Forteana

The work of and around Charles Fort (1874-1932). Born of Dutch stock in Albany, New York, Fort spent many years researching scientific literature in the New York Public Library and at the British Museum. He marshalled his 'data' and set forth his philosophy in four outrageous tomes: The Book of The Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo! (1931) and Wild Talents (1932).

 

He was sceptical of scientific explanations, observing how scientists argued according to their own beliefs rather than the rules of evidence and that inconvenient data was ignored, suppressed, discredited or explained away. He criticised modern science for its reductionism, its attempt to define, divide and separate. Fort's dictum "one measures a circle beginning anywhere" expresses instead his philosophy of 'continuity' in which everything is in an intermediate and transient state between extremes. Fort had ideas of the Universe-as-organism and the transient nature of all apparent phenomena, he coined the term 'teleportation' and was amongst the first to speculate that mysterious lights in the sky were perhaps craft from outer space. However, he cut at the very roots of credulity: "I conceive of nothing, in religion, science or philosophy, that is more than the proper thing to wear, for a while."

Charles Hoy Fort (1874-1932)

 

1872, The Low Countries, Belgium and Brussels imparticular; over this city late one August evening rises a star like object. In December of the same year at a railway station in Bristol, England, Thomas B. Cumpston and his wife are arrested and charged with disorderly conduct; both of them attired only in their nightclothes. An ocean away in Albany, New York a couple take off their nightclothes and conceive a child.

 

The Book of The Damned

 

"I think we're property. I should say we belong to something. That once upon a time, this earth was No-man's Land, that other worlds explored and colonised here, and fought among themselves for possession, but that now it's owned by something ... all others warned off."

 

New Lands

 

"One of the greatest of secrets that have eventually been found out was for ages blabbed by all the pots and kettles of the world ... A tree cannot find out, as it were, how to blossom, until comes blossom-time. A social growth cannot find out the use of steam-engines until comes steam-engine-time."

 

Lo!

 

"Horses erect in a blizzard of frogs, and the patter of worms on umbrellas. The hum of ladybirds in England - the twang of a swarm of Americans at Templemore, Ireland. The appearance of Cagliostro - the appearance of Prof. Einsteins theories. A policeman dumps a wildman into a sack, and there is alarm upon all the contents of this earth because of a blaze in (the constellation of Orion) ... All are related, because all are phenomena of one organic existence."

 

Wild Talents

 

"I have a story of a horse that appeared in what would, to any ordinary horse, be a closed room. It makes one nervous, maybe. One glances around, and would at least not be incredulous, seeing almost any damned thing, sitting in a chair, staring at one."

 

Many Parts - Remnants of an Autobiography by Charles Hoy Fort 

 

Charles N., fathered upon his first wife - Charles Hoy, Clarence N., and Raymond V. Fort, in that order, beginning with our Charles, Aug. 6, 1874.....

 

 

Head Case - A Simulacrum in Eire

 

.....when, just below the jagged prominence of the Hags Teeth my friend pointed out a most wonderfully shaped rock, a simulacra of a grinning hag, a witch or perhaps this being Ireland a banshee.

 

A Load of Balls

 

.....after almost ten years of using a digital camera I have finally managed to photograph a group/flock/pride/flange of 'orbs', other that is than the circular smudges that manifest themselves upon rainy days.

 

Pennies From Heaven.....

 

or 'Do French Francs Fall in the Philippines?' or 'A Local Sky for Local Lucre' or perhaps even Mysterious Manifestations of Mamon.

 

Bo(w)ne Head

 

.....I stumbled upon this stone 'bone head' half way up Bow Fell in the Lake District of northern England.

 

Writing To The Papers

 

When an FT reader found a letter from one 'Charles Fort' in an old newspaper at a local boot sale, and posted it on the message board of forteantimes.com, much discussion ensued.

 

"Skeedly Eedly Eddly Bee"

 

We hurry along, making a beeline for summit directly ahead of us, but it's of no use as we are soon encompassed in a noisy darting cloud of bee's, we crouch down, hold onto each other and wait for them to pass.....

 

The Haunting of RF398

 

No one is sure why the Avro Lincoln bomber, serial number RF398, should be haunted.....

 

Charles Fort: A Fortean Chronolgy

 

1874     1875     1876     1877     1878     1879     1880     1881     1882     1883

 

1884     1885     1886     1887     1888     1889     1890     1891     1892     1893

 

1894     1895     1896     1897     1898     1899     1900     1901     1902     1903

 

1904     1905     1906     1907     1908     1909     1910     1911     1912     1913

 

1914     1915     1916     1917     1918     1919     1920     1921     1922     1923

 

1924     1925     1926     1927     1928     1929     1930     1931     1932