ...

Biography

Genre and style

Influence and reception

Works

See also

References