#fortean — Public Fediverse posts

Great link to article and video about a woman who recused an injured crow and now gets thank you gifts from other birds. #Fortean #Corvids #Crow #Corvid #Birds

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/sawatsky-sign-off/article/woman-who-rescued-injured-crow-keeps-getting-thank-you-gifts-from-other-birds/

Updates to the #paranormal database include headless entities, women in white, and a couple of #haunted lighthouses… https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/ #fortean

Updates to the #paranormal database include headless entities, women in white, and a couple of #haunted lighthouses… https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/ #fortean

A cage optimistically built in 1933 to catch the Loch Ness Monster. I'd love to say they found the bars torn asunder, but I don't think any of the monster hunters caught anything worse than a cold. #Fortean #cryptozoology #monsters #LochNess #Nessie

A cage optimistically built in 1933 to catch the Loch Ness Monster. I'd love to say they found the bars torn asunder, but I don't think any of the monster hunters caught anything worse than a cold. #Fortean #cryptozoology #monsters #LochNess #Nessie

“The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed”*…

… nor, perhaps, as widely read as it should be. “Urubos” is here to help…

The Extrapolated Futures Archive is a reverse-lookup for speculative fiction. Describe a situation you are facing, and find the SF stories that already worked through the implications.

The catalog connects stories (novels, novellas, short stories, films) to the speculative ideas they explore: thought experiments about technology, governance, biology, society, and more. Every idea is tagged with domains, scenario types, and outcome types so you can filter by the kind of future you are thinking about.

How to use it:

• Search by title, author, synopsis keywords, or idea descriptions
• Filter by domain (AI, biotech, climate, space, governance…), scenario type, outcome, decade, or series
• Browse ideas to find transferable thought experiments, then follow links to the stories that explore them
• Browse stories to see what speculative ideas a particular work contains
• Book Club discussions (marked with 📖) offer section-by-section roundtable analyses by AI personas modeled on SF authors
• What-If Query (via the What-If Query page/link) lets you describe a real-world scenario in plain text and get ranked matching ideas

The archive is designed for decision-makers in government, industry, and NGOs who want to widen their thinking by surfacing fictional precedents for novel real-world challenges…

Over 275 ideas, which cluster into 20 different “domains,” explored in over 1,900 stories, via over 3,500 links…

Mapping real-world scenarios to the science fiction stories that explored them first: “Extrapolated Futures Archive“

* William Gibson

###

As we ponder prescience, we might spare a thought for Charles Hoy Fort, the prolific chronicler of paranormal phenomena; he died on this date in 1932.  Fort collected accounts of frogs and other strange objects raining from the sky, UFOs, ghosts, spontaneous human combustion, stigmata, psychic abilities, and the like, publishing four collections of weird tales and anomalies during his lifetime: Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo! (1931), and Wild Talents (1932).  So influential was Fort among fellow-questers that his name has become an adjective, “Fortean,” often applied to unexplained events… The Truth is Out There…

source

“The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed”*…

… nor, perhaps, as widely read as it should be. “Urubos” is here to help…

The Extrapolated Futures Archive is a reverse-lookup for speculative fiction. Describe a situation you are facing, and find the SF stories that already worked through the implications.

The catalog connects stories (novels, novellas, short stories, films) to the speculative ideas they explore: thought experiments about technology, governance, biology, society, and more. Every idea is tagged with domains, scenario types, and outcome types so you can filter by the kind of future you are thinking about.

How to use it:

• Search by title, author, synopsis keywords, or idea descriptions
• Filter by domain (AI, biotech, climate, space, governance…), scenario type, outcome, decade, or series
• Browse ideas to find transferable thought experiments, then follow links to the stories that explore them
• Browse stories to see what speculative ideas a particular work contains
• Book Club discussions (marked with 📖) offer section-by-section roundtable analyses by AI personas modeled on SF authors
• What-If Query (via the What-If Query page/link) lets you describe a real-world scenario in plain text and get ranked matching ideas

The archive is designed for decision-makers in government, industry, and NGOs who want to widen their thinking by surfacing fictional precedents for novel real-world challenges…

Over 275 ideas, which cluster into 20 different “domains,” explored in over 1,900 stories, via over 3,500 links…

Mapping real-world scenarios to the science fiction stories that explored them first: “Extrapolated Futures Archive“

* William Gibson

###

As we ponder prescience, we might spare a thought for Charles Hoy Fort, the prolific chronicler of paranormal phenomena; he died on this date in 1932.  Fort collected accounts of frogs and other strange objects raining from the sky, UFOs, ghosts, spontaneous human combustion, stigmata, psychic abilities, and the like, publishing four collections of weird tales and anomalies during his lifetime: Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo! (1931), and Wild Talents (1932).  So influential was Fort among fellow-questers that his name has become an adjective, “Fortean,” often applied to unexplained events… The Truth is Out There…

source

This blog post about haunted paintings from @IcySedgwick is an absolute banger https://www.icysedgwick.com/cursed-artworks/ #occult #ghost #haunted #ghoststory #paranormal #fortean

This blog post about haunted paintings from @IcySedgwick is an absolute banger https://www.icysedgwick.com/cursed-artworks/ #occult #ghost #haunted #ghoststory #paranormal #fortean

Fascinating article in the #Fortean Times about Paddington Bear as a psychopomp (i.e. as a guide into the afterlife). And how quintessentially _British_ it is.

I'm thinking, therefore, if you had _not_ been such a good person in life your psychopomp would be Mister Blobby.

Fascinating article in the #Fortean Times about Paddington Bear as a psychopomp (i.e. as a guide into the afterlife). And how quintessentially _British_ it is.

I'm thinking, therefore, if you had _not_ been such a good person in life your psychopomp would be Mister Blobby.

Updates to the database include a scattering of #Suffolk #folklore, a few #poltergeists from the 1970s, and a pig. https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/index.php #fortean

Updates to the database include a scattering of #Suffolk #folklore, a few #poltergeists from the 1970s, and a pig. https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/index.php #fortean

https://www.storyangles.com/post/forteana

Forteana records strange events that everyday people observe. These cover odd weather, unexpected lights, strange animal behavior, and unusual natural occurrences.

#fortean #forteana #StoryAngles #StrangeEvents #phenomenon #charlesfort #unexplained #UnexplainedPhenomena #paranormal

https://www.storyangles.com/post/forteana

Forteana records strange events that everyday people observe. These cover odd weather, unexpected lights, strange animal behavior, and unusual natural occurrences.

#fortean #forteana #StoryAngles #StrangeEvents #phenomenon #charlesfort #unexplained #UnexplainedPhenomena #paranormal

RE: https://disabled.social/@GimpyGurl/115729762577866244

I love short form #fortean stuff like this seasonal coincidence.

Lil’ devil’s footprints

In February 1855 in Devon, England, tiny curved tracks, like horse-shoes or donkey prints, appeared in the snow overnight. The tracks, which reportedly extended some 40 miles, caused quite a stir. Someone suggested that they were made by the devil himself. The tale grew and became a well-known Fortean incident, mentioned to this day.

This story was one of my favorites, not because I thought of it as a real and perplexing mystery, but because it made such a lasting impact. Skeptics will immediately note that the tracks melted and what was left resembled a hoof print. Yet, I hadn’t seen any actual demonstration of this. There probably was a demonstration, but the mundane answers to the world’s mysteries are not very popular. People prefer the more dramatic and exciting “unexplained” framing. However, on December 14, 2025, my grand-dog and I inadvertently made the devil prints ourselves.

Devon: Winter, 1855

The weather reported in Devon on the day of the 1855 tracks was cold and windy, another day of the severe winter that froze parts of the nearby rivers. A half inch to 4 inches of snow had fallen overnight. Then came a bit of rain before another hard freeze. The next day, someone noticed the hoof-like tracks. Framed as a mystery, the news spread. Many people found similar tracks.

According to the collected information by Mike Dash (my favorite Fortean historian) in Fortean Studies, Volume 1, no one actually did any careful logging of the tracks. Some reports had the tracks going across rooftops or high walls. It’s unclear how someone could be certain of the rooftop claim. Later, the story evolved into miles of continuous trackways that were from the same creature, and happened simultaneously. This was untrue as the story unfolded over more than one day. Dash cites sources noting that the trackway wasn’t a direct line but meandered “like an animal looking for food”.

The tracks were not a hoax (but subsequent tracks in the following days could have been). The contemporary sources were sometimes anonymous and unreliable, with questionable details. Extra exaggerated elements were likely added to the tale later on. Speculation about the origin included reference to all sorts of animals to blame, including a kangaroo(?!). There were a myriad of creative explanations volunteered by serious investigators. Dash concluded that it is unlikely the mystery can ever be thoroughly solved.

The unknown culprit led to some people throwing up their hands and declaring the devil had traversed the land. This was a grievous insult to the local bishop!

The making of the devil tracks

Additional accounts of mysterious “hoof prints” similar to the Devon mystery are reported up to modern day. Even more examples were noted in the UK that same winter. Certainly, there were more incidents that are never reported.

I’m reporting an incident right now. And I know how they were made.

On Sunday morning, Tito, the long-legged, long-haired Chihuahua, had to go on a walk to do his business because that’s the way he rolls. I was not keen on walking outside that blustery suburban morning, but I am his temporary keeper and I do his bidding. The sidewalk was mostly snow-covered with about an inch of powder. It was brutally cold, well below freezing. Our prints in both directions were the only markings in the windswept snow. No other sane people were walking, or cleaning their sidewalks.

Later that afternoon, we were off on our second trip. The winds had blown most of the snow clear off the smooth concrete sidewalks, leaving only the icy traces of our morning walk. I was amused to see my shoe prints enlarged, but Tito’s had formed into adorable little horse-shoe shapes. The prints remained the following day as the temps stayed in low double digits.

The Explanation

The original prints from Tito, the lil’ devil, pushed the snow into little ridges in the direction of travel. The tiny outer ridge remained as the wind blew away the loose snow and the sun melted the paw prints that were originally obvious.

As for the Devon prints, the single track indicated an animal that either hopped (like a rabbit, squirrel, etc.), making a single indentation in the snow, or a two-legged animal (a bird) tracked a linear path, unlike a dog that shows a parallel track.

This is no mystery. But we still want it to be. No matter how many times we show how a mystery was solved, a monster made, or a mistake revealed, the fun story will live on.

Tito was unimpressed with his Fortean accomplishment. He would rather lounge, careless, on the couch. I recognized that a mystery is mostly about context and culture, with a heavy dose of slow news day reaction.

#DevilSFootprints #DevonshireDevilPrints #Fortean

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10631

Lil’ devil’s footprints

In February 1855 in Devon, England, tiny curved tracks, like horse-shoes or donkey prints, appeared in the snow overnight. The tracks, which reportedly extended some 40 miles, caused quite a stir. Someone suggested that they were made by the devil himself. The tale grew and became a well-known Fortean incident, mentioned to this day.

This story was one of my favorites, not because I thought of it as a real and perplexing mystery, but because it made such a lasting impact. Skeptics will immediately note that the tracks melted and what was left resembled a hoof print. Yet, I hadn’t seen any actual demonstration of this. There probably was a demonstration, but the mundane answers to the world’s mysteries are not very popular. People prefer the more dramatic and exciting “unexplained” framing. However, on December 14, 2025, my grand-dog and I inadvertently made the devil prints ourselves.

Devon: Winter, 1855

The weather reported in Devon on the day of the 1855 tracks was cold and windy, another day of the severe winter that froze parts of the nearby rivers. A half inch to 4 inches of snow had fallen overnight. Then came a bit of rain before another hard freeze. The next day, someone noticed the hoof-like tracks. Framed as a mystery, the news spread. Many people found similar tracks.

According to the collected information by Mike Dash (my favorite Fortean historian) in Fortean Studies, Volume 1, no one actually did any careful logging of the tracks. Some reports had the tracks going across rooftops or high walls. It’s unclear how someone could be certain of the rooftop claim. Later, the story evolved into miles of continuous trackways that were from the same creature, and happened simultaneously. This was untrue as the story unfolded over more than one day. Dash cites sources noting that the trackway wasn’t a direct line but meandered “like an animal looking for food”.

The tracks were not a hoax (but subsequent tracks in the following days could have been). The contemporary sources were sometimes anonymous and unreliable, with questionable details. Extra exaggerated elements were likely added to the tale later on. Speculation about the origin included reference to all sorts of animals to blame, including a kangaroo(?!). There were a myriad of creative explanations volunteered by serious investigators. Dash concluded that it is unlikely the mystery can ever be thoroughly solved.

The unknown culprit led to some people throwing up their hands and declaring the devil had traversed the land. This was a grievous insult to the local bishop!

The making of the devil tracks

Additional accounts of mysterious “hoof prints” similar to the Devon mystery are reported up to modern day. Even more examples were noted in the UK that same winter. Certainly, there were more incidents that are never reported.

I’m reporting an incident right now. And I know how they were made.

On Sunday morning, Tito, the long-legged, long-haired Chihuahua, had to go on a walk to do his business because that’s the way he rolls. I was not keen on walking outside that blustery suburban morning, but I am his temporary keeper and I do his bidding. The sidewalk was mostly snow-covered with about an inch of powder. It was brutally cold, well below freezing. Our prints in both directions were the only markings in the windswept snow. No other sane people were walking, or cleaning their sidewalks.

Later that afternoon, we were off on our second trip. The winds had blown most of the snow clear off the smooth concrete sidewalks, leaving only the icy traces of our morning walk. I was amused to see my shoe prints enlarged, but Tito’s had formed into adorable little horse-shoe shapes. The prints remained the following day as the temps stayed in low double digits.

The Explanation

The original prints from Tito, the lil’ devil, pushed the snow into little ridges in the direction of travel. The tiny outer ridge remained as the wind blew away the loose snow and the sun melted the paw prints that were originally obvious.

As for the Devon prints, the single track indicated an animal that either hopped (like a rabbit, squirrel, etc.), making a single indentation in the snow, or a two-legged animal (a bird) tracked a linear path, unlike a dog that shows a parallel track.

This is no mystery. But we still want it to be. No matter how many times we show how a mystery was solved, a monster made, or a mistake revealed, the fun story will live on.

Tito was unimpressed with his Fortean accomplishment. He would rather lounge, careless, on the couch. I recognized that a mystery is mostly about context and culture, with a heavy dose of slow news day reaction.

#DevilSFootprints #DevonshireDevilPrints #Fortean

https://sharonahill.com/?p=10631

New Video: An Irreverent take on the history of Fortean Times magazine with Ian Simmons, their News Editor. Watch the full 50 minute live video here:
https://youtu.be/hQ8dhObF21E
#fortean #video #unexplained #mysteries

New Video: An Irreverent take on the history of Fortean Times magazine with Ian Simmons, their News Editor. Watch the full 50 minute live video here:
https://youtu.be/hQ8dhObF21E
#fortean #video #unexplained #mysteries

Mawnan Church and Woods in #Cornwall, scene of the mysterious 'Owlman' sightings in the 1970s: a #Fortean and #cryptozoology favourite. In 1993 I found it an atmospheric location with its ancient granite church. The wood wasn't as spooky as expected but it will have grown a lot thicker in 30 years!

Mawnan Church and Woods in #Cornwall, scene of the mysterious 'Owlman' sightings in the 1970s: a #Fortean and #cryptozoology favourite. In 1993 I found it an atmospheric location with its ancient granite church. The wood wasn't as spooky as expected but it will have grown a lot thicker in 30 years!

Updates to the #paranormal database include a dental #poltergeist and respectful birds, as well as the normal #fortean experiences and ghostly encounters... https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/

Uncertain if the publication in two UFO newsletters is meant to imply an extraterrestrial angle to the Exploding Piano Mystery, or if both of those periodicals had broader, more Fortean, themes.
#piano #explosion #UFO #Fortean

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon as foretold in a Fritz Lang movie:
https://lthanlon.com/2024/04/22/movies-connection-to-mad-gassers-is-examined/
#gas #Mattoon #Fortean

OTD in 1944 the police chief of Matton Illinois pronounced "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon", a supposed nocturnal prowler spraying paralytic gas, to be the result of mass hysteria https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

OTD in 1944 the police chief of Matton Illinois pronounced "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon", a supposed nocturnal prowler spraying paralytic gas, to be the result of mass hysteria https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

OTD in 1944 the police chief of Matton Illinois pronounced "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon", a supposed nocturnal prowler spraying paralytic gas, to be the result of mass hysteria https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

OTD in 1944 the police chief of Matton Illinois pronounced "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon", a supposed nocturnal prowler spraying paralytic gas, to be the result of mass hysteria https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944 https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944 https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944 https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944 https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The Commissioner of Public Health, addressing the panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" announced that "The whole town is sick with hysteria" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The Commissioner of Public Health, addressing the panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" announced that "The whole town is sick with hysteria" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The Commissioner of Public Health, addressing the panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" announced that "The whole town is sick with hysteria" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

The Commissioner of Public Health, addressing the panic over "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" announced that "The whole town is sick with hysteria" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 4 people in 3 separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 4 people in 3 separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 4 people in 3 separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 4 people in 3 separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 5 people in separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 5 people in separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 5 people in separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with at least 5 people in separate locations reporting being sprayed by paralytic gas https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944 https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944 https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with the new attacks featuring a blue vapor and a buzzing sound from "the motorized gassing machinery" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with the new attacks featuring a blue vapor and a buzzing sound from "the motorized gassing machinery" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean

Attacks by "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" continued OTD in 1944, with the new attacks featuring a blue vapor and a buzzing sound from "the motorized gassing machinery" https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/usa/mattoon/?s=mb #history #travel #gas #Fortean