London Fortean Society

7.45pm Thursday 28 January 2016 This event has now sold out - we look forward to seeing ticket holders on 28 January and we shall be sure to ask Mr Scabies about his future availability. The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Facebook page Rat Scabies was the drummer for punk rock troublemakers the Damned – but through his family’s interest in all things esoteric he has always been a Grailhunter. He’s been fascinated by the mystery of Rennes-le-Château since its inception in 1972. Now chairman of the Saunière Society , Rat has seen and heard it all, and has mixed with the great and the good and some of the downright dishonest... During his own researches he has been shown many things, been told many secrets and been privy to some outlandish theories. Rat has recently made an astounding new find among his father’s old papers: previously undisclosed documents from the late 1800s which appear to relate dir...

7.45pm Thursday 26 November 2015 £4 / £2 concessions Sold out - sorry! T he Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Facebook page Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice in Wonderland, was fascinated by the occult, magic and ghosts, and was a very early member of the Society for Psychical Research. Jenny Woolf , author of the biography The Mystery Of Lewis Carroll , delves into this tangled web of Victorian creepiness, examines some of the weirder things that Carroll wrote, saw and read, considers medical reasons for the experiences he reports and casts light on the endless battle that raged in his own mind between religion, terror, humour, logic and the world of the unreal. 7.45pm Thursday 26 November 2015 £4 / £2 concessions  Sold out - sorry! T he Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Facebook page

London Fortean Society in partnership with Conway Hall present The Strange Person Theory of History £5 ( Advance tickets ) Monday 23 November 2015 7.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn / Directions .  Facebook event page We travel in the company of some of the most radical artists, scientists, geniuses and crazies of their age. They show us that great innovations such as relativity, cubism, quantum mechanics, postmodernism and chaos maths are not the incomprehensible, abstract horrors that we assume them to be, but signposts that bring us to the world we live in now.  John brings us an alternative history of the strangest of centuries. He shows us how the elegant, clockwork universe of the Victorians became increasingly woozy and uncertain; and how we discovered that our world is not just stranger than we imagine but, in the words of Sir Arthur Eddington, ‘stranger than we can imagine’. John Higgs  is the author of books ...

Our meeting point is Blackfriars Station, north end of Blackfriars Bridge. 0795 201 2487 if you are lost! Saturday 31 October 2015 3pm-5pm £5 We've just taken the tickets off-sale for this as we've got to print the guest list off. There are still spaces to if you would like ot come along meet up at Blackfriars Station, Queen Victoria Street, Queen Victoria Street, EC4V 4D Meet at the north end of Queen Victoria Street,  Queen Victoria Street,  EC4V 4DY . Join London Fortean Society host Scott Wood on a walk across the haunted square mile. How much horror is there is the City of London? Join Scott Wood for a sunset ramble through the Square Mile. Where the Devil met a coachman, where a mummified ghost walks, where the dead rose and where demons stare down on to the street. There will be haunted pubs, haunted stations, haunted churches, the ghost of Dick Whittington's Cat, an undead bank clerk and much more.  Scott is writes irregularly for Londonist ...

Bankside Ghosts and Monsters Walk Friday 30 October 2015 7-8.30pm (approx) £5  We've just taken the tickets off-sale for this as we've got to print the guest list off. There are still spaces to if you would like ot come along meet up at Southwark tube station, 68-70 Blackfriars Road, SE1 at 7pm Meet at the exit for Southwark Station,  68 - 70 Blackfriars Road,  London  SE1 8JZ The Bankside Ghost A riverside and Borough back-street tour of Southwark’s ghostly and magical past and folklore. Hear legends of London Bridge, violent wives from beyond the grave, the fury of an undead baker, secret seances at the Globe and the foodie poltergeist of Skeleton Corner and much more.  Your guide is London Fortean Society host Scott Wood. Scott is the irregular writer of Fortean London for Londonist and the author of London Urban Legends: The Corpse of the Tube . 

Saturday 31 October 2015 7pm-8.30pm £5 ( A dvanced tickets ) This event has now sold out sorry! We believe we shall be doing it again soon! In the meantime please check out our Ghosts and Demons of the City and Bankside Ghosts and Monsters Halloween walks.  Meet outside Farringdon station on Cowcross Street, EC1 Why should people who believe in ghosts have all the fun? Come walk the atmospheric and ancient streets of Smithfield and Farringdon hearing of the stories of screaming Anne, ghosts of inconveniently alive judges, carpet lifting pub spirits,the horrible secret of Bleeding Heart Yard and the ghost of Scratching Fanny on Cock Lane (to name but a few).  This circular-ish walk will be funny, irreverent, and informative and will wonder what ghosts are what ghost stories say about who we are and how we think about the world. No ghosts were harmed in the making of this walk; This is a walk for anyone interested in ghost stories and London be they sceptic...

7.45pm Thursday 29 October 2015 £4 / £2 concessions Advanced tickets   This event has now sold out sorry!   The Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Facebook page Halloween is scratching at our door once more, whispering that it is time for our annual look into the intangible world of ghosts*.  This year we wanted to hear from people who have encountered ghosts, ask them what happened and what the encounter meant to them.  Paul Turp Chris French Al Robertson is a writer and musician. He is the author of  Crashing Heaven and many spooky short stories.  Professor Christopher French is a Professor of Psychology and Co-ordinator, Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit. His research areas include the psychology of paranormal belief and ostensibly paranormal experiences. The Rev Paul Turp is the vicar of St Leonard's church, Shoreditch. He has been vicar of Shoreditch...

7.45pm Monday 19 October 2015 £4 / £2 concessions The Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Facebook page Join Mark Pilkington, Micah Hanks and more for as we ask the question: “What do we really talk about when we talk about UFOs?” Aliens and UFO’s glide through every part of popular culture and are one of the most popular fortean topics. But what do we really talk about when we talk about UFOs? Do we mean alien invasion, sky phantoms, military conspiracies, psychic and paranormal phenomena , mass delusions or something else entirely? The London Fortean Society has assembled a panel from some of the diverse edges of Ufology to discuss the state of UFOs, UFO thought and to ponder what the questions, as well as answers, we may need to work out the world of UFOs and UFO lore. Mark Pilkington has written two books, Mirage Men (2010) and Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science’s Outer Edge (2007).  ...

London Fortean Society in association with Conway Hall presents: Amityville, Astral Projection and Shining Eyes: The Amazing Alex Tanous £5 ( Tickets ) Monday 5 October 2015 7.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn / Directions.  Facebook event page Dr Alex Tanous was well known in the USA for his remarkable psychic gifts. He claimed to be able to leave his body at will and travel in the astral form, project light from his eyes, interact with ghosts, and made many remarkable predictions. Recently, the forgotten work of his field investigations into ghosts and hauntings with the late Dr Karlis Osis have been recovered and pieced back together as far as possible, demonstrating some remarkable first hand experiences – including the investigation of the Amityville House.  All this will be discussed and so much more. Including Steve Parsons and Callum Cooper’s new project on ‘sound and the paranormal’ Callum Cooper is a chartered psyc...

7.45pm Thursday 24 September 2015 £4 / £2 concessions Advanced tickets The Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Facebook page In the 1990s Britain and America were shaken by allegations that Satanic cults were conducting horrific abuse on babies, children and teenagers, and that young women were “brood mares” for babies that were then killed in Satanic rituals.  Professor Emeritus Jean La Fontaine of LSE wrote Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England , which appeared to bring an end to the moral panic that had dominated the media – but which has sprung up again this year in north London.  Professor Chris French of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit , Goldsmiths College, is a world expert on false memories – how and why people can be made to believe they have had entirely fictional experiences, including ritual sexual abuse.  Together they examine how su...

London Fortean Society in association with Conway Hall presents: The Inventor of the Zombie: The life and times of William B Seabrook: pervert, drunk, cannibal, occultist and 'negrophile'. Roger Luckhurst £5 Sold out. Please contact us regarding returns.  Tuesday 8 September 2015 7.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn / Direction s.  Facebook event page This talk will explore the life of William Seabrook (1884-1945), once a Magic Island celebrated feature writer, journalist, travel writer and friend to many key artists of the New York and Paris Modernist era. Seabrook's exotic travels led him to join the Bedouins, attempt to eat human flesh in West Africa, experiment with witchery with Aleister Crowley, pay Man Ray to photograph Lee Miller in bondage, and in his most lasting legacy travel to Haiti and publish Magic Island, the book he claimed introduced the zombie to American popular culture.  As Seabrook's books begin t...

7.45pm Thursday 27 August 2015 Sold out. Please contact us regarding returns.  The Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East Strange medieval beasts, knights battling unseen dragons, ships sailing across lime-washed oceans and demons who stalk the walls, not to mention prayers, curses and slanderous comments – Britain’s medieval churches are a treasure-house of graffiti.  Author and archaeologist Matthew Champion shines a spotlight on a forgotten world of ships, prayers for good fortune, satirical cartoons, charms, curses, windmills, word puzzles, architectural plans and heraldic designs. 7.45pm Thursday 27 August 2015 Sold out. Please contact us regarding returns. The Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Train & Tube: Liverpool Street. Tube: Aldgate, Aldgate East

London Fortean Society in association with Conway Hall presents Science in Wonderland – The Scientific Fairy Tales of Victorian Britain Melanie Keene £5 ( Tickets ) Monday 13 July 2015 7.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn / Directions . Facebook event page In Victorian Britain an array of writers captured the excitement of new scientific discoveries, and enticed young readers and listeners into learning their secrets by converting explanations into quirky, charming, and imaginative fairy-tales; natural forces could be fairies, dinosaurs could be dragons, and looking closely at a drop of water revealed a soup of monsters. In exploring the ways in which authors and translators – from Hans Christian Andersen to the pseudonymous ‘A.L.O.E.’ and ‘ Acheta Domestica ’ – reconciled the differing demands of factual accuracy and fantastical narratives, Melanie Keene asks why the fairies and their tales were chosen as an appropriate new form for ca...

London Fortean Society in association with Conway Hall presents The Terror of London: Spring-heeled Jack and the Victorian Metropolitan Press This event is now sold out. Thank you for such a great response for what is a brilliant talk on a dark and fascinating subject. We may have some spaces on the night - please come to Conway Hall on Tuesday night.  Karl Bell £5 ( Tickets ) Tuesday 30 June 2015 7.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn / Directions . Facebook event page. One of London's greatest monsters, Spring-heeled Jack has held the city's imagination in his claws since he first appeared as "a ghost, a bear, and a devil" right up to contemporary comics and internet radio dramas featuring the leaping horror of legend. This talk explores Spring-heeled Jack’s appearances in and relationship to Victorian London. It considers his origins in the capital, and the way the metropolitan press gave life to a strange urban l...

8pm (doors 7.30pm) Thursday 25 June 2015 £4 / £2 concessions (please note new price!) Advanced tickets available (10% admin fee) The Vaults Bar, Dirty Dicks , 202 Bishopsgate, City of London EC2M 4NR Bus / train / tube: Liverpool Street Facebook event page .  David will be selling his book, 'How UFOs Conquered the World' for £15 (rrp £20 hard back) on the night. The UFO was born in America during the summer of 1947. A lone pilot saw nine mysterious objects that flew ‘like a saucer would if you skipped it across water’ and the media did the rest. Today, almost half the population of the Western world believe we are not alone. Millions of people claim to have seen a UFO. An alarming number reported being ‘abducted’ by aliens. And some are convinced there is a conspiracy by governments to hide ‘the truth’. As a child during the 1970s, Fortean Times writer David Clarke wanted to believe. He joined a UFO society, went ‘skywatching’, and later, as a journalist, spent...

8pm (doors 7.30pm) Thursday 28 May 2015 £3 / £2 concessions. Advanced tickets available (10% admin fee) The Vaults Bar, Dirty Dicks , 202 Bishopsgate, City of London EC2M 4NR Bus / train / tube: Liverpool Street Facebook event page .  What’s the easiest way to tell species apart? Check their genitals. Researching private parts was long considered taboo, but scientists are now beginning to understand that the wild diversity of sex organs across species can tell us a lot about evolution.  Menno Schilthuize invites the audience to join him as he uncovers the ways the shapes and functions of genitalia have been molded by complex Darwinian struggles: penises that have lost their spines but evolved appendages to displace sperm; female orgasms that select or reject semen from males, in turn subtly modifying the females’ genital shape.  We learn why spiders masturbate into miniature webs, discover she-dungflies that store sperm from attractive m...

London Fortean Society in association with Conway Hall presents The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day David J Hand This event has now sold out.   Tuesday 19 May 2015 7.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn / Directions .  The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day   event Facebook page. Coincidences happen, incredibly unlikely things occur, and the apparently miraculous comes about. The improbability principle says that such extraordinarily improbable events are commonplace. It shows that this is not a contradiction, but that we should expect identical lottery numbers to come up more than once, lightning to strike twice, and financial crashes to occur. Professor David J. Hand is Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College, London. His applications interests include psychology, physics,...

The Derbyshire Mummified Fairy 8pm (doors 7.30pm) Thursday 30 April 2015 £3 / £2 concessions. Advanced tickets (10% booking fee) The Vaults Bar, Dirty Dicks , 202 Bishopsgate, City of London EC2M 4NR Bus / train / tube: Liverpool Street Facebook event page .  Up there with The Fiji Mermaid, the Area 51 Alien Autopsy film and The Cottingley Fairies, the Derbyshire Mummified Fairy is considered to be one of the greatest hoaxes of modern times. Still 'going viral' and stirring people's imaginations globally, the hoax creator Dan Baines gives a full account of what he did, why he did it and the strange repercussions that followed.  Those expecting a talk on the non-existence of fairies and how he fooled millions of believers think again. Dan's cautionary tale presents a modern account on what can happen when one unexpectedly opens a door to a long forgotten world and the secrets it can uncover. Each events begins with our fortmanteau of topical fortean sto...

8pm (doors 7.30pm) Thursday 26 March 2015 £3 / £2 concessions. Sold out! Please contact us for door tickets.   The Vaults Bar, Dirty Dicks , 202 Bishopsgate, City of London EC2M 4NR Bus / train / tube: Liverpool Street Join us for a night of shrines and magic in London with three expert City explorers and magical practitioners. Caroline Wise: The Lost Goddess of London In the City there was once a great goddess. She resurfaces at various times. Who is she? Why is she here? Where can we find her and what Fortean phenomena has she generated? Peter Watts: London's Secret Shrine Exploring London's secret shrines, from spoons to skateboards and how the city commemorates the dead. Peter Watts is a writer and London nerd who has written about architecture, beer, buses, drugs, music, tunnels, boats, zoos and pretty much everything else in between. John Constable: Goose and Crow at Crossbones Graveyard John Constable aka John Crow is the author of The Southwark Myste...

6.30pm Saturday 14 February: tickets off sale but still some places! Please come along.  £5 per person Meeting Bleeding Heart Yard , off Greville Street, EC1. Nearest rail: Farringdon Nearest tube: Farringdon & Chancery Lane. Forget St. Valentine and join London Urban Legends: The Corpse on the Tube author Scott Wood for a walk across London’s strangest and scariest sites. Join us for the heart-wrenchingly gory legends of Bleeding Heart Yard, the divorced statue, wife sales, husband bothering from beyond the grave, scratching fanny, phantom black dogs, cat-fighting ghosts, tacky love tokens, the rat love queen, a  magical duel with an undead baker and  the shrine of the prostitutes graveyard and more.  This 2 hour walk, hosted by the London Fortean Society and Haunt London begins in Bleeding Heart Yard EC1 and crosses the City to finish at Red Cross Way SE1. 7pm Friday 13 February- booking closed, still some places! Come this evening 6.30pm Saturday ...