Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 - May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena. (According to some sources he was born on August 9.) Fort is best known for his books, in which he compiled — with his characteristic wry, tongue in cheek sense of humor — many accounts of odd, inexplicable or strange events, usually taken from newspapers or scientific journals. Fort's books sold well, and remain in print. The term Forteana is sometimes used to describe various anomalous phenomena.Including:

• Charles Fort - Overview
• Charles Fort - Fort and the unexplained
• Charles Fort - Followers and fans of Fort
• Charles Fort - Quotations
• Charles Fort - Books by Fort
• Charles Fort - Books about Fort

Read more here: » Charles Fort: Encyclopedia - Charles Fort

Book of the Damned was the first published nonfiction work of the author Charles Fort, first published in 1919. It deals with various types of anomalous phenomenon, including UFOs, strange falls of fish and other materials from the sky, odd weather patterns, the possible existence of giants and fairies, disappearances of people under strange circumstances, and many other phenomena. Book of the Damned - Overview and Fort's thesis. The title of the book referred to what he termed the "damned" d ...

Including:

• Book of the Damned - Overview and Fort's thesis
• Book of the Damned - Content of the book
• Book of the Damned - Fort's theory and criticism

Read more here: » Book of the Damned: Encyclopedia - Book of the Damned

Of Fort's four books, this volume deals most frequently and scathingly with astronomy (continuing from his previous book New Lands). The book also deals extensively with other subjects, including paranormal phenomena (see parapsychology), which was explored in his first book, The Book of the Damned. Fort is widely credited to have coined the now-popular term teleportation in this book, and here he ties his previous statements on what he referred to as the Super-Sargasso Sea into his beliefs on teleportation. He would later expand this theory to include purported mental and psychic phenomena in his forth and f ...

See also:

Lo!, Lo! - Overview, Lo! - Part One: Teleportation, Lo! - Part Two: Astronomy

Read more here: » Lo!: Encyclopedia II - Lo! - Overview

Fort's relationship with the study of anomalous phenomena is frequently misunderstood and misrepresented. For over thirty years Charles Fort sat in the libraries of New York and London, assiduously reading scientific journals, newspapers, and magazines, collecting notes upon phenomena that lay outside the accepted theories and beliefs of the time. Examples of these phenomena include many of what are variously referred to as occult, supernatural, and paranormal — for instance, teleportation (a term Fort is generally credited with coi ...

See also:

Charles Fort, Charles Fort - Overview, Charles Fort - Fort and the unexplained, Charles Fort - Followers and fans of Fort, Charles Fort - Quotations, Charles Fort - Books by Fort, Charles Fort - Books about Fort

Read more here: » Charles Fort: Encyclopedia II - Charles Fort - Fort and the unexplained

The title of the book referred to what he termed the "damned" data - data which had been damned, or excluded, by modern science because of its not conforming to accepted guidelines. The way Fort sees it, mainstream scientists are trend followers who believe in what is accepted and popular, and never really look for a truth that may be contrary to what they believe. He also compares the close-mindedness of many scientists to that of religious fundamentalists, implying that the supposed "battle" between science and religion is just a smokescre ...

See also:

Book of the Damned, Book of the Damned - Overview and Fort's thesis, Book of the Damned - Content of the book, Book of the Damned - Fort's theory and criticism

Read more here: » Book of the Damned: Encyclopedia II - Book of the Damned - Overview and Fort's thesis

Fort established his thesis for this particular book early on - that some sort of mysterious force, known as the "cosmic joker" (in his words), is responsible for the teleportation of people, animals, and materials. This thesis would be revised later to accomdate Fort's research on psychic phenomena in Wild Talents. Fort picks up, with this book, largely where he left off in The Book of the Damned: mysterious falls of animals and strange materials, flying stones, poltergeist activity, etc., and incorporates these strange ...

See also:

Lo!, Lo! - Overview, Lo! - Part One: Teleportation, Lo! - Part Two: Astronomy

Read more here: » Lo!: Encyclopedia II - Lo! - Part One: Teleportation

The first few chapters of the book deal largely with explaining Fort's thesis (as mentioned above). As a particular instance, he sights the strange glowing in the sky worldwide, which supposedly resulted due to the 1883 eruption of the volcano Krakatoa. Ford shows that such phenomenon had in fact preceded the eruption by several months, and suggests that the scientists, who had been puzzled by the phenomenon initially, used Krakatoa as a convenient explan ...

See also:

Book of the Damned, Book of the Damned - Overview and Fort's thesis, Book of the Damned - Content of the book, Book of the Damned - Fort's theory and criticism

Read more here: » Book of the Damned: Encyclopedia II - Book of the Damned - Content of the book

Fort's work has inspired very many to consider themselves as Forteans. The first of these was the screenwriter Ben Hecht, 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 'Fortean' is a matter of great debate; the term is widely applied from every position from a Fortean purists dedicated to Fort's methods and interests, to those with open and active acceptence of the actuality of paranormal phenomena, a position Fort wou ...

See also:

Charles Fort, Charles Fort - Overview, Charles Fort - Fort and the unexplained, Charles Fort - Followers and fans of Fort, Charles Fort - Quotations, Charles Fort - Books by Fort, Charles Fort - Books about Fort

Read more here: » Charles Fort: Encyclopedia II - Charles Fort - Followers and fans of Fort

Charles Hoy Fort was born in 1874 in Albany, New York, of Dutch ancestry. His grocer father was something of an authoritarian, and was reportedly abusive. Some have suggested that Fort's distrust of authority has its roots in his father's treatment. In any case, Fort developed a strong sense of independence in his youth. While still rather young, Fort was a budding naturalist who would collect sea shells, minerals, and birds. Curious and intelligent, the young Fort did not excel at school, though he was quite a wit and full of knowledge about the world — ...

See also:

Charles Fort, Charles Fort - Overview, Charles Fort - Fort and the unexplained, Charles Fort - Followers and fans of Fort, Charles Fort - Quotations, Charles Fort - Books by Fort, Charles Fort - Books about Fort

Read more here: » Charles Fort: Encyclopedia II - Charles Fort - Overview