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Fortean Books: Suggestions & Recommendations

Any of the Jon Ronson books are worth it.

If you can find it, Eccentric London by Tom Quinn and Ricky Leaver, though that might have to be second hand.

So too, "Who Knows' by Jacynth Hope-Simpson.
 
@lordmongrove you're really good at this! I've just bought The Pike for a pal who has a special interest in bitey fish!
 
Analogue Boy said:
Not a book but a headsup that I saw a new bookazine (a thick magazine) in Sainsbury’s today.
History of Ghosts. Get in there and fill yer boots.
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Went to town and did as you suggested :) thank you!
 
A very classy book is Haunted Air by Ossian Brown- 'A Collection of Anonymous Hallowe'en Photographs America c.1875-1955'
Cheap and cheerful is Strange Victoriana by Jan Bondeson - stories mainly from the Illustrated Police News and non-fiction but covers all aspects of Forteana and brilliant for just dipping into
 
For someone from, visiting, or interested in London, a rewarding but maybe less well-known book on the city might be Tom Bolton's Vanished City - London's Lost Neighbourhoods: compact, but satisfyingly dense. Same for Bolton's London's Lost Rivers. Both are pocket sized - which is useful, as they may well inspire a wish to explore. (Both published by Strange Attractor.)

For a Scottish read - I have a big soft spot for George Rosie's Curious Scotland. Not strictly Fortean, but full of odd and quirky detail - and a very satisfying read. Each chapter has a distinct subject, and it's a good 'dipper' for those who like to bob in and out of a book. I've seen claims that some of the historical detail may be a little overtaken, but it's worth pointing out that many of the poorer reviews of the book appear to have been based on the author not being nationalist enough, rather than inaccurate. (These reviewers clearly have absolutely no Idea of Rosie's background, and haven't bothered to look; he just likes to poke holes in myths - personally I don't see any contradiction in that and any form his politics might take.)
 
Spookdaddy said:
(These reviewers clearly have absolutely no Idea of Rosie's background, and haven't bothered to look; he just likes to poke holes in myths - personally I don't see any contradiction in that and any form his politics might take.)
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THIS!

Oh dear, another one I'll get for me as well as for... Dad, I think!

Bad bad Spookdaddy!
 
What a nice thread! Thanks, @Frideswide, for starting it, as it contains several suggestions for a good read which I have noted for myself.
For an adult- recipient, I would suggest anything written by R. Scott Rogo. Accessible, well-researched, balanced, and thoughtful.
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
anything written by R. Scott Rogo
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ooooh!

have to confess that having come up with this cunning plan, my mind promptly wiped itself of most relevant ideas and started thinking about the benefits of overwintering veggie plants in the garden next year. So I am particularly happy with the breadth and depth of suggestions here.

Here's tae us; wha's like us?

:twothumbs:
 
I got this in the Works for £4

IMG_1555.jpeg
 
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If this isn't the place for this (or if there's a thread already going) please move. I did a search and didn't see anything like it...

I'm hoping someone can recommend some books, I'm particularly interested of reading accounts of ghosts that have been seen, but I'm looking more for stories recounting seeing *old* ghosts...seems like most of the accounts I read see ghosts who appear to be Edwardian or Victorian. I want to read about ghosts that appear to be medieval or ancient. Are there accounts of seeing Anglo Saxon ghosts or anything? That's what I want to read about.

Also interested in any general Fortean type books.
 
Perhaps this one?:

The English Ghost: Spectres Through Time
By Peter Ackroyd

'The English see more ghosts than any other nation. From medieval times to the present day, stories have been told about ghosts who avenge injustice, souls who long for peace and spooks who just want to have fun.

The English Ghost is a treasure trove of such sightings; comical and scary, like all the best ghost stories, these accounts, packed with eerie detail, range from the moaning child that terrified Wordworth's nephew at Cambridge to modern day hitchhikers on Blue Bell Hill.'

https://www.amazon.co.uk/English-Ghost-Spectres-Through-Time/dp/0099287579/ref=sr_1_1?crid=94GJ8VNOI9JU&keywords=English+ghost+ackroyd&qid=1700325380&s=books&sprefix=english+ghost+ackroyd,stripbooks,111&sr=1-1
 
Oooo looks interesting....I'll have to get my hands on a copy as sadly, it has not been released in ebook
 
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