Archive for Thursday 9th May 2002 - The man who collected mysteries

The best way of living to an old age is not through vitamins and health foods but by taking a keen interest in everything that goes on. You not only live longer that way, but you live happier. You will certainly not die of boredom, like many of us do.

A person who never knew boredom was Charles Fort who died in 1932. He was a N ew York writer, specialising in mysteries. But he was no fiction writer. All his stories were true - at least, they were reported in the press. In newspapers and journals he found an endless supply of amazing happenings. They proved to him that the world is nothing like the scientists’ view of it, but full of mysteries that no-one has ever explained.

If you read Fort’s books - or just dip into any one of them - you will be shocked and then delighted by the wonders of our existence. He recorded UFOs, alien life-forms, creatures and objects from the sky, strange disappearances and all kinds of ‘impossible’ phenomena. These things are constantly occurring. They are part of nature, so there is no harm in studying them. And when you start doing so, your outlook expands, and you see that life is far more interesting and delightful than you are likely to be taught at school.

My old friend and co-author (we have written three books together) is Bob Rickard. He is the founder of Fortean Times, a monthly, illustrated chronicle of strange events, with expert articles on them. For a taste of it see the website: www.forteantimes.com (annual subscriptions are £28.60 to FT, Bradley Pavilions, Bradley Stoke North, Bristol BS32 OPP. (tel. 01454 642458).

John Michell