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70-472: Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena . The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold well and are still in print. His work continues to inspire admirers, who refer to themselves as "Forteans", and has influenced some aspects of science fiction . Fort's collections of scientific anomalies, including The Book of

140-418: A community . Cult followings are also commonly associated with niche markets . Cult media are often associated with underground culture , and are considered too eccentric or anti-establishment to be appreciated by the general public or to be widely commercially successful. Many cult fans express their devotion with a level of irony when describing such entertainment. Sometimes, these cult followings cross

210-404: A "distinctive blend of mocking humor, penetrating insight, and calculated outrageousness". Fort was skeptical of sciences and wrote his own mocking explanations to defy scientists who used traditional methods. In a review of Lo! , The New York Times wrote: "Reading Fort is a ride on a comet; if the traveler returns to earth after the journey, he will find, after his first dizziness has worn off,

280-454: A cult classic after leaking in 2006 and being notoriously shelved by Interscope Records . The musically experimental album quickly developed a following and acclaim online, becoming what The Village Voice writer Craig D. Lindsey called "the black-music equivalent of Fiona Apple 's once-shelved (and also notoriously bootlegged) album Extraordinary Machine ". Pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen 's post-" Call Me Maybe " career has been called

350-401: A cult following after their cancellation, which may cause interest in renewal. Arrested Development , which was cancelled in 2006 after its third season , was renewed by Netflix in 2013 and received two additional seasons. Futurama was cancelled in 2003 after its fourth season on Fox , but was later picked up by Comedy Central for an additional three seasons. In 2022, it was announced

420-453: A cult following, sometimes due to prestige like Apple and Supreme , while others like Spam do so for cultural reasons. There are also many cult car brands ranging from Trabant to Volvo and even specific models like the Fiat 500 , Ford Crown Victoria and Toyota AE86 have all spawned dedicated followings within the car enthusiast community. In September 2021, AMC Theatres began airing

490-623: A cult following. Quentin Tarantino 's films borrow stylistically from classic cult films, but are appreciated by a large audience; therefore, Tarantino's filmography is noted worldwide as lying somewhere between cult and mainstream cinema. Also, certain cult phenomena can grow to such proportions that they become mainstream, such as the filmography of cult directors like John Waters , John Sayles , John Cassavetes , Armando Bó , Eliseo Subiela , Ruggero Deodato , Takeshi Kitano , Abbas Kiarostami or Jesús Franco . Certain television series develop

560-433: A cult success, particularly her third studio album, Emotion . Japanese dub and dream pop band Fishmans gained a dedicated online cult following after the death of frontman Shinji Sato via word-of-mouth spread on imageboard and music forum sites throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti has gained a cult following after releasing his second studio album Whole Lotta Red . Brands can also attain

630-480: A cult-classic status among followers of hardcore punk. Some alternative albums have also developed cult followings. The American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails released their 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine to modest success on the Billboard 200 , peaking at number 75. It developed an underground popularity in subsequent years and sold enough to receive a platinum RIAA certification in 1995, becoming one of

700-438: A grocer, was an authoritarian, and in his unpublished autobiography Many Parts, Fort mentions the physical abuse he endured from his father. Fort's biographer, Damon Knight , suggested that his distrust of authority began in his treatment as a child. Fort developed a strong sense of independence during his early years. As a young adult, Fort wanted to be a naturalist , collecting sea shells , minerals, and birds. Although Fort

770-400: A group would be spiritualists, zealots, and those opposed to a science that rejected them; it would attract those who believed in their chosen phenomena—an attitude exactly contrary to Forteanism. Fort did hold unofficial meetings and had a long history of getting together informally with many of New York City's literati such as Dreiser and Hecht at their apartments, where they would talk, have

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840-602: A meal, and then listen to brief reports. The magazine Fortean Times (first published in November 1973) is a proponent of Fortean journalism, combining humor, skepticism, and serious research into subjects that scientists and other respectable authorities often disdain. Another such group is the International Fortean Organization (INFO), which was formed during the early 1960s (incorporated in 1965) by brothers and writers Ron and Paul Willis, who acquired much of

910-708: A new and exhilarating emotion that will color and correct all his future reading of less heady scientific literature." Examples of the odd phenomena in Fort's books include many occurrences of the sort variously referred to as occult , supernatural , and paranormal . Reported events include teleportation (a term Fort is generally credited with inventing), falls of frogs, fishes, and inorganic materials , spontaneous human combustion , ball lightning (a term explicitly used by Fort), poltergeist events, unaccountable noises and explosions, levitation , unidentified flying objects , unexplained disappearances , giant wheels of light in

980-444: A performing artist, or an artwork in some medium . The latter is often called a cult classic . A film, book, musical artist, television series, or video game, among other things, is said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase . A common component of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans have to the object of the cult following, often identifying themselves and other fans as members of

1050-404: A point of reference for those who engage in such studies today. More than a few modern authors of fiction and nonfiction who have written about the influence of Fort are sincere devotees of Fort. One of the most notable is British philosopher John Michell, who wrote the introduction to the edition of Lo! , published by John Brown in 1996. Michell says: "Fort, of course, made no attempt at defining

1120-422: A sentence, Fort's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels." By contrast, Jerome Clark , wrote that Fort was "essentially a satirist hugely skeptical of human beings'—especially scientists'—claims to ultimate knowledge". Clark described Fort's writing style as

1190-471: A short chapter in his book Failure, a Writer's Life on Charles Fort, characterising Fort's prose as "well-nigh unreadable, yet strangely exhilarating". Noted UK paranormalist, Fortean, and ordained priest Lionel Fanthorpe presented the Fortean TV series on Channel 4 , between 1997 and 1998. Paul Thomas Anderson 's popular movie Magnolia (1999) has an underlying theme of unexplained events, taken from

1260-440: A small team which continues as of 2023 . One of the earliest cult classics in rock was The Velvet Underground 's 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico . While hugely influential, it originally flopped commercially and alienated radio stations, music retailers, and magazines, who found the content too controversial to market. Over the next decade, it received greater recognition from rock critics , who helped make

1330-481: A syndicated newspaper panel series named Ripley's Believe It or Not! Wilson called Fort's writing style "atrocious" and "almost unreadable", yet despite his objections to Fort's prose, he allowed that "the facts are certainly astonishing enough." In the end, Fort's work gave him "the feeling that no matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in

1400-530: A tenement tale, was published. Reviews were mostly positive, but it was unsuccessful commercially. During 1915, Fort began to write two books, titled X and Y , the first dealing with the idea that beings on Mars were controlling events on Earth, and the second with the postulation of a sinister civilization extant at the South Pole. These books caught the attention of writer Theodore Dreiser , who tried to get them published, but to no avail. Discouraged, Fort burnt

1470-503: A world-view, but the evidence he uncovered gave him an 'acceptance' of reality as something far more magical and subtly organized than is considered proper today." Stephen King also uses the works of Fort to illuminate his main characters, notably It and Firestarter . In Firestarter , the parents of a pyrokinetically gifted child are advised to read Fort's Wild Talents rather than the works of baby doctor Benjamin Spock . Loren Coleman

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1540-692: Is a well-known cryptozoologist , author of The Unidentified (1975) dedicated to Fort, and Mysterious America , which Fortean Times termed a Fortean classic. Coleman terms himself the first Vietnam era conscientious objector to base his pacificist ideas on Fortean thoughts. Jerome Clark has described himself as a "skeptical Fortean". Mike Dash is another Fortean, bringing his historian's training to bear on all manner of odd reports, while being careful to avoid uncritically accepting any orthodoxy, be it that of fringe devotees or mainstream science. Science-fiction writers of note including Philip K. Dick , Robert Heinlein , and Robert Anton Wilson were also fans of

1610-429: Is also concerned with ostensibly paranormal phenomena, such as apparitions and poltergeists , or " psi " (parapsychology, e.g., ESP , psychokinesis and telepathy ). According to Truzzi, before an explanation can be considered valid within anomalistics, it must fulfill four criteria. It must be based on conventional knowledge and reasoning; it must be kept simple and be unburdened by speculation or overcomplexity;

1680-501: Is especially loved within the hippie subculture, while Hocus Pocus (1993) holds cult status among American women born in the 1980s and early 1990s. Certain mainstream icons can become cult icons in a different context for certain people. Reefer Madness (1936) was originally intended to warn youth against the use of marijuana , but because of its ridiculous plot, overwhelming number of factual errors and cheap look, it became watched by audiences of marijuana smokers and has gained

1750-405: Is portrayed by Andrew Leman . American crime and science-fiction author Fredric Brown included an excerpt from Fort's book Wild Talents as an epigraph to his novel Compliments of a Fiend . In that quote, Fort speculated about the disappearance of two people named Ambrose and wondered "was someone collecting Ambroses?" Brown's novel concerns the disappearance of a character named Ambrose, and

1820-487: The Hitman franchise to be the first and last great Hitman game, despite its outdated controls and gameplay, and not receiving deserved acclaim at the time, Alan Wake (2010), an action-adventure game whose story is modeled similar to a thriller television series format and has gained loyal followings despite its underselling, Spec Ops: The Line (2012), a critically acclaimed third-person shooter known for its portrayal of

1890-571: The London Fortean Society , Edinburgh Fortean Society , in Edinburgh and the Isle of Wight . Religious scholars such as Jeffrey J. Kripal and Joseph P. Laycock view Fort as a pioneering theorist who helped define "paranormal" as a discursive category and provided insight into its importance in human experience. Consistently critical of how science studied abnormal phenomena in his day, Fort remains

1960-613: The UK Albums Chart , but only 105 in the US. The Man Who Sold the World ' s influence on future musicians, such as The Cure , Siouxsie and the Banshees , and Gary Numan , as well as the dark wave genre, lent it a cult following in the music scene. Punk rock has produced several albums with cult followings. The Ramones ' 1976 self-titled debut album sold poorly, but was hugely influential on

2030-423: The " horrors of war " and the deep psychological impact of armed conflict on soldiers , and Dwarf Fortress (2006), a construction and management simulation and roguelike indie video game known for its roguelike cuboidal-grid world model and sometimes difficult text-based interface , rich and complex simulation gameplay, similarly rich procedural world generation and history of continuous development by

2100-475: The 1920s and '30s works of Charles Fort. Fortean author Loren Coleman has written a chapter about this motion picture, entitled "The Teleporting Animals and Magnolia ", in one of his recent books. The film has many hidden Fortean themes, notably "falling frogs". In one scene, one of Fort's books is visible on a table in a library and an end credit thanks him by name. In the 2011 film The Whisperer in Darkness , Fort

2170-499: The American hardcore punk band Bad Brains released their self-titled debut exclusively on cassette, struggling to gain an audience in the vinyl-dominated marketplace. The appearance of the single " Pay to Cum " on the compilation album Let Them Eat Jellybeans! (1981) helped Bad Brains develop a following in the UK, while the album's musical innovation and growing influence later ensured it

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2240-646: The Australian soap opera Prisoner: Cell Block H , the Indian soap opera that ran for eight years Kasautii Zindagii Kay and the mock animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast aired on Cartoon Network , which then spawned many spin-offs and other shows that had a similar sense of humor as Coast to Coast when Adult Swim became a block on the network. A large proportion of the titles aforementioned within this article might not be considered cult classics due to their wide saturation within contemporary audiences, though

2310-555: The Damned (1919), influenced numerous science-fiction writers with their skepticism and as sources of ideas. "Fortean" phenomena are events which seem to challenge the boundaries of accepted scientific knowledge, and the Fortean Times (founded as The News in 1973 and renamed in 1976) investigates such phenomena. Fort was born in Albany, New York, in 1874, of Dutch ancestry. His father,

2380-746: The Department of Science and Technology Studies at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute describes it as being "the scientific study of anomalies defined as claims of phenomena not generally accepted by the bulk of the scientific community." Anomalistics covers several sub-disciplines, including ufology , cryptozoology , and parapsychology . Researchers involved in the field have included ufologist J. Allen Hynek and cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans , and parapsychologist John Hayes. According to Marcello Truzzi , Professor of Sociology at Eastern Michigan University , anomalistics works on

2450-479: The Fortean Society included prominent science-fiction writers such as Knight and Eric Frank Russell . Fort, however, rejected the society and refused the presidency, which went to his friend Dreiser; he was lured to its inaugural meeting by false telegrams. As a strict nonauthoritarian, Fort refused to establish himself as an authority, and further objected on the grounds that those who would be attracted by such

2520-523: The New York Public Library, where they are still available to researchers. Material created by Fort has also survived as part of the papers of Theodore Dreiser, held at the University of Pennsylvania. From this research, Fort wrote four books: The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo! (1931), and Wild Talents (1932). One book was written between New Lands and Lo! but it

2590-745: The Reading Room of the British Museum . Fort lived most of his life in the Bronx. He was, like his wife, fond of movies, and often took her from their Ryer Avenue apartment to a movie theater nearby, stopping at an adjacent newsstand for an arm full of various newspapers. Fort frequented the parks near the Bronx, where he sifted through piles of clippings. He often rode the subway down to the main Public Library on Fifth Avenue, where he spent many hours reading scientific journals, newspapers, and periodicals from around

2660-539: The Season " becoming a surprise hit the following year. While the Zombies disbanded just before its release, the album's status grew as a cult classic in the following decades. David Bowie 's 1970 album The Man Who Sold the World also did not impact the record charts on its original release while receiving mixed reviews from critics. After Bowie achieved mainstream success in the early 1970s, its 1972 reissue reached number 24 on

2730-706: The accepted theories and beliefs of the time. Fort took thousands of notes during his lifetime. In his undated short story "The Giant, the Insect and The Philanthropic-looking Old Gentleman" (first published by the International Fortean Organization in issue No. 70 of the INFO Journal: Science and the Unknown ), Fort spoke of having often toyed with the idea of burning a collection of some 48,000 notes, and of one day letting "several" notes be blown away by

2800-522: The actuality of paranormal phenomena, a belief with which Fort may not have agreed. Most generally, Forteans have a wide interest in unexplained phenomena, concerned mostly with the natural world, and have a developed "agnostic skepticism " regarding the anomalies they note and discuss. For Hecht, as an example, being a Fortean meant hallowing a pronounced distrust of authority in all its forms, whether religious, scientific, political, philosophical, or otherwise. It did not, of course, include an actual belief in

2870-470: The album more popular. The Beatles ' self-titled album known as The White Album at first received mixed reviews from music critics who considered its satirical songs unimportant and apolitical amid the turbulent political and social climate of 1968, but later attracted acclaim, and has since become a cult classic. The Zombies ' 1968 album Odessey and Oracle was also originally a critical and commercial flop, failing to chart despite its single " Time of

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2940-727: The anomalous data enumerated in Fort's works. The Fortean Society was initiated at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 26, 1931, by some of Fort's friends, including such significant writers as Hecht, Dreiser, and Alexander Woollcott , and organized by fellow American writer Thayer, half in earnest and half in the spirit of great good humor, like the works of Fort himself. The board of founders included Dreiser, Hecht, Tarkington, Powys, Aaron Sussman , former Puck editor Harry Leon Wilson , Woollcott, and J. David Stern , publisher of The Philadelphia Record . Active members of

3010-498: The border to camp followings. Fans may become involved in a subculture of fandom , either via conventions , online communities or through activities such as writing series-related fiction , costume creation, replica prop and model building, or creating their own audio or video productions from the formats and characters. There is not always a clear difference between cult and mainstream media . Professors Xavier Mendik and Ernest Mathijs, authors of 100 Cult Films , argue that

3080-457: The burden of proof must be placed on the claimant and not the researcher; and the more extraordinary the claim, the higher the level of proof required. Bauer states that nothing can be deemed as proof within anomalistics unless it can gain "acceptance by the established disciplines". Cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular

3150-587: The creation of a "cottage industry" selling memorabilia to the EarthBound fandom , Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001), an unusually mature 3D platform game for the Nintendo 64 celebrated for its dark humor and story, Yume Nikki (2004), a surreal free-to-play Japanese horror game , Psychonauts (2005), an initially unsuccessful platformer that has consistently kept one of the strongest fan followings, Hitman: Blood Money (2006), considered to many long-time fans of

3220-447: The creator of anomalistics as a field of research, and he named biologist Ivan T. Sanderson and Sourcebook Project compiler William R. Corliss as being instrumental in expanding anomalistics to introduce a more conventional perspective into the field. Henry Bauer , emeritus professor of science studies at Virginia Tech , writes that anomalistics is "a politically correct term for the study of bizarre claims", while David J. Hess of

3290-437: The design of later video games. An example of a cult video game is Ico (2001), an initial commercial flop that gained a large following for its unique gameplay and minimalist aesthetics, and was noted as influencing the design of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (2013) and Rime (2017), among other games. Other games that have cult followings include EarthBound (1994), another unsuccessful game that later resulted in

3360-430: The devoted following among these films make them cult classics. In many cases, films that have cult followings may have been financial flops during their theatrical box office run, and even received mixed or mostly negative reviews by mainstream media, but are still considered a major success by small core groups or communities of fans. Some cults are only popular within a certain subculture . The film Woodstock (1970)

3430-516: The first independently released albums to accomplish the feat. Also in 1989, Nirvana 's debut album Bleach was released to some positive notice from critics, but failed to impact record charts, until the band's massively successful 1991 album Nevermind drew further interest to it. Radiohead 's albums Kid A and Amnesiac both received mixed reviews from fans and critics, but later attracted some praise and became cult classics. The R&B singer Bilal 's second album, Love for Sale , became

3500-487: The foreword to New Lands. After Fort's death, the writer Colin Wilson said that he suspected that Fort took few if any of his "explanations" seriously, and noted that Fort made "no attempt to present a coherent argument". He described Fort as "a patron saint of cranks" while at the same time he compared Fort to Robert Ripley , a popular contemporary cartoonist and writer who found major success publishing similar oddities in

3570-602: The kidnapper calls himself the "Ambrose collector" as an obvious homage to Fort. In Blue Balliett 's bestselling children's novel, Chasing Vermeer , Fort is given several mentions throughout the book, such as Fort's Lo! being found and thoroughly read by one of the book's protagonists, and being an inspiration to the main characters. Fort published five books during his lifetime, including one novel. All five are available on-line (see External links section below). Posthumous editions : Anomalistics Wescott credited journalist and researcher Charles Fort as being

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3640-462: The manuscripts, but soon began work on the book that would change the course of his life, The Book of the Damned (1919), which Dreiser helped to get published. The title referred to "damned" data that Fort collected, phenomena for which science could not account, and that was thus rejected or ignored. Fort and Anna lived intermittently in London between 1920 and 1928, so Fort could carry out research in

3710-622: The material of the Fortean Society, which had largely ceased by 1959 with the death of Thayer. INFO publishes the INFO Journal: Science and the Unknown and organizes the FortFest, the world's first continuously running conference on anomalous phenomena dedicated to the spirit of Charles Fort. INFO, since the mid-1960s, also provides audio CDs and filmed DVDs of notable conference speakers, including Colin Wilson , John Michell , Graham Hancock , John Anthony West , William Corliss , John Keel , and Joscelyn Godwin . Other notable Fortean societies include

3780-528: The novel which became Sinister Barrier , in which he names Fort explicitly as an influence. Russell included some of Fort's data in the story. In chapter 3 of William Gaddis ’s 1955 novel The Recognitions , protagonist Wyatt Gwyon twice quotes from Fort’s The Book of the Damned --“By the damned, I mean the excluded”; “By prostitution, I mean usefulness”—and paraphrases him from the same book: “Charles Fort says maybe we’re fished for, by supercelestial beings.” Ivan T. Sanderson , Scottish naturalist and writer,

3850-450: The oceans , and animals found outside their normal ranges (see phantom cat ). He offered many reports of out-of-place artifacts (OOPArts), strange items found in unlikely locations. He was also perhaps the first person to explain strange human appearances and disappearances by the hypothesis of alien abduction , and was an early proponent of the extraterrestrial hypothesis , specifically suggesting that strange lights or objects sighted in

3920-469: The principles that "unexplained phenomena exist", but that most can be explained through the application of scientific scrutiny. Further, that something remains plausible until it has been conclusively proven not only implausible but actually impossible, something that science does not do. In 2000, he wrote that anomalistics has four basic functions: In the view of Truzzi, anomalistics has two core tenets governing its scope: According to Wescott, anomalistics

3990-537: The reveal of Laura Palmer 's murderer, who was left intentionally unknown by Lynch. Eventually, the show was canceled, ending on a cliffhanger. It was not until 2017 that Twin Peaks returned as a limited series on Showtime , ending one of the longest hiatuses in television history. Series often considered cult classics include the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who , the ITC sci-fi thriller series The Prisoner ,

4060-430: The same inheritance was divided between Fort and his other brother, Raymond. Fort's experience as a journalist, coupled with his wit and contrarian nature, prepared him for his real-life work, ridiculing the pretensions of scientific positivism and the tendency of journalists and editors of newspapers and scientific journals to rationalize. Fort wrote 10 novels, although only one, The Outcast Manufacturers (1909),

4130-454: The series would be renewed for 20 additional episodes (released weekly) on the streaming service Hulu . Star Trek was cancelled after three seasons, but in broadcast syndication it gained a more substantial following, ultimately spawning a successful media franchise . David Lynch 's Twin Peaks ran on ABC for two seasons from 1990 to 1991, initially garnering high ratings and critical acclaim. Ratings and reception declined following

4200-521: The skies might be alien spacecraft. Fort's work has inspired some people to consider themselves "Forteans". The first of these was Hecht, a screenwriter, who in a review of The Book of the Damned , declared, "I am the first disciple of Charles Fort... henceforth, I am a Fortean". Precisely what is encompassed by the term "Fortean" is a matter of great debate; the term is widely applied to people ranging from Fortean purists dedicated to Fort's methods and interests, to those with open and active acceptance of

4270-399: The term cult classics may have loose classifications such as an initially unsuccessful release or large number of cliches (intentional or otherwise) leading to such a broad range of classification relative to personal experiences of its assigner. Some video games, often those with unique concepts that fail to gain traction with the mainstream audience, attract cult followings and can influence

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4340-402: The then-young punk movement, and eventually sold well enough to earn a gold sales certification in 2014. The British post-punk band Magazine also released their debut, Real Life (1978), to little popular success, reaching only number 29 in the UK. Its subsequent acclaim as an innovative and influential work in the burgeoning post-punk genre earned it a reputation as a cult classic. In 1982,

4410-521: The wind because he couldn't be bothered to save them (they were supposedly returned to him by a gentleman on a neighbouring park bench). The notes were kept on cards and scraps of paper in shoeboxes, in Fort's cramped handwriting. More than once, depressed and discouraged, Fort destroyed his work, but began anew. Some notes were published by the Fortean Society magazine Doubt , and upon the death of its editor Tiffany Thayer in 1959, most were donated to

4480-417: The work of Fort. Alfred Bester 's teleportation-themed novel, The Stars My Destination , pays homage to the coiner of the term by naming the first teleporter "Charles Fort Jaunte". Fort's work, of compilation and commentary on anomalous phenomena has been carried on by William R. Corliss , whose self-published books and notes bring Fort's collections up to date. In 1939, Eric Frank Russell first published

4550-789: The world. Fort also had literary friends who gathered at various apartments, including his own, to drink and talk. Fort was pleasantly surprised to find himself the subject of a cult following . Talk arose of the formation of a formal organization to study the type of odd events related by his books. Jerome Clark writes, "Fort himself, who did nothing to encourage any of this, found the idea hilarious. Yet he faithfully corresponded with his readers, some of whom had taken to investigating reports of anomalous phenomena and sending their findings to Fort". Suffering from poor health and failing eyesight, Fort distrusted doctors and did not seek medical help for his worsening health. Rather, he emphasized completing Wild Talents . After he collapsed on May 3, 1932, Fort

4620-461: Was a devotee of Fort's work, and referenced it heavily in several of his own books on unexplained phenomena, notably Things (1967), and More Things (1969). Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier 's The Morning of the Magicians was also heavily influenced by Fort's work and mentions it often. Author Donald Jeffries referenced Charles Fort repeatedly in his 2007 novel The Unreals . Joe Milutis writes

4690-595: Was abandoned and absorbed into Lo!. Fort suggested that a Super- Sargasso Sea exists, into which all lost things go, and justified his theories by noting that they fit the data as well as the conventional explanations. As to whether Fort believed this theory, or any of his other proposals, he himself noted, "I believe nothing of my own that I have ever written". Notable literary contemporaries of Fort's openly admired his writing style and befriended him. Among these were: Ben Hecht , John Cowper Powys , Sherwood Anderson , Clarence Darrow , and Booth Tarkington , who wrote

4760-483: Was described as curious and intelligent, he was not a good student. An autodidact , his considerable knowledge of the world was mainly due to his extensive personal reading. At age 18, Fort left New York to embark on a world tour to "put some capital in the bank of experience". He travelled through the western United States, Scotland , and England , until becoming ill in Southern Africa . When he returned home, he

4830-527: Was nursed by Anna Filing, whom he had known since childhood. They were married on October 26, 1896, at an Episcopal church . For a few years, the newly married couple lived in poverty in the Bronx while Fort tried to earn a living writing stories for newspapers and magazines. In 1906, he began to collect accounts of anomalies. His uncle Frank A. Fort died in 1916, and a modest inheritance gave Fort enough money to quit his various day jobs and to write full-time. In 1917, Fort's brother Clarence died; his portion of

4900-458: Was rushed to Royal Hospital . Later that same day, Fort's publisher visited him to show him the advance copies of Wild Talents . Fort died only hours afterward, probably of leukemia . He was interred in the Fort family plot in Albany, New York. For more than 30 years, Fort visited libraries in New York City and London, assiduously reading scientific journals, newspapers, and magazines, collecting notes on phenomena that were not explained well by

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