In the works of German modernism, the image of the somnambulist is a recurring theme. Often, the sleepwalker is viewed as a symbol of the intellectual and spiritual “no-man’s-land” many found themselves in during that tumultuous period. Gustav Meyrink’s Der Golem offers an enigmatic and unique interpretation of the sleepwalker as a symbol of the modern condition

. In order to shed light on this reading, I turn to another text written by Meyrink: Die Verwandlung des Blutes. I read the text Verwandlung as a tool for deciphering Der Golem: the former work offers clues for interpreting the latter as a fictional rendering of Meyrink’s personal belief in the power of the occult to lead one to salvation.