The Fortean/paranormal/conspiracy thread

[Keith Houchen]

Of course Le Tiss was there!  I found this a bit sad in places, particularly the woman camped by the reporter. She comes across as a nice person who was clearly lonely during lockdown, made friends online and doesn’t want to lose those friends so goes along with it. We’ve said on here before how being a conspiracy theorist becomes part of your identity and your social life, and this shows how important that sense of belonging can be. It’s like GB News innit, it’s the ones on the stage or screen who are the dangers, not necessarily the ones watching. 

[wordsfromlee]

 

[SuperBacon]

This is absolutely mad.

What a piece of shit.

[Chili]

17 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

This is absolutely mad.

What a piece of shit.

I fell ironically down a rabbit hole of Richard D. Hall a few years ago purely because it was perversely entertaining bollocks. He had an internet talk show with a green screen space ship set. Absolutely out of his tree idiot. One time his guests were UKFF favourites Hollie Grieg and all the horrible tossers associated with that poppycock.

Edited July 22, 2024 by Chili

[BomberPat]

"False flag" and "crisis actor" stuff is what turned me off conspiracies in general.

I don't think I ever really believed them beyond the general sense of maybe thinking "something doesn't quite add up" about stuff like the JFK assassination, though if I did, that would be largely because I was getting my information from people who wanted you to think that way. But I was always fascinated by them and why people believed them, and found them kind of absurd and funny. 

But this shit just started making it really depressing. A mate and I were going to do a podcast, all about the weirdest conspiracies and mad theories we could find online; this was around 2012, so it was all End Of The World prophecies and Planet X and Nephilim and utterly bonkers shit, and the ugliness was hidden enough behind the surface that it was easy to joke about it. But then Sandy Hook and the Boston Marathon bombing happened, and seeing people call them "false flags" or call out "crisis actors" within minutes of the event, and the complete lack of empathy from people policing grieving family's public appearances because they weren't looking sad enough or acting in the "correct" way, or how one of the victims was an actor because they looked kind of like someone in another video - it was all really, really fucking depressing and sickening, and this shit just stopped being fun. It's not a million miles away from "true crime" ghouls thinking that reading a couple of books on serial killers and listening to too many podcasts gives them the right to stomp all over crime scenes trying to "solve" murders.

I'm surprised Richard D Hall wasn't already on my radar, but he sounds like a prize prick. Believing that tragic events were staged is one thing, stupid and misguided as it is, but actively harassing victims either because you think it will prove it or because your grift depends on it is beyond the pale.

[MungoChutney]

I read the Richard D. Hall stuff for the first time yesterday as it was on the BBC News pages. It's absolutely mind blowing that his lawyer has argued that the family affected by the bombing are responsible for bringing any harassment on themselves because they put their story in the public domain. 

There's clearly a balance to be found with freedom of speech and this kind of behaviour but at this point I would be in favour of criminalising anyone who claims the victim of a terror attack (school shootings too but less necessary in the UK) is somehow part of a fraud or conspiracy. This family have now been the victims of two crimes in my view. Firstly experiencing devastating injuries in the attack and now being harassed by this muppet. It's absolutely in the public interest for Hall's actions to be criminal. 

[theringmaster]

I have a friend who is basically a psychologist (it's not his exact job title but he spends his days talking to people 'struggling with life') and his workload is basically nothing but conspiracy theorist these days,

He tells me they are all linked by either depression/mental health, a traumatic event in their lives they are trying to ignore or just a general chip on their shoulder about not having a good job, happy relationship etc. (or a combination of them). I know a few 'tin foil hatters' in my life and everyone of them fits into one of those categories. 

He also regularly talks about education, according to him there is an undeniable link between those with no education beyond school/basic college and conspiracy theories. He thinks it's to do with higher education essentially teaches you to think for yourself a lot more than high school education where you basically follow a curriculum.

Something else he told me which i've always remembered, when they start acting all smug and superior to you then that usually means they have essentially ran out of 'facts' to back up their claims , apparently when they talk to people that's essentially the measuring stick to see how far down the rabbit hole they are.

 

Everytime i speak to him i walk away thinking I find conspiracy theorist's far more fascinating than any conspiracy theory. 

[SuperBacon]

Looking for recommendations on books on Waco/Koresh and Heavens Gate mob if anyone knows any? Or even some good articles/vids/docs (seen the Waco one on whatever channel it was on)

No I haven't joined a cult.

Oh and that blackhawk helicopter crash looks very deliberate. 

[Tamura]

The book Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion by Benjamin Zeller is excellent, and this podcast is also excellent (I realise you didn't ask for podcasts, but just being thorough). There's also the four episode TV show Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults which was on HBO, it's probably available on some streaming services but not subscribing to any personally means that's a bit of a blindspot for me...

Edited January 30, 2025 by Tamura

[wordsfromlee]

Theres a good podcast by the BBC called End of Days about David Koresh/Waco that mainly focuses on the British people who were part of it that was very good.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p06qc33m

[Egg Shen]

On 1/30/2025 at 3:23 PM, SuperBacon said:

Looking for recommendations on books on Waco/Koresh and Heavens Gate mob if anyone knows any? Or even some good articles/vids/docs (seen the Waco one on whatever channel it was on)

 

There's a multi-part Heaven's Gate docuseries out there. Not sure where you could watch it legally over in the UK.

[Ro_y Disco]

Not sure if this fits here, but heard about this fascinating story on a recent Cryptid Factor episode (who, incidentally, are returning to the Edinburgh Fringe for live shows - I went last year & it was fantastic chaos!)

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3300989/real-life-truman-show-man-china-live-streamed-24/7-becomes-influencer-without-knowing

I'm feeling a bit starved of cryptid/paranormal news. I used to use the Unexplained Mysteries forum, but it never quite scratched the itch. Are there any up-to-date decent news/discussion sites anyone can recommend?

[NeverYield]

Unexplained Mysteries has some cracking stuff 

If you get on with reddit there's lots of decent discussion in some of the subs relating to some of this stuff

 

[Egg Shen]

On 1/30/2025 at 3:23 PM, SuperBacon said:

Looking for recommendations on books on Waco/Koresh and Heavens Gate mob if anyone knows any? Or even some good articles/vids/docs (seen the Waco one on whatever channel it was on)

Im assuming you mean the newish Netflix series with regards to Waco.

Theres this older one about it from '97, free on youtube.

 

[Scratch]

As I’ve mentioned in here several times before, I don’t believe in ghosts, the supernatural, mediums, psychics, or anything else in between. But, I’m utterly fascinated by everything related to the above and I’ve had a few experiences in the past that I’ve not been able to explain (see above/few pages ago).

Anyway, my nan (my mum’s mum) had been suffering with diabetes, blindness, vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s for several years. But her health had started to deteriorate quite rapidly over the start of 2025, and we expected that, at 93, her time was likely to be almost up.

She then had a fall in April and broke her hip, and I had to rush to hospital as her power of attorney to sign a DNR. With no other option than immediate surgery, I was warned she may very well not recover and if she did, the risk of infection was high and she likely wouldn’t recover from that even if she did make it out of theatre.

But as she’d done throughout her entire life, she defied all the odds and survived and after a few weeks, was discharged back to her nursing home.

The other part of the story is my dad, who has been battling Parkinson’s and aggressive dementia for the past 4 years. Last year, his needs became so intense that we could no longer care for him safely at home, and so he too now lives in a phenomenal nursing home.

My dad and nan were both really close. He’d always say that mother-in-law jokes were the worst, as he always had such a strong and happy relationship with his, even from a child as they knew each other from living very close to each other.

Something I became aware of with my nan first, was that dementia took away her ability to remember things from just moments ago. All of her memories were from years before - most from when she was a child. She’d always ask about her immediate family that she’d known for a lifetime; grandchildren, her brother and sister, and her great grandchildren but she would never ask about my dad. We found it a little odd that of all the people she could remember vividly, it was like my dad had never existed.

When my dad started to get unwell, we noticed the exact same thing. He’d ask about me, my sister, his grandchildren, his own brothers and sisters, friends from work, but never once asked about my nan. His memory was also similar, in that he could never tell you what happened minutes ago, let alone what he did the day before. He now lives entirely in the moment, unaware of the time that passes around him.

In May, my mum went to visit nan and she was having a good day - a good day for her, at least. As she laid in her bed, she kept staring at the ceiling saying “look at those beautiful purple flowers, they’re so beautiful” over and over. She then, out of nowhere, asked about dad - literally for the first time in at least 10 years or more.

She then took hold of my mum’s hand, closed her eyes and died right there and then. It was sudden but ever so peaceful.

The next day, I went to visit my dad alone as mum had a few things to sort out with nan and the nursing home, and we decided that we should still keep to our routine as best we could.

As soon as I walked in, my dad saw me and said “have you seen Rose?” (my nan). It took me back somewhat given he hadn’t asked for years, and given the tragic timing. I said that I had and she was fine (we’d learned to not give dad any bad news, ever, as he was unable to process it).

He then said “She came to see me yesterday, and bought me some purple flowers. But then she laid down and wouldn’t get up. I didn’t know if she could hear me and I couldn’t get her to wake up.”

I’ve thought about this constantly since May, and can’t get my head around it one bit. I always explain anything like this as coincidence that one might turn into something else, either for a better story or to strengthen any belief they may have about an afterlife. But, in these circumstances, it really is one hellova coincidence that I just can’t accept.