London Fortean Society:
Strange Central: Mysteries, Monsters, Ghosts and UFOs

Are you ready for the strangest day? Join the London Fortean Society for a day of deep-dives into the paranormal world. Hosting expert talks on ghost hunting, flying saucers, sea monsters and sasquatches and more. Speakers include Darren Naish, Mark Pilkington, David Clarke, Alice Vernon and Dominic Chorney.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

David Clarke
‘The most spectacular UFO photo ever’: Deception, Conspiracy and New Folklore of the Calvine UFO

Described variously as ‘the most spectacular UFO photo ever’, ‘a clever hoax’ or ‘just a rock in a pond’ the Calvine photograph purportedly shows a UFO shadowed by a military jet above the Scottish Highlands in the summer of 1990.

Dr David Clarke‘s exclusive Daily Mail story released the image into the public domain for the first time in 2022. The online debate that followed covered the whole spectrum of belief and disbelief as actors took positions on the truth or falsity of the image. This led to the rapid development of new folklore and the sharing of conspiracy theories, deceptive claims and bizarre interpretations that did more to obfuscate than reveal. This talk will explore a baffling UFO legend that has more twists and turns than a John le Carre novel.

Dominic Chorney
History’s Weird Money: Treasures of the Occult

The mysteries of the world aren’t confined to haunted houses, spooky woods, and dark tunnels. They’re everywhere. They even haunt the money we spend. For over 2,000 years, since the beginnings of currency in the ancient world, coins and treasure have been associated with unusual events, frightening creatures and occult magic.

Coin specialist Dominic Chorney will investigate the world of ‘occult numismatics’, looking back through the ages, from the present day to ancient times. In the ancient world, mythical beasts reared their ugly heads on the currencies of great cities, while Greeks and Romans buried their dead with coins in their mouths. In medieval times, silver coins were bent and pierced to ward off witches. In the world of the paranormal, poltergeist encounters are accompanied by coins thrown through the air. UFOs can be seen on rare tokens from 17th century France, which depict strange flying saucers in the sky.

These are just a few of the many topics explored in Dominic’s talk. When you’re done with this presentation, you might never look at the coins in your pocket the same way again.

Darren Naish
Sea Monsters Past and Present

Ever since ancient times, people have believed that giant, monstrous animals inhabit the seas. If such creatures are real, could they have a direct relationship to the giant sea reptiles – in particular, the long-necked plesiosaurs – of the geological past? Join esteemed author and palaeozoologist Dr Darren Naish as he explores our developing ideas about sea monsters past and present, a subject that combines developments in palaeontology with studies of mythology and popular culture.

Dr Darren Naish is an author and palaeozoologist affiliated with the University of Southampton. His technical studies involve dinosaurs, the flying pterosaurs and ancient sea reptiles. He has published many books, the most recent including Dinopedia, Ancient Sea Reptiles and Mesozoic Art II. Dr Naish is also chief scientific consultant for the Apple TV / BBC Studios series Prehistoric Planet.

Andrew J Bartlett & Jamie Lewis
The Shape of Bigfoot: Making Knowledge Claims from Absences

Bigfoot exists; it undoubtedly has a material effect on the world. According to various surveys, many thousands of Americans believe in Bigfoot, and hundreds organise their lives around the creature. As one interviewee noted, “there is this foolish statement thrown around that there is no evidence for Bigfoot. There’s plenty of evidence, there’s no proof. There’s a big difference.

In this talk, Andrew J Bartlett and Jamie Lewis will explore the way in which Bigfooters make, defend, and debunk knowledge claims about Bigfoot – using witness accounts, images, sound recordings, footprint casts, and biological traces. In doing so, we explore the centrality of absences to their epistemology.

Mark Pilkington
Weapons of Mass Disruption

In the first few weeks of this year Presidents Obama and Trump have already dropped alien truth bombs, while Steven Spielberg is preparing to release his latest mytho-apocalyptic ET blockbuster. Back in 2022, amidst another media feeding frenzy, President Biden authorised a major, and still ongoing, investigation of America’s UAP files, while the US Congress hosted a series of sensational hearings that recycled the UFO lore of yesteryear for a new, apparently history-averse audience.

So what’s going on? Is this new wave of UFOria simply a cry for help amidst America’s ongoing identity crisis? Is Disclosure really imminent, as Spielberg and numerous well-connected military and intelligence officials would have us believe? Or could it be something more complex and sinister – another salvo in the information wars that have exploited UFO beliefs since the end of World War II?

In this new presentation Mirage Men author Mark Pilkington considers recent events, and some of the people, and possible motivations, behind them. It’s time to polish your orbs and patch up your tinfoil hats as we journey deep into the heart of the new ufological labyrinth. But be warned, you may not want to believe what you find there.

Alice Vernon, Ben Machell & Sarah Sparkes
Ghosts Hunting in the Archives

Ben Machell, author of Chasing the Dark: Encounters with the Supernatural; Alice Vernon, author of Ghosted: A History of Ghost Hunting and Why We Keep Looking; and Sarah Sparkes, artist and Harry Price Library of Magical Literature research fellow, discuss what ghosts and other phenomena lurk in the archives.

Ben Machell has worked for the Times in London since 2005, and is a principal feature writer, interviewer, and columnist for the award-winning Times Magazine. His debut book, The Unusual Suspect, was widely acclaimed and shortlisted for the Golden Dagger at the 2022 Crime Writers’ Association Awards.

Alice Vernon is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University. Her debut book, Night Terrors, explored troubled sleep in literature and culture, and was BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week. Her research focuses on parapsychology, sleep disorders and the horror genre.

Sarah Sparkes is a London-based artist and curator. Her work engages with magical or mythical narratives, vernacular belief systems, the visualisation of anomalous phenomena and liminality through the metaphor of the portal. Her work is often research-led and an exploration into the borderlands where science and magic intersect. She runs the visual arts and research project GHost.

Age Recommendation:

16+

Price:

*A £2 venue levy is applied to each ticket purchased. This levy helps to support us in covering the costs of keeping our grade II listed building running and our doors open.*

In advance: • Standard £23 • Living Support £15 • Student £18 (+ £2 venue levy)
On the Door: • Standard £24 • Living Support £15 • Student £19  (+ £2 venue levy)
Online: • Standard £12   (+ £2 venue levy)

Access Information

This event is in the Main Hall, which is located on the ground floor.

All the ground-floor rooms are fully accessible by wheelchair. Main Hall (street access, step-free), Brockway Room (street access, step-free), Bertrand Russell Room (street access, shallow ramp), Cafe (street access, step-free). There is also an accessible toilet on the ground floor opposite the Brockway Room.