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Darkness visible the cock lane haunting scratching fanny exposed real-life encounters nightmares before christmas strange disappearances with the shadow people squirrels go nuts booze-fuelled rodent rampages crop circle drone rage • nefertiti's secret tomb • mass fainting • tripping witches THE WORLD OF STRANGE PHENOMENA www.forteantimes.com "everY ft issUe of ft335 christmas 2015 £4.25 is like s!" CHristMa guillermo del toro PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR GEEKS! THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY ALIEN NEXT OF JAMES T. KIRK DOOR Edited by David Joey Spiotto Goodman Cult illustrator Joey Spiotto The official in-universe imagines the peaks and autobiography of Starfleet’s pitfalls of everyday life on greatest captain, James T. Earth for the legendary Kirk. From cadet to captain, Xenomorph from the explore his life in the stars! 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Fortean Times 335 strange days Nefertiti’s secret burial chamber, false fl ag operations, the amazing world of MC Escher, tapeworms in the brain, crop circle drone rage, more school faintings, mysteries of Pluto, CONTENTS Norwich ghost photos, little blue men – and much more. 05 THE CONSPIRASPHERE 18 GHOSTWATCH 14 SCIENCE 21 ALIEN ZOO the world of strange phenomena 16 ARCHAEOLOGY 23 MYTHCONCEPTIONS 17 CLASSICAL CORNER 24 NECROLOG features COVER STORY 28 THE MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN LONDON According to its Wikipedia entry, it is the most haunted property in London – but have the garbled tales of ghost- hunters and the advent of the Internet added too many layers of legend to the real story? JAN BONDESON goes in search of the truth about 50 Berkeley Square. 36 A HAUNTING ON SCANDAL STREET: THE © 2015 THE MC ESCHER COMPANY -THE HETHERALNDS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 6 BLOWING YOUR MIND’S EYE COCK LANE GHOST REVISITED The amazing world of MC Escher ROGER CLARKE delves into the background of a notorious 18th-century haunting and fi nds that with its emphasis on sex, the supernatural and the seamy side of London life, the story of the Cock Lane ghost was in many ways a precursor to every tabloid sensation since… 42 NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF OLIVER LERCH On Christmas Eve 1889, Oliver Lerch went out to fetch some water from the well and was never seen again, his cries of terror echoing in the night skies... THEO PAIJMANS and CHRIS AUBECK turn literary detectives and attempt to trace this enduring weird tale back to its ultimate source. reports 48 BUILDING A FORTEAN LIBRARY No 6. Dying to know more 74 FORTEAN TRAVELLER No 105. A death road in Kyoto RON / GETTY IMAGES BA ETIENNE GILFILLAN 4ATOMB FIT FOR A QUEEN? 72 IT HAPPENED TO ME Nefertiti’s secret burial chamber Encounters with the shadow people forum 51 Well, they would, wouldn’t they? by Stu Neville 52 Visions of the inner eye by Ted Harrison 54 They came from the shadows by Nick Parkins regulars 02 EDITORIAL 72 IT HAPPENED TO ME TED WEST / CENTRAL PRESS / GETTY IMAGES JOHN BILLINGSLEY 74 A DEATH ROAD IN KYOTO 36 SCRATCHING FANNY OF COCK LANE 57 REVIEWS 79 PHENOMENOMIX Pilgrims and portals to the Underworld Sex, scandal and the supernatural 69 LETTERS 80 STRANGE DEATHS COVER: ETIENNE GILFILLAN FT335 1 www.forteantimes.com fortean times editor dAVid SUttoN ([email protected]) foUNdiNg editorS bob rickArd ([email protected]) pAUl SieVekiNg ([email protected]) Art director etieNNe gilfillAN ([email protected]) editorial book reViewS editor VAl SteVeNSoN ([email protected]) reSideNt cArtooNiSt HUNt emerSoN Bookshop ghosts and library angels SUbScriptioN eNqUirieS ANd bAck iSSUeS www.subsinfo.co.uk [email protected] thE hAuntinG SEASon and Alice Rowell, who shared their memories FORTEAN TIMES is produced for Dennis Publishing by Wild Talents Ltd. Postal address: Fortean Times, For our Christmas issue this year we bring you, with us (p34).We have to report, with heavy PO BOX 71602, London E17 0QD. as is traditional, ghosts. In his regular column hearts, that no manifestations took place during You can manage your existing subscription through (p18), Alan Murdie takes a look at the latest our evening visit – although we did manage http://www.subsinfo.co.uk/ – this should be your first port examples of phantoms appearing in photos – to capture the atmospheric image that adorns of call if you have any queries about your subscription. two impressive examples from Norwich, a city our cover this month: the actual window of a Change your address, renew your subscription or report problems whose spooks are perhaps not as celebrated genuine fake “haunted house”. UK subscriptions: 0844 844 0049 as they might be – and wonders whether We wish Maggs Bros all the best in their new USA & Canada subscriptions: (+1) 800-428-3003 (toll free) suggestions of plague victims and deceased home – it would, of course, be pleasingly ironic Fax (+1) 757-428-6253 email [email protected] Other overseas subscriptions: +44 (0)1795 592 909 bishops are convincing identities for these if this one turned out to be really haunted… Fax: +44 (0)1795 414 555 seemingly supernatural snaps. We also re-examine two Maggs Bros new premises licEnSinG & SyndicAtion Fortean times IS AvAILABLE FOR classic London hauntings: at 46 Curzon Street, W1J INTERNATIONAL LICENSINg AND SYNDICATION – CONTACT: Roger Clarke revisits the 7UH, are now open Monday Syndication Senior Manager ANj DOSAj-HALAI TEL: +44- (0) 20 7907 6132 case of the Cock Lane ghost to Friday 10am-7pm and [email protected] (pp36-41), an 18th century Saturday 10am-5pm. Licensing Manager CARLOTTA SERANTONI TEL: +44- (0) 20 7907 6550 sensation that was satirised [email protected] by Hogarth and that drew buildinG A fortEAn Licensing & Syndication Assistant NICOLE ADAMS TEL: +44- (0) 20 7907 6134 luminaries such as the librAry [email protected] Duke ofYork and Horace If there’s someone out there you cAn rEAch ft on thE intErnEt Walpole to the cramped looking to start an instant www.forteantimes.com London backstreet where Fortean Times collection, ‘Scratching Fanny’ was then we may be able to help. © Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited supposedly communicating London-based reader John with the dead. It was, Rowe is offering – for free, no Roger notes, “a bit like less – an almost complete run SeNior prodUctioN pUbliSHed bY Prince Charles and Gore of issues from 63 to 301, but deNNiS pUbliSHiNg, execUtiVe dANiel StArk Vidal visiting a famous you must be able to collect 30 cleveland Street 020 7907 6053 haunted Enfield council them in person. london w1t 4Jd, Uk [email protected] "jUST STICK WITH THE MYRRH" house in 1977 and sitting on Another public-spirited tel: 020 7907 6000 AdVertiSiNg director SteVe NicolAoU the bed of Janet Hodgson.” There are further offer comes from Laurence Stockdale of groUp pUbliSHer 020 7907 6633 similarities between the two cases – such as the Kidlington, Oxfordshire, who writes: “I found iAN weStwood steve_nicolaou@ accusations of hoaxing, pretty undeniable in the article regarding building a fortean library 020 7907 6000 dennis.co.uk Cock Lane – but what’s particularly fascinating particularly interesting (FT331:48-49) as I have circUlAtioN mANAger SAleS execUtiVe JAmeS mANgAN brAdleY beAVer in this instance is the rich background of sex a complete set of The Unexplained languishing james.mangan@ and scandal underlying the 18th century events: in a storage cupboard.The issues still have seymour.co.uk 020 7907 6701 bradley_beaver@ the ghost was in some senses a particular, their covers, so the readers’ letters are there export circUlAtioN dennis.co.uk mANAger supernatural manifestation of a culture to read, but I did not get around to buying the gerAldiNe grobler expressed in the Bartholomew Fairs, gay romps folders.They all seem to be in good condition geraldine.grobler@ seymour.co.uk and numerous drinking dens that gave the area so if anyone would like them they are welcome its carnivalesque character. to them.They gave me many hours of pleasure PrintEd BY POLESTAR BICESTER Across town, in upmarket Mayfair, ghost and I would like someone else to have that diStribution stories of a better class have long circulated opportunity rather than consign them to the distributed in uK, ireland and worldwide concerning the elegant Georgian townhouse local recycling centre. I also have 20 or 30 by Seymour Distribution Ltd.