amester said:
In elementary school we could order paperbacks through Scholastic Books for about 50 cents a piece. I got lots of books that way, about Bigfoot, UfOs, the Bermuda Triangle, etc.
Same here ... I believe we began to have access to SBS purchases when I was around 11 or 12 (which would correlate with the JFK years and the original run of the _Twilight Zone_). I specifically sought out and purchased all the compilations of 'strange / unexplained' (e.g., the Frank Edwards books) they offered.
But that represented fuel added to a fire that had already been kindled ...
About the time I turned 9 years old 'they' finally realized I was legally blind, and I got my first eyeglasses (as well my first reliable view of the world beyond my arm's reach). Up until then, the world had always been a strange environment in which many common things were experienced as unexpected, unexplained, or just plain weird.
Once I could see I began reading voraciously - starting with the entire World Book encyclopedia (whole thing; end to end ...). Natural science, ancient history, mythologies, shipwrecks, etc., became subjects I greedily ate up.
When it came to fiction, I'd immediately immersed myself in fantastic adventures and SF (first novels I ever read were _Swiss Family Robinson_ and the Jules Verne classics).
My entire paternal-side family (3 generations) lived together in 5 neighboring houses, and I had unrestricted access to all households' reading matter. Luckily, it was a family that proactively read.
The most Fortean-related subject matter I recall reading earliest consisted of UFO / unexplained books I'd run across, occasional articles in _Readers Digest_, and certain mens magazines like _Argosy_ and _True_.
I recall the mens magazines having the most detailed and extensive offerings on weird things - e.g., the most compelling photos of 'sea monsters' I've ever seen. These were available via my father and my uncles, and our preferred barber shop (operated by a family friend) always had a stack of them laid out for patrons. It was not unusual for my father to step across the street to get a beer or check the day's gambling 'scene' while I quite eagerly stayed at the barber's and read.
I also read every _Ripley's Believe it or Not_ or _Strange but True_ (etc.) column the newspapers offered.
Because I grew up in an active and conservative Christian environment, I also have to credit the Bible with attuning me to the possibility of strange and miraculous happenings. Portrayals of Biblical miracles probably did more to initially orient me toward the weird than any other film / television fare.