What do you think?
Rate this book
Flights of Fancy? 100 Years of Paranormal Experiences
Book by Picknett, Lynn
124 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 30, 2025
When I picked this up I didn't realize it was written by a conspiracy theorist.
The claims she makes in this are absolute BS, but at least it is amusing BS.
The claims she makes in this are absolute BS, but at least it is amusing BS.
May 2, 2021
I've long been a fan of Lynn Picknett and her work and in Flights of Fancy she has written the best introduction to a book that I think I've ever read, doling out a withering rebuke on what she calls the 'Establishment', worshippers at the altar of science who refute paranormal phenomena and pour scorn on those whose minds are open to such things. I honestly wanted to applaud after reading!
The book begins with an account of DD Home, Victorian medium famed for his feats of levitation, then moves on to Florrie Cook / Katie King and other renowned mediums of their time, all accompanied by photos of the subjects, often exceedingly creepy in nature! Following this are incidents of spontaneous human combustion, the story of Joan of Arc, the Cottingley fairies, UFOs, thoughtographs, Philip the phantom/table, Charles Fort and his 'damned data', synchronicity and more besides. Though almost 40 years old the book feels in no way dated and the subject matter is as relevant and unexplained as it always has been. I highly recommend this book for anyone of a Fortean persuasion. As the author writes in closing, just imagine... and nothing is impossible.
The book begins with an account of DD Home, Victorian medium famed for his feats of levitation, then moves on to Florrie Cook / Katie King and other renowned mediums of their time, all accompanied by photos of the subjects, often exceedingly creepy in nature! Following this are incidents of spontaneous human combustion, the story of Joan of Arc, the Cottingley fairies, UFOs, thoughtographs, Philip the phantom/table, Charles Fort and his 'damned data', synchronicity and more besides. Though almost 40 years old the book feels in no way dated and the subject matter is as relevant and unexplained as it always has been. I highly recommend this book for anyone of a Fortean persuasion. As the author writes in closing, just imagine... and nothing is impossible.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews