Since Arthur Conan Doyle created the highly rational detective Sherlock Holmes, it would seem safe to assume that he was dedicated to a highly rational and scientific worldview. Yet this was not the case. In his later years, Doyle was enamored of spiritualism, or the belief that supernatural beings communicate with the living. These views led him to behave in ways not in keeping with his celebrated protagonist, such as defending the existence of fairies and gnomes. That Doyle was such a fervent adherent of the supernatural __________.