London Fortean Society

  Coming up at the Bell 26 August – Dr Anna Milon – Revisiting the Horned God (and Goddess?) 30 September – Rob Stephenson – Posthumous Indignities of the Famous 28 October – Stu Neville – Fortean TV 25 November – Prof Samuel Turvey – The Tomb of the Mili Mongga TBA – ’Twixt Xmas & NY – Fortean drinks gathering   Tickets will be on sale a month before each event from WeGotTickets; the ticket link will be here, and at  www.facebook.com/LondonForteanSociety          

  Tuesday 24 June 2025 The F olklore of South London Parks Enjoy some larks in south London parks. London writer and tour guide Chris Roberts talks about history, development and challenges facing open spaces in London. They are places of joy, relaxation and adventure and the setting for his fascinating new collection of short stories, South Parks (reviewed in FT458, and available tonight), in which he explores folklore, myths and the cultures around or linked to London’s open spaces. There are talking statues, strange cults, pagan estate agents and a very wrong horse. There are foxes and a vengeful toilet goddess – but also stories of love, friendship, family life and growing up. Meanwhile in Brockwell Park a song as old as time is sung again and in Streatham Common some herbivores revert to their man-eating roots. Come and celebrate these places to play in, stay in and spend the day. Date:  Tuesday 24 June 2025 Time: 8pm (Doors 7.30) Venue: The Bell,  50 Middlesex S...

  Tuesday 27 May 2025 The Devils of Loudun A Case of Demonic Possession in 17th-century France Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudun was an account of a 17th-century case of demonic possession in an Ursuline Convent in Loudun, France. Ken Russell’s film T he Devils was a rather more salacious re-telling. In 1617 Urbain Grandier became priest of the church of St Pierre du Marche and canon of la Collégiale de Sainte-Croix in Loudun. Seventeen years later he was found guilty of sorcery for having made a pact with the devil, and responsible for the demonic possession of the nuns in the town’s Ursuline Convent. He was tortured then burnt at the stake in the market place. Witnesses claimed to have seen demons escaping from the flames. How could a man of God find himself accused of maleficium ? Wayne Perkins relates one of the strangest and most infamous cases of witchcraft in 17th-century France and early modern Europe. Venue: The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street E1 7EX (Tubes: Liverp...