Fans of Charles Fort
Although Charles Fort was largely criticized in his day as well as in today’s society for many of his beliefs and theories, he also had many followers and people who believed and praised him for the work he was doing to open people’s minds about the things that could be and the rejection of conventional science. These fans of Charles Fort called themselves Forteans.
Those that call themselves Forteans however, have varying degrees in regards to what they believe of Fort’s work and what they do not. The extremists, or purists, agree with every idea and theory that Charles Fort spoke or wrote about. Others on the other hand, agreed wholeheartedly that there definitely was something to the paranormal although Fort only acknowledged that possibility and never pronounced it as a reality. Others still seem to choose certain aspects of Fort’s studies that they believe and others that they reject yet, these fans may still call themselves Forteans.
Fans of Charles Fort took their admiration to an official level when Tiffany Thayer created the Fortean Society in 1931. Although the society was meant to be partially for discussing Fort’s works and theories and partially in jest as much of Fort’s work was, Fort did not accept the offer of being the society’s president. This was due to the fact that Fort never wanted to be viewed as an expert of anything and did not wish to wield the power that comes with it. Fort dismissed the idea of authority at all turns and he refused to take the position because of that. Although Fort did not wish to participate in any structured sort of meeting place, he did often visit his friends Ben Hecht and Theodore Dreiser. The men would use this as an opportunity to talk about matters of interest, take notes, and share good food and wine. These types of meetings were far more interesting to Fort and so, it may be contradictory that Fortean groups were ever set up and still continue to meet today.
Many of these societies still exist today, one of which publishes a magazine called Fortean Times. This magazine publication combines humor, a constant questioning of modern science, and insight into the different beliefs and theories that Fort created. This publication is widely criticized by conventional scientists. The International Fortean Society was also created shortly after the Fortean Society disintegrated in 1959 after the founder Tiffany Thayer died. The International Fortean Society was created in the early 1960s. This society uses many of Fort’s original writings which they obtained from the original society.
Although Fort’s ideas have been widely criticized from his first studies and writings, his work continues to be admired, studied, and discussed with many fans and followers today. It’s also believed that Charles Fort has had much influence on the way we view paranormal phenomenon today by those who are fans of his work and even those that are critics.