Editing Charles Fort (section)

===Forteans===
Fort's work has inspired some people to consider themselves "Forteans". The first of these was Hecht, a screenwriter, who in a review of ''The Book of the Damned'', declared, "I am the first disciple of Charles Fort... henceforth, I am a Fortean".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Damon |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/279082 |title=Charles Fort: prophet of the unexplained |date=1971 |publisher=Gollancz |isbn=0-575-00613-7 |location=London |pages=70 |oclc=279082}}</ref>

Precisely what is encompassed by the term "Fortean" is a matter of great debate; the term is widely applied to people ranging from Fortean purists dedicated to Fort's methods and interests, to those with open and active acceptance of the actuality of paranormal phenomena, a belief with which Fort may not have agreed. Most generally, Forteans have a wide interest in unexplained phenomena, concerned mostly with the natural world, and have a developed "agnostic [[skepticism]]" regarding the anomalies they note and discuss. For Hecht, as an example, being a Fortean meant hallowing a pronounced distrust of authority in all its forms, whether religious, scientific, political, philosophical, or otherwise. It did not, of course, include an actual belief in the anomalous data enumerated in Fort's works.

The [[Fortean Society]] was initiated at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 26, 1931, by some of Fort's friends, including such significant writers as Hecht, Dreiser, and [[Alexander Woollcott]], and organized by fellow American writer Thayer, half in earnest and half in the spirit of great good humor, like the works of Fort himself. The board of founders included Dreiser, Hecht, Tarkington, Powys, [[Aaron Sussman]], former ''Puck'' editor [[Harry Leon Wilson]], Woollcott, and [[J. David Stern]], publisher of ''[[The Philadelphia Record]]''. Active members of the Fortean Society included prominent science-fiction writers such as Knight and  [[Eric Frank Russell]].

Fort, however, rejected the society and refused the presidency, which went to his friend Dreiser; he was lured to its inaugural meeting by false telegrams. As a strict nonauthoritarian, Fort refused to establish himself as an authority, and further objected on the grounds that those who would be attracted by such a group would be spiritualists, zealots, and those opposed to a science that rejected them; it would attract those who ''believed'' in their chosen phenomena—an attitude exactly contrary to Forteanism. Fort did hold unofficial meetings and had a long history of getting together informally with many of New York City's literati such as Dreiser and Hecht at their apartments, where they would talk, have a meal, and then listen to brief reports.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Steinmeyer |first=Jim |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/608554928 |title=Charles Fort : the man who invented the supernatural |date=2008 |publisher=J.P. Tarcher/Penguin |isbn=978-1-4362-0566-5 |location=New York |page=144 |oclc=608554928}}</ref>

The magazine ''[[Fortean Times]]'' (first published in November 1973) is a proponent of Fortean journalism, combining humor, skepticism, and serious research into subjects that scientists and other respectable authorities often disdain. Another such group is the International Fortean Organization (INFO), which was formed during the early 1960s (incorporated in 1965) by brothers and writers Ron and Paul Willis, who acquired much of the material of the Fortean Society, which had largely ceased by 1959 with the death of Thayer. INFO publishes the ''INFO Journal: Science and the Unknown'' and organizes the FortFest, the world's first continuously running conference on anomalous phenomena dedicated to the spirit of Charles Fort. INFO, since the mid-1960s, also provides audio CDs and filmed DVDs of notable conference speakers, including [[Colin Wilson]], [[John Michell (writer)|John Michell]], [[Graham Hancock]], [[John Anthony West]], [[William Corliss]], [[John Keel]], and [[Joscelyn Godwin]]. Other notable Fortean societies include the [[London Fortean Society]], [[Edinburgh Fortean Society]], in Edinburgh and the [[Isle of Wight]].