London Fortean Society

 London is an old and haunted City; join us for ghost stories of central London. Noah Angell on ghostly sightings at the British Museum, Roger Luckhurst discusses a cursed object in the Egyptian rooms of the British Museum and Sarah Sparkes presents the hauntings and other unexplained happenings of Senate House. Wednesday 10 April 2024 Doors, books stall, and drinks from 6.15 pm Talks 6.30 pm - 9.30 pm £15 / £12 Advance tickets Conway Hall , 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn Directions London Fortean's Mailing List Facebook event page Noah Angell – Ghosts of the British Museum: A True Story of Colonial Loot and Restless Objects When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more. What started as a trickle soon became a landslide as staff old and new, from guards of formidable build to respected curators, brought forth testimonies of their inexplicable supernatural encounters. It became clear tha...

Tuesday 27th February Sleepers Awake!   In this illustrated talk Prof Roger Luckhurst of Birkbeck, University of London, explores the puzzling history of states of unnatural sleep, anomalous conditions that have shadowed the rise of modern medicine since the late 18th century. Franz Mesmer’s claims to put patients into a state of suspended animation to treat their illnesses with “animal magnetism” caused a scandal in Paris in the 1780s, even before his student the Marquis de Puységur began to suggest that the artificial sleep of the trance state was associated with supernatural powers – mind-reading and clairvoyance. Such claims delayed the acceptance of what became known as hypnotism until the 1890s, but even then the early pioneers of medical hypnotism were associated with the Society for Psychical Research. More conventional medicine has tried to explore so-called “catatonic states”, yet the uncanny nature of artificial sleep has continued to puzzle doctors, right up to the ...

      Apologies to everyone who wasn't able to buy tickets for our January meeting, Aleister Crowley: The Spy Who Loved the Occult . We sold out very early on. We had a full house, and everyone there enjoyed Richard C McNeff's talk. We're hoping to put a version of this talk on again in a few months' time, so that all those who missed it the first time get a chance to hear it. Watch this space, and our Facebook page, for details.  

  Tuesday 30th January 2024 SOLD OUT -- SOLD OUT -- SOLD OUT Aleister Crowley The Spy Who Loved the Occult   SOLD OUT -- SOLD OUT -- SOLD OUT   SOLD OUT -- SOLD OUT -- SOLD OUT   Mountaineer, artist, magician, was Aleister Crowley also a secret agent who worked for different branches of British Intelligence at various stages of his life? Did this culminate in his interrogation of Nazi warlord and occultist Rudolf Hess in 1941? Richard C McNeff deciphers Crowley’s espionage career as well as taking a wider look at his role as an influencer, with some very surprising followers. The author of two novels prominently featuring Crowley, Richard will separate fact from fiction in his portrayals of the Beast. Venue: The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street E1 7EX Date:   Tuesday 30th January 2024 Doors: 7.30pm Start: 8pm Tickets: £5/£3 https://www.wegottickets.com/event/604335/  THIS TALK IS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT WE HOPE TO RUN IT AGAIN LATER IN THE YEAR

  'twixt Xmas & NY Thursday 28th December     We don't have a London Fortean Society meeting in December -- but a few of us get together for a drink in that fairly odd time 'twixt Xmas & NY. No speaker, no programme, just a few pints and chat. Regulars and irregulars equally welcome. We'll be in the front room at the Cittie of Yorke pub between Chancery Lane and Holborn, from around 7.30 on Thursday 28th December . They do standard pub food. See you there!

  Tuesday 28 November 2023 A New Demonology: John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies     From the 1960s the “ultraterrestrial hypothesis” became a popular alternative to the ETH for UFOs and other fortean anomalies as a result of the writings of the American journalist John Keel (1930-2009). Keel’s theories are best known today via his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies that chronicled an outbreak of weirdness in the Ohio Valley, USA, that included visits by a winged humanoid (the Mothman), Men-in-Black, UFOs and animal mutilations. His book had a Hollywood makeover in 2002 and the legend is now marked by an annual Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Dr David Clarke ’s talk is based on an extended interview with Keel during his visit to the UK in 1992 and the contents of his chapter “The Mothman of West Virginia: a case study in legendary storytelling” in The Contemporary Legend Casebook 2: North American Monsters (Utah University Press 2020). Date: Tuesday ...

It’s getting darker. Join us at Conway Hal l as we explore the Haunted Landscape, our annual gathering of witchcraft, folklore, ghosts, and fairies from the British Isles. Speakers this year: Jamie Canton, Nigel Pennick, Dr. Helen Frisby, Kirsty Hartsiotis, Sandra Lawrence, Allyson Shaw, James Edward Frost, and Francis Young.  Live and online. The Spro Mine by Vlash on flickr Saturday 18 November 2023 Doors, books stall, and coffee from 9.30am. Talks 10 am - 5 pm. Lunch 1 pm-2 pm (ish) £25 / £18 concessions. £15 live stream. Advance tickets Conway Hall , 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL Tube: Holborn Directions A link to all live streams will be sent out to all online participants after booking.  London Fortean's Mailing List Facebook event page 10 am Allyson Shaw - Ashes and Stones: A Scottish Journey in Search of Witches and Witness.  A moving and personal journey, along rugged coasts and through remote villages and cities, in search of the tra...