Fortean Times

Fortean Times, named after maverick American writer Charles Fort, is one of the world’s most individual and best loved magazines. For over 35 years FT has been chronicling the stranger side of life, delivering a heady mix of weird world news, up-to-date reports and features on every aspect of the unexplained: myths, monsters, ghosts and UFOs rub shoulders with ancient wonders and future science, while expert columnists bring you the latest on everything from cryptozoology to conspiracy theory. Open-minded, well informed and maintaining a healthy sense of humour, FT is the only place to go for a sensible look at our mad planet – it will change the way you see the world.

Fortean Times

EDITORIAL

FELINES MAKE THE HEADLINES • Cornish cat hero, Miami miracle moggy, plus peripatetic pussies galore

EXTRA! EXTRA! • FT’S FAVOURITE HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

CLOWN WORLD • Once again, the weeks around Hallowe’en saw an outbreak of scary clown behaviour

SIDELINES…

HAVANA SYNDROME • Is the US now taking the mystery more seriously?

TIKTOK TICS • Teenage girls and young women are reporting bizarre tics and sharing them on social media

WHAT A CROP! • Autumn, as the poet might say, is the season of mists and… giant vegetables

SONGLINES: TRACKING THE SEVEN SISTERS • The ancient creation myths of Australia’s First Nations people come to Plymouth, where NIGEL WATSON traces the songlines and experiences the story of the Seven Sisters and their flight across the sky from a demonic pursuer.

ARCHÆOLOGY • A MONTHLY EXCAVATION OF ODDITIES AND ANTIQUITIES

CLASSICAL CORNER • FORTEANA FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD COMPILED BY BARRY BALDWIN

Quantum computing • DAVID HAMBLING considers the possibilities, problems and implications of tech’s next big thing

GOING NUCLEAR • Fears grow that Chernobyl’s rector core is waking up – but at least we have vodka from the Exclusion Zone and irradiated peanuts

The persistence of visions • Why do we still believe in ghosts? Simple, says ALAN MURDIE – because we continue to see them

WITCH HUNTERS • Chechnya cracks down on “forbidden acts”, the Metropolitan Police try a sensitive approach and TikTok goes witchcraft mad…

ALIEN ZOO • NEWS FROM THE CRYPTOZOOLOGICAL GARDEN

THE CONSPIRASPHERE • Whatever happened to QAnon? That depends who you ask, but NOEL ROONEY finds that Q’s lingering spectre is proving useful to the mainstream media in down-branding dissent

STRANGE CONTINENT • ULRICH MAGIN rounds up the weirdness from Europe: including a homing terrier and a botched exorcism

NECROLOG • This month, we say goodbye to the man who taught sign language to a chimpanzee and a faithful recorder of the everyday sounds of London

FAIRIES, FOLKLORE AND FORTEANA • SIMON YOUNG FILES A NEW REPORT FROM THE INTERFACE OF STRANGE PHENOMENA AND FOLK BELIEF

Wanting to believe • NIGEL WATSON gets an early look at a new 10-part series devoted to the UFO mystery

Have you seen the aliens today? • JENNY RANDLES thinks it’s time we listened to non-Western accounts of close encounters

SPAWN OF THE BEAST THE CHILDREN OF ALEISTER CROWLEY • What was it like growing up with The Wickedest Man in the World as your father? Not always easy, would appear to be the answer; and, these days, Social Services would certainly have been involved. IAN SIMMONS looks back at the strange and sometimes tragic lives of the Crowley clan.

VOICE OF THE ANCESTORS THE MYSTERIOUS BULLROARER • The bullroarer – a humble object usually made of wood and string – is found all over the world, and yet the mysterious rituals and traditions associated with it are remarkably similar from one culture to another. STEVE MARSHALL explores the history and...