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It’s quite common at this level of development, see the occult fascination in the Anglosphere between around 1890 and 1914, new age cults and so on. We’ve just moved past it as we’ve advanced into pomo cynicism; they haven’t.
That time period was a fascinating overlap of old world superstition and the rapid advancement of science and engineering in the 1800s. I've always enjoyed the efforts to use the new, highly accurate tools of measurement to quantify supernatural phenomena. The most famous of these being to ascertain the weight of a soul. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_grams_experiment
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How sincere was new age occultism in that era? Was it barnum style showmanship, or did people really believe and act their real life in accordance? The craziest cult practice I encountered personally was a thai woman who said she created real kumanthongs to sell to thai oligarchs. A kumanthong is a stillborn fetus removed from the womans uterus, then preserved by smoking and then wrapped in sanctified talismans. It had magic properties and was said to bring good luck. She was notorious for providing high end escorts in Southeast Asia who did not use condoms, and several guys I know who used her girls wondered if their kids were turned into good luck charms.
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