http://civilwarbummer.com/alfacgiapi I thought I’d posted everything about the New York Fortean Society, which John directed from 1987 to 1994, but I just came across this sheet. It’s the invitation to the first meeting, on September 19, 1987. A historic occasion!
I was 29 at the time, and writing for THE HORROR SHOW (which won the World Fantasy Award) magazine, and THE GATE (paranormal/UFO/Fortean) . . . I would gladly have driven from Cleveland to NYC for this had I only known!
Comment by William Grabowski — August 19, 2015 @ 12:55 am
It must have been quite an event! I didn’t join until a few years later…
Comment by Doug — August 20, 2015 @ 12:13 pm
Thanks for your unvaluable historical work! Your blog is wonderfull and rich of information and documents of that great scholar who was John Keel…would be interesting to know more from you about the last days of John, especially what he turned out to think about society and his theory of superspectrum.
Ciao,
Marco Mucci
Rome
Comment by Marco Mucci — August 23, 2015 @ 7:52 am
After John died, I wrote a piece about his last years for The Fortean Times. I posted it here: http://www.johnkeel.com/?p=712
Unfortunately, in those last years, he was more preoccupied with his health than with his theories. He did feel that forteana and ufology were often repeating the same stories. Of course, he’d been following them for a long time.
Comment by Doug — August 24, 2015 @ 11:25 am
Doug, thanks so much! It’s really a touching reading, I mean in your paper it transpires a genuine and sincere human feeling I share for John Keel, though I just knew his books. I’d humbly say that John’s approach to criticize everything around and taking most of the things as a joke is typical of so many thinkers who turned out to understand that Gods just play games with us al life along….ciao
Comment by Marco Mucci — August 25, 2015 @ 3:27 pm
Was just up in NY this weekend, and stayed in the upper East side. I would have looked for this address , does the fortean society still exist? Also, down in the village on Saturday, I saw a man standing on the corner and thought he looked like John might have…wish I would have had the opportunity to meet him. It was neat though to think of him living and writing there.
Comment by Patty g — October 5, 2015 @ 12:36 am
No, the NY Fortean Society is defunct, although there’s some talk of reviving it. The TRS suite isn’t even still at that address.
Comment by Doug — October 5, 2015 @ 12:17 pm