Fortean Society

Fortean Society The Fortean Society was an American organization formed in 1931 to promote interest in the anomalous work of Charles Fort and to investigate reports of unexplained phenomena. The society attracted writers, artists, and public intellectuals and intersected with movements around parapsychology, spiritualism, skepticism, and popular science journalism. Its activities involved correspondence, periodicals, and public events that connected figures from the worlds of literature, journalism, and fringe inquiry.

History

Founded in 1931 in New York City, the society emerged after the death of Charles Fort and capitalized on attention from authors and cultural figures such as Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. L. Mencken, and Ben Hecht. Early meetings involved prominent literary and journalistic circles associated with publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper's Magazine, and Atlantic Monthly. Organizational disputes arose between editorial leaders and charismatic figures such as Tiffany Thayer, producing tensions echoed in debates that also involved advocates connected to psychical research institutions like the Society for Psychical Research and critics associated with Scientific American and Skeptical Inquirer. The society's prominence peaked in the 1930s and 1940s alongside public interest in UFO sighting reports, spiritualist revivalism, and popularizations of anomalistic research by authors such as Charles Fort, Arthur Conan Doyle, Immanuel Velikovsky, Erich von Däniken, and J. B. Rhine. Internal schisms, shifting cultural priorities after World War II, and controversies involving leadership decisions led to diminished activity by the 1950s.

Membership and Organization

Membership drew a mix of literary figures, scientists, and public intellectuals, including names like Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, H. L. Mencken, Benjamin De Casseres, Arthur Conan Doyle, and later correspondents such as Ivan T. Sanderson, J. B. Rhine, and Charles Hoy Fort advocates. Organizational structure involved an editorial committee, local chapters in cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston, and correspondence networks linking researchers associated with institutions like Columbia University, Harvard University, Princeton University, American Museum of Natural History, and independent investigators tied to Society for Psychical Research and regional clubs for anomalistics. Leadership disputes—most notably between Tiffany Thayer and other founders—reflected broader divides comparable to rivalries seen in groups around Arthur Koestler, C. S. Lewis, and Joseph McCabe in debates over paranormal legitimacy. Patronage and public endorsements occasionally came from celebrities and writers connected to Hollywood, Broadway, and the publishing world represented by houses such as Random House, HarperCollins, and Knopf.

Publications and Communications

The society produced newsletters, bulletins, and pamphlets that disseminated reports, commentaries, and reprints of classic anomalistic texts. Its printed communications intersected with contemporary periodicals like Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, True Magazine, The New Masses, and mainstream outlets including The New Yorker and The New York Times Book Review. Contributors ranged from novelists and journalists to researchers affiliated with Duke University parapsychology programs and independent figures such as Ivan T. Sanderson and Charles Fort scholars. Pamphlets and broadsides circulated stories of UFO sightings, cryptid reports such as Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster, accounts of apparent miracles and psychic claims, and critiques of orthodox scientific positions advanced by defenders of scientific method and critics publishing in Scientific American and Nature.

Activities and Events

Activities included regular meetings, public lectures, and reading groups held in venues across New York City and other urban centers. The society organized panels and debates that featured figures from literature and research communities, mirroring public forums held at institutions such as Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Smithsonian Institution, and lecture series linked to Barnard College and Brooklyn Academy of Music. It engaged with contemporary controversies—public discussions about psychic research with presenters like J. B. Rhine and commentators such as H. L. Mencken—and staged exhibitions and reading nights that drew journalists from The New York Times, radio personalities from networks like NBC, and later television producers interested in anomalous subjects. Some events intersected with investigations by regional amateur groups and local historical societies documenting alleged hauntings and ghost lore in places like New England towns and Appalachia communities.

Influence and Legacy

The society influenced subsequent networks of anomalistics, popular paranormal culture, and skeptical inquiry, shaping later organizations and media such as Center for Inquiry, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Mutual UFO Network, and independent publications like Fortean Times and Fate Magazine. Its legacy is visible in the cross-pollination between literary modernism represented by figures like Theodore Dreiser and mass-media paranormal fascination that informed later works by Charles Fort interpreters and by mainstream authors including Philip José Farmer, Raymond A. Palmer, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and investigative journalists at Life (magazine). Academic interest in anomalistics and cultural studies references the society in analyses connected to American Studies, studies of popular culture, and histories of science communication at institutions such as Yale University, Oxford University, and University of Chicago. Although formal activity waned mid-20th century, its networked approach anticipated contemporary online communities, archives, and publishers that continue to catalog reports, debate claims, and influence portrayals in film and television industries like Hollywood and broadcasters including BBC.

Category:Anomalistics Category:Paranormal organizations Category:Organizations established in 1931