BUILDING A FORTEAN LIBRARY

There’s a standard, somewhat dismissive, sceptical explanation of anomalous phenomena that characterises them all as the product of misperceptions, hoaxes or hallucinations. Certainly there are plenty of reports of strange phenomena that can be accounted for under one of these three labels (although something as outlandish as spontaneous human combustion might struggle to fit). Our chosen volume for this entry is Hallucinations by the late neurologist Oliver Sacks, whose survey of the subject, its circumstances, types and causes, makes one wonder just how plausible an explanation “hallucination” is for many fortean events.

Throughout, Sacks makes the important point – which can bear endless repetition – that hallucinations are emphatically not a sign of madness (see for more on ‘everyday’ hallucinations). Indeed, he proves it – partly by noting the various diseases and afflictions that render people susceptible to hallucinations, which may differ according to the ailment, and by pointing out which area of the brain is involved, whether it’s simply activated, or is generating an illusion because of an injury. Even so, it’s clear that there’s still a widespread, semi-automatic association of insanity and “seeing things”. Hence