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What Was Your Entry To The World Of Weird?

Hey man. Welcome back.
dannycheveaux1 said:
One of these, sadly is the "crop circle" - great fun for a time
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Aww don’t say it like that.
Can you create such a beautiful sign? Neither can I. The fact that we could is what makes it great art. Sacred art. Lots of folks can do it. Always have been.

Long live the crop artistes. Down with the knockers. I still get a rev up when I see a really good one. That they are now so few and far between it makes them, the masterpieces, belong with those classics of yore. Eg Milk Hill 2001.
 
skinny said:
Hey man. Welcome back.

Aww don’t say it like that.
Can you create such a beautiful sign? Neither can I. The fact that we could is what makes it great art. Sacred art. Lots of folks can do it. Always have been.

Long live the crop artistes. Down with the knockers. I still get a rev up when I see a really good one. That they are now so few and far between it makes them, the masterpieces, belong with those classics of yore. Eg Milk Hill 2001.
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I agree some crop designs are beautiful and magical (sacred art, if you like). I went to see many of them back in the day and even subscribed to the Cereologist. But what I meant is they are totally explainable really.
 
Yes. They are mundane.
IMO that shouldn’t detract from their attraction.

I think the magic of the CCs will be entirely lost on our dear little Millenials. It was something while it lasted. It was a hope for evidence that we are not alone. But it is still true.
 
dannycheveaux1 said:
totally explainable
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I don't get why that designation is such a disappointment for some peeps. I really do don't.

Is this the anti-explained forum? If so, it should in no way be connected to our benefactor, Mr Fort. Though he celebrated the unexplained of his day, he was definitely no anti-explanasionist. Just ask someone. It's true.
 
Skinny, perhaps the mystery of crop circles is not how they are made but why. What inspires people to go to so much effort and what inspires the designs? some of them are amazingly complex, and must take hours of planning and work

My sig is a fairly simple one seen from just below the Cherhill white horse. No mystery about it, apparently local farmers made it for their own amusement. It was only visible from the hill. Great walking area with nice pub near by co-incidentally called the white Horse
 
British crop circles unofficially are considered the most elaborate crop circles in the world.

Maybe some are man made, but some appear in a very short period of time which are not man made.

Some of the patterns are very intricate and humanly impossible.
 
escargot said:
My father was into everything paranormal and other-worldly - ghosts, Bigfoot, flying saucers, reincarnation, the hole in the earth
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the hole in the earth . . . ?

escargot said:
My own mother was totally agin anything like that although she is highly psychic.
All very confusing.
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After feeding and sheltering a child, the third most important job of a parent is confusing that child. :nods:
 
My Mum was an avid reader of all sorts and loved ghost stories. She used to tell me ghost stories when I was little and also accounts of ghosts and other weird things she had seen or experienced.
I remember in the late l960s the shop on the caravan site we used to stay at on holiday used to sell a few American comics, like the Archies, Jughead and so on which I used to think were very exotic at the time and one day I found a spooky one amongst the other titles -I think it may have been Ghostly tales or similar. I must have read it hundreds of times.

As an aside, does anyone remember the ads in those US comics? I used to be fascinated by the adverts for battle sets which had a full page ad with what looked like hundreds of figures, tanks, aircraft etc. They looked nothing like the toys in my local toy shops but the option of ordering a set in $ from the US seemed completely impossible to me at the time:)
 
Giant R said:
As an aside, does anyone remember the ads in those US comics? I used to be fascinated by the adverts for battle sets which had a full page ad with what looked like hundreds of figures, tanks, aircraft etc. They looked nothing like the toys in my local toy shops but the option of ordering a set in $ from the US seemed completely impossible to me at the time:)
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How I envied American children. Sea Monkeys, X Ray Specs, Charles Atlas physiques, full sized submarines... and all for only a few dollars.
 
eziofan said:
  • What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you? For example, parapsychology, UFOs, bigfoot, time slips, etc - I suppose its UAPs, mythology, anomalous falls and just anything weird.
  • What was your worldview when your interest began? For example, devoutly religious, atheist, pragmatic, agnostic, not sure, skeptic (meaning inherently disbelieving and thinking people who do believe are deluded), etc. - I was young, but definitely atheist
  • What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness? For example, book or magazine, popular electronic media (TV, movie, podcast, youtube, etc.), discussion with family or friends, personal experience, etc. - I was about 13 when I read Chariot of the Gods and thought I knew it all! Then I found the Atlantis Bookshop in London and the rest is history!
  • How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time? - I have become much more skeptical as time moves on. This has much to do with the lack of evidence for the existence of Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, UFOs, etc. I was excited by the emergence of new phenomena like ley lines and crop circles, only to realize they were no more than wishful thinking.
  • Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? This means that you have not changed your mind for several years and expect that you will not change your mind with more or different evidence. I have changed my stance considerably over time. In my innocent years I accepted everything at face value. Life experience has taught me to question everything and I have yet to experience anything that has changed that. A disappointing end to a field that offered so much promise.
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Regarding your last answer, I feel the 60s and 70s/early-80s were a more 'innocent' time and all things Fortean flourished. It was a time of self-published UFO booklets and regional UFO groups meeting in the back rooms of pubs and down the country. Our news was from local and national newspapers and the TV only. The Fortean Times delivered breaking paranormal cases and research we had not heard or read anywhere else beforehand. Programmes like 'Nationwide' brought us interviews with the young and old witnesses to the latest UFO cases and we watched the Michael Aspell and Arthur C Clarke paranormal documentaries with fascination on our grainy screens...

It was still the age of exploration: the moon landings were large in our lives and not distant memories and Africa was still a mysterious continent where relic dinosaurs might still roam. Ordinary people were coming forward with tales of UFOs landing and their silver-suited alien occupants. The Owlman and Morgawr of Cornwall and when trains from London packed with bucket and spade holidaymakers still ran direct into the Falmouth stations. Rain or shine, there were fish and chips ice creams, pasties and donkey rides. Locals still gathered at the pubs and inns lunchtimes and evenings day in day out and tales of local intrigue were shared and old traditions and legends were still alive...

I could go on. I always recommend 'Monster Hunter' by the CFZ's Jon Downes for a nostalgic trip back to the UFOs, monsters and high strangeness of the 70s and 80s of a Britain that has gently faded as the internet and 24/7 instant news have become engrained in our lives and collective consciousness. No wonder that we have all become a lot more cynical and the Fortean is having a hard time in the face of a relentless stream of fake paranormal videos, a camera in every pocket and fantasy masquerading as actual paranormal experiences on platforms such as Reddit. It is a little concerning to me that so much of that wonderful 'The Unexplained' magazine that filled my teenage years with wonder an hope has either been disproven or frankly looks a bit ridiculous through a 21st Century lens (hole at the top of the Earth, anyone?).

It might be that conventional, nuts-and-bolts Ufology has ground to a halt. Ufologists have either moved away from the extra-terrestrial hypothesis (ETH), are fixated on some indistinct 'leaked' US Navy videos or are forever looking over their shoulders at events of forty, fifty, sixty and seventy years ago (events that are becoming ever more ridiculous as some of the original witnesses milk them for all they are worth). The sad truth is that we are simply not getting the CE3s that were relatively commonplace in the 60s, 70s and 80s; the last decent CE3 case in the UK was 1992, thirty years ago. This is horribly depressing given that in the early-80s it felt like an answer to the UFO mystery was imminent...

Several years ago I began to feel as if this might be the end of the paranormal as human consciousness evolved to a postmodern, Web 2.0 world of instant communication and gratification as we walk around with an HD video camera on our phone. However, I made an effort to dig out those Forteans who are still getting out there and investigating the paranormal. Nick Redfern during his man beast, dogmen, werewolf, UFO and big cat Cannock Chase days of was my first find and his field work and tracking down of mostly credible witnesses reignited my passion. Then I discovered Paul Sinclair's fieldwork in Yorkshire that is still to this day uncovering new witnesses to man beasts, werewolves, dogmen, UFOs, gnomes, big cats and more, with many cases from recent years. Then you have forum member Ruth Roper-Wylde out there tracking down witnesses to hauntings and finding many new and recent cases - her books are a must. Likewise Rob Gandy and his road ghost and phantom hitchhiker work and there are more.

Personally, I feel the ETH UFO days are over, but the paranormal is alive and well, it just seems that the manner in which witnesses share - or don't share - their experiences has changed in the 21st Century and we have to work that bit harder to find new cases. There is definitely a 'researcher effect' whereby once a Fortean gets involved in an area and is brave enough to go 'knocking on doors' then the witnesses to high strangeness feel confident in speaking out.

tl;dr: Ufology might be moribund but don't lose hope ;)
 
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  • What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you? Ghosts, folklore, fairies and related beings and beasties, historical accounts of weirdness; weird psychology, mysterious archaeology. My least favourite is probably UFOs due to over exposure.
  • What was your worldview when your interest began? My parents avoided religion thanks to things that happened when they were kids so I wasn't brought up with any particular religious or agnostic view - they pretty much avoided the subject all together. All I would get out my mum was it was up to me to make my decision when I was an adult. Having said that I had an Irish grandad who was convinced I was a Catholic waiting to happen. Still waiting.
  • What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness? I was a child of the 70s, there was strangeness everywhere I looked on tv and books. I was insatiably curious about how the world worked and that meant the unusual as well as the normal. My parents indulged me with a library card and my own children's encyclopedia which I read from front to back and back to front repeatedly. I do remember having one of those Usborne books too. As a child I loved ghosts, time travel, dinosaurs, fossils and those accounts of water flowing uphill. Still do. I was delighted at 18 when my grandad took me to see a fairy thorn tree in Ireland, he let the car brakes go and we pootled 'uphill'. A year later I found my first issue of the Fortean Times in an Irish holiday cottage...
  • How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time? I think I have gone from Fox Mulder to Dana Scully but unlike her in the earlier seasons I admit weird shit happens, we just don't always know why. The obvious answer is often not complex enough to cope with human experience.
  • Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? I definitely don't want everything to be explained, where would be the fun in that? I think that is pretty stable.
 
WeirdExeter said:
Regarding your last answer, I feel the 60s and 70s/early-80s were a more 'innocent' time and all things Fortean flourished. It was a time of self-published UFO booklets and regional UFO groups meeting in the back rooms of pubs and down the country. Our news was from local and national newspapers and the TV only. The Fortean Times delivered breaking paranormal cases and research we had not heard or read anywhere else beforehand. Programmes like 'Nationwide' brought us interviews with the young and old witnesses to the latest UFO cases and we watched the Michael Aspell and Arthur C Clarke paranormal documentaries with fascination on our grainy screens...

It was still the age of exploration: the moon landings were large in our lives and not distant memories and Africa was still a mysterious continent where relic dinosaurs might still roam. Ordinary people were coming forward with tales of UFOs landing and their silver-suited alien occupants. The Owlman and Morgawr of Cornwall and when trains from London packed with bucket and spade holidaymakers still ran direct into the Falmouth stations. Rain or shine, there were fish and chips ice creams, pasties and donkey rides. Locals still gathered at the pubs and inns lunchtimes and evenings day in day out and tales of local intrigue were shared and old traditions and legends were still alive...

I could go on. I always recommend 'Monster Hunter' by the CFZ's Jon Downes for a nostalgic trip back to the UFOs, monsters and high strangeness of the 70s and 80s of a Britain that has gently faded as the internet and 24/7 instant news have become engrained in our lives and collective consciousness. No wonder that we have all become a lot more cynical and the Fortean is having a hard time in the face of a relentless stream of fake paranormal videos, a camera in every pocket and fantasy masquerading as actual paranormal experiences on platforms such as Reddit. It is a little concerning to me that so much of that wonderful 'The Unexplained' magazine that filled my teenage years with wonder an hope has either been disproven or frankly looks a bit ridiculous through a 21st Century lens (hole at the top of the Earth, anyone?).

It might be that conventional, nuts-and-bolts Ufology has ground to a halt. Ufologists have either moved away from the extra-terrestrial hypothesis (ETH), are fixated on some indistinct 'leaked' US Navy videos or are forever looking over their shoulders at events of forty, fifty, sixty and seventy years ago (events that are becoming ever more ridiculous as some of the original witnesses milk them for all they are worth). The sad truth is that we are simply not getting the CE3s that were relatively commonplace in the 60s, 70s and 80s; the last decent CE3 case in the UK was 1992, thirty years ago. This is horribly depressing given that in the early-80s it felt like an answer to the UFO mystery was imminent...

Several years ago I began to feel as if this might be the end of the paranormal as human consciousness evolved to a postmodern, Web 2.0 world of instant communication and gratification as we walk around with an HD video camera on our phone. However, I made an effort to dig out those Forteans who are still getting out there and investigating the paranormal. Nick Redfern during his man beast, dogmen, werewolf, UFO and big cat Cannock Chase days of was my first find and his field work and tracking down of mostly credible witnesses reignited my passion. Then I discovered Paul Sinclair's fieldwork in Yorkshire that is still to this day uncovering new witnesses to man beasts, werewolves, dogmen, UFOs, gnomes, big cats and more, with many cases from recent years. Then you have forum member Ruth Roper-Wylde out there tracking down witnesses to hauntings and finding many new and recent cases - her books are a must. Likewise Rob Gandy and his road ghost and phantom hitchhiker work and there are more.

Personally, I feel the ETH UFO days are over, but the paranormal is alive and well, it just seems that the manner in which witnesses share - or don't share - their experiences has changed in the 21st Century and we have to work that bit harder to find new cases. There is definitely a 'researcher effect' whereby once a Fortean gets involved in an area and is brave enough to go 'knocking on doors' then the witnesses to high strangeness feel confident in speaking out.

tl;dr: Ufology might be moribund but don't lose hope ;)
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Excellent post. I have always considered journals such as FT were carrying on the work of Charles Fort in ensuring that the 'damned data' was reported widely and not overlooked or hidden. The info rich internet has not only ensured that we have as much forteana as we can take, we are in danger of over exposure. Take TV for instance, there is a small industry in producing low quality pseudo fortean programs, mainly centered around Bigfoot, ancient aliens or UFOs. I think this does us no favors in that we find ourselves having to sort the wheat from the voluminous chaff. The universe is still a fascinating place, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!
 
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eziofan said:
Excellent post. I have always considered journals such as FT were carrying on the work of Charles Fort in ensuring that the 'damned data' was reported widely and not overlooked or hidden. The info rich internet has not only ensured that we have as much forteana as we can take, we are in danger of over exposure. Take TV for instance, there is a small industry in producing low quality pseudo fortean programs, mainly centered around Bigfoot, ancient aliens or UFOs. I think this does us no favors in that we find ourselves having to sort the wheat from the voluminous chaff. The universe is still a fascinating place, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!
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So true re the TV, it should be Golden Age for us Forteans given the bewildering number of paranormal documentaries now out there across numerous channels. However, few have come anywhere close to the benchmark set by the Michael Aspell and Arthur C. Clarke documentaries of the 80s. I did watch the first season of Monster Quest and there was some decent content, but my gosh there has been so much drivel, especially anything involving night vision camera equipment, and Nick Redfern has addressed this far better than I ever could:

"Thou shalt always have thy team comprised of more men than women. The former should generally sport some form of headwear (either a baseball cap or something befitting Indiana Jones). The latter should always be kept away from Manna from Heaven and the food of the gods. Anorexic-looking, in other words.

2. Ensure that thy cast doth drive a flashy all-terrain vehicle rather than a car. If that same vehicle can be filled with lots of cameras, weird-looking devices and advanced technologies - and bountiful shots of such items can be captured for the viewer - ye will reap rewards beyond thy imagination (that's to say you will get your expenses paid a week early).

3. Lest ye risk facing the wrath of the Almighty (in this case the TV channel that is funding the show), thou shalt secure a great deal of night-vision footage. And not for any particular reason, aside from, well, it's night-vision footage and everyone else's show has it, so why not thy heroes, too?

4. To avoid forever being plunged into the heart of some hellish realm, ensure that at least every 5 minutes one of thy cast members utters a variation of the following words (which must always be whispered, rather than spoken or shouted): "What the hell was that?!" "Did you hear that?!" "What the f**k is that?!" "Can you see that?!"

5. Take careful steps never to forget that, when a commercial break doth loom large on the horizon, thou shalt build up the atmosphere with something that appears mysterious, but - Lo and Behold! - after the break, thy team will resolve the matter in down to earth, jokey, semi-relieved style.

6. Verily, in the commercials that promote the show in the hours before it is broadcast, always be careful to ensure that at least one person's words are edited in a fashion that takes them totally out of their original context.

7. Stress to thy heroes of the hour (or half an hour, depending on budget) that at some point they must speak in an out of breath fashion, and if this can be done while running from something terrible (but actually non-existent), ye will all be granted entrance into the next joyous realm of existence (or, as it's also known: Season Two).

8. Never forget that haunted houses and creature-infested woods should not be entered into until the sun has set and darkness is upon both ye and the land. Daylight shootings will provoke a wrath of unimaginable horror. Its almost unspeakable name is: Falling Ratings.

9. Do thy utmost to make sure the team comes across as more learned and intelligent than the witnesses they encounter on their journey towards enlightenment.

10. And, finally, the most important commandment of all, and one of definitive behind-the-scenes proportions: when trying to secure the services of people to appear on thy show, always ensure that the researcher whose job it is to phone the witnesses, authors and investigators reads the following sacred verse: "Hi, I'm [Insert Name] from the [Insert Name] Channel. We would like to interview your for our show [Yep, again: Insert Name]. But, unfortunately, we can't pay you as we don't have much of a budget [Yes, you do, you lying prick]. But it will be good publicity for you, we'll try and pay all your airfare, and we'll even buy you a coke. How's that sound?""

http://nickredfernfortean.blogspot.com/2012/07/10-commandments-of-paranormal-tv.html
 
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WeirdExeter said:
Regarding your last answer, I feel the 60s and 70s/early-80s were a more 'innocent' time and all things Fortean flourished. It was a time of self-published UFO booklets and regional UFO groups meeting in the back rooms of pubs and down the country. Our news was from local and national newspapers and the TV only. The Fortean Times delivered breaking paranormal cases and research we had not heard or read anywhere else beforehand. Programmes like 'Nationwide' brought us interviews with the young and old witnesses to the latest UFO cases and we watched the Michael Aspell and Arthur C Clarke paranormal documentaries with fascination on our grainy screens...

It was still the age of exploration: the moon landings were large in our lives and not distant memories and Africa was still a mysterious continent where relic dinosaurs might still roam. Ordinary people were coming forward with tales of UFOs landing and their silver-suited alien occupants. The Owlman and Morgawr of Cornwall and when trains from London packed with bucket and spade holidaymakers still ran direct into the Falmouth stations. Rain or shine, there were fish and chips ice creams, pasties and donkey rides. Locals still gathered at the pubs and inns lunchtimes and evenings day in day out and tales of local intrigue were shared and old traditions and legends were still alive...

I could go on. I always recommend 'Monster Hunter' by the CFZ's Jon Downes for a nostalgic trip back to the UFOs, monsters and high strangeness of the 70s and 80s of a Britain that has gently faded as the internet and 24/7 instant news have become engrained in our lives and collective consciousness. No wonder that we have all become a lot more cynical and the Fortean is having a hard time in the face of a relentless stream of fake paranormal videos, a camera in every pocket and fantasy masquerading as actual paranormal experiences on platforms such as Reddit. It is a little concerning to me that so much of that wonderful 'The Unexplained' magazine that filled my teenage years with wonder an hope has either been disproven or frankly looks a bit ridiculous through a 21st Century lens (hole at the top of the Earth, anyone?).

It might be that conventional, nuts-and-bolts Ufology has ground to a halt. Ufologists have either moved away from the extra-terrestrial hypothesis (ETH), are fixated on some indistinct 'leaked' US Navy videos or are forever looking over their shoulders at events of forty, fifty, sixty and seventy years ago (events that are becoming ever more ridiculous as some of the original witnesses milk them for all they are worth). The sad truth is that we are simply not getting the CE3s that were relatively commonplace in the 60s, 70s and 80s; the last decent CE3 case in the UK was 1992, thirty years ago. This is horribly depressing given that in the early-80s it felt like an answer to the UFO mystery was imminent...

Several years ago I began to feel as if this might be the end of the paranormal as human consciousness evolved to a postmodern, Web 2.0 world of instant communication and gratification as we walk around with an HD video camera on our phone. However, I made an effort to dig out those Forteans who are still getting out there and investigating the paranormal. Nick Redfern during his man beast, dogmen, werewolf, UFO and big cat Cannock Chase days of was my first find and his field work and tracking down of mostly credible witnesses reignited my passion. Then I discovered Paul Sinclair's fieldwork in Yorkshire that is still to this day uncovering new witnesses to man beasts, werewolves, dogmen, UFOs, gnomes, big cats and more, with many cases from recent years. Then you have forum member Ruth Roper-Wylde out there tracking down witnesses to hauntings and finding many new and recent cases - her books are a must. Likewise Rob Gandy and his road ghost and phantom hitchhiker work and there are more.

Personally, I feel the ETH UFO days are over, but the paranormal is alive and well, it just seems that the manner in which witnesses share - or don't share - their experiences has changed in the 21st Century and we have to work that bit harder to find new cases. There is definitely a 'researcher effect' whereby once a Fortean gets involved in an area and is brave enough to go 'knocking on doors' then the witnesses to high strangeness feel confident in speaking out.

tl;dr: Ufology might be moribund but don't lose hope ;)
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Great post

With the advent and prevalence of technology (i.e. Mobile Phone Cameras, YouTube/Facebook/Instagram/Twitter, 24 Hour Instant News Access, Photoshop etc), while the ability to produce (and fake) and transmit evidence is significantly easier and more rampant, this is offset somewhat by a much higher threshold of skepticism, disbelief and questioning by a more educated, tech-savvy and aware public (including this forum) ☺

In fact even now I still more often see references and discussions relating to some of the 'classic', not (entirely) disproven evidence of the 60s/70s/80s as proof of the Paranormal, as opposed to any evidence obtained in the last 30 years (Patterson Gimlin film, Newby/Chinnery Ghost(s), Rendlesham/Roswell etc).

These discussions and commentaries (online forums and messageboards, Reddit etc) themselves are are product of the internet age and while often skeptical in nature, reinvigorate those topics that sparked our imaginations so much when we were young.

Enjoyable thread
 
Kiwisaint said:
Great post

With the advent and prevalence of technology (i.e. Mobile Phone Cameras, YouTube/Facebook/Instagram/Twitter, 24 Hour Instant News Access, Photoshop etc), while the ability to produce (and fake) and transmit evidence is significantly easier and more rampant, this is offset somewhat by a much higher threshold of skepticism, disbelief and questioning by a more educated, tech-savvy and aware public (including this forum) ☺

In fact even now I still more often see references and discussions relating to some of the 'classic', not (entirely) disproven evidence of the 60s/70s/80s as proof of the Paranormal, as opposed to any evidence obtained in the last 30 years (Patterson Gimlin film, Newby/Chinnery Ghost(s), Rendlesham/Roswell etc).

These discussions and commentaries (online forums and messageboards, Reddit etc) themselves are are product of the internet age and while often skeptical in nature, reinvigorate those topics that sparked our imaginations so much when we were young.

Enjoyable thread
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Thanks ;)

Also forgot to credit Andy Gilbert whose two 'Credible Witness' books have brought us tales of all things paranormal as experienced by serving and retired Police officers, including multiple witness reports and reports from recent years. Also, all profits go to charity:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Credible-W...=andy+gilbert+paranormal+police,aps,67&sr=8-1
 
What are my top fortean phenomena?
When I first became interested in the paranormal my interests were in ghosts, UFOs, magic, cryptids, basically anything else I found that was strange.

What was my worldview at the time?
I believed the lot! I don't remember ever being particularly religious. But the stuff I read about ghosts and aliens and the like; I believed it all. I was desperate to find some patterns in it that would verify it and perhaps provide some answers. Ultimately, the only patterns I found in most phenomena showed that they changed with society.

What initiated my interest in the weird?
I was born in the mid-seventies, and weirdness permeated culture in a way that's hard to explain. My elder siblings were also an influence. But the first clear memory of the weird I recall was the family watching Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, which fascinated us each week. I think it was shown in 1980, and we soon got the accompanying book, which I have still.

How has my interpretation changed over time?
I would say I'm now sceptical by nature. I don't assume witnesses' stories are accurate, or even honest. Even when I suspect a phenomenon is a real mystery, I rarely think the explanation assigned by our culture is correct. Perhaps, as a result of this, my interests have focused more on things most considered to be social constructs, such as folklore.

Is my interpretation stable?
For as long as forteana is largely anecdotal, I think my opinions will be unlikely to change. I've spent half a lifetime reading about these things, originally as a believer, but it almost always comes down to the same thing; anecdotal reports that are vague, leave no physical evidence and are inconsistent with both previous reports and common sense. With a few exceptions.

This has been a little therapeutic.
 
PeteByrdie said:
What are my top fortean phenomena?
When I first became interested in the paranormal my interests were in ghosts, UFOs, magic, cryptids, basically anything else I found that was strange.

What was my worldview at the time?
I believed the lot! I don't remember ever being particularly religious. But the stuff I read about ghosts and aliens and the like; I believed it all. I was desperate to find some patterns in it that would verify it and perhaps provide some answers. Ultimately, the only patterns I found in most phenomena showed that they changed with society.

What initiated my interest in the weird?
I was born in the mid-seventies, and weirdness permeated culture in a way that's hard to explain. My elder siblings were also an influence. But the first clear memory of the weird I recall was the family watching Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, which fascinated us each week. I think it was shown in 1980, and we soon got the accompanying book, which I have still.

How has my interpretation changed over time?
I would say I'm now sceptical by nature. I don't assume witnesses' stories are accurate, or even honest. Even when I suspect a phenomenon is a real mystery, I rarely think the explanation assigned by our culture is correct. Perhaps, as a result of this, my interests have focused more on things most considered to be social constructs, such as folklore.

Is my interpretation stable?
For as long as forteana is largely anecdotal, I think my opinions will be unlikely to change. I've spent half a lifetime reading about these things, originally as a believer, but it almost always comes down to the same thing; anecdotal reports that are vague, leave no physical evidence and are inconsistent with both previous reports and common sense. With a few exceptions.

This has been a little therapeutic.
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Yes, I can understand what your saying, I think the difference about believing, and actually experiencing something weird are worlds apart. It's comes back to the old saying - seeing is believing, even if there might be a perfectly plausible reason for the weird things some of us experience in life, we can't prove it because usually there is no hard evidential proof of such things as yet. You can only take in what your eyes see and what the brain interprets about what you see, and there's no way around that.
 
  • What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you? For example, parapsychology, UFOs, bigfoot, time slips, etc. I started with Ghosts, poltergeists, ESP, telekinesis, astral projection etc., I was into the abominable snowman but gradually lost all interest in cryptozoology, similarly I was into UFO’s but rapidly lost interest. Later on, when I had a few pennies I got into Magic, golden dawn, Crowley etc. The ghost stuff continues to interest me, but no longer as a believer.
  • What was your worldview when your interest began? For example, devoutly religious, atheist, pragmatic, agnostic, not sure, skeptic (meaning inherently disbelieving and thinking people who do believe are deluded), etc. I was about 10 when I really got into the Occult and was a believer in everything. I could argue for hours on the proof of life after death. Those arguments now seem extremely childish.
  • What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness? For example, book or magazine, popular electronic media (TV, movie, podcast, youtube, etc.), discussion with family or friends, personal experience, etc. We lived in a house we strongly believed was haunted with lots of inexplicable occurrences, it was then I was given a copy of Lord Halifax Ghost Book. Quite archaic writing but our mum taught us all to read and write so whilst it was not the easiest of read it was manageable. Then came the part-work The Unexplained. I had the whole lot and don’t know where they went to later in life.
  • How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time? Having been a believer of everything at face value I am now the complete opposite. A third degree cynic who would need absolute proof of anything paranormal before grudgingly accepting it.
  • Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? This means that you have not changed your mind for several years and expect that you will not change your mind with more or different evidence. I believe my disbelief and complete cynicism has been stable for years but deep down, I secretly wish there was some proof of the existence of the afterlife and proof of ESP, telekinesis, the power of the mind.
 
Tempest63 said:
  • What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you? For example, parapsychology, UFOs, bigfoot, time slips, etc. I started with Ghosts, poltergeists, ESP, telekinesis, astral projection etc., I was into the abominable snowman but gradually lost all interest in cryptozoology, similarly I was into UFO’s but rapidly lost interest. Later on, when I had a few pennies I got into Magic, golden dawn, Crowley etc. The ghost stuff continues to interest me, but no longer as a believer.
  • What was your worldview when your interest began? For example, devoutly religious, atheist, pragmatic, agnostic, not sure, skeptic (meaning inherently disbelieving and thinking people who do believe are deluded), etc. I was about 10 when I really got into the Occult and was a believer in everything. I could argue for hours on the proof of life after death. Those arguments now seem extremely childish.
  • What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness? For example, book or magazine, popular electronic media (TV, movie, podcast, youtube, etc.), discussion with family or friends, personal experience, etc. We lived in a house we strongly believed was haunted with lots of inexplicable occurrences, it was then I was given a copy of Lord Halifax Ghost Book. Quite archaic writing but our mum taught us all to read and write so whilst it was not the easiest of read it was manageable. Then came the part-work The Unexplained. I had the whole lot and don’t know where they went to later in life.
  • How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time? Having been a believer of everything at face value I am now the complete opposite. A third degree cynic who would need absolute proof of anything paranormal before grudgingly accepting it.
  • Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? This means that you have not changed your mind for several years and expect that you will not change your mind with more or different evidence. I believe my disbelief and complete cynicism has been stable for years but deep down, I secretly wish there was some proof of the existence of the afterlife and proof of ESP, telekinesis, the power of the mind.
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I'll have a go at answering the above as best I can:

*What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you?
Answer - The unexplainables, and the mysterious.

*What was your worldview when your interest began?
Answer - Well, I recall my 'worldview' was zero when my interest began, as I was only a really young boy (about five, or so(just worked that out! That year would have been 1952)) living in South London I happened to be out by the back door garden step one Summer, and spotted a zig-zagging light high up in the sky ('a star,' as my mind assumed at the time) - told my Dad, who looked up, then said "come in and stop being silly," or something to that effect.

*What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness?
Answer - As above.

*How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time?
Answer - Not at all, if fact if anything, it has increased with a number of other life experiences if anything.

*Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? This means that you have not changed your mind for several years and expect that you will not change your mind with more or different evidence.
Answer - This isn't something that I stick hard and fast to, more kind of ~ take it as you see it and try to learn from it, sort of thing, then decide for oneself what is, and what is most likely not.
 
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charliebrown said:
British crop circles unofficially are considered the most elaborate crop circles in the world.

Maybe some are man made, but some appear in a very short period of time which are not man made.

Some of the patterns are very intricate and humanly impossible.
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I wish this were true Charlie. It's amazing what must have been planned in the back room of the Waggon & Horses and the amount of tourists this has brought in over the years deserves acknowledgement. But I'm not up-to-date with what goes on in those circles (ehem). I assume the same favourite beauty spots are still being used such as Milk Hill, so has there been any video evidence of them being made paranormally?
 
What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you?
Pretty much all of it. Used to be ghosts and UFO's and the Bermuda Triangle and ancient astronauts but as I've got older it's become an all encompassing love of the wyrd. All of the above plus cryptids, magick and the occult, hollow earth, conspiracies, stuff like Spring Heeled Jack (who'd have guessed). If you're selling, I'm buying.

What was your worldview when your interest began?
I genuinely can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in this stuff. Even as a (weird) kid I loved it all. It scared me witless but I still loved it. Was definitely "into" the subject by the time I was 7 or 8 because I remember talking to my dad's friend about it and him being amazed a boy of my age would be talking about ghosts and UFO's. Maybe Scooby Doo's to blame

What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness?
See above

How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time?
Less credulous than when I was younger but having experienced a few "odd" things myself my certainty that the world is far weirder than most believe (or will admit) has hardened. The world would be a better place if people embraced the wyrd

Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? This means that you have not changed your mind for several years and expect that you will not change your mind with more or different evidence.
Depends what you're asking me to interpret and accept. Different topics and situations get different levels. Do I believe the "soul" lives on after death? Absolutely after having my dead grandmother turn up in the back of my car. Do I believe freemasons blew up the twin towers to obtain caches of Nazi gold for their own use? Not so much
 
  • What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you? Answer: parapsychology, reincarnation, UFOs
  • What was your worldview when your interest began? Answer: difficult to say, I was very young and knew some things I had no experience to know type of kid.
  • What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness? Answer: 1st memory of being angry at adults for always lying, never saying what they really thought or felt. Also had weirdness at night that I thought was ghosts.
  • How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time? Answer: evolved over time, as I got older and more experienced I became more jaded about people and less about the paranormal, went on a "journey of the mind" to get more clarity.
  • Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable? Answer: Yes, I am on the fence about a lot of things, and will probably stay there (65 years old now) and no, I am open to new experiences, or new interpretations of my experiences. The only thing I am sure of is that our consciousness does not reside in our brain.
 
What are the top Fortean types of phenomena for you?
Tricks the brain does to confuse and terrify itself.
Our reality is actually a simulation.
Doppelgangers.

What was your worldview when your interest began?
I was far too young to have a world view. I was still trying to work out what my favourite colour was. It’s red by the way. I know that now.

What was the event or starting point for your interest in inexplicable weirdness?
There are several.
An early memory of me in my cot as a baby.
A memory of me before birth being shown the Earth from space and the glittering pinpoints of light as every birth takes place and then being asked which life I would like to live after a quick preview.
Me doing Astral Projection as a very small child, exploring the house after dark and sitting on the roof watching the odd car go by.

How has your interpretation and acceptance (or not!) changed over time?
I pretty soon worked out that as children we possess incredible imagination and capabilities but this information is quickly sullied and educated out of us in favour of having to remember a formal education and stuff like ‘The Battle of Hastings took place in 1066’ etc and over time, we become indoctrinated to not say some things we experienced and reluctantly agree with other things that deep down, we know are untrue and worst of all, dull.

Is your current state of interpretation and acceptance stable?
Since I became interested in the pillars of Forteana, strange phenomena, supernatural etc, I’ve seen each one of those pillars knocked down one by one. Yet they resurface. We see it here on a cycle as subjects (eg moon landing hoax) are knocked down but are reintroduced by people who have neither lived experience or don’t do any research before presenting their unfiltered brainwork.

I picked up the first ‘The News‘ in Mugwump in Durham in 76. My feeling is that as Forteans, we were slightly outside the mainstream applying simple objective reporting and now everyone’s an attention-seeking paranormal witness doing reports for likes and clicks.

I believe there may be ONE unexplained phenomena for most of the world’s unexplained weird phenomena. Having said that, how can things in an artificial simworld be described as stable? You see what they inflict on the Simms to sell new download packs?
 
Analogue Boy said:
I believe there may be ONE unexplained phenomena for most of the world’s unexplained weird phenomena. Having said that, how can things in an artificial simworld be described as stable? You see what they inflict on the Simms to sell new download packs?
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I'm starting to believe that my life is boring enough, that I'm probably an NPC and the developer doesn't see me as enough threat to offer a download pack for me.

I do try to push boundaries when I can.

Free Guy:bpals:Great movie.
 
brownmane said:
I'm starting to believe that my life is boring enough, that I'm probably an NPC and the developer doesn't see me as enough threat to offer a download pack for me.

I do try to push boundaries when I can.

Free Guy:bpals:Great movie.
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Welcome to the NPC club!
I had these thoughts about myself a few years ago. My life seems to repeat on a loop.
 
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