Fortean Times

Fortean Times chronicles the stranger side of life, delivering a heady mix of weird world news, up-to-date reports and features on every aspect of the unexplained: myths, monsters, ghosts and UFOs rub shoulders with ancient wonders and future science, while expert columnists bring you the latest on everything from cryptozoology to conspiracy theory. Open-minded, well informed and maintaining a healthy sense of humour, Fortean Times is the only place to go for a sensible look at our mad planet – it will change the way you see the world.

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Fortean Times

EDITORIAL

COMPETITION

PANIC IN THE STREETS • France’s Fête de la Musique falls prey to the latest needle spiking panic

EXTRA! EXTRA! • FT’S FAVOURITE HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK • Gulls, snakes and demonic sealions!

SIDELINES

DON’T PANIC! • Hyper-realistic dolls spark unrest in Brazil while French accused of purloining African penises

SIDELINES…

CATMAN AND DOGBOY • Another mystery gimp and a Thai feral child

SIDELINES…

CLASSICAL CORNER • FORTEANA FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD

ARCHÆOLOGY • A MONTHLY EXCAVATION OF ODDITIES AND ANTIQUITIES

AI: Science, magic or religion? • DAVID HAMBLING asks if AI is really about to attain superintelligence – and how would we know?

HIDDEN CHARMS 5 • ROB GANDY reports from Cardiff on the fifth biennial conference devoted to magical protection

The end of Missenden Abbey • ALAN MURDIE laments the closure of another historic house with a tradition of ghost sightings

DELAYED MESSAGES • Another collection of mail fails, including a long-lost job application and a postie thwarted by nesting curlews

THE CONSPIRASPHERE • NOEL ROONEY wonders whether it all adds up as he grapples with the numerology of major terrorist incidents and has a strange experience with his Amazon order…

SA’S SATANIC GANGS • Devil-worshipping gangs combining occult symbols and rituals with organised crime are terrorising South Africa

NECROLOG • This month, we wave off a high-profile US ‘skeptic’ and investigator of strange phenomena who ruffled fortean feathers while denying he was a debunker

FAIRIES, FOLKLORE AND FORTEANA • SIMON YOUNG FILES A NEW REPORT FROM THE INTERFACE OF STRANGE PHENOMENA AND FOLK BELIEF

Witnessed by Nighteyes? • NIGEL WATSON exlpains why a notorious alien abduction case is back in the spotlight

ENGLAND’S MOST HAUNTED? FREDERICK SANDERS AND THE ORIGINS OF PLUCKLEY’S GHOSTS • Pluckley in Kent has been dubbed “the most haunted village in England”, but does it deserve its popular reputation? Certainly, it boasts plenty of ghost stories, but where did they come from? SIMON MORETON goes in search of local ghost hunter Frederick Sanders and the origin of Pluckley’s multiple spooks.

The Stone Ghost Girl of Eyeworth Pond • EMMA HEARD came across an unusual photograph from an unlikely source – and decided to employ the expertise of the Forteana Forums in helping determine whether she was dealing with a case of pareidolia, a mystery photographer or a genuine ghost photo…

MAKING THE CASE FOR SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION PART 2 • In the second part of his survey, LARRY E ARNOLD presents three more cases from his files suggestive of spontaneous human combustion; dating from 1964 to 2013, these baffling but deadly blazes share a number of puzzling characteristics that may point to more than just the ‘human wick’ effect at work…

THERE’S A RIOT GOING ON! • Summer heatwaves and social pressures can occasionally lead to an August ‘riot season’. Such mayhem usually has a political origin, but not always – sometimes public disorder can...