Edinburgh Fortean Society

@edinburghforteansociety

Oldest Fortean Society in Scotland.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· 8d

Just saw the Eggclipse! (It was quite tasty) #Eclipse #Egg

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· 16d

No FortSoc event this month, some local performing arts festival has the venue. To keep you entertained until next month, have a little poem I wrote for our Fortean Poetry night. #ForteanPoetry #cryptid

There's a cryptid in my garden
I don't know what it is
It's time to take some photographs
For full analysis

There's a cryptid in my garden
It's got a swishy tail
I'll measure distance and the tree
To give a sense of scale

There's a cryptid in my garden
It's leaving lots of scat
I'll send it off for testing
To see if it's real Big Cat

There's a cryptid in my garden
Oh no, it's just just a moggy
In my defence it's rather big
And outside's rather foggy.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· 20d

A scene from Star Wars: A New Hope. Luke, a young farmboy, is kneeling down and C3-PO watches on while R2-D2 projects a hologram of the Absolute Unit sheep.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· 27d

Jeff Goldblum as Zeus in the 2024 TV series "Kaos". He is dressed in a tracksuit and apron and stands next to a BBQ in front of his mansion.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jul 6

Next EdFortSoc: Wed 8th July We have done Fortean books, music and films. Its now time for the one you have all been waiting for – Fortean Poetry! A chance to regale us all with your favourite Fortean poems and a chance to find out what we are managing to squeeze into the category.

Next EdFortSoc: Wednesday 8th of July

We have done Fortean books, music and films. Its now time for the one you have all been waiting for – Fortean Poetry! (Not to be confused with Vogon poetry)

A chance to regale us all with your favourite Fortean poems and a chance to find out what we are managing to squeeze into the category. The only criterion is it must not just be a spoken version of a song lyric.

If you wish to take part with a reading or a dramatic recitation just give me a shout so we don’t have a dozen people trying to do the same poem.

Wednesday 8th of July

The Royal Oak

1 Infirmary Street

Edinburgh

7.30pm, £1

A reminder – there will be no formal meeting in August due to some obscure local festival called the Fringe.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 28

Just scanning it now...

A still from the show. Darren Naish, PhD, Author/Paleontologist. Paused at the wrong moment.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 23

An X post showing a box of Dinosaur Smarties sweets with a comment by Nick Slawicz saying "Erm, they're called palaeontologists, actually."

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 21

The pole in Friday's celebration in Dössberget, Dalarna also had erectile issues as it was discovered that the bolt that would hold it up was broken so they didn't even bother getting it up ☹️ #Dössberget #midsommar

The midsummer celebrations in Dössberget, Sweden. A Swedish folk band stands by while a number of celebrants in traditional Swedish folk costumes attempt to raise a midsummer pole, a large mast decorated in green garlands.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· May 28

And everyone who donated got a pin badge :)

A metal pin badge of the Cerne Abbas giant, a chalk hill carving that depicts the outline of a naked man holding a large club. This badge shows him from the rear, showing off his buttocks instead of his famously enormous and erect dangly bits.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· May 25

The legend - the Ättestupa - from our wanderings in Sweden. (Jättadalen, Västra Götaland) ♫Ye canny shove yer grannie aff a cliff Naw ye canny shove yer grannie aff a cliff...♪

A photo of an information sign saying "Did you know... according to legend, the steep cliff face here was used for ritual senicides, meaning that people threw down the elderly or forced them to jump when they could no longer fend for themselves. This, however, is a so-called factoid - a myth that has become a truth..."

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· May 13

Maybe I should break out my Gef t-shirt again!

A black t-shirt with a cartoon mongoose and a speech bubble saying "I am a little extra, extra clever mongoose".

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Apr 18

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Apr 11

It's about Shaddam IV haunting a hotel?

Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV in "Dune: Part Two". An elderly man with combed-back white hair and white clothing.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jan 12

Next EdFortSoc: Wed 14th January @charlespaxton4.bsky.social will be talking on Nessies Before Nessie: A Scientific and Cultural History of Scottish Sea Serpents Until 1900 The Royal Oak 1 Infirmary Street Edinburgh 7.30pm, £1

Nessies Before Nessie: A Scientific and Cultural History of Scottish Sea Serpents Until 1900

Before the Loch Ness Monster, Scotland had sea serpents. Giant marine serpentiforms were reported around Scotland throughout the nineteenth century. Starting with reports and strandings in the islands, there were approximately 69 reports within Scottish marine waters until 1900 plus a number of misidentifications and hoaxes. Until 1873, all but one report, came from the regions of Scotland that were associated with Norse influence. Scottish attitudes to the existence of sea serpents in the period, transformed from irreverent scepticism to a more widespread belief and enthusiasm with sea serpent themed entertainments and appearances in literature. Intriguingly, newspaper interest in the sea serpent peaked in the late 1840s and declined in the 1870s and 1890s – two decades which saw the most Scottish reports. The few Scottish scholars who did express an opinion on the existence of giant serpentiform animals were cautiously in favour.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Dec 26

A newspaper illustration from 1871 captioned "A Quebec woman creates a sensation riding through St. John Street in a hearse, reclining on the coffin-bed, and smoking a pipe".

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Dec 24

How we're turning up to the bluesky Xmas party.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Dec 20

The famous scene from "They Unlive" (1988).

The "They Live" meme. Roddy Piper with sunglasses off - sees grey horse.
Sunglasses on - Mari Lwyd.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Oct 25

Next EdFortSoc: 12th Nov 2025, 7.30pm @anatomicalcat.bsky.social will be speaking on: Will You Join The Dance? A brief history of the Danse Macabre Plus! Grand auction of books, etc.! The Royal Oak 1 Infirmary Street Edinburgh 7.30pm, £1

Will You Join The Dance? A brief history of the Danse Macabre

The Dance of Death was an artistic trope that began in the fifteenth century to show death as the great leveller: everyone will die, from the lowliest peasant to the king and the pope. Death is depicted as a skeleton, leading people from all walks of life to join his dance. This talk will look at the origins of this image, and the way it evolved, and tied in with other memento mori images, as well as reflecting shifts in anatomical understanding.

Cat’s Bio:

Cat Irving has been the Human Remains Conservator for Surgeons’ Hall since 2015 and has been caring for anatomical and pathological museum collections for over twenty years. After a degree in Anatomical Science she began removing brains and sewing up bodies at the Edinburgh City Mortuary. Following training in the care of wet tissue collections at the Royal College of Surgeons of England she worked with the preparations of William Hunter at the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University, where she is now Consultant Human Remains Conservator. Cat is a licensed anatomist, and gives regular talks on anatomy and medical history. She recently carried out conservation work on the skeleton of serial killer William Burke.

Auction

There will also be an auction of donated books etc. So please bring any Fortean related books or other things you would like to donate, and also some cash.
The auction proceedings will be split between group funds and a charity to be decided on the night.

Wednesday 12th of November

The Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
7.30pm, £1

The Dance of Death as depicted in Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal", with the knight and his five companions, now dead from the plague, dancing in a chain behind the Grim Reaper.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Sep 13

Homer Simpson saying "The Bus that couldn't slow down".

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Sep 9

Next EdFortSoc : Wed 10th Sept., 7.30pm Ewan Irvine talking on: Between Fear and Faith: A Medium Who Still Sleeps With the Lights On The Royal Oak 1 Infirmary Street Edinburgh 7.30pm, £1

The next meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society will be Ewan Irvine talking on:

Between Fear and Faith: A Medium Who Still Sleeps With the Lights On

From the wide-eyed curiosity of 18 to the weathered wisdom of 56, my journey has been a collision of chills and charm—a lifetime spent straddling the line between skeptic and believer. I’ve coaxed stories from the departed and unraveled mysteries in haunted halls, yet I still sprint up the basement stairs like a kid fleeing monsters. Why? Because the dark reminds me that wonder and terror are two sides of the same coin. This talk isn’t about conquering fear; it’s about how the unseen world taught me to embrace the aliveness of being spooked—and why every shadow holds a story waiting to be heard.

Wednesday 10th of September
The Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
7.30pm, £1

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Sep 4

Charles Addams probably started the story in 1946.* *citation needed

A cartoon by Charles Addams showing Lurch standing on the roof of the Addams family home, about to pour boiling liquid onto carol singers far below. Mr and Mrs Addams look on excitedly.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Aug 30

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Aug 9

A faked screenshot from the Wikipedia page "History of the Internet":

The history of the Internet originated in the efforts of scientists and engineers to build a global media presence for the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) in Reading, England, and by extension the global awareness of Absolute Units. The Internet Protocol Suite, the set of rules used to communicate between networks and devices on the Internet, arose from research and development at the University of Reading and involved international collaboration, particularly with researchers in the United Kingdom and France

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Aug 6

Charles Fort wearing a party hat with a party blower thing in his mouth. He looks down to party.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jul 8

Next EdFortSoc : Wed 9th July Gavin Ritchie: The Unavoidable Subject An apple falls in gravity irrespective of the hand that drops it, so why are outcomes in parapsychology so dependent on the individuals involved? This presentation explores subjectivity within experiences of psi and the paranormal.

Next EdFortSoc : Wednesday 9th of July

The next meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society will be Gavin Ritchie talking on:

The Unavoidable Subject

An apple falls in gravity irrespective of the hand that drops it, so why are outcomes in parapsychology so dependent on the individuals involved? This presentation explores subjectivity within experiences of psi and the paranormal. If our individuality truly is a decisive factor in these experiences, what might that tell us about the reality of reported phenomena, or even, about reality itself?

Wednesday 9th of July
The Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
7.30pm, £1

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 30

Toot!

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 27

Post an unusual sign. Otters crossing, 100 yds. Orkney.

Road warning sign on a post - silhouette of an otter with the text "Otters crossing, 100 yards"

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 23

Knowing how to grow your own food would be very useful during/after a zombie apocalypse.

Cillian Murphy wearing hospital garb standing in front of a very informative "Grow your own" display of agricultural tools at the MERL.

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 17

The Diss Express on www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk is quite useful. The "lioness", August 1996 :

Edinburgh Fortean Society@edinburghforteansociety· Jun 5

Next EdfortSoc : Wed 11th June Gordon Rutter : You Cannot Be Serios! Thoughtography