Location. Marion Indiana
Date: 1800
Time: unknown
A Methodist minister in the area had heard tales from his congregation that a certain tree in the woods along the river was the entrance to an underground lair of little people. The few remaining Native Americans who still lived in the area confirmed this story. The minister, in an attempt to prove that there was no validity to the local superstition, went to the tree with an ax and started to chop the huge tree down. After striking the tree a couple of times, a hole opened up at the base and a group of fifteen to twenty small men clambered out and began attacking the now frightened minister. The little men quickly overcame their much larger foe and cut his throat with a flint blade. The minister survived his terrifying ordeal, despite the jagged cut to his neck. However, he never again made fun of his congregation when they told stories of the little wild men of the woods.
Source: Unnatural Indiana
Location. Germany, Barsdorf
Date: 1800
Time:
A shooting star got larger and larger until it fell to earth between Barsdorf and Freiburg in Silesia. A whizzing noise was heard as it passed close to the ground before it landed and then lay burning. Next day a jelly-like mass was found on the snow.
Location. Yantic River area, Connecticut
Date: 1800
Time: unknown
A child name Martha Uncas was traveling with her parents in a canoe down the Yantic River when they spied several small man-like figures running along the shore, vaguely visible among the pine trees. Martha’s mother said: “Don’t look at the dwarfs. They will point their fingers at you and you cannot see them.” The local Indians called these mysterious little people the “Makiawisag”. These creatures apparently had the power to become invisible at will.
Source: Joseph A Citro, Passing Strange
Location. Colonsay Island, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
Date: 1800
Time: daytime (date is approximate)
A local woman named Rhona was sitting in her garden knitting when she heard a rustling of the leaves. Thinking of her sweetheart she pretended not to have heard. Then came a tiny laugh and a tinkling sound from her rose arbor. Looking up she spied six handsome little men dressed in green from head to toe, except, that is for a red feather in their caps. Rhona extended her hand to the group and each in turn alighted on her offered palm. Becoming totally delighted with them she favored the six with every courtesy. Suddenly and without warning one of the fairies touched his fingers to her eyes, plunging her into darkness. In this state of total blackness she experienced herself moving through what could only be time and space, But this was more than a three-dimensional flight. Rhona’s flight had taken her through a fourth dimension. After what seemed like only a few moments, Rhona felt her feet touch the ground. Opening her eyes she found herself in the most beautiful and wondrous place she had ever seen. Into her vision came lush trees, brilliantly colored song birds, flower gardens and castle of every description shining forth in gold and silver. Each castle in turn shimmered with diamonds, garnets, pearls and emeralds. Along the streets were magnificently clad little people promenading, resting, dancing and indulging in favorite pastimes. Now, Rhona who noted that she was clad in the same fine manner as everyone else had also become the same size as everyone else. She immediately thought that she could stay there forever but all at once Rhona was once again plunged into darkness, whisked through the air and dropped safely onto the floor of her rose arbor, where a group of people had gathered concerned over her absence. It is said that for the rest of her life, Rhona was guarded by the fairies that nourished her with fairy food. At one point local authorities imprisoned Rhona and refused to feed her, but this did not effect Rhona at all, for she was fed daily by the fairies during her enclosure.
Source: Virginia Martin August 12 2002
Comments: The parallels with some modern day alien abduction scenarios are obvious.
Location. Croydon England
Date: 1803
Time: various
A strange figure described as dressed in a black mask and cape, attacked over 50 people in the Hare and Hounds and Purley Way area. It escaped by leaping over 12-foot walls. No other information.
Source: Strange Croydon
Comments: Maybe one of the earliest depictions of “Springheeled Jack”
Location. Silesia, Barsdorf
Date: 1803
What was recorded, as a shooting star got larger and larger until it fell to earth between Barsdorf and Freiburg. A whizzing noise was heard as it passed close to the ground before it landed and then lay burning. Next day a jelly-like mass was found on the snow.
Location. Harayadori Japan
Date: February 22 1803
Time: unknown
Several villagers and anglers gathered on the beach to see an object, which had appeared on the shore. The object was about 20 feet in diameter, having a Saturn like shape with the upper dome apparently made out of glass, and appeared to have transparent sliding doors. The villagers looked inside the dome and saw some strange lettering and a bottle that appeared to have water inside. A very beautiful young woman was also seen inside the craft. She had pale features and had long shoulder length hair. She stepped out of the object and spoke in an unknown language; she also carried a small box, which she would not let anyone touch. Eventually she went back inside the craft and the villagers pushed it out to see where it drifted out of sight.
Source: Jenny Randles, Abduction
Location. Mays Landing, New Jersey
Date: 1804
Time: unknown
The famous American naval hero Stephen Decatur was said to have briefly skirmished with a bizarre creature known as the “Jersey Devil.” He was test firing a new cannon when the weird winged creature suddenly appeared overhead. Decatur reportedly fired a shot at the thing but missed, and it flew off.
Source: Phillip L Rife, America’s Nightmare Monsters
Location. Koyuk Alaska
Date: 1805
Time: unknown
Natives told of seeing a silver disc like object that sailed through the air and then landed. Apparently three human-looking “little men” emerged from the object and reportedly stayed in the village for a while.
Source: Mark Chorvinsky, Fate January 1990
Location. Providence, Rhode Island
Date: July 1806
Time: evening
The reverend Abraham Cummings was informed that two persons had seen what appeared to have been a specter in a field. Ten minutes later he went to check the field. At first as he looked toward an eminence 12 ft distance from the house he saw what appeared to be a white rock on the ground, he ignored it. Three minutes later, he accidentally looked again in the same direction and the supposed white rock was now in the air, its form a complete globe, with a tincture of red and its diameter about two feet. Curious, he walked towards it to obtain more accurate information. The globe then approached to within 11 ft of the witness, it did so at very high speed. It then instantly assumed the form of a female dress, but did not appear taller than a girl seven years old. While he looked upon her, he thought in his mind “you are not tall enough for the woman who has so frequently appeared among us!” Immediately she grew up as large and tall as what a normal woman would be. The female entity appeared glorious and on her head was the representation of the sun diffusing the luminous, rectilinear rays all around. Through the glow, the witness saw the form of a woman in a dress. Others apparently saw it in the area accompanied by a small luminous cloud.
Source: Chris Aubeck, Return to Magonia
Location. Chimney Rock, North Carolina
Date: July 31 1806
Time: unknown
Numerous witnesses among them a Mrs Reaves reported seeing thousands of human-like shiny white figures floating in the air over the mountain. They seemed to be wearing brilliant white clothing that hurt the eyes when looking at it. Some of the witnesses felt weak looking at the spectacle and others had a solemn and pleasing impression while looking at the beings. No other information.
Source: John Keel, Our Haunted Planet
Location.
Date:
Time:
1808 France, Piedmont: Formation of 'luminous discs' observed in the sky.
Location. Sandside, Caithness, Scotland
Date: January 12 1809
Time: morning
Two women standing on a beach in a remote area of northeastern Scotland saw what looked like the face of a young woman “round and plump and of a bright pink hue” in the sea. It then disappeared into the water, to reappear a short time later. When they were able to observe more of the top part of its body, they could see that it had well-formed human breasts. From time to time it lifted a long, thin white arm above the waves to toss back its long green hair.
Source: Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
Location. Outside Meklong, Thailand
Date: August 1810
Time: unknown
On a road outside the city Dr Jacob Hazlitt, a missionary, reported that he saw a man dressed in silver clothing. He described the skin of the humanoid as “gleaming” and that the entity had only one eye.
Source: Ahmad Jamaluddin
Location. Meklong Thailand
Date: September 1810
Time: night
Awoken by an unknown force one night, a local Siamese woman was surprised to hear that the surrounding area was devoid of the usual animal noises. Looking out the window, the woman beheld a strange humanoid in her backyard. She claimed that the humanoid had only one eye and was dressed in a suit, which seemed to be made out of metal. The episode ended with the woman claiming to have been abducted to a “palace of lights.”
Source: Ahmad Jamaluddin
Comments: Early abduction report conducted by Cyclopean humanoids.
Location. Chimney Rock Pass, North Carolina
Date: September 1811
Time: afternoon
Several Rutherford County mountaineers reported the “Specter Battle of Chimney Rock Pass.” The principal witnesses, an elderly farm couple living in the deepest part of the ravine, described a battle between “two opposing armies of horse-men, high up in the air all mounted on winged horses.” The “battle” lasted 10 minutes after the commander of one army cried “Charge!” the two armies dashing into each other, thrusting and hacking, the ring of their clashing swords audible, their blades glittering and flashing in the setting Sun’s rays. When one army was routed and left the field, the shouts of the victors and wails of the defeated were plainly heard. On subsequent evenings, the old couple and three “respectable men” visiting them again saw the “specter troopers”, but not in battle.
Source: T Peter Park, The Anomalist # 10
Location. Corphine, Kintyre, Scotland
Date: October 13 1811
Time: unknown
John McIsaac reported seeing sitting on top of a black rock on the seacoast a bizarre creature. “The upper half of it was white, and of the shape of a human body; the other half towards the tail, of a brindled or reddish gray color, apparently cover with scales; but the extremity of the tail itself was of a greenish red shining color.” The head was covered with long hair and at times it would put it back the hair on both sides of its head, it would also spread its tail like a fan and while so extended the tail continued in tremulous motion and when drawn again it remained motionless. It had very long brown hair and its face was human-like, with very hollow eyes.
Source: Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
Location. Kintyre, Scotland
Date: October 13 1811
Time: afternoon
That same afternoon, Katherine Loynachan stated that she was herding some cattle near the sea shore when she saw a creature sliding off one of the rocks and dropping into the water, surfacing six yards out. It had long black hair, white skin on its upper part, and dark brown skin on its lower, which was fish-like.
Source: Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
Location. Between Manosque & Villenueve d’Apert, France
Date: March 20 1812
Time: night
Several persons traveling by couch during the night of the earthquake saw what appeared to be a luminous balloon, which flew over them and seem to divide itself into 4 fiery pieces. At this point the stunned travelers saw around them four men carrying lanterns, locked hand to hand and dancing around the couch.
Source: Pierre Delval Contacts of the 4th type
Location. Havarah Park, England
Date: October 28 1812
Time: morning
Near Ripley, witnesses saw troops of phantom soldiers in the sky.
Source: T Peter Park, The Anomalist # 10
Location. Bucovina, Romania
Date: 1812
Time:
The war between the Russians, French and Germans, over the town of Bucovina. ”Towards noon a large star with many rays appeared and in the night she ascended higher and flew in the direction of the Russians; afterwards she returned and went to the west, where the beams where extinguished. Thus did the star reveal herself for four months.
Location. Near Leipzig, Germany
Date: 1813
Time: unknown
Tomasz Kossowski a nobleman and smith from Izabelin was wounded during the battle of Leipzig. He was lying in the bushes praying when he saw the “Immaculate” clad in amaranth and golden robes with the white eagle in the center of her chest. She assured him that he will recover and back to the homeland. She also ordered him to find the image of Mary and place it in Lichen. The soldier was then found by locals and when recovered was returned to his hometown Izabelin. After nearly 25 years of searching he found the holy image in Ligota near Czestochowa. In 1844 he place the image in the Forest of Grablin. He died in 1848. The basilica of Lichen is one the largest churches in Europe. Its one of the most important pilgrimage destinations for Polish Christian Catholics.
Source: direct from
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Location. Portgordon, Scotland
Date: April 20 1814
Time: 1600
Two fishermen were returning from fishing in Sprey Bay, when about a quarter of a mile from the shore, the sea being perfectly calm, they observed, at a small distance from their boat with its back turned towards them, and half its body above the water, a creature of a tawny color, appearing like a man sitting, with his body half bent. Surprised, they approached the creature, till they came within a few yards, when the noise by the boat occasioned the creature to turn about, which gave the men a better opportunity of observing him. They described his countenance as swarthy, his hair short and curled, of a color between a green and a gray, he had small eyes, a flat nose, his mouth was large, and his arms of extraordinary length. Above the waist, he was shaped like a man, but as the water was clear the men could perceive that form the waist downwards, his body tapered considerably or, as they expressed it, “like a large fish without scales.” The creature then dived and surfaced some distance away and was not alone. With him was what appeared to be a female of his species for she had breasts and hair that reached past her shoulders. The two men then rowed as fast as they could to land.
Source: The Historical Mermaid
Location. West coast of Scotland
Date: Summer 1814
Time: afternoon
A frightened boy reported seeing a creature half human and half fish, he got nothing but ridicule for his efforts. A month later a group of children saw what they thought was a drowning woman, whom closer examination revealed to be something else entirely. The upper part was exactly like a woman, the skin appeared very white, and a good deal of color in the cheeks, and very long darkish looking hair; the arms were well proportioned above, but tapered very much towards the hands, which were no longer than a child’s. The tail was like an immense large cuddy fish in color and shape. Other witnesses arrived, including a man with a rifle that was dissuaded by the others to shoot at it. The creature remained in sight for two hours, at times making a hissing noise like a goose.
Source: Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
Location. Ilkley Moor England
Date: 1815
Time: morning
William Butterfield a bath operator at the local White Wells natural springs was about to open the door to the spa and had inserted the keys in the lock when it spun around on its own accord. He looked inside and saw numerous little creatures dressed in green, no more than 18 inches high, making jabbering noises and dipping in the water, apparently taking a bath. Upon noticing the witness, the creatures began bounding over the walls, running madly, heads over heels. They were quickly lost from sight.
Source: Peter Hough & Moyshe Kalman, The Truth about UFO Abductions
Location. Gallardon, Beauce, France
Date: January 15 1816
Time: twilight
33-year old ploughman Joseph Martin was in the fields collecting horse manure when he heard a voice challenge him from behind; at first he turned around and did not see anything. Afraid he picked up his pitchfork and again heard the voice, this time more insistent. This time when he turned around he distinctly saw a strange figure, which he described as a small caped man, with a hat and a clear frock coat. The stranger ordered Martin (addressed him a “my friend”) to go to Tileries and ask an audience with King Louis XVIII and speak to him on the stranger’s behalf. As night fell, the stranger vanished. Martin goes home and tells his wife what had occurred, she makes fun of the situation and advises him to down to the cellar to fetch some cider. Once in the cellar the short caped stranger who tells him to trust him because he is “an Angel of God” again confronts Martin. The supposed angel formulated a secret message for him to present to the King. The next morning Martin tells the abbot of Laperruque about the encounter and this one recognizing Martin’s excellent reputation in town, passes the information over to higher authorities. On April 2 Martin is granted his audience with the King, which lasts for about an hour. The message has given to the king has remained secret to this day, but the next morning King Louis XVIII abdicated and along with the Duke of Angouleme went in exile to England never to return.
Source: Louis Pauwels, “Martin of Gallardon”
Location. Edinburgh
Date: 1816
Time:
Many people saw a large, luminous crescent-shaped object flying over the city.
Location. Adams, Robertson County, Tennessee
Date: 1817
Time: daytime
In the early 1800’s John Bell moved his family from North Carolina to the Red River bottomland in Robertson County, Tennessee, setting in a community that later became known as Adams. Bell purchased some land and a large log home for his family. The Bells quickly made many friends and gained prominence in the community. John Bell acquired additional land and cleared a number of fields over the next several years. One day in 1817, John Bell was inspecting his cornfield when he encountered a strange-looking animal sitting in the middle of a cornrow. Shocked by the appearance of this animal, which had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit, Bell shot at it several times without any apparent effect. The animal then vanished. Bell thought nothing more about the incident---at least not until after dinner. That evening, the Bells began hearing “beating” sounds on the outside of their house. These mysterious sounds continued with increased force each night. Bell and his sons often hurried outside to catch the culprit but always returned empty handed. The noises were soon followed by more problems. The Bell children began waking up frightened and complaining of sounds much like rats gnawing at their bedposts. It wasn’t long until the children began complaining of more terrifying things---having their bed covers pulled and their pillows were tossed onto the floor by a seemingly invisible force.
Source: The Bell Witch Legend of Tennessee
Comments: This is of course the start of the infamous “Bell Witch” disturbances in this remote area of Tennessee. It is very intriguing that it all started with the encounter with some sort of “crypto” animal or entity.
Location. Atlantic Ocean
Date: May 1817
Time: 1400
Witnesses onboard the ship “Leonidas” sailing from New York to Havre France reported seeing around two in the afternoon at a distance of about half the ship’s length, they saw a strange fish. Its lower parts were like a fish; its belly was all white; the top of the back brown, and there was the appearance of short hair as far as the top of the head. From the breast upwards it had a near resemblance to a human being and looked upon the observers very earnestly. It apparently remained in sight all afternoon.
Source: Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
Location. Amhurst, Massachusetts
Date: 1819
Time:
A white silvery fireball light accompanied by a violent explosion was seen. Afterwards, a gelatinous substance was said to have been found.
Location. Embrun, France
Date: 1820
Time:
A formation of flying objects crossed the French town. Francois Arago wrote of this date in the ‘Annales de chimie et de physique’: "Numerous observers have seen, during an eclipse of the moon, strange objects moving in straight lines. They were equally spaced and remained in line when they made turns. Their movements made a military precision."
Location. Manchester, New York
Date: Spring 1820
Time: afternoon
Mormon spiritual leader Joseph Smith, 15-years of age at the time, said that he had gone out into the woods to meditate after a particular harrowing day. As he headed toward a hill near his home: “Immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me.” He could not speak as thick darkness gathered around him. Moments later a pillar of light descended gradually until it fell upon him. His next memory was of seeing two “personages” that were glowing brightly and stood above him in the air. They called him by name and introduced themselves as father and son.
Source: Chris Aubeck, Return to Magonia
Location. Manchester, New York
Date: September 21 1823
Time: night
According to Joseph Smith the most important visitation happened on this date.He discovered a light appearing in his room, which continued to increased until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at his bedside, standing in air, for his feet did not touch the floor. The entity had no shoes but wore a loose white robe that shone so brightly that Smith declared that he did not “belied that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant.” The figure introduced himself as Moroni a messenger sent by God. Moroni had a message for the young man. Smith had been chosen to translate part of the scriptures then would let the world know the true story of the American continent.
All he had to do was to dig them up at a particular spot on the Hill of Cumorah, where they had lain buried for centuries, and translated them into English. Adding a few quotes from the Old Testament for good measure, mainly about ancient prophesies that were shortly going to be fulfilled. Moroni then left. This is how Joseph Smith described the moment that this happened: “I saw the light in my room gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him: when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right into heaven, and he ascended until he entirely disappeared.” A little while later, on the same night, the “angel” reappeared in Smith’s room.
According to the visitor, the future was grim, and “great desolations by famine, sword and pestilence” would be coming. Having related those things, he again ascended as he had done before. The mysterious Moroni appeared again that night.
Source: Virtually Strange.net
Location. Kolomenskoye, Moscow, Russia
Date: 1825
Time: evening
Two local peasants (possibly slightly inebriated) were returning to their village south of present day Moscow on the banks of the River Moskva when they decided to take a short cut through the bottom of a deep gully. Unexpectedly as both men walked between two huge stones they fell down some kind of corridor apparently into some parallel reality or world. There they saw large hairy humanoid entities that communicated with them and explained to them that they had indeed slipped into another dimensional space and that it would be difficult for them to return back to their plane, but they would attempt to assist the men in doing just that. After some time both peasants found themselves back in the gully and immediately ran to their village but to their surprise more than 20 years had gone by since they had initially disappeared. Luckily some of their relatives still remained in the village and remembered them. The men thought that they had only been gone no more than one day. The police intervened in the manner and interrogated the men, incredibly while being interview in front of the police and other local citizens one of the men suddenly disappeared without a trace. The second man fell into a deep depression after seeing his friend disappear and later committed suicide.
Source: “Inoplanetyanin” (Extraterrestrial) weekly newspaper, Ukraine # 19 May 24 2005, Vadim A Chernobrov, “Encyclopedia of Mysterious places in Russia” quoting Evgeniy Ivanov, Moscow 2004
Comments: Rumors circulated that the area was some kind of portal or gateway to some other dimension, somehow connected with the large stones or dolmens. There are other cases on record of local residents disappearing without a trace. UFOs have also been seen in the area including some videotaped by journalist Vladimir Revenko.
Location. Taganrog, Russia
Date: November 19 1825
Time: night
Feyodor, the old gardener of the estate belonging to the Russian Tsar (Emperor) Alexander the First (1777-1825) was returning home from the christening of his granddaughter. The night was cold and windy. The witness later was to allege on his deathbed that he was “completely sober” explaining that he couldn’t use alcohol since birth because of a distinct allergy to it. The closer Feyodor got to the garden the stormier it seemed to become. The wind was literally knocking him down when suddenly everything became quiet. The gardener was amazed by the sudden change in the weather and looked around. And then unexpectedly the whole garden was lit up by an unbelievably bright “diabolic” light. Feyodor raised his head to the sky and saw a huge bluish sphere or globe “as if made out of fire”. The garden became illuminated just like broad daylight as a result of the light. The old man’s knees became weak as he then lay down next to a bush to observe what occurred next. The scene he beheld was spectacular. The globe-shaped fiery object descended lower and lower straight down onto the garden. Near the ground three narrow shiny landing props jutted out of the object. And at the same time the verandah’s door was flung open, and Tsar Alexander the First and his wife Elizabeth appeared, both casually dressed for a night’s walk.
Amazingly, as appeared to the witness the incredibly sight did not seem to bother them or affect them in any way. The Emperor then turned to his wife and kissed her on her forehead; he then sharply turned and began walking along the garden path towards the fiery globe. The Empress remained standing in place and covered her face with her palms. The elderly witness then saw Alexander approach the fiery globe. The Emperor was then levitated into the air and seemed to melt into the fiery globe. The next second Feyodor lost consciousness and blacked out. Later he woke up feeling a strong icy wind all around him. In the morning of November 19 1825 at 0900A the death of the Emperor was publicly announced. The empress testified about the fact. The body in the closed coffin was never examined to establish the fact that it was really that of Alexander the first. Feyodor only confessed about the incident on his deathbed and died in complete belief that the Tsar was taken to God and the skies alive because “of his good deeds”.
Source: “Sekretnye Isslendovaniya” (Secret Research) Dnepropetrovsk Ukraine # 11 2005
Comments: Is this proof that “extraterrestrials” have had for hundreds of years direct influence into human affairs.
Additional information: Tsar Alexander I, the man of mystery became increasingly more involved in mysticism and increasingly more suspicious of those around him. On the way to a conference in Aachen Germany, an attempt had been made to kidnap him. Now he would trust no one. At home, his young daughter an only child, died and his wife became ill. In 1825 the “Tsar of all the Russians” died in the city of Taganrog. After an official announcement of the Tsar’s death, a British ambassador at the Russian court said he had seen Alexander boarding a ship. It was later rumored that a monk, Feodor Kuzmich, was really the former ruler. Whatever the truth when the Soviet Government opened Alexander’s grave many years later it was empty. (!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Russia
Location. Poland, Ohio
Date: 1825
Time:
A brilliant object was visible in the sky for more than an hour.
Location. English Channel
Date: 1826
Time:
Sailors in the Channel reported seeing a gray, torpedo-shaped object flying overhead.
Location. Tjerwerk, Friesland, The Netherlands
Date: 1827
Time: night
A man named Lieuwe Klaasens together with a local pastor saw a fireball descending from the sky and land nearby. The fireball took the shape of a human; it then strolled towards a small “terp” (an ancient Frisian burial ground). There, the fiery human rolled itself up to a ball and disappeared in the air.
Source: M D Teenstra, K. ter Laan, Folkloristisch Woordenboek Van Nederland
Location. North of Wingen Australia
Date: March 1828
Time: unknown
The Australasian Post reported that a large silvery cigar shaped object had landed at the Burning Mountain Nature Reserve setting fire to all the vegetation and killing nearby cattle. “The noise was dreadful and there was a serious of loud bangs.” Tall man-like strangers later appeared in the town. They never said a word but always pointed to the things they wanted. Around the same time several locals and domesticated animals disappeared.
Source: Strange Nation
Location. Joseph Smith and Moroni
Date: 1820s:
Time:
Joseph Smith, at the young age of 14 or 15 in his hometown of Manchester, New York, reported that a "cloud of darkness" descended over him, but then a "pillar of light" suddenly appeared and two luminous beings stepped out of it. One of these visitors was the angel Moroni, who returned several times, and eventually led Smith to a set of golden plates which he translated through a pair of spectacles he called "Urim and Thummim." These plates formed the basis of the Book of Mormon. The "angel" Moroni reported that there were many inhabited worlds in the cosmos, and that the God of the Bible was really a being which dealt near the star Kolob. Mormonism has a strange obsession with genealogy and some curious doctrines about the afterlife, and it also suggests that there may have been ancient advanced civilizations in the Americas which were destroyed in a cataclysm. Recently, some documents have come to light - many of which may have been forgeries - that suggest that, before he became a religious prophet, Smith may have been involved in "scrying" for gold (e.g. 'gold-digging'), alchemy, occultism, and Freemasonry.
Location. Benbecula, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Date: 1830
Time: morning
A group of crofters in an island were cutting seaweed when one of them stumbled across an animal “in the form of a woman in miniature” on the shore. The men in the party tried and failed to capture her, but as she tried to swim to safety a boy hurled a stone that struck her in the back. Two days later, her dead body washed up two miles from where she had been seen, and a careful examination was made of it. “The upper part of the creature was about the size of a well-fed child of three or four years of age, with abnormally developed breasts.” The hair was long, dark, and glossy, while the skin was white, soft, and tender. The lower part of the body was like a salmon, but without scales. It was reportedly buried near the sea.
Source: Mike Dash, Borderlands
Location. Paris, France
Date: Summer 1830
Time: night
24-year old novice of the Sisters of Charity, Catherine Laboure, was awakened by a young child, about five years old, dressed in white who called to her: “Catherine, Catherine, wake up. Come to the chapel, the Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.” Catherine decided to follow the child down to the chapel. The candles were burning as if at a midnight Mass. About 30 minutes later, at midnight, she heard a noise that sounded like the rustle of a silk dress. When she looked up she saw a beautiful young woman surrounded by a blaze of white light sitting in the Father Director’s chair. The child who brought her to the chapel told her: “Here is the Blessed Virgin!” Catherine fell to her knees and placed her hands on Mary’s lap. During this discourse with the Blessed Mother, Catherine was warned of dire future occurrences. Mary told her: “The times are very evil. Sorrows will befall France; the throne will be overturned. The whole world will be plunged into every kind of misery.” Catherine was to have another encounter that same November.
Source: Our Lady of The Miraculous Medal
Location. Near Zarnow Germany
Date: 1831
Time: night
In was reported that a terrible wolf was loose in the woods and was causing great harm to humans and cattle. Once he even ripped a child to pieces. All the peasants in the region banded together and pursued him, finally surrounding him in some brush. They were about to kill it when suddenly a large man-like figure holding a club appeared before them. Thinking that the terrifying figure was a werewolf the peasants scattered.
Source: J. D. H. Temme
Location. Thuringia, Germany
Date: 1831
Time:
It was reported that a brilliant luminous disc was seen in the night sky.
Location. Canada
Date: 1833
Time:
A large, square, luminous object was seen for more than an hour over Niagara Falls.
Location. Off the Isle of Yell, Scotland
Date: July 1833
Time: unknown
Six fishermen reported that their fishing line had become entangled with a mermaid. They said they had kept her onboard their boat for three hours, and said that she was about three feet long. “She offered no resistance nor attempted to bite, but she moaned piteously.” A few stiff bristles were on top of the head, extending down to the shoulder, and these she could erect and depress at pleasure, something like a crest. She had neither gill nor fins and there were no scales on her body. The men, who were very superstitious threw her overboard eventually and said that she dived “in a perpendicular direction.”
Source: The Historical Mermaid
Location. Szeged, Hungary
Date: 1836
Time: night
Near the Romanian border, spherical lights and the appearance of what looks like a “lady in white” create uproar in a part of the town. No further information or details.
Source: Ion Hobana, & Julien Weverbergh, UFO’s Behind the Iron Curtain
Location. Cherbourg, France
Date: 1836
Time:
In this French coastal town what was a described as a 'gleaming aerial vessel' was seen in the sky overhead.
Location. London England
Date: February 20 1838
Time: 2030
Lucy Scales, 18 and her sister Margaret Scales were returning home, from their brother’s house in the Limehouse area. Reports indicate that Spring Heeled Jack jumped out in front of Lucy Scales and spat blue fire in her face. Written evidence indicates that Lucy was “blinded”---whether this blindness was temporary, permanent or simply a figure of speech is not known. After the attack, witnesses claim that Spring Heeled Jack jumped from the ground to the roof of a house and made his escape.
Source: Spring Heeled Jack, London England
Location. London England
Date: February 22 1838
Time: night
18-year old Jane Alsop was in her home on Bearhind Lane in the Bow district, when she heard rapping on the door. Answering the door, a black-cloaked man exclaimed, “I’m a police officer. For God’s sake, bring me a light, for we have caught Spring Heeled Jack in the lane.” Jane, who lived with her father and two sisters, went to fetch a light for the man. She returned with a candle and as she was handing the light to the man, it shone on his face and she noticed that it was Spring Heeled Jack. He immediately spat a blue and white “gas” into her face. She attempted to run back into the house but he held on tightly to the back of her hair. One of her sisters managed to pull her out of his grasps and drag her back into the house. Spring Heeled Jack continued banging on the door some time before hastily leaving. Jane described him as wearing a large helmet and a sort of tight-fitting costume that felt like oilskin. But the cape was just like the ones worn by the police officers. His hands were as cold as ice and like powerful claws. The most frightening thing about him was his eyes, which shone like balls of fire.
Source: Spring Heeled Jack London England
Location. London England
Date: February 23 1838
Time: night
The following day on Turner Street near Commercial Road a strange figure knocked on the resident’s door. When a servant boy answered the door, the figure asked to speak to the master of the house, Mr. Ashworth. The boy turned to call Mr. Ashworth when he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that the visitor was none other than Spring Heeled Jack. With glowing orange eyes and clawed hands, Spring Heeled Jack waved his fist at the boy and leapt over the houses on Commercial Road. The lad noticed that under his cloak, an embroidered letter “W” on his shirt.
Source: Spring Heeled Jack, London England
Location. Stowmarket, England
Date: 1842
Time: night
A man claimed an encounter with “fairies” when walking through a meadow on his journey home. He encountered about a dozen of them, the biggest about 3 ft tall and small ones like dolls. They were moving around hand in hand in a ring, no noise came from them. They seemed light and shadowy, not like solid bodies. He ran home and got three other witnesses but when they got to the location the small entities were gone.
Source: The Elusive Little People, Part 1
Location. Orenburg, Soviet Union
Date: 1842
Time:
Small metal objects, perfectly hexagonal, fell out of the sky after a "strange cloud" appeared.
Location. Warwick, England
Date: 1843
Time:
A remarkable cloud passed over Warwick and Charles Cooper reported seeing three beings in the sky.
Location. Near Warwick Ontario Canada
Date: October 3 1843
Time: daytime
A man was laboring in a field under a slight rain when soon the sky became clear and the witness heard a distant rumbling coming from the west, he did not see anything so he kept working. The rumbling sound became louder and seemed to approach. The witness looked again and saw a strange cloud approaching and underneath the cloud, the saw three men, all three completely white in color. These men sailed through the air one following the other. The three men passed directly above the witness at treetop level. The men were motionless and seemed to emit “moaning” sounds. The moans sounded like loud “Woe’s.” The three figures eventually drifted out of sight.
Source: John Robert Colombo, UFOs over Canada
Location. Naples, Italy
Date: 1845
Time:
Astronomers at a Naples observatory recorded the appearance of several luminous discs, which left trails.
Location. USA
Date: 1846
Time:
A 'luminous flying disc' was reported over this eastern seaboard area.
Location. London, England
Date: 1847
Time:
A spherical craft was spotted rising vertically through the clouds.
Location. Near Balashov, Saratov region, Russia
Date: October 12-13 1847 until October 6 1848
Time: various
During the night local residents noticed four fiery columns of light in the clear northeastern sky. The columns or beams of light were in close proximity of each other, with blue and white shades. The phenomenon lasted for about 2hours. After that the area became dark again and the sky again appeared normal. Soon after this observation, bizarre looking strangers appeared in the Saratov region. These “men” looked aged, like elderly men, with strange yellow-greenish looking faces, and all the men were beardless. These strangers visited several villages but never begged for alms. When the locals attempted to communicate with the strangers these only mumbled in an unrecognizable language which the Russian villagers could not understand. So the strangers were then considered eccentric or crazy (if indeed extraterrestrials, a perfect disguise which did not attract too much attention). Neither village elders nor district policemen detained the strangers. But as was found out later the strangers aroused the suspicion of local representatives and authorities. The strangers seemed to move very quickly in between villages, and never stayed one night in any of the villages. But the authorities could never corner or pinpoint the whereabouts of the strangers. All of the strangers appeared to vanish soon after October 6 1848 when a report was sent to the Ministry of Internal affairs from the town of Balashov. This report stated that on the above date at around 2100 there was very bright lighting over the area corresponding with the rumble of thunder which lighted the sky. And then at 2200 a blood red colored spot appeared in the center of the sky which was visible for 5 minutes, the spot then took an elongated form, becoming pinkish in color and moving towards the northwest, in half an hour the sky appeared to clear and the red “spot” moved to the west and separated into several dozen cone-shaped columns stretching to the horizon and becoming dark red in color. After that the north was covered with whitish-red stripes which slowly drifted towards the west. The phenomenon vanished around 2300.
Source: “Sekretnye Isslendovaniya v Ukraine” (Secret investigations, Ukrainian variant) # 6 2003
Location. Quigley’s Point, Lough Foyle, Ireland
Date: September 9 1848
Time: early morning
The sky turned dark and seemed to open, with a reddish opening, with a regiment of soldiers appearing in the reddish area. These were followed by war vessels under full sail, then “a man and a woman and a swan and a peahen,” after which the “opening” closed.
Source: T. Peter Park, The Anomalist # 10
Location. Lacar Lake, Neuquen, Argentina
Date: 1850
Time: unknown
A mermaid like creature, apparently half amphibian, and half human was reportedly seen in the area. The mermaid was reported to be able to levitate over the water, and supposedly lived in an underwater city. No other information.
Source: Fabio Picasso, Strange Magazine # 10
.
Location. Lichen, Poland
Date: May 1850
Time: daytime
Devout Catholic Mikoaj Sikatka a local shepherd was working on a pasture when he saw a beautiful woman. She blessed God and said, “Mikoaj, tell the people that the punishment for their sins is approaching. The plague will appear in this area…encourage them to do penance and prayer. If they are righteous there will be no punishment. Especially they should pray to the rosary and consider the life of Jesus Christ and his martyrdom.” Mikoaj was also told that a great war was approaching. She also asked him to fix up the nearby chapel since there will be many visitors soon. But the modest and shy shepherd didn’t tell anybody about the encounter. After a few weeks and while praying in the field he saw the woman again.
The extraordinary looking woman prayed for humanity’s sins, and called for penance and to pray with the rosary. She then spoke about Polish history and foretold the rebirth of Poland. She reprimanded him for his passivity in revealing her predictions. However he became more confused since he didn’t know how. He shared his views with the woman (Mary?) during a prayer in the woods in August 15. The woods shone with brilliance and he saw Mary for the third time. He had a white eagle on her chest. She repeated the warnings and added, “I will never leave the people and will save them just like this white eagle.” She told him that her image should be removed from the forest chapel and placed in a more accessible location, since soon pilgrims will be arriving from different locations in Poland. “A magnificent temple devoted to me will be built there soon”. And she said to Mikoaj, “Preach about what you have seen and heard” and as proof she made the old shepherd younger (!).
Source:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
quoting “Nasza Arka” (Our Arc) Catholic Family Magazine
Comments: The cholera plague took place in 1852 as Mary foretold. Poland lost its independence in 1795 and regained it in 1918. [as3]
Location. Hawick, Northumberland, England
Date: July 1851
Time: morning
A local and highly respectable and intelligent farmer reported a most remarkable phenomenon. Walking over a hill on his farm early one morning, his attention was arrested by a light cloud of pale mist of remarkable form, being perfectly circular, slowly uprising from the neighboring valley. The sun was shining brightly around him from the other side and as the cloud gradually floated up still retaining its form, which was very like that of the halo often observed around the moon, he found it present an inner circle much smaller but well defined, and containing, as in a frame a human figure of most colossal proportions. Instead of standing aghast in the mute amaze of motionless horror, as many would have done, he saluted the specter with a bow, which was returned by the airy phantom with the utmost promptitude and civility. He then walked away for a little and on returning found the shadow still visible, which continued to bow and otherwise imitate every motion he made, thus proving it to be a reflection of his own form in the cloud (?).
Source: Th. Paijmans in Magonia data-exchange Quoting News of the World July 13 1851
Location. Washington Island, Wisconsin
Date: circa 1853
Time: evening
An eight-year old girl named Anna was out in the fields collecting wild berries when she was reportedly accosted by several tiny human-like figures wearing shiny clothing and small funny pointy hats and shoes. They told her they were very hungry and asked for some of the berries. They talked to the girl and allowed her to dance with them they also taught her a new son, that resembled “a haunting melody.”
Source: W. Files
Location. Waldoboro, Maine
Date: 1855
Time: unknown
A local man wrote a letter to a local publication describing how he chased and captured a “miniature human being” near this town. It was 18 inches in height, with limbs in perfect proportion. With the exception of his face, hands and feet, he was covered with hair of a jet-black hue. The man concluded his letter by inviting any interested parties to come by to view the “strange specimen” for themselves. Its not known what became of the little men.
Source: Phillip L Rife, America’s Nightmare Monsters
Location. Central Russia, European Part (Exact location unknown)
Date: circa 1855
Time: unknown
The famous Russian writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was once swimming in a quite forest lake in a remote area of Central Russia when he felt someone’s hand touching his shoulder. He turned around and saw a “horrible” female humanoid creature, similar to a monkey, with a huge grimacing face, covered in long red hair. Turgenev was seized by panic and horror and rushed to the shore, but the “monster” chased him. Luckily there was another witness near the shore, a young boy, a shepherd who came running, reacting to Turgenev’s screams. Using a lash or whip the boy kept the monster away from Turgenev until he reached safety.
Source: Alexander Bogatikov “Water Man” in: Interesnaya Gazeta” Kiev # 101 D+ bock, June 2005
Location. Off the coast of Britain
Date: June 4 1857
Time: unknown
A Scottish seaman reported spotting a creature, “in the shape of a woman with full breast, dark complexion, and comely face.” No other information.
Source: The Historical Mermaid
Location. Near Neston England
Date: July 1857
Time: evening
On the outskirts of town a young shepherd named Robert Clancy was tending his flock---and his sweetheart---when he noticed a round gleaming vessel sanding on three legs at the side of a field. A golden haired woman in unusual green clothes stood by the unearthly craft watching Clancy and his girlfriend for a while, then waved and climbed into the vehicle, which afterwards took off into the sky and headed northwards. For months afterwards, no sheep would graze on the spot where the craft had stood.
Source: Tom Slemen, quoting Charles Fort
Location. Ft. Bridger, Utah
Date: 1858
Time: unknown
During the founding of Ft Bridger by the colonists they reportedly found a “tribe” of small, smelly people, who were called the Northern Paiutes. They only ate corn, which they got from the local Indians and lived, in “holes” in the ground. They left shortly before the main force of “white people” made it to the area.
Source: UFO Updates, Toronto
Location. Lourdes, France
Date: February 11 1858
Time: mid-day
14-year old Bernadette Soubirous was scavenging for animal bones along the banks of a stream just outside the town. Her two young companions decided to cross to the opposite side and Bernadette paused in front of a small grotto in the cliff face to remove her shoes and stockings. She soon noticed a white object in the shape of a woman or girl inside the cave. This vision seems to have sent her into a state of ecstasy, since she proceeded to paddle across the stream without being bothered by the freezing waters. She described the woman as being dressed in white, a white dress and a blue sash and a yellow rose on each foot the color of the chair of her rosary. At first she thought she was seeing things and found her rosary. She attempted to make the sign of the cross but could not get her hand up to her forehead. The vision made the sign of the cross, and then Bernadette’s hand shook. After reading her rosary, the vision suddenly disappeared. Interpreted as a Virgin Mary encounter.
Source: Mike Dash, Borderlands
Location. Lourdes, France
Date: April 10 1858
Time: afternoon
Some women from Lourdes claimed to see the Blessed Virgin while praying at the grotto, and they were the first of many. They climbed up to the back of the grotto and along a small shaft to a hidden cavern. One of these, Claire-Marie Cazenave, aged 22, claimed to have seen something in the shape of a woman, carrying a child, and dressed in white. Two older women alleged that they too saw “something” but they variously described it as a ten-year old or a four-year old girl. Their only source of lighting was candles.
Source: Theotokos.org
Location. Lourdes, France
April 14 1858
Time: afternoon
Another woman also claimed to have seen “something” in the cavern. A few days later a young girl had to be brought down from the cavern in some distress, claiming to have seen, “the immaculate Conception, carrying a child in her arms, and standing beside her a man with a long beard.” This led to a great deal of confusion.
Source: Theotokos.org
Location. Jay Ohio
Date: 1858
Time: daytime
Mr. Henry Wallace and other residents of this town reported seeing a shadow that was thrown over the place where they were; this necessarily attracted their attentions to the heavens, where they one and all beheld a large and curiously constructed vessel, not over one hundred yards from the earth. They could plainly discern a large number of people onboard of her, whose average height appeared to be about twelve feet. Wheels and other mechanical appendages all of which worked with a precision and a degree of beauty never yet attained by any mechanical skill upon this planet evidently worked the vessel.
Source: Chris Aubeck, Return To Magonia
Location. Mohan, India
Date: February 25 1858
Time: unknown
What was termed as “phantom soldiers” wearing traditional Hindu costumes were seen in the sky above this city by British witnesses.
Source: T Peter Park, The Anomalist # 10
Location. Robinsonville, Wisconsin
Date: October 9 1859
Time: afternoon
Adele Brise was on her way to the grist mill with a sack of wheat on her head and as she came near the place, she saw a lady in white standing between two trees, one a maple, the other a hemlock. Adele was frightened and stood still. The vision slowly disappeared, leaving a white cloud after it. Adele continued on her errand and returned home without seeing anything more. On the following Sunday, she had to pass on her way to Mass at Bay Settlement this time she was not alone, but was accompanied by her sister Isabel and a neighbor Mrs. Vander Niessen. When they came near the trees, the same lady in white was at the place where Adele had seen her before. Adele was again frightened, and said, almost in a tone of reproach, “Oh, there is that lady again.” The other two did not see anything, but they could tell by Adele’s look that she was afraid. Adele then saw the lady disappear as the first time, and all she could see was a little mist or white cloud. After Mass, her two companions and a man who was clearing land for the Holy Cross Fathers at Bay Settlement accompanied Adele. As they approached the “hallowed” spot Adele could see the beautiful lady, clothed in dazzling white, with a yellow sash around her waist. Her dress fell to her knees in graceful folds. She had a crown of stars around her head, and her long, golden wavy hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Overcome by this heavenly light and the beauty of her amiable visitor, Adele fell to her knees. At this point the mysterious lady told Adele: “I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning, and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them.” Soon the manifestation then lifted her hands, as though beseeching a blessing for those at her feet and slowly vanished, leaving Adele overwhelmed and prostrate on the ground.
Source: Sister Pauline LaPlant, Robinsonville, Wisconsin
Location. Shreveport, Louisiana
Date: 1860
Time:
"Our attention was called to a strange light in the heavens. On going out into the gallery we had a magnificent view of it. It appeared to the naked eye, about 300 yards in length, extending from North to West appearing just above the tallest trees. Its color was that of a red hot stove from the center beautiful rays resembling those of the sun drawing water would ascend to a considerable height, the whole presenting a very beautiful and sublime appearance. We watched it for about an hour without perceiving it to change any.
Location. Norfolk, Virginia
Date: Aug. 6, 1860;
Two objects, one red and one green, flew overhead together, moving with an undulating motion.
(NICAP UFO Evidence, 1964, Hall)
Location. Cwmdwr, Wales
Date: August 1862
Time: 1400
Two men, David Evans and Evan Lewis had stopped their horses for a rest opposite to a farm known as Maestwynog, and were looking in the direction of a hillside not far off, when they noticed several little figures walking up a hill on a winding footpath. As they reached the top of a hill the little men jumped up and made a circle and began dancing in earnest. Suddenly all the little men suddenly scattered in different directions and disappeared from sight.
Source: Janet Bord, Faeries, Real Encounters with The Little People
Location. Indian Ocean
Date: September 1862
Time: unknown
The Danish brig “Christine” was wrecked on a desert rock or island several miles in size. The survivors, including a Mr. Oleson had gathered at the base of a cliff waiting for the end as the waves dashed & the winds howled on the rocks. Suddenly from high in the air they saw what seemed to be an immense ship, driven, uncontrolled in the elements. It was headed straight toward the frightened mariners, who cried aloud in despair. But suddenly a whirl of wind changed the course of the object and it crashed against the cliff a few hundred yards from the miserable sailors. Afraid they crept toward the wreck. It appeared to be a vessel as large as a modern battleship, but the machinery was so crushed that they could form no idea as to how the power was applied to the immense wings or sails. Strange implements and articles of furniture could be seen jumbled in an almost shapeless mass. They found in metal boxes covered with strange characters what they afterward discovered to be very wholesome and palatable food, which, with the water in the rocks, saved them from immediate death. Their horror was intensified when they found the bodies of more than a dozen men dressed in garments of strange fashion and texture. The bodies were dark bronze in color, but the strangest feature of all was the immense size of the men. They were estimated to have been more than 12 ft high. They had long hair and beards. They found tools of almost every kind but to large to be used. One man was driven insane & jumped from the cliff into the boiling waters. The others fled in horror from the fearful sight. But hunger forced them to return to the site. After eating heartily of the strange food, they summoned courage to drag the gigantic bodies to the cliff and tumble them over. The survivors were finally able to build a raft and left the island.
Source: Jerome Clark, Fate September 1990
Location. Lorenco Marques, Mozambique
Date: 1862
Time: unknown
Just before the war between the two rival Gaza chiefs, a “mulungwana”, or little white man, alighted on a hill in the area, many people saw it. It was reported that the “white men” had seized the little entity and took him to the capital. No other information.
Source: Brian Aubeck, Return to Magonia
Location. Near Lewisburg, West Virginia
Date: September 1 1863
Time: 1500
A remarkable phenomenon was witnessed a few miles west of this place, at the house of Mrs Pearcy, by Mr. Moses Dwyer, her neighbor, who happened to be seated in her porch at the time, as well as by others at or near the house. The weather was quite hot and dry, not a cloud could be seen, and no wind even ruffled the foliage on the surrounding trees. All things being propitious the grand panorama began to move---just over and through the tops of the trees on the adjacent hills on the South, immense numbers of rolls resembling cotton or smoke, apparently thousands of them, and were, perhaps, an hour in getting by. After these had passed over and out of sight, the scene was changed from the air above to the earth beneath, and became more intensely interesting to the spectators who were witnessing the panorama from different standpoints. In the deep valley beneath thousands upon thousands of apparently human beings (men) came in low traveling in the same direction of the rolls marching in good order, some thirty or forty in depth, moving rapidly---“double quick,” and commence ascending the sides of the almost insurmountable hills opposite, and had the stoop peculiar to men when they ascend a steep mountain. There seemed to be great variety in the size of the men, some were very large whilst others were quite small. Their arms, legs, and heads could be distinctly seen in motion. They seemed to observe strict military discipline and there were no stragglers. There was uniformity of dress, loose white blouses or shirts with white pants wore hats and were without guns, swords, or anything they indicated “men of war.” On they came through the valley and over the steep hill crossing the road and finally passing out of sight, in a direction due North from those who were looking on. On the 14th of the same month, the same scene almost identical, was seen by 8 or 10 of our pickets at Bunger’s Mill, and by many of the citizens in that neighborhood; this is about 4 miles east of Pearcy’s. It lasted about an hour.
Source: Chris Aubeck, Return to Magonia
Location. Siberia, Russia, exact location not given
Date: 1865
Time: afternoon
A shepherd was looking for a lost animal from his herd when he came upon a forest glade. There he saw a giant sphere with supports, and large humanoid looking “monsters.” Right next to them lay his lost cow. It was dead, and its stomach was slit open, yet there was no blood anywhere in sight. The “monsters” bent over the animal, and studied something inside it. It appeared to the witness that they were cutting something out. Some time later they noticed the young man, and gestured to him in a strange fashion. Frightened he ran away from the area.
Source: Paul Stonehill, The Soviet UFO Files
Location. Cadotte Pass, Missouri
Date: September 1865
Time: evening
Rocky Mountain trapper, James Lumley was engaged in trapping in the mountains about 75 five or 100 hundred miles above the great falls of the Upper Missouri when after sunset one evening he beheld a bright, luminous body in the heavens, which was moving with a great rapidity in an easterly direction. It was plainly visible for at least five seconds, when it suddenly separated into particles, resembling the bursting of a skyrocket in the air. A few minutes later he heard a heavy explosion, which jarred the earth very perceptibly, and this was shortly after followed by a rumbling sound, like a tornado sweeping through the forest. A strong wind sprang up about the same time, but as suddenly subsided. The air was filled with a peculiar odor of a sulfuric character. On the ensuing day he discovered at a distance of about 2 miles from his camping place, that, as far as he could see in either direction, a path had been cut through the forest, several rods wide---giant trees uprooted or broken off near the ground---the tops of hills shaved off, and the earth plowed up in many places. Great and widespread havoc was everywhere visible. Following up this track of desolation, he soon ascertained the cause of it in the shape of an immense stone that had been driven into the side of a mountain. An examination of the stone, or so much of it as was visible, showed that it had been divided into compartments, and that in various places; it was carved with curious hieroglyphics. More than this, Lumley also discovered fragments of a substance resembling glass, and here and there dark stains, as though caused by a dark liquid. He was confident that the hieroglyphics were the work of human hands, and that the stone itself, although but a fragment of an immense body, must have been used for some purpose by animated beings. During that time a bright meteor was visible in the area of Leavenworth and Galena. At Leavenworth it was seen to separate in particles and explode.
Source: UFO Research Cincinnati, quoting “The Cincinnati Commercial” October 30 1865
Location. Bracken County, Kentucky
Date: February 13 1866
Time: late night
On Monday night the owner of a local plantation and his family had retired to rest when suddenly they were aroused by a great outcry from the Negro quarters, which was immediately to the rear of the house. They heard men, women and children screaming in terror, creating a scene of utter pandemonium. His wife and him sprang from their bed. Their room was illuminated as brightly as by a flood of sunlight, though the light was of a bluish cast. At first they thought that the Negro cabins were being consumed by fire. They rushed to the windows and beheld a sight that fairly curdled the blood in their veins with horror and filled their hearts with outmost terror. Their daughters, shrieking loudly, came flying into the room, hysterical with fear. They beheld, standing to the right of the upper cabin, near the fence that separated the Negro’s garden from the house yard a creature of gigantic stature, and the most horrifying appearance. It was nearly as high as the cabin and had a monstrous head not similar in shape to that of an ape, with two short white horns above each eye, and it had long arms, covered with shaggy hair of an ashen hue that terminated in huge paws, not unlike those of a cat, and armed with huge and hooked claws. Its breast was as broad as that of a large sized ox, its legs resembled the front legs of a horse, and only the hoofs were cloven. It had a long tail armed with a dart shaped horn, which it was continually switching about. Its eyes glowed like two living coals of fire, while its nostrils and mouth were emitting sheets of blue colored flame, with a hissing sound, like the hissing of a serpent only a thousand fold louder. Its general color, save the arms, was a dull dingy brown. The air was powerfully impregnated with a smell of burning sulfur. The poor Negroes were evidently laboring under extreme terror, and two of them, an old woman and a lad were actually driven to insanity by their fears and have not recovered their reason up to this writing. The strange creature then was enveloped in a spiral in a spiral column of flame that reached nearly to the top of the locust trees adjacent, and which hid its horrid form completely from view. The extinction of the flame was instantaneous, and with its disappearance they were relieved of the presence of this remarkable visitor. It was reported that the same or similar creature appeared on several nights at neighboring plantations.
Source: Jerome Clark, Anomalistic List, quoting Nathaniel G. Squires
Location. Copiago, Chile
Date: March 17 1868
Time: 1700
When the day’s work in the mine was over and all the workers were gathered together waiting for their dinner, we saw arrive through the air on the side of the mine known as “La Ternera” an enormous bird that at first we took for the clouds that a that moment were covering a part of the atmosphere, supposing that it had been separated from other clouds by a chance gust of wind as the object in question approached, causing us great surprise, we could see it was an unknown flying object. It was moving from the northeast to the southeast and its flight was fast and in a very straight line. It passed over just above our heads and we could see the strange structure of its body. Its great wings were covered in brownish feathers, the head of the monster looked like that of a lobster and its eyes open wide and bright like embers, and it seemed to be covered in something resembling thick hair, like a sow. Its body was long like a snake’s and only bright scales could be seen on it, which sounded like metallic pieces when the strange animal moved them. Surprise soon became panic amongst the workers before such a strange phenomenon. Some claim they detected a terrible smell in those moments, a smell similar to arsenic when it is burnt. Others say their senses were not so injured in such an odd manner. The superstitious believe it was the devil himself who they saw pass over, while others remember having witnessed in that city, years ago, the passing of a similar monstrous bird.
Source: Chris Aubeck, Return to Magonia
Location. Parramatta New South Wales, Australia
Date: July 25 1868
Time: unknown
Frederick Birmingham was standing on his cottage verandah when he saw a “vision” of heads floating by him. He then saw an “ark” flying overhead. A voice told him that it was a flying machine. A man-like figure then appeared and invited the witness to board the object, which had landed on a nearby park. The witness was led into a room where he was shown a paper with an equation written on it. The witness then fell asleep and then awoke the next morning in his house.
Source: Mark Moravec, Psiufo Phenomena
Location. Copiago, Chile
Date: Jul., 1868
Time:
A strange "aerial construction" bearing lights and making engine noises flew low over this town. Local people also described it as a giant bird covered with large scales producing a me- tallic noise. Although not an actual landing, this is the first instance of close observation of an unknown object at low altitude in the nineteenth century. (Fort 638; Anatomy 11)
Location. Nice, Alpes Maritime, France
Date: August 1868
Time: unknown
An unspecified number of witnesses watched an enormous sphere of flames land on top of a hill. Two very small occupants, about 1.20m, wearing with greenish luminous clothing exit the sphere and disappear into the woods. No other information.
Source: Yves Naud, “UFOs and Extraterrestrials” Famot 1977
Location. Willow Creek, Bracken County, Kentucky
Date: October 10 1868
Time: night
A wonderful phenomenon has recently made its appearance in this locale about two miles from Brooksville and has been seen by quite a number of the worthy citizens of the county. On the above date one of our citizens, a prominent tobacco merchant, residing in Brooksville was returning home from the southern portion of the county where he had been buying some crops of tobacco and belated was riding along the road when suddenly he beheld a most frightful object in the middle of the road, immediately in front of him. The “object” was about six feet in height and walked upright. The face was at times that of a man, very pale, with curls of flame falling over his shoulders, eyes of sulfurous blue, changing constantly in size, one moment large as a tin cup, and then gradually decreasing in size until it was almost invisible. Its arms were those of a man, and hands deadly pale. In one hand, it held a torch, and in the other a sword that seemed to be about four feet in length. Its lower extremity was that of a horse, with legs well proportioned, and hoofs as those of a horse. Its tail, which was about three feet in length, was of flame. Its breath was a solid sheet of fire, which vibrated with the heaving of its breast, like the pendulum of a clock. It was certainly the most frightful thing the witness ever beheld. It walked off to the side of the road, and then vanished. When it disappeared the witness immediately put spurs to his horse and galloped by the spot where he had seen it. When he arrived at the summit of the hill, about 200 yards off, he looked back and saw the creature in the same spot where he had first beheld it. He stopped his horse and watched for a moment, it walked over to the left side of the road and mounted a rail fence that stood there, and commenced running toward the witness. The witness did not stay to see remainder of the drama. He immediately rode to town, and having told the adventure to some of the citizens, they immediately formed a party and started out to see the strange visitant. When they arrived at the spot, some of them beheld the specter and the others could not see it. It was when they saw it on the fence, and running rapidly along up and down it passed the crowd for the distance of a quarter of a mile. About 2300 it vanished and was seen no more that night. Since then it has been on hand every night, and the excitement is at a very high state now and is increasing.
Source: Jerome Clark, Anomalistic List, quoting Atlanta Daily Constitution November 4 1868
Location. Near Independent Hill, Virginia
Date: December 1868
Time: night
A man named Silas Brown who lived at the edge of a wooded area reported that for the last few weeks he has had visions or encountered an alarming character in the nearby forest but more particularly in the copse adjacent to Mr. Brown’s barn and stable. At numbers of times has an immense figure been seen passing to and fro near the barn, with large horns and terrible claws, which it contracts to a sort of hoof, and has assaulted Mr. Brown, when he attempted after dark to feed his horses and stock, in such a manner and with such violence that he has been compelled to flee to his house for safety. The figure, to the best of Mr. Brown’s recollection seemed about three times as large as a man in its front, and having a back converging from its neck and shoulders horizontally to the distance of some six to eight feet, and supplied on each side with huge and tremendous arms. It is of a pale bluish color when first seen, but upon being irritated by the near approach of any person becomes a deadly white, and issues from its surface a small volume of smoke, accompanied with a sickening smell. This ghoul or unnatural and horrible animal or demon, has been see as often as four times near Mr. Brown’s stable, and when seen, it has lingered till its deadly effluvia has completely impregnated the surrounding atmosphere. One evening Mr. Brown, desiring to have another beside himself see this terrible visitant, induced a courageous gentleman called Siger, who happened with his wife to spend the evening at Mr. Brown’s to go to the stable to feed his horses. Siger, not believing the story, went without hesitation, when, upon entering the stable, he was alarmed by the fall at or near his feet, with a deep rumbling sound, of a tremendous stone. Siger without looking to see whence the rock came, picked the stone up, and it was so hot that he was compelled to drop it. Upon looking up he beheld the unearthly monster not over fifty yards from him, and the air became quickly filled and inoculated with brimstone. Not wishing to be thought a coward, he did not mention anything of this at the house, but upon walking home with his wife the same night he told her of what happened at the stable, and instantly she became alarmed, and was carried home in a state of apparent insensibility.
Source: Jerome Clark, Anomalistic List, quoting Petersburg Daily Index December 18 1868
Location. Assen Norway
Date: Summer 1869
Time: unknown
A man named Just encountered a small man, that wore brown clothing, without any buttons, and on its head he had a large hat. The small man claimed he was an angel and opened up his coat and a bright light shone from inside of it. Apparently the small man gave the witness a letter of “heavenly” origin.
Source: Ole Jonny Braene
Location. Ashland, Tennessee
Date: 1869
Time:
A whirlwind came along over the neighboring woods, taking up small branches and leaves of trees and burring them in a sort of flaming cylinder that traveled at a rate of about five miles an hour, developing size as it traveled. It passed directly over the spot where a team of horses were feeding and singed their manes and tails up to the roots; it then swept towards the house, taking a stack of hay in its course. It seemed to increase in heat as it went, and by the time it reached the house it immediately fired the shingles from end to end of the building, so that in ten minutes the whole dwelling was wrapped in flames. The tall column of traveling caloric then continued its course over a wheat field that had been recently cradled, setting fire to all the stacks that happened to be in its course. Passing from the field, its path lay over a stretch of woods, which reached the river. The green leaves on the trees were crisped to a cinder for a breadth of 20 yards, in a straight line to the Cumberland. When the "pillar of fire" reached the water, it suddenly changed its route down the river, raising a column of steam which went up to the clouds for about half-a-mile, when it finally died out. Not less than 200 people witnessed this strangest of strange phenomena, and all of them tell substantially the same story about it. Source: Symon's Monthly Meteorological Magazine, 1869
Location. Young New South Wales, Australia
Date: June 1869
Time: night
Three men working on splitting posts and rails for fencing were startled to see a small white object of no particular form, on the ground nearby. The object suddenly grew into a white eight-foot tall humanoid figure. One of the men struck it with a stick and it sounded hollow. The figure then chased the men. The men encountered this same figure on another occasion and also saw a strange animal resembling a dog with a chain attached to it.
Source: Mark Moravec, Psiufo Phenomena
Location. African Coast
Date: 1870
Time:
from the log/account of a ship’s captain, F. W. Banner:
“The sailors saw a remarkable object or cloud in the sky. It was a cloud of circular form, with an included semi-circle divided into four parts, the central dividing shaft beginning at the center of the circle and extending far outward, and then curving backward. The thing travelled from a point 20 degrees above the horizon to a point about 80 degrees above. Then it settled down to the northeast, having appeared from the south, southeast. It came up obliquely against the wind, and finally settled down in the wind’s eye. For half an hour this form was visible, then it finally did disappear…”
Location. Atlantic Ocean
Date:
Time:
An object was seen from the ship Lady of the Lake that appeared to be a light-gray colored disk that flew against the wind.
Location. France, Meudon Observatory.
Date: 1871
Time:
Astronomer Trouvelot noted a number of objects that resembled those witnessed at Nuremberg and Basel. Among the objects he saw was a circle that first seemed about to fall, then descended "like a disk falling through water."
Location. Banbury (Great Britain)
Date: Dec. 07, 1872
Time: 0100 hour
At King's Sutton an object 0100 hours resembling a haystack flew on an irregular course. Sometimes high, sometimes very low it was accom- panied by fire and dense smoke. It produced the same effect as a tornado, felling trees and walls. It sud- denly vanished.
Source: (Fort 189)
Early Modern Sightings 1873-85:
Not surprisingly, during this pre-flight period of time, UFO sightings were minimal. Strangely, this period is marked by a large number of USO (Unidentified Submarine Objects) sightings, such as 'lightwheels' and strange metallic craft seen at sea. This was a period when many nautical advances were being made - and the first practical submersible craft were being built and operated. Most of the aerial sightings reported during this time - many are discussed by Charles Fort in his books - were reported by astronomers, such as Camile Flammarion and Jose Bonilla, who saw luminous objects cross the face of the moon and sun, respectively. It was also during this time that the features of Mars - especially the "canals" reported by Perceval Lowell - led to fervent discussion of the possibility of life there.
Location. Bonham, Texas
Date: 1873
Time:
A huge cigar-shaped object swooped low over the town of on two occasions and in broad daylight. It then disappeared quickly to the east.
Location. Oaxaca, Mexico
Date: 1874
Time:
Residents saw a huge, gently swaying, trumpet-shaped object estimated to be 425 feet long hovering in the sky for six minutes.
Location. Prague, Czechoslovakia
Date: 1875
Time:
A Professor Schafarick saw "an object of such strange nature that I do not know what to say about it. It was of a blinding white and crossed slowly the face of the moon. It remained visible afterwards."
Location. England
Date: 1877
Time:
Three meteor-like objects moving together with "remarkable slowness" flew across the sky, visible about three minutes, "moving with the same velocity and grade of regularity. . [as] a flock of wild geese."
Source: [Credit: Charles Fort, from Report of the British Association, 1877-152]
Location. Venice, France
Date: 1877
Time:
Reports of a "cloud cigar" "fiery spheres, extremely luminous, came out of a cloud of peculiar shape and went slowly toward the north for one hour.
Location. Texas
Date: 1878
Time:
John Martin, a farmer, spotted a fast moving dark object high in the southern sky. When it passed overhead, he saw that it was the size of a 'large saucer'. It continued on its way and was soon lost to view. In recounting the event, a local newspaper remarked, 'Mr. Martin is a gentleman of undoubted veracity and this strange occurrence, if it was not a balloon, deserves the attention of our scientists'.
Location. Persian Gulf
Date: May. 15, 1879
Time:
Two very large "wheels" were seen 2140 spinning in the air and slowly coming to the surface of the sea. Estimated diameter: 40 m. Distance be- tween the objects: 150 m. Speed: 80 km/h/ Duration: 35 min. Witnesses aboard the ship "Vultur"
Source: (Round up 17; Anatomy 12)
Location. Eastern Venezuela
Date: 1880
Time:
A 14-year-old boy saw a luminous ball descending from the sky and hovering near him. He felt somehow "drawn" to it, but succeeded in backing away in spite of his terror.
Source: (Lor. III 2O6)
Location. Aldershot (Great Britain)
Date: 1880
Time:
A strange being dressed in tight-fitting clothes and shining helmet soared over the heads of two sentries, who fired without result. The apparition stunned them with something de- scribed as "blue fire."
Source: (FSR 61, 3; Magonia)
Location. Lamy (New Mexico
Date: Mar. 26, 1880
Time:
Four men walking near Galis- evening teo Junction were surprised as they heard voices coming from a "strange balloon," which flew over them. It was shaped like a fish and seemed to be guided by a large fanlike device. There were eight to ten figures aboard. Their language was not understood. The object flew low over Galisteo Junction and rose rapidly toward the east.
Source: (FSR 65, 3
Location. Persian Gulf
Date: 1880
Time:
Members of the crew of the British India Company's steamship 'Patna' witnessed two large luminous wheels each estimated to be 500 to 600 meters in diameter. The wheels were spinning, one on each side of the ship, and the spokes touching the ship. The sighting lasted 20 minutes and was witnessed by Captain Avern, third officer Manning, and Lee Fort Brace.
Location. Between Melbourne and Sydney at sea (Australia)
Date: Jun. 11, 1881
Time: 0400
The two sons of the Prince of Wales, one of them the future king of England, were cruising aboard "La Bacchante" when an object resembling a fully lighted ship was seen ("a phantom vessel all aglow").
Source: (Fort 637; Anatomy 12)
Location. Americus, Georgia
Date: 1881
Time:
Mr. Z. T. Baisden, of Americus, gives us the following story of a whirlwind that visited his place, scaring all his hands and some visitors very badly. A whirlwind occurred in a twelve acre cornfield that was about four feet in diameter and sometimes a hundred feet high. The body of it was perfectly black, with fire in the center and emitted a strong sulphurous vapor that could be smelt three hundred yards form it. The whirlwind would divide into three and move rapidly over the field, twisting up the corn stalks by the roots and carrying them up. These three minor whirlwinds would then come together with a loud crash, cracking and burning and shoot high up into the heavens. Three young ladies who were visiting Mrs. Baisden went in about 150 feet to observe it, but received such a shower of burning sand upon their face and necks that they ran affrighted to the house. Mr. Baisden says that he cannot account for this strange phenomenon, and it certainly frightened all who saw it. The strange part was that it contained fire, yet did not
Location. England
Date: 1882
Time: :
A huge UFO, the first such phenomenon which was characteristically saucer-shaped in Europe, was plainly observed by numerous people in England and other parts of Europe during the night. It was seen to travel in the sky at an approximate altitude of 130 miles in an east-west direction. A number of eminent scientists witnessed the object, among them being Dr E Walter Maunder, Greenwich astronomer; English spectroscopist, J Rand Capron; Dutch astronomers Audemans and Zeeman. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich published a report of the conclusions reached by scientists, following the appearance of what had been termed, "The Great Saucer". The report had this to say: "It appeared to be well defined in body and the inference drawn was that it was a meteor, not in the old vague sense of some object high in the Earth's atmosphere, but in the sense of a solid cosmological substance, disc-like in appearance, the orbit of which brought it within the terrestrial atmosphere. But nothing could be more unlike the rush of a great meteor or fireball, with intense radiance and fiery train. The advance of this object, though swift, appeared to be orderly and controlled. There was no sign of the compression of the atmosphere before it, no hint that the matter composing its front part, was in anyway more strongly heated than the rest of its substance, if substance, indeed it possessed."
appear to burn the corn that it did not tear up, and its sulphurous vapor sickened and burnt all who got close enough to get a full breath of it.
Location. MEXICO
Date: 1883
Time:
This sighting is the first photographed UFO sightings. An astronomer at the Zacatecas Observatory saw 143 circular objects cross in front of the sun. The astronomer, Professor Jose A. Y. Bonilla managed to take a photograph of one of the objects. He wrote up his finding, which were sent to the French journal L'Astronomie. Similar sightings occurred the following day.
Location. Segeberg, Germany
Date: 1883
Time:
A teacher and children at a school all saw two fiery balls in a clear sky one day. The size of two full moons, the objects traveled slowly together from north to south.
Location. Dundy County, Nebraska
Date: 1884
Time: USA, :
Four cowboys heard a whirring noise overhead then saw a cylindrical object crash into the ground. Researcher Kevin Randle believes this case to have been a hoax.
Location. Norwood, N.Y
Date: July 3, 1884
Time:
Saturn-shaped UFO (globe with central ring) flew slowly overhead.
Source: [Credit: Charles Fort, from Science Monthly, 2-136]
Location. Constantinople, Turkey
Date: November 1, 1885
Time: 9:30pm
From ‘L’Astronomie’: M. Mavrogordato, calls our attention to the following strange observations which have been communicated to him. "On November 1, at 9:30pm, there was seen, west of Adrianople, an elongated object giving off a strong luminosity. It seemed to float in the air and its apparent disk was four or five times larger than the full moon. It traveled slowly and cast light on the whole camp behind the station with a brightness about ten times greater than a large electric bulb. In the morning, at dawn, a very luminous flame, first bluish, then greenish, and moving at a height of five to six meters, made a series of turns around the ferryboat pier at Scutari. Its blinding luminosity lighted the street and flooded the inside of the houses with light."
Location. Scutari (Turkey)
Date: Nov. 02, 1885
Time: A luminous object circled the har- dawn bor. Altitude: 5-6 m. Illuminated the whole town. Duration: 1 1/2 min, as a bluish-green flame. Then plunged into the sea. Made several circles above the ferry-boat pier.
Source: (LDLN 48; Anatomy 14)
Location. Maracaibo, Venezuela
Date: Oct. 24, 1886
Time:
During the night, which was rainy and tempestuous, a family of nine persons, sleeping in a hut a few leagues from Maracaibo, were awakened by a loud humming noise and a vivid, dazzling light, which brilliantly illuminated the interior of the house. The occupants completely terror stricken, and believing, as they relate, that the end of the world had come, threw themselves on their knees and commenced to pray, but their devotions were almost immediately interrupted by violent vomiting, and extensive swellings commenced to appear in the upper part of their bodies, this being particularly noticeable about the face and lips. It is to be noted that the brilliant lights was not accompanied by a sensation of heat, although there was a smoky appearance and a peculiar smell. The next morning, the swellings had subsided, leaving upon the face and body large black blotches. No trace of lightning could afterward by observed in any part of the building, and all the sufferers unite in saying that there was no detonation, but only the loud humming already mentioned. Another curious attendant circumstance is that the trees around the house showed no signs of injury until the ninth day, when they suddenly withered.
Source: (From Warner Cowgill, U. S. Consulate, Maracaibo, Venezuela in a letter posted in Scientific American).
Location. Cape Race (Atlantic Ocean)
Date: Nov. 12, 1887
Time:
A huge sphere of fire 2400 was observed rising out of the ocean by witnesses aboard the "Siberian." It rose to an altitude of 16 m, flew against the wind, and came close to the ship, then "dashed oft" toward the southeast. Duration: 5 min.
Source: (LDLN 48; Anatomy 14)
Location. Ragusa, Italy
Date: 1888
Time:
From the ‘Memoirs’ of the Minor Brothers, “Luminous bodies were seen flying through the sky in lines for one hour.”
Location. Crawfordsville, Indiana
Date: 1891
Time: 2:00am
As reported in the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper on September 10, 1891, two icemen were working outside in Crawfordsville at about 2:00am five nights previously, when a bizarre object sailed overhead. The icemen described the UFO as a 'seemingly headless monster', although there is no reason to believe that it was an animal of any kind. It was about 20ft long, and 8ft wide, moving in the sky toward the two men, and 'seemingly propelled by fin like attachments.' The men moved, and the UFO flew off. The noise awoke Methodist pastor G.W. Swittze, who saw it circling in the sky.
Location. North Texas
Date: 1891
Time:
UFO Crash in North Texas 1891
Location. Netherlands
Date: 1892
Time:
An astronomer called Muller was observing the moon through his telescope when a black disk moved across his field of view.
Location. Poland
Date: 1892
Time:
A phantom airship scare began appearing. As in later 'flaps' of this sort, the craft often appeared at night and were usually equipped with powerful searchlights.
Location. North China Sea
Date: 1893
Time:
In February of 1893, the ship, H.M.S. Carolina was sailing in the North China Sea, when a report from an officer of unusual light activity in the sky came to the attention of Captain J.N. Norcross. The officer told Captain Norcross that the lights appeared sometimes in a huge mass, others spread out in unusual patterns. He said that they resembled Chinese laterns set between the masts of a ship. The next night these strange lights reappeared but with a reddish glow and eminatting small amounts of smoke.
Location. Oxford,England
Date: 1895
Time:
A disk was seen rising above some trees and disappearing into the east
Location. Sacramento, California
Date: November 25, 1896
Time:
On November 25, a mysterious light was seen moving rapidly from the Northeast and heading in a southwesterly direction. As it neared the southern boundary of the city of Sacramento it turned directly toward the west and after passing the city went south, being distinctly visible for upward of 20 minutes.
Location. Lorin, California
Date: November 26, 1896
Time:
On November 26, an airship that looked like a great black cigar with a fishlike tail neared Lorin tremendous speed. It turned quickly and disappeared in the direction of San Francisco. The body was at least 100 feet long and attached to it was a triangular tail, one apex being attached to the main body. The surface of the airship looked as if it were made of aluminum, which exposure to wind and weather had turned dark. At half past 8 we saw it again, when it took about the same direction and disappeared."
Source: From the Oakland Tribune, Dec 1.
Location. San Francisco, California
Date: November 26, 1896
Time:
The great Airship Flap of 1897 actually started in late 1896 in San Francisco. Hundreds saw a large, cigar-shaped object, shining brilliant beams of light, and moving northwest passing over Oakland. Later reports came from other northern cities.
Location. San Francisco, California
Date: November 26, 1896
Time:
A light was observed by many prominent individuals including Deputy Secretary of State George A. McCalvy, District Attorney Frank D. Ryan, and E. D. McCabe, the governor's personal secretary.
Source: From the San Francisco Call, Nov 26.
Location. Arolla, Switzerland near Zermatt (Swiss Alps)
Date: November 26, 1896
Time:
Author Aleister Crowley was walking in the mountains when he suddenly saw two little men. He made a gesture to them, but they did not seem to pay attention and disappeared among the rocks.
Source: (Magic Without Tears, by A. Crowley)
Location. 1896-7
Date:
Time:
Great Airship Wave :
An amazing series of sightings, stretching from the East to the West coast of the U.S., occurred in 1896 and 1897. Many newspapers carried sightings of "airships" seen travelling through the air. These mechanical contraptions often shone spotlights on the ground and made lots of clanking and other noises as they moved through the sky. Speculation about the "airships" focused on a series of "inventors" who were testing these new craft and would soon be making them commercially available for the public. Some people claimed that the airships landed and that they met these "inventors." Some airship pilots claimed to be from Mars; others insisted they were "from a place where it never rains." Yet others claimed the airships were being built in rather mundane workshops on the East coast. Some witnesses protested that the airships were dropping ballast or cargo on them. (H.G. Wells wrote a short story about this time, Master of the Air , about a man named Robert L'Conqueror, who conquers the world through his secret lighter-than-air airship technology and various weapons.) Not surprisingly, shortly after the airship "wave," the first terrestrial zeppelins and dirigibles began being built and used commercially, as if the UFO was always one step ahead of our own technology. There would be some repeat airship encounters during the so-called "Christmas Wave" of 1909-10, when airships with 'searchlights' were seen over New England.
One of the most curious episodes of the whole Airship wave - which, like many of the others, was thought to be a newspaper hoax - was a story of an airship which crashed into Judge Proctor's windmill in Aurora, Illinois. A body of a small "martian" was said to be recovered and buried with some of the wreckage. In 1972, rumors were sparked anew as a man appeared and claimed to know the whereabouts of this wreckage. This man, a Frank Kelley of Corpus Christi, said he was a treasure hunter, and produced several pieces of metal found with his metal detector, which turned out to be mostly aluminum. No body was ever found by UFO investigators, and, like so many other weirdos in the UFO world, this guy with a fake address and phone number disappeared as abruptly as he turned up. Not unsurprisingly, in late 1972 the U.S. was already experiencing the beginnings of the massive UFO wave of '73, which shattered post-Condon report complacency.
Location. Sioux City (Iowa)
Date: Mar. 26, 1897
Time:
Approximate Date: Robert Hib- night bard was caught by an anchor dropped from an un- known flying machine 22 km north of the town. He was dragged over 10 m and fell as his clothes were torn.
Source: (FSR 66, 4)
Location. Omaha, Nebraska
Date: Mar. 28, 1897
Time:
The majority of the population 2230 observed an object arriving from the southeast. It looked like a huge light, flew northwestward slowly, came to low altitude. A crowd gathered at a street corner to watch it.
Source: (185)
Location. Everest, Kansas
Date: Apr. 01, 1897
Time:
The whole town saw an object fly 2100 under the cloud ceiling. It came down slowly, then flew away very fast to the southeast. When directly over the town it swept the ground with its powerful light. It was seen to rise up at fantastic speed until barely discernible, then to come down again and sweep low over the witnesses. At one point it re- mained stationary for 5 min at the edge of a low cloud, which it illuminated. All could clearly see the silhouette of the craft.
Source: (FSR 66, 4)
Location. Nilwood, Illinois
Date: Apr. 12, 1897
Time:
On the property of Z. Thacker, 19 1430 km north of Carlinville, an unknown object landed. Before the three witnesses could reach it, the craft, which was shaped like a cigar with a dome, rose slowly and left majestically toward the north. Witnesses: Edward Teeples, William Street and Franklin Met- calf.
Source: (186; Anatomy 12)
Location. Girard, near Green Ridge, Illinois
Date: Apr. 12, 1897
Time:
A large crowd of 1800 miners saw an unknown object land 3 km north of Green Ridge and 4 km south of Girard. The night operator of the Chicago-and-Alton Railroad, Paul McCramer, stated that he came sufficiently close to the craft to see a man emerge from it to repair the machinery. Traces were found over a large area. The object itself was elongated like a ship with a roof and a double canopy. It left toward the north.
Source: (186,187)
Location. Gas City, Indiana
Date: Apr. 14, 1897
Time:
An object landed 2 km south of 1500 Gas City on the property of John Roush, terrifying the farmers and causing the horses and cattle to stampede. Six occupants of the ship came out and seemed to make some repairs. Before the crowd could approach the object, it rose rapidly and flew toward the east.
Source: (188)
Location. Cleveland, Ohio
Date: Apr. 14, 1897
Time: Joseph Singler, captain of the "Sea Wing," was fishing with S. H. Davis, of Detroit, when they saw on the lake what they thought was a ship, about 13 m long, with a canopy. A man, about 25 years old, wearing a hunting jacket and a cap, was fishing from the deck of the object. Near him were a woman and a 10-year old child. When the "Sea Wing" came close to the craft, a large, colored bal- loon rose from the object, which flew up with it to an altitude of about 150 m and circled "like a hawk" before flying away.
Source: (189)
Location. Linn Grove, Iowa
Date: Apr. 15, 1897
Time:
A large object was seen to fly morning slowly toward the north. It seemed ready to land and five men (F. G. Ellis, James Evans, David Evans, Joe Croaskey, Benjamin Buland) drove toward it. About 7 km north of Linn Grove, they found the craft on the ground, came within 700 m of it but it "spread its four giant wings and rose towards the North." Two strange figures aboard the craft made efforts to con- ceal themselves. Witnesses were surprised at the length of their hair. Most residents of Linn Grove saw the craft in flight.
Source: (190
Location. Howard-Artesian,.South Dakota
Date: Apr. 15, 1897
Time:
A flying object nightfall coming closer and closer to the ground followed a train, as reported by the engineer, Joe Wright
Source: (FSR 66,4)
Location. Perry Springs, Missouri
Date: Apr. 15, 1897
Time:
A passenger train on the 2100 Wabash line, going toward Quincy, was followed by a low-flying object for 15 min between Perry Springs and Hersman. All the passengers saw the craft, which had a red and white light. After Hersman it flew ahead of the train and disappeared rapidly, although the train was then running at 65 km/h.
Source: (190)
Location. Springfield, Illinois
Date: Apr. 15, 1897
Time:
Two farm workers, Adolph Winkle and John Hulle, saw a strange craft in a field. They had a discussion with its occupants, a woman and two men, and were told the ship-had flown from Quincy to Springfield in 30 min and that the crew. was making electrical repairs.
Source: (FSR 65,1)
Location. St. Louis, MO
Date: April 15, 1897
Time: 7:45 p.m.
This is the first report from the entire period to be declared a possible UFO. Dr. Eddie Bullard provided this report to Brad Sparks in Dec. 2006. A Medical doctor/amateur astronomer observed a cigar shaped object with a telescope.
Location. Downs Township, Illinois
Date: Apr. 16, 1897
Time:
While working in his field, Haney Savidge saw an aerial craft land near him. Six people emerged from it and spoke to him for a few minutes before leaving again.
Source: (191)
Location. Vincennes, IN
Date: April 16, 1897
Time: 9:00 p.m.
A mysterious airship passed over the city twice on the night of Friday, April 16. According to the Vincennes Morning Commercial, the airship first appeared about nine o'clock, traveling along the extreme eastern portion of the horizon: A sphere of golden light was first seen in the vicinity of the Union Depot, from down in the city. Those near the ship claimed they could clearly see the dark lines of its car, although no passengers were observed.
Source: (The Valley Advance, Vincennes, Indiana, March 18, 1980 Vol. 16, No. 28. Taken from Vincennes Morning Commercial April 16, 1897)
Location. Williamston, Michigan
Date: Apr. 17, 1897
Time:
At least a dozen farmers morning saw an object maneuver in the sky for an hour before it landed. A strange man near 3 m tall, almost naked and suffering from the heat, was the pilot of the craft. "His talk, while musical, seemed to be a repeti- tion of bellowings." One farmer went near him and received a blow that broke his hip.
Source: (196)
Location. Leroy, Kansas
Date: Apr. 19, 1897
Time: 2230
Alexander Hamilton was awakened 2230 by a noise among the cattle and went out with his son and his tenant. They saw an elongated cigar- shaped object, about 100 m long with a transparent cabin underneath showing narrow reddish bands, hovering 10 m above ground. They approached within 50 m of it. It was illuminated and equipped with a searchlight. Inside it were "six of the strangest be- ings" the witness had seen, also described as "hid- eous." They spoke a language no witness could understand. A cow was dragged away by the object with the help of a strong red cable; it was found butchered in a field the next day.
Source: (Anatomy 16; Ma- gonia) 1897: Sworn Statement from an Alexander Hamilton, at his farm in LeRoy Kansas:
Location. Homan, Arkansas
Date: Apr. 20, 1897
Time:
Capt. James Hooton was hunt- 1800 ing in the vicinity of Homan when he heard the noise of a steam engine and found an object in a clearing. It looked like a cylinder with pointed ends, lateral wheels, and horizontal blade over it. Hooton spoke with a man who wore dark glasses and walked behind the craft. There were three or four occupants. The witness was told this was indeed "The Airship" and that it used compressed air for propulsion. Hooton saw the wheels spin as the craft rose and flew away.
Source: (FSR 66, 4; Magonia)
Location. Rockland, Texas
Date: Apr. 22, 1897
Time:
John M. Barclay was intrigued when his dog barked furiously and a high-pitched noise was heard. He went out, saw a flying object circling 5 m above ground. Elongated with protru- sions and blinding lights, it went dark when it landed. Barclay was met by a man who told him his purpose was peaceful and requested some common hardware items to repair the craft. He paid with a ten-dollar bill and took off "like a bullet out of a gun."
Source: (192; Magonia)
Location. Josserand, Texas
Date: Apr. 22, 1897
Time:
Frank Nichols, who lived 3 km 2400 east of Josserand and was one of its most respected citizens, was awakened by a machine noise. Looking outside, he saw a heavy, lighted object land in his wheat field. He walked toward it, was stopped by two men who asked permission to draw water from his well. He then had a discussion with a half-dozen men, the crew of the strange machine. He was told how it worked but could not follow the explanation.
Source: (193; Magonia)
Location. McKinney Bayou, Arkansas
Date: Apr. 23, 1897
Time:
Judge Lawrence A. Byrne of Texarkana, Arkansas, was surveying a tract of land when he saw a peculiar object anchored on the ground. "It was manned by three men who spoke a foreign language, but judging from their looks one would take them to be Japs."
Source: (Farish, in Allende Letters (Award Special, 1968) )
Location. Merkel, Texas
Date: Apr. 25, 1897
Time:
People returning from church ob- evening served a heavy object being dragged along the ground by a rope attached to a flying craft. The rope got caught in a railroad track. The craft was too high for its structure to be visible but protrusions and a light could be distinguished. After about 10 min a man came down along the rope cut the end free, and went back aboard the craft, which flew away toward the northeast. The man was small and dressed in a light- blue uniform.
Source: (194; Magonia)
Location. Aquila-Hillsboro (Texas)
Date: Apr. 26, 1897
Time:
A lawyer was surprised to see a lighted object fly over. His horse was scared and nearly toppled the carriage. When the main light was turned off, a number of smaller lights became visible on the underside of the dark object, which supported an elongated canopy. It went down toward a hill to the south, 5 km from Aquila. When the witness was on his way back one hour later he saw the object rising. It reached the altitude of the cloud ceiling and flew to the northeast at a fantastic speed with periodic flashes of light.
Source: (195)
Location. Hot Springs (Arkansas
Date: May 06, 1897
Time:
Two policemen, Sumpter and McLenore, were riding northwest of Hot Springs when they saw a bright light in the sky. About 7 km farther they saw the light again coming down to the ground. One km farther the horses refused to walk. Two men were seen carrying lights. The lawmen took their rifles, called the strangers, and were told that they crossed the country with a flying craft. The sil- houette of the machine, about 2O m long, could be seen in the clearing. There was a woman with an um- brella nearby. It was raining, and the younger of the men was filling a large container with water. The elder man had a beard and suggested that the policemen fly with them "to a place where it does not rain." The same witness went back through the same spot 40 min later and found nothing.
Source: (FSR 66, 4; Magonia)
Location. Canada, British Columbia:
Date: 1897
Time:
Two Canadian fishermen in saw a pear-shaped craft flying southwards
Location. Winnipeg, Canada
Date: April 1897
Time:
A mysterious airship flew over Winnipeg, the capital of Canada's Manitoba province, in full view of many citizens for a full fifteen minutes." "The strange visitor" approached from the west, following the Assiniboine River. After passing over St. Boniface Hospital, the UFO veered sharply to the north and "was lost from view" as it flew toward the town of Stony Mountain.
Source: From the Vancouver, B.C. News-Advertiser, Saturday May 1.
Location. Homan, Arkansas
Date: 1897
Time:
Capt. James Hooton was hunting in the vicinity of Homan when he heard the noise of a steam engine and found an object in a clearing. It looked like a cylinder with pointed ends, lateral wheels, and horizontal blade over it. Hooton spoke with a man who wore dark glasses and walked behind the craft. There were three or four occupants. The witness was told this was indeed "The Airship" and that it used compressed air for propulsion. Hooton saw the wheels spin as the craft rose and flew away.
Location. McKinney Bayou, Arkansas
Date: 1897
Time:
Judge Lawrence A.Byrne of Texarkana, Arkansas, was surveying a tract of land when he saw a peculiar object anchored on the ground. "It was manned by three men who spoke a foreign language, but judging from their looks one would take them to be Japs."
Location. LeRoy, Kansas
Date: April 21, 1897
Time: 10:30 PM
From a sworn statement dated 21 April, a prosperous and prominent farmer named Alexander Hamilton told of an attack upon his cattle at about 10:30 PM the previous Monday. He, his son, and his tenant grabbed axes and ran some 700 feet from the house to the cow lot where a great cigar-shaped ship about 300 feet long floated some 30 feet above his cattle. It had a carriage underneath which was brightly lighted within (dirigible and gondola?) and which had numerous windows. Inside were six strange looking beings jabbering in a foreign language. These beings suddenly became aware of Hamilton and the others. They immediately turned a searchlight on the farmer, and also turned on some power, which sped up a turbine wheel (about 30 ft diameter) located under the craft. The ship rose, taking with it a two-year old heifer, which was roped about the neck by a cable of one-half inch thick, red material. The next day a neighbor, Link Thomas, found the animal's hide, legs and head in his field. He was mystified at how the remains got to where they were because of the lack of tracks in the soft soil. Alexander Hamilton's sworn statement was accompanied by an affidavit as to his veracity. The affidavit was signed by ten of the local leading citizens.
Location. Aurora, Texas
Date: April 19, 1897
Time:
From the , Dallas Morning News 'About 6 o'clock this morning the early risers of were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship, which has been sailing around the country. It was traveling due north and much nearer the earth than before. Evidently some of the machinery was out of order, for it was making a speed of only ten or twelve miles an hour, and gradually settling toward the earth. It sailed over the public square and when it reached the north part of town it collided with the tower of Judge Proctor's windmill and went into pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge's flower garden. The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard and, while his remains were badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world.
Mr. T.J. Weems, the U.S. Army Signal Service officer at this place and an authority on astronomy gives it as his opinion that the pilot was a native of the planet Mars. Papers found on his person, evidently the records of his travels -- are written in some unknown hieroglyphics and cannot be deciphered. This ship was too badly wrecked to form any conclusion as to its construction or motive power. It was built of an unknown metal, resembling somewhat a mixture of aluminum and silver, and it must have weighed several tons. The town is today full of people who are viewing the wreckage and gathering specimens of strange metal from the debris. The pilot's funeral will take place tomorrow.'
From UPI, 1973, “A grave in a small north Aurora, Texas cemetery contains the body of an 1897 astronaut who "was not an inhabitant of this world," according to the International UFO Bureau. The group, which investigates unidentified flying objects, has already initiated legal proceedings to exhume the body. "After checking the grave with metal detectors and gathering facts for three months, we are certain as we can be at this point [that] he was the pilot of a UFO which reportedly exploded atop a well on Judge J.S. Proctor's place, April 19, 1897," Hewes said. He was not an inhabitant of this world."
A few days later, another UPI account datelined Aurora quoted a ninety-one-year-old who had been a girl of fifteen in Aurora at the time of the reported incident. She said she "had all but forgotten the incident until it appeared in the newspapers recently." She said her parents had gone to the sight of the crash, but had refused to take her along. She recalled that the remains of the pilot, "a small man," had been buried in the Aurora cemetery. Not to be outdone, the Associated Press, in a story datelined Denton, Texas, reported "a North Texas State University professor had found some metal fragments near the Oates gas station (former Proctor farm). One fragment was said to be 'most intriguing' because it consisted of primarily of iron which did not seem to exhibit magnetic properties." The professor also said he was puzzled because the fragment was "shiny and malleable instead of dull and brittle like iron." The Aurora Cemetery Association was successful in blocking the attempts to dig up the grounds in search of the "Martian pilot."
Location. Lille, France
Date: 1898
Time:
An astronomer saw through his telescope a rectangular object with a violet colored band on one side, the rest being striped red and black. It was not in the position of any known planet. It remained stationary for 10 minutes, then 'cast out sparks and disappeared.'
Location. Dordogne, Dourite, France
Date: November 1, 1899
Time: 7:00 pm
An object 'like an enormous star' was seen from 7:00 pm, 'at times white, then red, and sometimes blue... moving like a kite' in the southerly sky.
Location. Luzarches, France
Date: 1899
Time:
M.A. Garry observed a round luminous object rise above the horizon and shrink in size as it moved into the distance over 15 minutes.
Location. South Africa
Date: 1899
Time:
After alerting its telegraph offices to be on the lookout for invading British aircraft, the Transvaal government was inundated with sighting reports. Phantom airships, often equipped with powerful searchlights, mysteriously appeared in the skies around. Of course, neither aircraft nor airplanes were known to exist in Africa at this time.
Location. Prescott, Arizona
Date: 1899
Time: 2:00 pm
Dr. Warren E. Day observed a luminous object that 'traveled with the Moon all day' until 2:00 pm. A similar object had been observed the day before from Tonto, Arizona.
Location. El Paso, Texas
Date: 1899
Time:
A luminous object was seen in daylight from 10:00am to 4:00pm; Venus was two months past its secondary phase of maximum brilliance.
