Forteana
Mike worked for nearly 20 years for Fortean Times, the celebrated ‘Journal of Strange Phenomena’, which he joined as a contributing editor while still at university.
More than a decade later, after the title was acquired by John Brown Publishing, he became FT’s publisher for several years, launching numerous spin–offs including the acclaimed academic annual Fortean Studies (1994–2000); three of the 'original investigations' he contributed to the latter journal can be downloaded from this section of this website. Mike was also briefly editor of FT in 1988–89 and was also launch publisher of FT's sister title, Bizarre, which launched in 1997. This material links to selections of material from both titles and also to a minisite devoted to Mike's Fortean classic, Borderlands (1997) - memorably if blasphemously described on one bulletin board as "the New Testament to Fort's Old Testament".
| Borderlands | Mike's acclaimed book-length survey of the evidence for strange phenomena |
| The Devil's Hoofmarks | An 80-page paper dissecting the Great Devon Mystery of 1855, from Fortean Studies 1 |
| Spring-heeled Jack (1996) | The ground-breaking paper from Fortean Studies 3, published in 1996 |
| Spring-heeled Jack (2008) | One-hour lecture from Unconvention '08 outlining more recent findings (external link - new window) |
| In Search of Dr MacRae | The results of Mike's decade-long investigation into the mystery of the so-called "McRae films" - lost 1930s movies supposedly showing the Loch Ness Monster and a sea serpent in detailed close-up. One-hour lecture from Weird Weekend '08. Stunning research. (External link - new window) |
| The Vanishing Lighthousemen of Eilean Mór | A reinvestigation of a classic disappearance around Christmas 1900. From Fortean Studies 4 |
| The Disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst | A fresh look at a renowned historical mystery, originally published in Fortean Times. |
| Dances with Chickens | A Bizarre investigation of family incarcerations |
| Ask Bizarre 1 | Questions and answers from the long-gone – but legendary – Ask Bizarre web 1.0 site (1998-1999) |
| Ask Bizarre 2 | More of the same - not for the fainthearted |
| Virgins, nipples and shrunken heads | Excerpts from Mike's column for Maxim UK |
| Top 10 Stupid Names for Hairdressers | Bizarre's listing of the nation's most cringeworthy chop shops |
| From Stag's Tears to Rat Kings | From Time Out: a call for a museum collection of Fortean artefacts |