London Fortean Society

The False Memory Archive 29 November 2012 –8pm - 10.30pm (inc. Q&A, talk ends approx. 9pm) £3 / £2 concs Artist Alasdair Hopwood guides us through a series of contributions submitted to his False Memory Archive created as part of his Wellcome Trust residency at the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths College. As The WITH Collective , Alasdair Hopwood has exhibited internationally in a number of galleries including Tate Britain, The Hayward Gallery, the ICA, K3 Zurich and the British Council, New Delhi Each LFS evening begins with the Fortmanteau, our monthly summary of strange news stories. We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East.

The Moon and Madness 25 October 2012 8pm-10.30pm (inc. Q&A) £3 / £2 concessions  Been looking up all night been looking up the Moon she's so bright  Lunacy, the legendary notion of minds unhinged by the moon, still captivates the popular imagination. Although it violates the assumptions of modern science and psychiatry, the belief remains common among mental health workers – and several studies have found a small, unexplained correlation between behaviour and the lunar cycle. Dr Niall McCrae , lecturer in mental health at King’s College, London, presents an historical account of the lunacy concept and discusses research issues. We start every meeting with our Fortmanteu, our onthly round up of fortean news stories. We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at The Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East.

'Ghost Lucy' of Bishopsgate Institute found by Sarah Sparkes  Do you fancy a day of London Ghosts? Hearing talks on haunted hospitals, Spring-heeled Jack, London vampires and the ghosts of Senate House and lots more? Fancy breaking that up with songs about London ghosts and a short film or two? They we might have a day for you. Not long to go until our London Ghosts Conference at Bishopsgate Institute on 27 October 2012. If you've not heard of it yet we've a dedicated page with full details and a booking pages for the conference at We Got Tickets and EventBrite . There's no Fortean Times UnConvention this year so we thought it was the ideal time to take a good look at London ghosts. Speakers include Roger Luckhurst , Mark Pilkington, Mike Dash , Alan Murdie and John Frasier of the Ghost Club,  John Constable of Crossbones Graveyard , Rob Stephenson, Paul Cowdell and many more. We've even found our own ghost, the ghost of Bishopsgate Insititute, whic

Wolf by Magnasoma Deborah Hyde: The Natural Historie of the European Werewolf 27 September 2012 8pm-10.30pm £3 / £2 Concessions The werewolf is a common horror motif, but what did people during the witch-hunt of sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe really mean when they accused someone of “lycanthropy”? An evening discussing films, history and analysis at which we will find out who is worse – man or beast. Deborah blogs at Jourdemayne: Superstition, Religion and Being Human .   Each talk in around twenty minutes and followed by questions. We'll start the night with our monthly Fortean news update the Fortmanteau. 8pm start to 10.30pm-ish. We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East.

 The Beast of Hackney yesterday 30 August: Fortean London. 8pm start .  Our second Fortean London series of short talks on weird and wonderful London includes Londonist editor Matt Brown remembering Ghost Hunting in London under London Bridge, in Greenwich and the Ragged School. 'The Book of the Smoke' author and London walks guide Paula Dempsey maps Magical Fitzrovia and academic vampire-ologist and Fortean Times writer Tina Rath goes on a hunt for the Hackney Bear . Each talk in around twenty minutes and followed by questions. We'll start the night with our monthly Fortean news update the Fortmanteau. 8pm start to 10.30pm-ish. We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at the Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East.

28 June 2012: Spirits of Place. 7.30pm for 8pm start. £3/£2 concessions The Rev Alan Walker discusses how the Church of England tried to come to terms with both the renewed interest in ghosts and haunted places and the growth in the request for exorcisms in the early 1970s. He puts this in the context of a suppressed church report on Spiritualism and the development of place-memory theories as portrayed in Nigel Kneale’s 1972 TV play The Stone Tape. Each evening begins with the Fortmanteau, our monthly summary of strange news stories We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at the Bell , 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East.

 31 May 2012: Mermaids uncovered! 7.30pm for 8pm start. £3/£2 concessions A merman yesterday Join Paolo Viscardi (Horniman Museum) and Ross MacFarlane ( Wellcome Library ) for an evening exploring the history, cultural context and scientific probing of mermaids. The evening will be structured around mermaid specimens collected by Henry Wellcome, with details of recent research into their construction and provenance carried out at the Horniman and Buxton Museums. Paolo and Ross will lead you on a journey spanning thousands of years and half the planet, touching on the origins and evolution of mermaids and the fakery, misidentification and publicity that has shaped our understanding of these fascinating, if fishy, fabrications. Each evening begins with the Fortmanteau, our monthly summary of strange news stories We meet the last Thursday of each month (usually) upstairs at the Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Tubes: Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Al

Our friends at the London Cryptozoology Club have been in contact with their forthcoming events. Contact details for the LCC at the end! Tuesday 8th May Venue: The Empire Room, The Lamb, 94 Lamb Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LZ Time: Arrival from 6.30; start at 7.30 Admission: £2 (Limited places so please email/phone in advance to reserve your place) Current Developments in Bigfoot ‘Research’ A presentation and discussion exploring new trends in Bigfoot study, habituation scenarios and the very nature of ‘research’ Tuesday 12th June Venue: The Empire Room, The Lamb, 94 Lamb Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LZ Time: Arrival from 6.30; start at 7.30 Admission: £2 (Limited places so please email/phone in advance to reserve your place) The Case for Thylacine Survival in Tasmania into the 21st Century A presentation and discussion into whether the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) still exists in Tasmania, 70 years after its presumed extinction. Tuesday 17th July Venue: Crystal P

 Shakespeare mask from Carta Alta  26 April 2012: Was Shakespeare Shakespeare? 7.30pm for 8pm start. £3/£2 concessions From Sigmund Freud to John Michell to Derek Jacobi, many have doubted whether Stratford’s most famous son is the author of his plays, their theories leading to fascinating alternative views of English history. On the anniversary of the baptism of William Shakespeare we have three expert speakers. Dr Ros Barber is a writer, poet, creative writing tutor and the author of Writing Marlowe As Writing Shakespeare: Exploring Biographical Fictions. Jerry Glover is an independent researcher, and has contributed to Fortean Times since 2001 including the Bard Wars article October 2011. Susan Sheridan is a board member of the Francis Bacon Research Trust, a writer, actor and the original Trillian from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series. Each evening begins with the Fortmanteau, our monthly summary of strange news stories  We meet the last Thursday

A talking mongoose you say? 29 March 2012 7.30pm - 10.30pm Upstairs at The Bell pub, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East stations £3/£2 concessions Harry Price (1881-1948) is possibly the most controversial and famous psychical researcher ever to live. There has been much speculation about the authenticity of the psychical phenomena he investigated and documented. In leaving his Library of Magical Literature to the University of London on his death he fulfilled one of his lifelong ambitions, but could the same be said about his dream of establishing psychical research as a respected subject for academic study? Sarah Sparkes , artist and research fellow at the University of London, takes us on a tour of some of Harry Price's greatest cases " so many people prefer the ‘bunk’ to the ‘debunk’ ” – Harry Price Each evening begins with the Fortmanteau, our monthly summary of strange news stories.

Ninja Jesus! Are We All Doomed? 2012 and other Prophecies 23 February 2012 Upstairs at The Bell   pub, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East stations 7.30 start. £3/£2 concessions   LFS co-founder and author on alternative religions Dr David V Barrett looks at recurring prophecies of Jesus’ return and how prophets cover their embarrassment when he doesn’t – again. Three years editing The Unexplained in the 1980s turned Peter Brookesmith from puzzled agnostic to puzzled skeptic, where paranormal claims are concerned. His essential interest today is in why people believe in weird things, rather than in simplistic debunking; he became interested in apocalyptic beliefs on observing millenary themes in ufology. The failure of 2000/2001 to satisfy those yearnings has created a fresh focus on 2012 and the ‘end’ of the Maya calendar (and maybe the whole world!). In this talk he surveys the 2012 apocalypse industry and an

One waits ages for a fortean group to meet in London and then two come along in less than a year. The London Cryptozoology Club has created a facebook group and are planning monthly meeting, possibly on Tuesday evening. It's all very easly days but we're very happy to have them about. James, the clubs convener, says:  The Hackney Bear by Reena Makwana  The London Cryptozoology Group exists as an opportunity for Londoners and those who visit London to meet up once a month and share their interest in Cryptozoology. By the term ‘cryptozoology’ we also include animals that were proven to exist in the past but whose existence is now in doubt or ‘presumed’ extinct. As time goes on we will look at holding film nights, inviting guest speakers, organising trips to places of cryptozoological interest in the UK and group attendance to particular events.  If you're not on Facebook you can email the club on london.cryptozoology@gmail.com . or call James on 07805 3

Thursday, 26 January 2012 7.30-10(ish)pm Upstairs at The Bell pub, 50 Middlesex Street , London, E1 7EX £3 / £2 concessions 7.30pm – Fortmanteaux: 8pm – talks: 9pm break: 9.30pm - Q&A: 10(ish)pm - End Join the London Fortean Society and for three short talks and a discussion on Fortean London. Each talk will be around 15 minutes and will be a followed by a discussion of the paranormal places in north, west and south London. John Rimmer watches the sky for the Brentford Griffin. John was the editor of Magonia magazine and now runs the Magonia blog . Mark Pilkington trudges through the undergrowth of fortean Hampstead and Highgate. Mark runs Strange Attractor press and is the author of Mirage Men . Geraldine Beskin reveals the ghosts of Peckham. Geraldine is proprietor of the world’s oldest occult bookshop: Atlantis Bookshop in Blooomsbury. We will begin 2012 with our traditional round up of the month’s strange stories with our Fortmanteaux.