Recent
Post WWII there was next to no interest in the occult - until the Hippie Generation with widespread abuse of hallucinogenic drugs.
In the 19th Cent when there was a great upsurge of cults like Theosophy when there was also a wide abuse of drugs. Opiates were widely used, cocaine and cannibis, as medicines.
Such drugs often produce vivid experiences, but in the 20th Cent such drugs became heavily restricted. And interest waned. Until the 1960s
But such drug abuse has continued to a degree even greater than in the past, so it is hardly surprising tht there would be so much interest in the occult. I think it is all about drugs. One can argue for and against the reality of such experiences - that is that they and there would be no occult renaisence without such drugs. Keith