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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 03/10/2026

Next EdFortSoc: Wed 14th Oct Highlander @jonmelville.bsky.social will talk on the 1986 action fantasy, and his new book, The Art & Making of Highlander. Hear about missing Immortals, deleted scenes, and how a box office bomb became a cult favourite. The Royal Oak 1 Infirmary Street 7.30pm, £1

Highlander

Jonathan Melville will talk on the 1986 action fantasy, Highlander, and his new book, The Art & Making of Highlander.

A school trip to the Tower of London’s armoury inspired an American screenwriting student to write Highlander, the story of an immortal Scottish warrior who must fight for survival until the time of the Gathering in 1980s New York.
When the script found its way to two producers looking for a sure-fire hit, it attracted the interest of an imploding British film studio, an experimental music video director, a former James Bond, and a myopic actor playing a sword fighting expert who could barely see a few feet in front of him.
Jonathan Melville returns to discuss his decade-long research into the film that has led to two books on the subject.
Hear about missing Immortals, deleted scenes, and how a box office bomb became a cult favourite.

Jonathan will be selling (and signing) a limited number of copies of his new book for £40 – please let Gordon know in advance if you’d like one put aside on the night.

Wednesday 14th of October
The Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
7.30pm, £1

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 01/10/2026

One should learn from the tale of Lallafa the Poet.

Long after his death his poems were found and wondered over. News of them spread like morning sunlight. For centuries they illuminated and watered the lives of many people whose lives might otherwise have been darker and drier.
Then, shortly after the invention of time travel, some major correcting fluid manufacturers wondered whether his poems might have been better still if he had had access to some high-quality correcting fluid, and whether he might be persuaded to say a few words on that effect.
They travelled the time waves, they found him, they explained the situation - with some difficulty - to him, and did indeed persuade him. In fact they persuaded him to such an effect that he became extremely rich at their hands, and the girl about whom he was otherwise destined to write with such precision never got around to leaving him, and in fact they moved out of the forest to a rather nice pad in town and he frequently commuted to the future to do chat shows, on which he sparkled wittily.
He never got around to writing the poems, of course, which was a problem, but an easily solved one. The manufacturers of correcting fluid simply packed him off for a week somewhere with a copy of a later edition of his book and a stack of dried habra leaves to copy them out on to, making the odd deliberate mistake and correction on the way.

- Douglas Adams, "Life, The Universe and Everything"

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 02/09/2026

Next EdFortSoc: 9th Sept 7.30pm @gordonrutter.bsky.social will talk on Siberian Cauldrons. Come along to find out about this little known piece of Fortean Folklore and find out what has happened to those who went looking for them.

Next EdFortSoc: 9th September

Gordon Rutter will talk on Siberian Cauldrons.

Not a cookery lesson nor an investigation into Baba Yaga.

Amongst other things the Siberian Cauldrons have been claimed as a global defence system – and some say they were responsible for the Tunguska event!

They are in fact giant, mysterious copper or metal dome-shaped objects rumoured to be hidden in a remote swampy region of Yakutia, Russia, known as the “Valley of Death” Apparently.

Come along to find out about this little known piece of Fortean Folklore and find out what has happened to those who went looking for them. And find out why I didn’t go looking for them!

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

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 26/08/2026

I still have my "Stoneybridge Olympic Bid" t-shirt in the back of the wardrobe...

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 04/08/2026

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 06/07/2026

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 21/06/2026

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 25/05/2026

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..."

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 13/05/2026

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".

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 12/01/2026

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 24/12/2025

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

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 25/10/2025

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 09/09/2025

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

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 04/09/2025

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 08/07/2025

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

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 27/06/2025

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"

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 23/06/2025

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.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 17/06/2025

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

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 05/06/2025

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

Next EdFortSoc : Wednesday 11th June 2025

The next meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society will be Gordon Rutter talking on:

You Cannot Be Serios! Thoughtography

Ted Serios was a Chicago bellhop who claimed he could imprint images onto photographic film and Polaroids using only the power of his mind.

How were the images produced? Was Serios the first person who claimed this ability? And what has happened since the 1960’s heyday of Ted Serios?

Come along to find out more about Ted Serios and his strange abilities.

Wednesday 11th June
The Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
7.30pm, £1

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 09/05/2025

Re : The "Sorcerer" painting - think the first time I was introduced to that was through 2000AD's "Slaine" and the character Slough Feg...

Cropped page from the comic strip "Slaine" in 2000AD. A woman going through a cave and seeing a giant cave painting of Slough Feg, a horned man.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 09/05/2025

There are a few photos of it on stock sites. All describe it as being from Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria.

Cave painting of unknown creature. From Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 07/05/2025

And the correct answers were : A squirrel, a wooden postcard with a horse skull laser-engraved on it (thanks @skullsandsheets.bsky.social ) and a brass cannon. Congratulations to anyone who got anywhere close!

A cute little squirrel, a wooden postcard with a horse skull laser-engraved on it and a brass cannon on wheels.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 03/05/2025

Yum! Reminds me a bit of when I baked a brick-shaped cake in honour of @themerl.bsky.social a few years ago :)

A delicious sponge cake that looks vaguely like a brick.

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 26/03/2025

Next EdFortSoc : Wed 9th April Michael Cox : The Tarves Beastie: A Forgotten Gef? 7.30 pm, downstairs in The Royal Oak, 1 Infirmary St, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, £1 entry

The next meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society

Michael Cox will be talking on

The Tarves Beastie: A Forgotten Gef?

Did Gef the Talking Mongoose have a contemporaneous Scottish cousin: the Tarves Beastie? Join us as we unearth a neglected 1930s poltergeist case from Aberdeenshire, and explore the startling correlations between this obscure haunting and that of the Isle of Man's charismatic man-weasel.

Wednesday the 9th of April

7.30 pm

Downstairs in The Royal Oak,1 Infirmary St, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, £1 entry

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 12/03/2025

Next EdFortSoc : Tonight! Ann Jones : Into the Goblin Universe: Ted Holiday’s Tales of the Unexplained How did the angling correspondent of the Western Mail find himself helping an Anglican priest perform an exorcism of the Loch Ness monster? The Royal Oak, 1 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh 7.30pm, £1

Next EdFortSoc : Wednesday 12th March

The next meeting of the Edinburgh Fortean Society will be Ann Jones talking on:

Into the Goblin Universe: Ted Holiday’s Tales of the Unexplained

How did the angling correspondent of the Western Mail find himself helping an Anglican priest perform an exorcism of the Loch Ness monster? Join us as we trace Ted Holiday’s extraordinary Fortean journey encountering ghosts, ley lines, UFOs and lake monsters as he tries to unravel the paranormal mysteries of the Phantom Menagerie and unlock the sinister secrets of the Goblin Universe.

Wednesday 12th March
The Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
7.30pm, £1

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Edinburgh Fortean Society @edinburghforteansociety.org.uk · 09/03/2025

And one of questionable paleontological accuracy. @tetzoo.bsky.social Is this technically accurate?

Pterodactyl Costume Fan : LEGO minifigure of person dressed in grey costume with underarm wings and a pterodactyl hat.

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