Charles Fort Said to Invent the Supernatural

Jim Steinmeyer a historian of stage magic discusses his latest book about author and researcher Charles Fort. He titles it "Charles Fort The Man Who Invented The Supernatural"(The phtoillusreation is from the cover.)

Fort's four books about oddities were groundbreaking in the era they were written (1919-1932). For instance, he was one of the first to write about mysterious airships or "vessels in the sky," long before they were called UFOs, Steinmeyer noted. He also was known for chronicling strange meteorological phenomena like frogs and fish falling from the sky (he speculated there might be a kind of gigantic Sargasso Sea or junkyard pool in he sky from which these objects come).

To explain some of the phenomena, such as the airships, Fort proposed the theory that Earth might be controlled by another planet and that "something thinks that it owns us," Steinmeyer recounted. Fort also wrote about mysterious creatures, coined the word "teleportation," and inspired the term "Bermuda Triangle."

He researched material, including many scientific journals, at libraries in New York City and London, and created some 40,000 handwritten notes on separate pieces of torn paper that he cross-categorized and used for his books. The Fortean Society, formed in 1930, was the first of a number of organizations interested in the strange, unexplained phenomena Fort popularized (The UK magazine Fortean Times also takes its name from Fort). Steinmeyer particularly recommends Fort's book Lo, as being one of his most readable (all four are available to read online in a compilation on Google Books).

Some strange happenings are even refered to as "Fortean Events"

Look Ma, No Hands

When I was a little girl. the ghost story that frightened me the most was that of the severed hand that crept around the bedroom,up over the edge of the bed and strangled people.I must have heard it with variations at a thousand times at camp and sleep overs.I was terrified each time.
Much later in life,I joined a class on Crystal Gazing given by a local psychic.She taught these steps
1,Sit comfortably in a dimly lit room
2.Put both feet on the floor,hands palms up on your knees,and take 3 deep cleansing breaths.
3.Empty your mind of all thoughts as you look and concentrate only on the crystal.
4,Watch for shifts and variations as they appear in the crystal.
5,Describe what you begin to see.
6.Practice this at least 15 minutes daily with a tape recording your descriptions.

I did this faithfully in the week between classes and did not really see much of anything except a sort of smoke and some crack like things inside.Everyone else had these great images to report at the next class dogs,houses,cars.I was disappointed in my paltry gathering of cracks and smoke.The instructor was very encouraging even of my report.She hauled out the Crystal balls we were using in class,lit the candles and we assumed the position.This time we were going to meditate and read...
After a bit, there it was.I saw an image,my first image and last reading.You can guess.a severed hand crawling up the side of a mattress.So ended my time as a scryer.
Where did it come from? I had not thought of that story in years.Was it my unconscious mind having its' say? Probably.

The Tea Room Reading

Back before Psychics had hot lines or advertised in magazines "Readings" were usually limited to small storefronts often with a hand on the window,a darkened interior lit with candles,where a garishly dressed ,Madame Something ,with a crystal ball or cards told of your future- for a price..There had been a run of elaborate frauds in Baltimore for several years so this had been deemed illegal.
My classmates at the University of Maryland Medical campus there had discovered a quaint little Tearoom near downtown where on a certain day if you bought soup for lunch you had a reading ,if desired ,with it.
Of course we went .It was entrancing.The lady immedietly identified we were from a big city in the South,were or were not only children,were in a helping profession and would be in Baltimore a short time and move elsewhere.She knew our ages and some interests specific to the person.We were amazed.
On my third visit.(Although good.It was not for the soup.)I was finally able to get some information about her.This was equally fascinating.
She based her accounts on nonverbal behaviors.The way a person walked,sat,handled their silverware,used their hands.She even was teaching a class at Johns Hopkins Medical School to Third year Medical Students.While that dispelled some of the magic,it was an excellent learning experience.Wish I could be that skilled with nonverbal.