A number of fascinating historical encounters describing close-range sightings of UFO objects:
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"80 Scotland: Conrad Wolfhart, Lycothenes, a medieval writer reports, “When the Roman emporer, Agricola was in Scotland, wondrous flames were seen in the skies over Caledon Wood, all one winter night. Everywhere the air burned, and on many nights, when the weather was serene, a ship was seen in the air moving fast."
[Source: http://ufo-alienworld.blogspot.com.au/2007/07/ufos-back-to-back-sightings-from-ad-60_27.html ]
"664 England, Barking near the Thames. At a monastery a great light appeared in the sky at night and shone over nuns who were singing in the burial-ground. They reported that it lifted up, moved to the other side of the monastery, and then ascended into the night sky. Priests said the light surpassed the brightness of day."
[Source: http://www.geocities.ws/nephilimnot/ancientech_ufo.html ]
"1200 England,
William of Newburgh describes a silvery, flat, shiny disc-like object, which appeared near the abbey and frightened everyone near it."
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1394 England,
A certain thing appeared in the likeness of fire in many parts of England every night. This fiery apparition, oftentimes when anybody went alone, it would go with him, and would stand still when he stood still. To some it appeared in the likeness of a turning wheel burning; to other some a round object, the likeness of a barrel, flashing out flames of fire at the head; to others, the likeness of a long burning lance."
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1590; UK, Scotland,
Scottish peasants reported to the shire reeve, the king's representative, that a large tubular object hovered over their town for many minutes before vanishing. The craft did not move but hung in the sky."
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1643 England,
From diarist, John Evelyn. "I must not forget what amazed us exceedingly the night before, namely, a shining cloud in the air in a shape resembling a sword, the point reaching to the north. It was as bright as the moon, the rest of the sky being very serene. It began about 11 at night and vanished not till about one, being seen by all the south of England.""
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1644; At Sea,
The log book of a Spanish merchant vessel contains remarks about a formation of fiery objects that lit up the night sky. As they crossed over the ship, the craft broke ranks and performed acrobatic maneuvers before tightening up and flying on."
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1694 Wales, Montgomeryshire: "A fiery exhalation...a furlong broad" rose out of the sea burning straw, hay and barns. Grass tainted, killing cattle, and skin affected."
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1731; England, Sheffield,
Thomas Short saw what he later described as 'a dark red cloud, below which was a luminous body which emitted intense beams of light. The light beams moved slowly for a while, then stopped. Suddenly it became so hot that I could take off my shirt even though I was outdoors [this is the dead of winter!]. This meteor was observed over Kilkenny, Ireland, where it seemed like a great ball of fire. It was reported that it shook that entire island and that the whole sky seemed to burst into flames.' The next afternoon, local manuscript records show, this 'meteor' appeared over Romania: '...there appeared in the west a great sign in the sky, blood red and very large. It stayed in place for two hours, separated into two parts which then rejoined, and the object disappeared toward the west.'"
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"1733 England, Dorset, Fleet: Dec 8,
James Cracker of, a small town in, saw a silvery disc fly overhead in broad daylight. Here is his eyewitness account: "Something in the sky which appeared in the north but vanished from my sight, as it was intercepted by trees, from my vision. I was standing in a valley. The weather was warm, the sun shone brightly. All of a sudden it re-appeared, darting in and out of my sight with an amazing coruscation. The colour of this phenomenon was like burnished, or new-washed silver. It shot with speed like a star falling in the night. But it had a body much larger and a train longer than any shooting star I have seen. Next day Mr. Edgecombe informed me that he and another gentleman had seen this strange phenomenon at the same time as I had. It was about 15 miles from where I saw it, and steering a course from east to north.""
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
1783; UK, England,
Farmers watched in amazement as a brightly lit, strange object hovered in the night sky. They were even more amazed when the object seemed to release many smaller luminous craft which floated around the larger craft. After a time, all seemed to disappear in an instant.
[Source: http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/1886_ufo/accounts.htm ]
"8
Nov. 02, 1885 dawn
Scutari (Turkey). A luminous object circled the har-
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. (LDLN 48; Anatomy 14)"
[Source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/ufo/timeline.htm ]
(Was this a UFO or a meteor falling into ocean?):
"03-19-1887
In accord with our disaccord is an instance related in the Monthly Weather Review, March 1887--something that fell luminously from the sky, accompanied by something that was not so affected, or that was dark:
That, according to Captain. C. D. Sweet, of the Dutch bark J. P. A., upon March 19, 1887, N. 37° 39', W. 57° 00', he encountered a severe storm. He saw two objects in the air above the ship. One was luminous and might be explained in several ways, but the other was dark. One or both fell into the sea with a roar and the casting up of billows. It is our acceptance that these things had entered this earth's atmosphere, having first crashed through a field of ice--"immediately afterward lumps of ice fell."
This reference: The Complete Books of Charles Fort, pp. 284-285, © 1974, from the original The Book of the Damned, © 1919.
Original reference: Monthly Weather Review, March 1887
ALSO
A Strange Phenomenon.
NEW YORK, May 9-- Captain Swan [Should be Sweet-CF-], of the Dutch bark J. P. A., had an experience on March 19th which he thinks will account for the mysterious disappearance of so many vessels at sea. That day there was a heavy storm. Late in the afternoon a huge meteor, looking like two balls of fire, dropped into the sea close alongside, making a tremendous roaring. Before reaching the water the upper atmosphere was darkened, while below, and on board, everything appeared like a sea of fire. The force of the meteor striking the water caused heavy breakers, which washed over the vessel, making her roll dangerously. The atmosphere became uncomfortably warm, and the air was full of sulphur. Immediately afterward solid lumps of ice fell on the deck, and docks and rigging became coated with an icy crust, caused by the immense evaporation. On the side where the meteor fell, the ship appeared all black, and some of the copper sheeting was blistered.
This reference: Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nevada), Saturday, May 14th, 1887. With thanks to Chris Aubeck and the Magonia Group: http://anomalies.bravepages.com for the text and bringing it to my attention –CF"
[Source:http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php?topic=23324.0;wap2 ]
"1887-11-12; North Atlantic Ocean
A ship crossing the Atlantic, en route to America, was overflown by a luminous sphere that emerged from the ocean. It flew against the prevailing wind alongside the ship, but, as suddenly as it had appeared, it ascended into the night sky."
[Source: http://ancientknightsc.tripod.com/id96.htm ]
(More details on this sighting):
"11-12-1887
GLOBULAR LIGHTNING
Anonymous; Science, 10:324, 1887.
The following report from the Hydrographic Office relates to one of the rarest and most inexplicable forms of lightning. Can any of the readers of Science give any information on the subject? A globe of fire floats leisurely along in the air in an erratic sort of a course, sometimes exploding with great force, at other times disappearing without exploding. On land it has been observed to go into the ground and then reappear at a short distance, and where it entered the soil, it left a rugged hole some twenty feet in diameter. Although there is no doubt as to the facts regarding the phenomenon, no satisfactory explanation of the cause has ever been given. It is, of course, entirely different in character from St. Elmo's fires, so often seen on board vessels during thunder-storms: these remain stationary at the yard-arms and mast-heads and are analogous to the 'brush discharge' of an electric machine.
Captain Moore, British steamship Siberian, reports, "Nov. 12, midnight, Cape Race bearing west by north, distant ten miles, wind strong south by east, a large ball of fire appeared to rise out of the sea to a height of about fifty feet and come right against the wind close up to the ship. It then altered its course and ran along with the ship to a distance of about one and one-half miles. In about two minutes it again altered its course and went away to the south-east against the wind. It lasted, in all, not over five minutes. Have noticed the same phenomenon before off Cape Race, and it seemed to indicate that an easterly or south-easterly gale was coming on.""
[Source: http://www.waterufo.net/item.php?id=22 ]
"1888-01-08; Ragusa, Italy
According to the memoirs of the Minor Brothers, several lines of bright spheres were observed flying through the night sky.
1895-08-31; Oxford, UK
Students at a men's college watched as a metallic disc rose above the trees lining the campus. After a few seconds of stable hovering, the disc shot off at incredible speed towards the east.
1895-??-??; UK
Country folk in the green hills of England found themselves transfixed by a luminous, star-like object that rose over a forest and moved off to the east at high speed."
[Source: http://ancientknightsc.tripod.com/id96.htm ]
"May 3, 1977; Hainault Forest, Essex[?], UK
3:55 AM. Police took an emergency telephone call. The caller said that some strange object was over the forest near the small lake. Two policemen were directed to the scene. Arriving, they proceeded along the lake road and noticed a "large bright red light" across on the eastern shore. They stopped, exited their vehicle and observed a "bell tent" shaped thing, about 300 yds distant. This object continuously pulsated from dull to very bright red for the next 2 to 3 minutes. The UFO seemed to be hovering silently. Then, as they watched apprehensively, the object appeared to "dissolve on the spot". As the thing was no longer visible, the officers decided somewhat reluctantly to go across the lake and investigate the spot. As they were doing this, one of them looked up and briefly saw a shape of a thin, large, white crescent hanging in the sky. This "apparition" also dissolved on the spot. Reaching the location of ground zero, as best they could tell, they found nothing at all, except a strong smell of burning. No cause could be determined. A report was immediately made to the local UFO investigator [The Essex Hotline], and the investigator [Barry King] came out the next day. [actually King interviewed the officer that very night]. In daylight, one large bush was found to have damage--flattened in the center and slightly burned. The gorse bush appeared to have had a very heavy weight set onto its top center, the result of which was to break almost all the limbs including snapping off the central branch. The pattern of breakage was to displace the branches into an outwardly radiating splay. No radiation nor magnetic anomalies were found. (Submitted by Mike Swords. Source: "Landing at Hainault Seen by Police", Flying Saucer Review 23, (2):1977).
May 5, 1977; near Ragusa, Italy
Midnight. The witness, a truck driver, had made a rest stop at a truck stop on the major highway near Ragusa, Italy when he saw a yellow light illuminate the cab. The light originated from a gray metallic, oval-shaped object that was hovering near the truck and close to the ground. It had a rotating ring around its middle and two circular openings, one on the top and one on the bottom. A figure wearing a dark gray coverall and a helmet could be seen inside one of the openings. It seemed to be controlling and directing the yellow beam of light. It made some hand gestures towards him as if greeting him. A flattened area was found in the grassy field. (Sources: Maurizio Verga, ITACAT: Italian UFO catalogue, case 93; Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1977, case # 1522, citing ITACAT).
May 5, 1977; Tabio, Cundinamarca province, Colombia
9:15 AM. A 22-year-old Cessna 150 pilot trainee, Sr. Lopez Ojeda, had a close encounter with a white object that looked like an inverted plate while flying over Tabio, Cundinamarca province, Colombia. There was a brilliant flash of light that temporarily impaired his vision, and the airplane's control would not respond for a short while during which his surroundings seemed strangely altered. (Sources: Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, p. 291; MUFON UFO Journal, June 1977; Dominique Weinstein, Aircraft UFO Encounters, p. 50; CUFOS files, citing newspaper clipping dated May 6, 1977).
May 6, 1977; Encinitas, CA
A large domed disc-shaped object descended into canyon. A school teacher and fifteen students witnessed the descent, and said that they could see figures inside the craft. It was seen again one hour later. (Source: Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 12693).
May 7, 1977; Undersaker, Jamtland, Sweden
A powerful spotlight from a silent, delta-shaped object lit the forest in Undersaker on this night. A very large second object, also triangle shaped and with three large windows rose in the beam of light. Both objects hovered over the trees, then changed shape from triangular to rectangular. (Sources: Allan Hendry, International UFO Reporter, November 1977, p. 8; Richard F. Haines, Project Delta: A Study of Multiple UFO, p. 191; UNICAT database, case 195, citing Allan Hendry).
May 8, 1977; Joliet, IL
2:00 PM. Adult couple driving westbound watched as a silver "straw hat" the size of the moon rush eastbound over I-80 (and their car) making no noise. Object, which was in view 30-seconds, was flying against the wind. (IUR,2,6)
[...]
May 11, 1977; Clearfield, PA
3:00 AM. A housewife reported sighting a green glowing ball with a dark equator hovering near her home. It shot straight up into the sky and was gone in less than a second. (Source: Allan Hendry, International UFO Reporter, June 1977, p. 8).
[...]
May 26, 1977; Dowagiac, MI
4:10 PM. An ovoid object followed an airliner for 30 seconds according to one of the passengers aboard. The witness, a radio announcer, reported that the object was larger than the airliner and flew away toward the east. (Source: Allan Hendry, International UFO Reporter, July 1977, p. 3).
June 6, 1977; Yorkshire, UK
Oval object over vehicles, felt heat, mass displacement. (Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 23, No. 5; Rodeghier, 1981, p.70)
[...]
Dec. 30, 1977; near Keith, South Australia
A white, oval light about 27 feet in diameter paced a car 30 meters away. The two witnesses, a brother and sister, reported that as they slowed their car to 8-15 kph, the engine began misfiring. They then stopped and the light continued on its course. After it was gone, the car could be started again and driven with no difficulties. (Source: Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, case 418, citing UFO Research (South Australia) Newsletter, July-August, 1978)"
[Source: http://www.nicap.org/waves/1977fullrep.htm ]
"Orange, Australia, May 26, 1977
[...]
Around midnight, a woman and her son (16) were at home on their farm. Their dog started barking and a horse in a corral began to whinny and move around its enclosure in an agitated manner. The witnesses thought a stray animal had come into the area.
The sighting:
The 16-year-old looked out his window and saw 4 bright lights in a row to the NW. The lights slowly increased in brilliance, and then began to wane until attaining an orange-red hue before extinguishing. They were estimated to be 90 meters (295 feet) away to the NW and on or near the ground.
Alerted by her son, the mother looked out the front door and saw the paddock across the road was brightly illuminated by a monochromatic white light source. She went outdoors and saw a bright rectangular object that appeared to have four square windows along its side. The structure appeared to move slowly over and around the crest of a hill. The event ended with both mother and son seeing a glow that eventually faded.
Both witnesses reported the lights were so bright that they had after-image effects. There is a reference to “noise� without further explanation [I assume this means sound associated with the object--jw]. No EM effects were reported. Possible traces were found on the ground.
Noise and animal reactions were reported from neighboring properties and independent sightings by factory workers were reported, but no details are given.
Reference:
http://www.project1947.com/bctrace2.htm
The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, April 1978, vol. 26, no. 10, page 4-5, “1977 UFO Landing In Australia.�"
[Source: http://www.nicap.org/anreact/ar-770526.htm ]
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