FORTEAN UK

The word Fortean has many meanings, but is known specifically for all things strange or unexplained. Fortean derives from Charles Fort, a gentleman who throughout his life was skeptical about 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.

Fort was born to a Dutch family in Albany, New York, he spent many years researching scientific literature in the New York Public Library and the British Museum Library. He marshalled his evidence and set forth his philosophy in The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo ! (1931), and Wild Talents (1932).

His dictum "One measures a circle beginning anywhere" expresses his philosophy of Continuity in which everything is in an intermediate state between extremes. He had ideas of the universe-as-organism and the transient nature of all apparent phenomena. He coined the term 'teleportation' and was perhaps the first to speculate that mysterious lights seen in the sky might be craft from outer space. However, he cut at the very roots of credulity:

Para.Science have many interests in the fortean subject, and will strive to collect tales from the North West of England and list them upon this website.

SEEING DOUBLE:

On April 18th 2000 at 1230hrs, two cars crashed outside a pub in the magical township of Alderley edge in Cheshire. Outside the Wizard, on Macclesfield road, the two cars' owners, who were involved in the accident, were totally unknown to each other, shared the same house number - 17 - Both drove green Rover 214si's, both cars were five door, manually geared and exactly the same mileage. Their registration numbers were - H671 GVR and H167 GJA. The occupants were a Handforth couple and the Aldridge family from Whirley, There were no injuries but one car lost its roof.

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN:

Gill Waring reports something quite odd. A magpie by the birdbath in her garden in Rosefield Avenue, Bebington, Wirral, Merseyside, after she had put some bread out for the birds. After that, the magpie kept returning and she started finding coins around the birdbath. One day she saw it leaving money. After a month, the bird had left £1.70 in denominations including 5ps and 2ps. Magpies, of course, are attracted to bright objects and have a reputation as thieves. Ornithologists were puzzled. "No bird leaves something behind in exchange for food," said Kirsty Peck, wildlife adviser at the Royal Society for the Protection Of Birds. It is unheard of for a wild bird to behave in this way. Exchanging something is a human trait. One can only assume somebody has taught the bird to do this!' The magpie arrives on the dot at 7.30am each morning.

HARRY FAIRWEATHER HAS AN ELECTRIC PERSONALITY.

Whenever the two-year-old visits shops near his home in Winsford, Cheshire, he sets off security alarms. His mother Paula, 28, became aware of the phenomenon in June 2000 when she was leaving the local Asda Store with Harry after the weekly shop, and triggered flashing lights and bells. Store detectives satisfied themselves that no shoplifting was going on and put it down to a faulty alarm - but it happened on every subsequent visit. "Harry is a wonderful little boy and has become quite a celebrity in the Store," said the customer services manager.

How or why this has happened remains unexplained. What's more, the boy appears to have latent psychic powers. "He once pointed at a woman in 'Next' and said she had a baby in her tummy," said his mother. I was really embarrassed, but then she pulled me aside and said she had found out the previous day she was expecting a baby."

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