In 2002, the nice people at the Fortean Times invited me to give a couple of talks at their annual UnConvention.  I gave one on John Keel and the Mothman, tying in with the film that was just released; and the other on the scientific method.  At Keel’s request, I introduced a talking frog puppet […]

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“Eddie Unchained” was the most elaborate appearance I ever devised for my dummy, Eddie Gray. He was the star of this musical, supported by me, my other dummy Lloyd, the fine actress Ivy Austin (replacing Alice Playten on short notice), and a fine string quartet (Robert Zubrycki, Cenovia Cummins, Carol Benner, and Benjamin Whittenburg). I […]

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I’ve often given talks on the visionary painter and pulp writer, Richard Shaver.  The one I did at Brooklyn’s “Four Walls” gallery was the most elaborate.  Mike Ballou made wall sconces using Shaver’s rock photos; we hung a tree with Shaver publications; and I spoke within a charming fake cave.

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This was my first foray into Forteana, reading selections from Charles Fort for the Virginia Matthews Dance Company, back in San Francisco in 1985.  And lo, Janice Ross of the Oakland Tribune approved, even if she got Fort’s name wrong (2/11/85).

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This was John Keel’s last book: a collection of his columns for Fate magazine.  He had promised to write an introduction, but was too ill to do it.  The publisher, Phyllis Galde, asked me if she could use the bio I had written for the Mothman issue of Fortean Times. So, I got their permission, […]

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I’ve long been intrigued by the supposed liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius in Naples. Part of the purpose of this article was to debunk the common notion of a clash between religion and science; since the “miracle” (as the Vatican is eager to stress) has nothing to do with Catholic doctrine, and the […]

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The movie based on John A. Keel’s book The Mothman Prophecies was released in 2002; the Fortean Times marked the occasion with a special issue. I contributed a biography and bibliography of Keel, and an interview conducted with the assistance of George Kuchar and Dr. Mamie Caton.

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It doesn’t seem right for there to be a Gideon Bible in every hotel room; so I often substitute a nice secular book: one by Thomas Love Peacock, for example, or the Baroness Orczy. I had these cards printed for those occasions.

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When I visited my family in Beggs, Oklahoma, I became interested in a local curiosity, The Giants’ Highway, or Checkerboard Crossing. The unusually flat limestone bed, crossed with regular cracks, is the subject of much local folklore; and has been marketed at times as a tourist attraction. It had generally escaped the notice of simulacra […]

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While researching the life of the novelist and Fortean Tiffany Thayer, I came across an unfamiliar photo of Charles Fort. I passed it along to the Fortean Times, which inspired the art director, Etienne Gilfillan, to search for more. His discoveries were published in the March 2006 issue (#207). I provided captions, and an article […]

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