Charles Fort

Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 - May 3, 1932) was a writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena. (According to some sources he was born on August 9.)

Followers and fans of Fort

Fort's work has inspired very many to consider themselves as Forteans. The first of these was the screenwriter Ben Hecht, who in a review of The Book of the Damned declared "I am the first disciple of Charles Fort..henceforth, I am a Fortean.".

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Precisely what is encompassed by 'Fortean' is a matter of great debate; the term is widely applied from every position from a Fortean purists dedicated to Fort's methods and interests, to those with open and active belief in paranormal phenomena, a position Fort would not at all have agreed with. Most generally, Forteans have a wide interest in unexplained phenomena in wide-ranging fields, mostly concerned with the natural world, and have a developed 'agnostic scepticism' regarding the anomalies they note and discuss. For Mr. Hecht as an example, being a Fortean meant hallowing a pronounced distrust of authority in all its forms, whether religious, scientific, political, philosophical or otherwise. It did not, of course, include an actual belief in the magical matters ennumerated in Fort's works.

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The Fortean Society was founded in Fort's lifetime by his friends, and led by fellow writer Tiffany Thayer, half in earnest and half in jest, like the work of Fort himself. Fort, however, rejected the society and refused presidency; he was lured to its inaugural meeting by false telegrams. As a strict non-authoritarian, Fort refused to establish himself as an authority, and further objected on the grounds that those who would be attracted by such a grouping would be spiritualists, zealots, and those opposed to a science that rejected them; it would attract those who believed in their chosen phenomena: an attitude exactly contrary to Forteanism. It is ironic, then, that many such Fortean groups have been established.

Related Topics:
Fortean Society - Tiffany Thayer - Presidency - Inaugural - Telegram - Authority - Zealot

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Most notable of these is the magazine, Fortean Times (first published in November 1973), which is a worthy proponent of Fortean journalism, combining humor, scepticism, and serious research into subjects which scientists and other respectable authorities often disdain. There is also an International Fortean Organisation (INFO) and other Fortean societies, notably in Edinburgh and the Isle of Wight.

Related Topics:
Fortean Times - International Fortean Organisation - Edinburgh - Isle of Wight

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Several modern authors, such as Loren Coleman who has written about the influence of Fort in his Mysterious America, are sincere followers of Charles Fort.

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