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Edinburgh Fortean Society 2020

Mind.

Blown. :freak:

I can totally understand why people want to believe in the folklore rather than the real explanation. I am a (very) amateur geology fan and I almost find it easier to believe in a paranormal explanation for some of those things than a geological one. Those spherical concretions, incredible!
 
Next online meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society

From Tuesday the 13th of October, 7.30

Robert Schneck (author of the report which was filmed as The Bye Bye Man) will talk on

“Otherwise Inexplicable”, looks at how people explained
autoerotic asphyxiation fatalities when they did not know that
autoerotic asphyxiation existed. A selection of cases from 1884 to 1953
are used to illustrate explanations that fall into three main
categories: suicide, murder, and misadventure.
In other words - an uncommon event, little understood - how have the explanations altered with time, and how can Fortean learn from that?

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCX8Ez-brarHABUMKRQsT-lA/videos
 
I had no idea there was real life inspiration to the Bye Bye Man, I'm only aware of the film from various internet reviewers piling on it.
 
From Tuesday the 13th of October, 7.30

Robert Schneck (author of the report which was filmed as The Bye Bye Man) will talk...

Otherwise Inexplicable”, looks at how people explaineda autoerotic asphyxiation fatalities when they did not know that autoerotic asphyxiation existed...
We are presumably talking re conceivable connections here...?

Celebrity deaths: Auto-erotic asphyxiation is a risky sex game

https://filmdaily.co/news/celebrity-death-asphyxiation/
 
Next online meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society

From Tuesday the 13th of October, 7.30

Robert Schneck (author of the report which was filmed as The Bye Bye Man) will talk on

“Otherwise Inexplicable”, looks at how people explained
autoerotic asphyxiation fatalities when they did not know that
autoerotic asphyxiation existed. A selection of cases from 1884 to 1953
are used to illustrate explanations that fall into three main
categories: suicide, murder, and misadventure.
In other words - an uncommon event, little understood - how have the explanations altered with time, and how can Fortean learn from that?

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCX8Ez-brarHABUMKRQsT-lA/videos
Direct link to video - goes live at 19.30 BST Tuesday the 13th of October
 
And guess who forgot to add teh actual link to the post!
I had noticed that.....but I initially wondered if it might be some kind of fiendish internet puzzle/challenge membership test similar to Cicada 3301

(It also briefly crossed my mind that the omission might've been somehow related to those sister societies that We Just Can't Talk About ....sshh, not for the open forum)

But I also figured, just like a late birthday-card/bus/pizza-delivery, it would still be worth waiting for.

(Unlike, say, a governor's reprieve, a pay-cheque or a parachute, where both timing & precise content are everything)
 
I wondered if this might be of interest.

Attached as a pdf file is a full page from the, 'Caledonian Mercury', published on 21 January, 1799.

Featured therein, for attention of, 'Nobility, Gentlemen and Amateurs', is notification of an exhibition:

'Royal Cabinet of Curiofities', on display at an, 'elegant apartment' above the Tron church.

Looks interesting!
 

Attachments

  • The_Caledonian_Mercury_Mon__Jan_21__1799_.pdf
    1.1 MB · Views: 29
I wondered if this might be of interest.

Attached as a pdf file is a full page from the, 'Caledonian Mercury', published on 21 January, 1799.

Featured therein, for attention of, 'Nobility, Gentlemen and Amateurs', is notification of an exhibition:

'Royal Cabinet of Curiofities', on display at an, 'elegant apartment' above the Tron church.

Looks interesting!
Thanks for that, I think I’ve missed it! One shilling entry! I’m assuming the description of the apartment means it is part of the building of the Tron church?
 
I’m assuming the description of the apartment means it is part of the building of the Tron church?
Looks like it - see also the following advert from 16 December, 1799.

Is this someone offering 'magical' cures?

Screenshot_20201021_132439_resize_78.jpg
 
Next EdFort

Tuesday the 10th of November
John Tantallon will be talking on

From the Dark Wardie Steps to the Ominous Tally Toor,

North Edinburgh Nightmares

“What’s at the bottom of Wardie Steps?”
Was the question my Grandfather asked me all those years ago?
He was a man with a lifetime of experience at sea. Who acquired the rank of Chief Petty
Officer and would later sail on countless vessels in Scottish waters and afar.
During his years, my Grandfather relayed many tales of local history to me and many ghost
stories.
It was here that my curiosity began. The tale of a trawlerman terrorised onboard a cursed
voyage only to appear face to face with a ghostly nautical apparition scared me to no end.
After hearing the frightening tale of “Slange Var,” I remained hooked.
My passion for ghost stories commenced at a young age. I discovered many terrifying tales
from the boundaries of North Edinburgh. Now so shall you.
Hear the tale of a phantom security guard, who haunts the barren landscape of Leith Docks.
Listen to a terrifying recollection from an ex-employee of the ominous Craigcrook Castle.
Discover the alarming tale of a mysterious bed inside a Granton property and the recently
deceased owner who returned to reclaim his prize possession.
I will relay these stories and many more, North Edinburgh Nightmares.

From 7.30 on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX8Ez-brarHABUMKRQsT-lA
 
Next EdFort

Tuesday the 10th of November
John Tantallon will be talking on

From the Dark Wardie Steps to the Ominous Tally Toor,

North Edinburgh Nightmares

“What’s at the bottom of Wardie Steps?”
Was the question my Grandfather asked me all those years ago?
He was a man with a lifetime of experience at sea. Who acquired the rank of Chief Petty
Officer and would later sail on countless vessels in Scottish waters and afar.
During his years, my Grandfather relayed many tales of local history to me and many ghost
stories.
It was here that my curiosity began. The tale of a trawlerman terrorised onboard a cursed
voyage only to appear face to face with a ghostly nautical apparition scared me to no end.
After hearing the frightening tale of “Slange Var,” I remained hooked.
My passion for ghost stories commenced at a young age. I discovered many terrifying tales
from the boundaries of North Edinburgh. Now so shall you.
Hear the tale of a phantom security guard, who haunts the barren landscape of Leith Docks.
Listen to a terrifying recollection from an ex-employee of the ominous Craigcrook Castle.
Discover the alarming tale of a mysterious bed inside a Granton property and the recently
deceased owner who returned to reclaim his prize possession.
I will relay these stories and many more, North Edinburgh Nightmares.

From 7.30 on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX8Ez-brarHABUMKRQsT-lA
Direct link to video
Goes live at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 10th of November
 
Tuesday the 10th of November
John Tantallon will be talking on

From the Dark Wardie Steps to the Ominous Tally Toor,

Thanks @gordanrutter, I enjoyed that. I was just reading the 'Graveyards' thread earlier yesterday and was going to post about Warriston cemetery. I was doing a survey job on Stedfastgate in north Edinburgh (the old Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven railway line), and looking down from (what is now) the public path into the graveyard, with its memorial markers leaning this way and that under the trees, the ground and tombs swathed in ivy; it looked very evocative and not a little spooky (even on a sunny Summer's day).

The_railway_bridge,_Warriston_Cemetery.jpg
The railway bridge, Warriston cemetery.

Now that I know that the cemetery has a ghost too, I'll definately make a point of visiting it soon.
 
Thanks @gordanrutter, I enjoyed that. I was just reading the 'Graveyards' thread earlier yesterday and was going to post about Warriston cemetery. I was doing a survey job on Stedfastgate in north Edinburgh (the old Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven railway line), and looking down from (what is now) the public path into the graveyard, with its memorial markers leaning this way and that under the trees, the ground and tombs swathed in ivy; it looked very evocative and not a little spooky (even on a sunny Summer's day).

View attachment 31411
The railway bridge, Warriston cemetery.

Now that I know that the cemetery has a ghost too, I'll definately make a point of visiting it soon.
Thanks and well worth a visit, as well as a cemetery it’s also a wild life reserve.
 
The last meeting of the year!

The next meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society is our traditional Christmas meal / drinking session. Don't worry, its not a video on Youtube of me drinking and eating! It's a zoom meeting so we can all join in - be prepared with a question to test your fellow Forteans with!

Tuesday the 8th of December
7.30pm
Zoom
Topic: EdFort Christmas Meal
Time: Dec 8, 2020 07:30 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/89224397849

Meeting ID: 892 2439 7849
Passcode: ?7a*22!7

47386424_10156984172351177_7346417121720532992_n.jpg
74711318_10157940002226177_1854073292181209088_n.jpg
 
Direct link to video
Goes live at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 10th of November

Bit late to this particular party - but I really enjoyed that.

In the late 90's/early noughties I lived for a while at North Leith Mill - and worked at a workshop along West Bowling Green Street. More recently I stayed with an ex who lives by the shore in Newhaven. I've explored that area a whole lot but hadn't heard those stories. I sometimes worry that Edinburgh's ghostology has become somewhat strangulated by the ubiquitous commercial ghost walks - I worry that the tendency to repeat the same folklore might be leading to a kind of fossilization, and it's a relief to hear some that are outside of the usual material. He tells them well, too.
 
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