The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Has anyone else ever heard of and/or read them?

The work that Charles Fort [in the early 20th century], and I quote, ''... put together great quantities of exhaustively documented 'puzzling evidence' data which science is unable or unwilling to explain''.

If so, do you think that what he wrote was truly unexplainable by science?

Do you think there may have been other explanations to his views?

Do you think that science today might be able to explain some things that were unexplainable back then?

If you've not read it, they're found here.

Yes, actually, I have read it but to be honest, I did not fully understand it. It's such a large concept to grasp that I just couldn't do it when I was 15 years old. I'm thinking of going and rereading it to give it the attention it deserves.

I think a lot of todays science can explain what was unexplainable back then,but there are still some things that can not be fully explained even today by science.

I like the way it dryly presents the claims people add to things that others already identified as unclassifiable, I think a lot of people that are easily drawn to such claims is because they want to appear to be the discoverer or introduction to others. example "oh you haven't heard about "booger analysis"?

The Fortean texts are very well known books of paranormal study. Maybe Charles Fort was a nut, maybe he wasn't but he sure raises alot of interesting questions about life after death, restless spirits, aliens, and all other manner of freaky stuff. The guy is enough to give you nightmares in short order. Fascinating reading for students of the paranormal and to some degree the occult.

As to the question, I think many would argue that the study of the paranormal is looking at subjects that "proper" science discounts. So yes, Fort fancies himself a scientist who is willing to tackle issues like "poltergeists", unheard of by establishment science. Another of his interesting approaches is that he questions the scientific method, arguing (as I fully believe) that nothing can be observed or studied with NO bias. In his work he allows certain values, such as evil to play a role in his conclusions. For better or for worse, this certainly goes far past conventional rationalist or empirically based scientific methods. I think it has to be this way though in the things he chooses to examine. There is no scientific structure, to speak of, in the study of certain paranormal phenomenon so there is no common language of description. Therefore, I think Fort just went with what he had in using what could be argued as value-laden descriptions as opposed to "actual" science.

Here is a LINK to an article giving more background on Charles Fort and The Fortean Times.

Science is constantly growing and learning, things everyday are discovered and explained, but it takes time, its cool to think someone came up with that in the first place, but was unable to explain it,,, weird.

This sounds like some of the same level of freakiness that I have experienced in reading and researching Ron L. Hubbard's take on religious views.

It is amazing that someone just sits and writes up some documentation that makes grand thoughts and speculations, and the readers respond to the data as if they have read religious scriptures.

It is amazing that the human animal tends to require a belief in something greater in order to function.

I had not heard of them thanks for the link. I went to the link and I thought what a load of booleny at first then the penny dropped and some of it made sense

science can explain a lot more now a day and is able to atemp to explain the past but it is just a attempt because they don't have good enough records to know exactly what happened.

I believe when people use conventional means to explain the unexplainable they'll never be able to...some things defy conventional thought now as well as back then.Thanks for the link,i'd never heard of him before and now i'm enthralled within his works.Thanks be to Mr.X for allowing all to see these works with our own eyes.

Th absuriity and astonishment of claims popularly the equivlency to urban ledgens. As a would be journalist the saturation of phenomenal claims, most made in relation to medicine shows. swo breaking the hush hush of such claims and showing how prolifice such unexplainable things appeared to happen. later helped bebunk such things to those who cared to really solve a mystery, not just"investigating" for affirmation, by plausible theatrical effects.

I am not western so i did not know these texts earlier

but i led to thsi dark world due to para-psychic experience happening with me from my past and so that i am now demon in my destiny.

I love these true Para-psychics now and love my fate too.

Just a reminder, this is about the Fortean texts, not the Fortean times.

I think that his writings which may have been unexplainable back almost 100 years ago, in some cases, may be able to be explained insofar as science has advanced far beyond what was possible early last century.

It seems not many people have read it. ;] A shame.

i have not read them but now after looking through that link my interests have peaked,these works do look quite extensive i am going to have to read up on this so i can make a worthy post on this topic.

I have heard of them but have never read them. The links that you provided I have saved so that I can read more about them. The one thing that I wonder is why in the older days was all of the alchemists considered mad men or worse? Forgive me, its just something that never made sense to me.

The alcamist where at one time of interest to the church, then metalergi became a science, and the those that promised to turn metal into gold where exposed, some used mercury, so indeed they may have been spastic..

The Fortean Text is likely a predacessor to Riplys' musuem, of Believe it Or Not, To high light the Sensation behing the claims that people make. How they are just as likely to be astonishing for their anouncment then the event that is claimed being real. By collecting those claims, one can show that it has all been claimed before.. and will continue to be claimed.. and everytime people will cling to the claim.. why.. because the may sincerly believe they are the first to claim such thing.. and been unable to provide proof.

I think that if the Fortean Texts were re-written using todays scientific standards some of it would be disproven seeing how much science has advanced in the past 100 years.

yes, I have heard of them! Most of everything he wrote of could be explained by the bonding of hydrogen

Link Please. Everything he wrote was a claim made by someone else, claims made in volume, so how could all these people make claims and not one produce a supporting piece of evidence.. aside from trickery and slight skills?

LordFangor -

How can that explain it?

In my opinion if Forte was around today to rewrite the Fortean texts, a lot of things would get obliterated from the pages because a lot of what science couldn't explain in the early 1900's could be explained today, as science has taken a dramatic step forword in the last 60 years or so.

Many things that were unknown a few hundred years ago are now common knowledge and I think that this indicates that while there are still many things that cannot be explained by science, this may change as future generations develop new techniques and technology. However, I doubt the human race will ever know everything about everything.

When science enlisted stage magicians, and illusionist, many of the Fortean Text Claims where busted, Like the talking Dog Tale, ventiliqism.. but a variation on ventiliquism.

Medicine shows were popular in his time as well. The practices of medicine shows bolstered the occult , and para-normal (or weird) topics as well. The cycle of claims, and the amount of demonstrations show us that the Gig is up on the Performance of "Occult" circus.

I've been reading through the material you linked and it's fascinating from many standpoints.


Yes, I feel that if he were to rewrite his books now he would not have come to some of the same theories.

At the same time it's still very interesting to read about what his thoughts were.


You've got me addicted to reading these, MightyMBK who looks like a girl in this thread.