• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

TV, Films, Books That Turned The Young You Onto The Fortean

Oh heck yes, those Pan horror books! I loved them and read them avidly. Can remember my dad driving on a motorway down to Bristol around 1972 and buying me one at one of them newfangled service stations...

Mainly for me it was Man, Myth and Magic as I’ve mentioned here before.

Especially Vol 3 which is G for Ghosts as they’re alphabetical. I was also very taken by other pieces about modern witchcraft and Wicca- seem to remember some really compelling stuff that would have been about people like Gardner and Valiente. 60s and 70s nudey witches upto no good.

TV I loved anything Hammer Horror then later Tales of the Unexpected.
 
What a brilliant thread so many memories of what i read watched on the tv.
I think we are born Fortean i remember reading a book about adamski from the library.
My mum was into all the strange stuff and that started my journey of all stuff Fortean.
She would have loved this website
 
I can remember getting Leonard Cramp's book Piece for a Jig-Saw out of my library in Countytown several times:

417YtwafppL._SX319_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


There must have been a Fortean on the staff, as I can also remember borrowing Heuvelmans' In the Wake and On the Track so many times that I nearly wore the print off the pages.

maximus otter
 
I can remember getting Leonard Cramp's book Piece for a Jig-Saw out of my library in Countytown several times:

417YtwafppL._SX319_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


There must have been a Fortean on the staff, as I can also remember borrowing Heuvelmans' In the Wake and On the Track so many times that I nearly wore the print off the pages.

maximus otter
That book looks interesting, I bet you couldn't put it down.
 
I don't read books anymore because my eyes are bad. But, I used to read them often, especially in my 20's. I remember reading The Shining and having to throw it into the Freezer and lock it at night because otherwise I was too scared to fall asleep. lol
 
I don't read books anymore because my eyes are bad. But, I used to read them often, especially in my 20's. I remember reading The Shining and having to throw it into the Freezer and lock it at night because otherwise I was too scared to fall asleep. lol

Hahaha, that story reminds me of this one, you're lucky you had no one with a mean streak in your home!
book.jpg
 
Charles Berlitz and von Daniken, their books. There were other "factual" books, too, ones I can't remember exactly.
Poe, Lovecraft and other horror writers, and also Tolkien and other fantasy writers. I enjoyed the local library!
"In Search Of..." the telly series, plus "The Twilight Zone".

My first in-person experience was meeting the Lake George lake monster. Yes, for real, in person, in town at the Historical Society.

These days I get my fix here, and via "Weird New Jersey" and their associated publications.
 
Charles Berlitz and von Daniken, their books. There were other "factual" books, too, ones I can't remember exactly.
Poe, Lovecraft and other horror writers, and also Tolkien and other fantasy writers. I enjoyed the local library!
"In Search Of..." the telly series, plus "The Twilight Zone".

My first in-person experience was meeting the Lake George lake monster. Yes, for real, in person, in town at the Historical Society.

These days I get my fix here, and via "Weird New Jersey" and their associated publications.

Yes, Chariots of the Gods. It opened my eyes to lots of 'strange' in the world.
 
Charles Berlitz and von Daniken, their books. There were other "factual" books, too, ones I can't remember exactly.
Poe, Lovecraft and other horror writers, and also Tolkien and other fantasy writers. I enjoyed the local library!
"In Search Of..." the telly series, plus "The Twilight Zone".

My first in-person experience was meeting the Lake George lake monster. Yes, for real, in person, in town at the Historical Society.

These days I get my fix here, and via "Weird New Jersey" and their associated publications.
The importance of Charles Berlitz' and von Daniken's books can't be overestimated. I started reading them in the very early 80s.
 
A book by the poet Geoffrey Grigson Looking and Finding

It's all about being aware of things, finding things out, sorting and sifting data, following up leads.... and starting your own collection of things.

It's a fairly quick read, I recommend it. Gave the same paradigm changing experience as Sir Thomas Browne.

As did this. Not revealing things per se but saying that revelation and epiphany is possible. Which just goes to show how brilliant John Keats is!

All links to the wikipedia page, the poem taken from the page it has all to itself!


On First Looking into Chapman's Homer

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific — and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise —
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
 
I was massively into the Occult/Paranormal by the time I entered secondary school at age 11, so that would have been summer of 74, when I found “You be the Judge” on the library shelves. It is extremely rare now but I managed to pick up a second hand copy (also from an old school library) some years ago, along with a copy of the follow up You be the Judge 2, which I wasn’t aware of until tracking down the original edition.
It introduced me to the Moving Coffins of Barbados story and, as reported on another thread, I eventually visited the chase tomb in 2008 thereby crossing one thing off my paranormal bucket list.

BB3D6008-FAAF-45E1-A945-E4AD2EA08488.jpeg


Later on, and reinforcing my absolute belief in everything occult, I found and waded through all the Carlos Castaneda books about the teachings of Don Juan, his out of body travels and physical relocation following the use of hallucinogens blew my mind and reinforced all I believed in at the time. The subsequent discovery that it was all fake and the books were works of fiction probably aided my decline into scepticism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda

Later on I joined one of those book clubs where you buy a book of your choice each month or get the editors choice. I believe this was when I found the books of Colin Wilson. Starting with ”The Occult” I then devoured his back catalogue and everything he subsequently published on the occult. It was fascinating reading and some of these books are now classics. It was through Wilson that I became acquainted with, amongst others, the works of Guy Lyon Playfair. Again, a massive influence on my beliefs back in the day.

For those who have mentioned Leonard Nimoys TV series, ”In Search Of” as a contributor to their own paranormal journey, you may be interested to know that William Blake Smith of the Monster Talk Podcast has recently finished series 1 of the “In Research Of” podcast. The show where he and a co presenter “watch the 1970s TV show "In Search Of..." and look at possible explanations the producers didn't consider”.
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/in-research-of-william-blake-smith-q8IyYbhNXOj/
 
The Readers’ Digest Book of Strange Stories and Amazing Facts. That mid 70s compendium of, well, it’s hard to say what its organising principle was, other than “stuff that is strange and/or amazing.” It had UFOs, time slips, Borley Rectory, the Money Pit, the lost treasure of Dorak, Flying Dutchman, Atlantis, pyramids, Prester John, Barbados moving coffins ... and scariest of all it had photos of the faces of Belmez, which creeped me out beyond words at the age of eight.

I was at my parents’ house recently (my mum still lives there) and noticed she still had it, gathering dust on an old shelf, so I borrowed it off her. A huge nostalgia kick to read it again.

Sad to know now that nearly everything in it has been dismantled or explained in some way. Borley Rectory? All made up by Harry Price and Marianne Forster, or so I’ve heard. Lost treasure of Dorak? Well the archaeologist who said he‘d seen it later got into hot water over similarly unverifiable claims he had made over paintings at Catal Huyuk so his credibility was shot to pieces. Money Pit? Apparently a natural geological formation overlaid with a bit of made-up-ness.

And the Faces of Belmez were apparently just crude paintings too. Ah well. The innocence of youth. Back in 1975 they were the most frightening faces on the planet.
 
Not sure about turning me onto the Fortean but this certainly turned my cosy view of the World on it's head:
My brother was 10 or 11 when he collected the complete series of Tarzan books, which he enjoyed immensely. I was (am) four years younger than him and found the books very difficult to read, small print, lack of illustrations etc. It was as if Rice Burroughs wasn't writing for 7 year olds - certainly his Tarzan was not as entertaining as Johnny Weissmuller and Cheeta on the telly. When I got a little older I tried again: I think it was the first book 'Tarzan of the Apes' where Naval Officer Paul D'Arnot teaches Tarzan (John Clayton, Earl of Greystoke) language (French), civilised manners and finally a belief in God. I don't remember the exact wording but the gist was:

'Tarzan didn't know who this God was, but whilst he had his knife he had little doubt who would win if it ever came to a fight'

I was shocked, the blasphemy, I was worried that even thinking about a hero taking on God in a knife-fight would get me in trouble. I still get goosebumps over the memory. Yet it did make me think.
 
I was massively into the Occult/Paranormal by the time I entered secondary school at age 11, so that would have been summer of 74, when I found “You be the Judge” on the library shelves. It is extremely rare now but I managed to pick up a second hand copy (also from an old school library) some years ago, along with a copy of the follow up You be the Judge 2, which I wasn’t aware of until tracking down the original edition.
It introduced me to the Moving Coffins of Barbados story and, as reported on another thread, I eventually visited the chase tomb in 2008 thereby crossing one thing off my paranormal bucket list.

View attachment 25379

Later on, and reinforcing my absolute belief in everything occult, I found and waded through all the Carlos Castaneda books about the teachings of Don Juan, his out of body travels and physical relocation following the use of hallucinogens blew my mind and reinforced all I believed in at the time. The subsequent discovery that it was all fake and the books were works of fiction probably aided my decline into scepticism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda

Later on I joined one of those book clubs where you buy a book of your choice each month or get the editors choice. I believe this was when I found the books of Colin Wilson. Starting with ”The Occult” I then devoured his back catalogue and everything he subsequently published on the occult. It was fascinating reading and some of these books are now classics. It was through Wilson that I became acquainted with, amongst others, the works of Guy Lyon Playfair. Again, a massive influence on my beliefs back in the day.

For those who have mentioned Leonard Nimoys TV series, ”In Search Of” as a contributor to their own paranormal journey, you may be interested to know that William Blake Smith of the Monster Talk Podcast has recently finished series 1 of the “In Research Of” podcast. The show where he and a co presenter “watch the 1970s TV show "In Search Of..." and look at possible explanations the producers didn't consider”.
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/in-research-of-william-blake-smith-q8IyYbhNXOj/
Christ! Look at the Derby on that fat fukka. did I have no shame back then!
 
Oh heck yes, those Pan horror books! I loved them and read them avidly. Can remember my dad driving on a motorway down to Bristol around 1972 and buying me one at one of them newfangled service stations...

Mainly for me it was Man, Myth and Magic as I’ve mentioned here before.

Especially Vol 3 which is G for Ghosts as they’re alphabetical. I was also very taken by other pieces about modern witchcraft and Wicca- seem to remember some really compelling stuff that would have been about people like Gardner and Valiente. 60s and 70s nudey witches upto no good.

TV I loved anything Hammer Horror then later Tales of the Unexpected.

I was gifted a whole complete set of those, in binders from a friend who worked in a charity shop, after they didn't sell.

Read them all then flogged 'em on t'Internet in my pre-eBay days around 2001. I seem to remember a lot of bearded nude men...(in the publication, not generally)
 
you might like to look up hyperlexia :)

I'm a Treffert #2 and a Williamson Brown #2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia

Wonderful! Now I kind of have an answer, I had no idea at all that early reading ability (I could read from learning from my Dad reading to me when I was 3) was linked to some other traits. I also have a speech disorder. In the 'types' mentioned I am a #3 and #1 respectively. I was just thought of as a fairly well-behaved child who like reading and didn't always want to play with large groups. Thank you!

My Aunt tells a story occasionally of when my older cousin had just started school and was struggling with words and I opened a book of birds and said "that says Cassowary, [name]"!

Similar to @tuco above, my primary school teacher refused to believe I could read when I arrived at 5 years old until I read all of Peter & Jane #1 to her and asked if I could go back to reading my Childcraft Encyclopedias (1973 edition). They were brilliant and still are, still have them :)

s-l300.jpg
 
Last edited:
I was gifted a whole complete set of those, in binders from a friend who worked in a charity shop, after they didn't sell.

Read them all then flogged 'em on t'Internet in my pre-eBay days around 2001. I seem to remember a lot of bearded nude men...(in the publication, not generally)
Yes, like the Joy of Sex with added satan worship.
 
It was watching Arthur C Clarke that sparked my early interest. Watched it from been maybe 6/7 early 80s. Me n me grandad would watch it (me and mother lived with her parents), grandmother was a hardcore catholic so didn't approve but I loved it.....I recall not been able to pronounce "abominable snowman", called him the abdominal snowman

Was convinced the Loch Ness monster was real, ditto Bigfoot , aliens ect. Still believe in the aliens (or that they were here in biblical times , ancient aliens , Sumerian tablets n all thatstuff ) . As an adult I want to believe in the Loch Ness monster but have accept that there's not enough food source to support a family of Dinos. Believe in Bigfoot and Dogman though.

Started reading gothic classics like Dracula and Frankenstein from being 11, after 13 when I got a small portable tv in my bedroom , and thus could watch things I would not have been allowed to before , I got into the late night Hammer Horrors, Stephen King IT, pet Demerara ect, Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, Lair of the white worm etc..... Classic films !

I'd forgot about Lair Of The White worm until I saw it on the "lockdown monster flicks " list on here other night . Really enjoys seeing it again. I remember us all chatting on the school bus in the morning as we had all watched it and we were obsessed with how weird and sexual it was.

After 16 I started reading Crowley, Von Daniken and anything occult /weird . Discovered Fortean Times in my 20s , have huge piles of them scattered around the house.

(Not a crowleyite but I always liked the name/spelling so my young son is called Aleister)
 
I need to read Von Daniken again, it's Been a long time . Broke since this lockdown so not in a position to buy it but I'll see if there's any free PDFs floating about .
 
Back
Top