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 Crop
Circles
tl l*;tli&EE Y-{4t.3
ti *fl-*-,a-ffi ew mysteries have gained receivemedia attention, many more
such a high pubtic profite examples werereported.Soon,muchof
so rapidly as the occurrenceof crop Britain was representedby sightings,
circles.Prior to 1980, these baffling with reports also coming in from
but beautiful geometricalanomalies overseas. Explanations offeredfor their
that mysteriously appear, usually at occurrence ranged from rutting
night, in fields of corn or other crops hedgehogsor badgers,landing marks
were known onty to a few farmers. left behind by visiting UFOs, and
Today they are one of the most bickering flocks of birds, to fungal
famous and visually recognizable infections. over-fertilization and
enigmasof all time. Their study even covert military involvement featuring
has its own name- cereology. secretweaponrytrials.
Thevariety of crop circlesis almost Not only has the number of
endless,but the simplestform consists sightings increased,so too has the
of a single circle within which all the complexityof the circlesreported.In
corn stemsare flattenedto the ground their bestseller, Circular Evidence,
but not broken, merely bent over at engineers-turned-cereologistsPat
their base.0ften the circlehasan outer Delgadoand Colin Andrewssuggest
ring whose stems are alSo bent, but that the circlesare cryptic pictograms
almost invariably in the opposite created by some higher cosmic
directionto thosewithin the remainder intelligence,and were recognizedby
of the circle. Sometimesthe circle is the Hopi Indians of Arizona as
surroundedby an equidistantseriesof hieroglyphics disclosingthat the world
much smallercircles(satettites),which wasin graveperil.
may or may not be linked to the A rather more prosaicexplanation,
principal circte by channels. 0ther but increasingly conceded nowadays by
circles may contain narrow rings of investigators,is that the more intricate
unbent stems.sandwiched betweenthe the circlesbecome,the lesstikety it is
main body of the circle and an that they are untouchedby human
outermostring of bent stems. hands, not to mention feet, lawn
At first, crop circlesseemedto be rollers,and ropesanchoredto a central
timitedto England's southerncounties, stake. How else can we explain, for
but once the phenomenon beganto instance,the startlingoccurrence near
 Royston, Cambridgeshire, in August to my mind the most plausible,
1,99'J.of a crop circle exhibiting the solutionto theseis the plasmavortex
perfect configuration of a highty theory, proposed by Dr Terence
complex computer-generated model Meaden, formerlyassociate professor of
from chaos mathematics known as the physics at DalhousieUniversity in
Mandelbrot set? There is no question Canada,more recently editor of the
that the hoax factor plays a very Journal of Meteorology and a
prominent part in the occurrence of symposium votume entitled Circles
crop circles, as confirmed by various Fromthe Slg1.
media expos6s and statements from Accordingto Dr Meaden,if a hitt
self-confessedfraudsters. obstructsa gust of wind, a vortex is
Nevertheless,many of the simpler formed,which meetsstationaryair on
circles are undoubt€dly authentic. the hitt's lee side to createa spiralling
After all, some have occurred in column that sucks in more air and
remote, inaccessible areas, or in atmosphericelectricity. When this
localities rarely visited by anyone, and makescontactwith the crop fietd, it
why waste time producing fake spirals,flattening the corn into the
exampleshere?. The most popular, and familiarconfigurationof a crop circle.
The cotumn's electrical charge also plasma(ionized air) in the laboratory
producesthe high-pitchednoise that formedby electromagnetic interference
has been reported by peoptejust in the air. When these balls made
before encounteringa newly formed contact with plates covered in
circle. Meaden's theory succinctly aluminiumpowder,they createdcircles
elucidates not only the physical and rings corresponding in appearance
construction of crop circles but also to cropcircles.
those rare yet fascinatingoccasions Continuing research has also
when eyewitnesses have been unearthed some very intriguing but
fortunate enough to witness the hitherto-unrecognized pre-1980
creationof a circle. accountsof crop circles.0f particular
Onesacheventoccurredin August interest is an illustrated pamphlet
1,99L, when Gary and Vivienne from August 7678, in which it is
Tomtinsonwere taking an evening suggestedthat a "mowing devil" was
walk in Hambledon,Surrey, at the responsible for an extraordinary
edge of a cornfield. Suddenly,the configurationin a Hertfordshireoat
corn on their right-handside began fietd that greatly resemblesa crop
to move.A mist hoveredabovethem circle. Its present-daysignificanceis
and they could hear a strangehigh- indicated by the fact that an 1810
pitchedsound.Thena very powerful reproduction of this pamphlet was
whirling wind began pushing them sold to a farmer at a Wiltshire auction
from aboveand all sides,until they in March1,994for L280.
could hardly stand upright - except Accordingto Dr Meaden.however,
for Gary'shair, respondingto the cropcirclesmaydatebackconsiderably
localized buitd-up of static further than this. In his book lhe
electricity.Abruptty, the vortex split Goddessof the Stones, he botdly
in two, then racedaway,shimmering speculatedthat the famouscup and
mistity, and leaving behind two ring decorationsfavouredby Neotithic
shocked eyewitnessesstanding in artists, ancient mazes, and other
the middte of a classiccrop circle, vulva-symbolizinggeometric designs
whosecorn stemswere flattenedall associated with primeval fertitity
aroundthem. goddesses may all have been inspired
Further support for Meaden's by earlyman'ssightingsof cropcircles
theory has come from a team of and their energeticcreation.
Japanesephysiciststed by Professor It has often beensaidthat nothing
Yoshihiko 0htsuki, who announced is new in the realmsof fashion.The
in June 1991. that they had samemay alsobe true, it wouldseem,
successfullygenerated tiny balls of in the world of cereology.
 Green ofWoolpit
Children
frffiF,
H il I'ft he remarkablehistory of able to inform the viilagers that she
\**--.dlPthe qreen children of and the boy had comefrom a country
Wootpit was first documentedby two called St Martin's Land, where there
medievalEnglish chroniclers- Ratph, was no sun, only a permanenthazy
Abbot of Coggeshall, and William of twitight. Theyhad beenfollowingtheir
Newburgh.Oneday during the reign of flocks when they had entered an
King Stephen (m 1,1,35-54),two underground passageway and stumbled
children were found weeping and out, on the other side,into the bright
wandering, lost and forlorn, in the sunlightof Woolpit.
great pits used to trap wolves at the Many explanations have been
vitlage of Woolpit, in Suffotk. They offered for this curiousstory. Because
caused great amazementamong the of the children'sgreenskin (the colour
villagers,but this wasdue not to their of Faerie)and preferencefor green
behaviour and their unintelligible beans(food of the dead,accordingto
dialect but to their appearance- for Celtic lore), some researchershave
their clothes, their eyes and, most discountedtheir history as merely a
strikingly, their skin were all green! charmingfolktale. Othershave linked
They were taken to the houseof local it with England'straditional GreenMan
landownerSir Richardde Calne,which orJack-i n-the-Green-ateafy
became their homel but despite all supernatural entity personifying
attemptsto feedthem, for quite a time fertitity and the rebirth of spring. It
after their discoverythese strange has even been suggestedthat the
childrenrefusedto eat anything other children had originated from a
than greenbeans.Sadty,the youngerof mysterioussubterraneanworld present
the two, a boy, died less than a year beneath the surfaceof the earth and
later, but the other child, a girl, grew lacking sunlight, or from someparallel
strongand spentthe rest of her life in dimensionthrough which they had
the area. accidentallysteppedinto our own.
0ver the years,the greentinge to In recenttimes,a muchmoreliteral,
her skin graduallyvanished,and when soberinterpretationhas alsobeenput
she reached maturity she married a forward for consideration.During the
man from King'sLynn in Norfolk. She 1980s,investigatorPaui Harris visited
alsolearnt Engtish,and waseventually Woolpit and tearnt that local people
generallybelievethat the story derives who were tater found, still alive but
from a legendconcerninga medieval disorientedand ill. Worthnoting here
Norfolk earl who was guardianto two is that arsenicpoisoningcan cause
young children. The earl tried chlorosis,in which the skin turns
unsuccessfully to poisonthe children green.So too can anaemia,a result of
with arsenicand then abandoned them malnutrition, from which the
in Wayland Wood, in the area of abandonedyoungsterswere likely to
ThetfordForeston the Norfolk-Suffotk have been suffering. A diet-related
border. Here they would surely have origin for their greenskin would also
died, thus enablinghim to take control explain why the girl's complexion
of the estate that they were due to revertedto a normal colour once she
inherit when they reachedadulthood. beganto thrive on properfood.
Accordingto the Wootpitpeople,these Harrisbelievesthat the story'sother
probablybecamethe green children key portions have straightforward
 Spain, dating from August 1887 and
set in the Catalonian villageof Banjos.
Indeed, apart from the differencein
the locality and time, the only notable
discrepancy betweenthe two storiesis
that in the Spanishversion the girl
dies too, after about five years.Even
their tiking for beans is mentioned,
and to add coincidence to coincidence.
the noblemanwho caresfor them after
their discoveryis named as Seflor
Ricardo da Calno - not exactly
dissimilarfrom Sir Richardde Calnel
Thisstoryhasbeenunquestioningly
recycledin several books; in The
Recent
drawing by girl in
of'GreenChildren' MonsterTrapand }ther TrueMysteries,
Woolpitschool.
PeterHaining repeateda claim made
explanations too. For instance, a few by John Macklinthat the documents
miles north-west of Woolpit is a village and statementsof the peoplewho saw
called Fornham St Martin, which could and looked after the two green
explain the identity of "St Martin's childrenstill exist. In 1986,however,
Land".Further north is Thetford Forest. Frank Prestonrevealedthat he had
whose dark interior would certainly written to the British CouncilInstitute
seem twilit and sunless to two young in Barcelonaregardingthis story,but
chitdren abandonedin its depths. The atthough the institute conducted
forest also contains many Neolithic extensive searcheson his behalf.
flint mines and associated passages. which included contacting Spanish
Perhapsthe youngsters wandered into librarians, museumsand town hall
one of them, which led to Woolpit. archives, as well as searching
Furthqnore, in the twelfth century newspapersfrom August 1887 for
most pedple did not travel very far, so relevantaccounts, no traceof the story
the dialect of children from a distant coutdbe found.Thisis not surprising,
village may indeed .have sounded becausethe vittageof Banjosdoesnot
strange to Woolpit'sinhabitants. exist.It is imaginaryjust tike its green
There is one final but intriguing children,whosestory is clearlya hoax
twist to the tale of the Woolpit green devisedby someoneinspired by the
children. An almost identical story is Wootpit version to create a more
on record from nineteenth-centurv modemcounterpart.
 Men
Lizard
ne of the most bizarre The LizardManof SouthCarolina,with hind
creatures reported in legsover 2 metreshigh, glowingred eyesand
greenskin. Similarto modern'monste/ in
recent times is undoubtedly a PuertoRico:the Chupacabras.
nightmarish entity from South
Carolina, which has been aptty
nicknamedLizard Man. Accordingto
eyewitnesses, it walkson its hind legs,
standsjust over2 metres(7 feet) tatt,
and has gtowingretl eyes and green
scaly skin. It has only three toes on
each foot and three fingers on each
hand, but every toe and every finger
has a L0-cm-(a-inch)long black claw
at its tip.
Lizard Man first madeits presence
felt at around2 a.m.on 29 June1988.
This was when 17-year-old
ChristopherDaviswas changinga flat'
tyre on his car nearScapeOreSwamP,
which is just outside the backwater
village of Bishopville in South
Carolina's Lee County.
Chris was placing the jack into his
carboot whenhe spiedsomethingvery
largerunning on its hind legstowards
him, acrossa fietd closeby. As it drew
near,Chrisjumped inside his car and
tried to slam the door shut, but the
horrifying reptile-manseizedit from
the otherside,grippingthe mirrorasit
attemptedto wrenchthe door oPenl
And when Chris tried to escaPebY
acceleratinghard, his scaly attacker
 Chris Davis'sfrightening experience,
manyotherpartsof NorthAmericahad
also hostedencounterswith reptilian
man-monsters, astonishinglysimilarin
appearanceto the amphibious"gitt-
man" starring in Hollywood'sclassic
Creaturefrom the BlackLagoonmovie.
0n 19 August 1972, for example,
RobinFlewellynand GordonPike were
altegedlychasedawayfrom the beach
around Thetis Lake in British
Columbia,Canada,by a 1.5-metre-(5-
foot) tall bipedat monster with six
sharp points on its head, which had
unexpectedly surfacedin the lake.
Fourdayslater,at around3.30p.m.
on 23 August, RusseltVan Nice and
Michael Gold could only watch in
amazement whenwhat waspresumably
the same creaturesuddenlystepped
'LizardMen'haveoften beenreportedto be
out of the lake, looked around and
seeminglyhostileto observers.
then walked back into the water,
disappearing from sight. Accordingto
jumpedon to the car'sroof! Luckily,it their description,it was humanoidin
soonfell off as the vehiclespedaway. shape,but with scalysilverskin, huge
When Chris arrived home he was ears, the face of a monster and a
tremblingwith fear, the roof of his car pointedprojectionon its head.
borea seriesof long scratches and the In 7977, a State Conservation
wing mirror wasseverelytwisted. naturalist called Atfred Hulstruck
Themassivemediapublicity generated claimedthat a scale-covered man-beast
by this incident led to manyother Lizard regularlyemergedat duskfrom the red
Manreportsemergingduringthe summer algae-choked watersof SouthernTier
of 1988,but the samecouldnot be said in NewYork State.Fiveyearsearlier,in
for Lizard Man itself, who eventually March1972,two policemensawa frog-
disappeared without ever having been faced humanoid creature,about the
satisfactorilyexplained. sizeof a dog, plungeinto Littte Miami
Interestingly,this bizarreepisodeis RivernearLovetand, Ohio.In this same
far from being unique. Long before area, back in 1.955,a respectable
businessman claimedthat he had seen turn, our planetmayindeedhavebeen
a quartet of L-metre- (3-foot) tatt, home to life forms of this type. In
frog-facedcreaturessquatting under a 1982, the scientificjournal Syllogeus
bridgetike'fairytale trolls. published a very unusual but highty
Another longstandingtradition of original paper by two well-respected
scalyhumanoidsfeaturesthe fish-men Canadian palaeontologists,
of Inzignanin,near Chicora- an area Dr Dale A. Russelland Dr R. S6guin
sandwiched betweenNorth and South from the National Museum of Natural
Carolina.Thesebeingsweresaid to be Sciencesin 0ttawa. Its subject wasthe
coveredwith scalesand had webbed fascinating possibitity that, if the
hands.Mostdistinctive of all, however, dinosaurs had never died out, they
weretheir tails, which wereasthick as would have eventualty given rise to a
a man'sarm, about 45 cm (18 inches) dinosaurian counterpart of human
long and relatively inflexibte, tike beings.
those of crocodilesor alligators. In their paper,Russelland S6guin
Accordingto locatlore, they lived only specutated aboutthe likely appearance
on raw fish and thereforesoon died of sucha creatureand suggested that
out when the area's fish suPPlies it wouldhavestood upright on its hind
becameexhausted. tegs,with three fingerson eachhand.
Equatty strange was the 2-metre- They even constructeda model of this
(6-foot)tall, fluorescent-eyedmonster 'dinosaur man' - and what is so
that clawedCharlesWetzel'scar on the amazing about it is that in overall
evening of 8 November1958 as he appearanceit is remarkablysimilar to
drove by the Santa Ana River near the descriptionsof Lizard Man and
Riverside,California. Although often other reptilian man-beastsreported
placedin the bigfoot (i.e. ape-man) from modern-day North America!
category of mystery beasts, it was
much more akin to the rePtilian
monsters,as notedby the writer Loren
Coleman,becauseit was coveredin
leaf-Uke scalesand had a protrusible
beak-likemouth.
Needless to say. no real-life
creaturesof the "BlackLagoon"variety
have ever been provenby scienceto
exist on earth, either during the
presentor the past.Yet, if the course
of evolution had taken a different
IheJersey
Deill
ne of the most bird, but they finally admitted that
extraordinary monsters on many of its featureswere far stranger
recordfrom the USAbecamea major than any observedin a bird, and the
newsstory in January1909,when creaturesoonbecameknownas the
Jerseydevil.
llli::";tJ:,'ilff':H,ff":l:
6 E.W. Minster. a

i:1xJl#i*T:uH'1fr'J:?H
eyewitnesses
I
tried to convince 8',
postmasterfrom Bristot
in Pennsylvania,gave
a particularly detaited
themselvesat first that it must F; ': first-handdescriptionof
have been some form of this mysterious monster.
hideous giant '} He had caughtsight of it on
;. the morning of 17 January
1909, after hearing an eerie
sound coming from the
direction of the Delaware
River. Accordingto Minster.
the Jersey devil was flying
*',,t.ifi diagonattyacrossthe river
and tookedtike a large crane
at first, but was glowing
brightty tike an immense
firefly. It had a long slender
neck that it hetd
I. outstretched in flight, two
pairs of legs (the front pair
was shorter than the hind
pair) and two long thin
wings. Strangest of att,
however, was its head. which
resembleda ram's becauseit
borea pair of curtedhorns.And asit
flew, it uttered a bloodcurdling cry,
 which Minsterdescribedas a combined in Philadetphia's Arch Street
squawk and whistle, beginning very Museum claimed that it had on
high and piercingbut endingvery low disptay a genuine Jersey devil.
and hoarse. which had recently been captured
At the sametime that sightings alive! Sadly,however.it proved to
of this incredible creature were be nothing more remarkablethan a
being reported, strange marks kangaroothat had been decorated
resembling hoofprints were being with bright greenstripesand which
discoveredin the area too, and not had a pair of fake bronze-coloured
just on the ground.Somewere even wings strappedto its shoulders!It
spotted on the roofs of houses! was, of course. a hoax - whereas
Then, not long after these reports almost a hundred years later, the
had cometo an end, it seemedas if real Jerseydevil has still not been
the mysteryof the Jerseydevil had capturedor conclusivelyidentified.
finallv been solved. An exhibition The mysterycontinues...

Ihellorerllemon
E:5.
f/ Ess{.^- x

Ej J lh.last thingthat 17-year- the picture that Biti later prepared,

-
t"
to
otdBittBartlettexpected which is reproducedhere,the creature
see when driving with two friends had a disproportionately large head,
through Dover, Massachusetts, at shapedlike a water melon, with two
around10.30p.m. on 21 April 1977 big, protruding eyes that glowed
was a creature from another orange,but it did not seemto have a
dimension.Yet that is what he may mouth, noseor ears.Its bodywassmall,
have done,at least in the opinion of its neck and limbs werelong and thin,
someinvestigators- andjudging from and its fingers and toes were slender
Billls descriptionof what he saw,they andsupple.Thecreatureappeared to be
couldhavea point! hairless, but its peach-colouredskin
Driving along, his car's headlights wasrough in texture. It stood about L
suddenlyilluminated a peculiarentity metre(3-4 feet)high, andwasobserved
pickingits way alonga stonewall at the only by Bilt (his two friends were not
side of the road. As can be seenfrom lookingin the right directionto seeit).
 Unknown to Bitt, however. his subsequently called "thg Dover
strange sighting would soon be demon"was seenagain, this time by
substantiated by an entirely 15-year-old Abby Brabham white
independenteyewitness.Less than beingdrivenhomeby Wilt Taintor,18,
two hours later,15-year-oldJohn who only spiedit very briefly. Abby's
Baxter was walking homelittle more descriptionmatchedthose of Bitt and
than a mile from the locality of Bitt's John in every respect except one:
encounterwhen he saw a strange when she observedit, its eyes were
figure coming towards him. After glowing green,not orange.And thus
receiving no repty when he called endedthe curious caseof the Dover
out to it, John paused,and as he did demon - for it has never been
so the figure ran away down a gulty. reported again and has never been
John chasedafter it and when he satisfactorilyidentified.
was about 9 metres(30 feet) away, If the descriptionsof it areaccurate
he could see it clearly, standing - andthey arecertainlyvery consistent
upright on its hind legs and - the Doverdemondoesnot resemble
gripping the trunk of a tree. When any speciesknown to science,either
he spied its brightly glowing eyes from North America or elsewhere.It
staring at him from an otherwise may not, however, be entirely
featureless face, however. John unknown.The Creenation of eastern
decided to let caution supersede Canadaspeakof a mysteriousrace of
curiosityand he walkedbriskty back pygmy entities called the Mannegishi,
to the road. Oncehe reachedhome, who detight in playing tricks upon
he too madea visuatrecordof what travetters.Accordingto the Cree,the
he had witnessed,"and as can be Mannegishihave round heads, long
seen here, his whotty independent thin legs,armswith six fingerson each
illustration corresponds very closely hand, and they Livebetweenrocks in
indeedwith Bitt's. the rapids.Excludingthe finger count
At around midnight on 22 April, discrepancy, this description is
what writer Loren Coleman has reminiscentof the Doverdemon.
 Pedro
- lTyomin{'s
Unerplain
Mid{et
Mummy
ne day in 0ctober1932, First and foremost, it was
after spending several exceptionallysmall, less than 18 cm
weeksseekinggotdin a ravineat the (7 inches)high asit sat thereandwith
base of the San Pedro mountains, a total height of only 35 cm (14
about100kilometres(65 mites)south- inches).Yet it did not seemto be a
west of Casparin Wyoming,CecilMain chitd. Its face resembledthat of a
and Frank Carr spotted some smirkingold man, with a low brow,a
indications of gotd in one of the broad flat nose, large eyes (one of
ravine'sthick stone watls. The only whichwashalf-ctosed) and a very wide
way to determine whether the wall mouth with thin lips. Its skin was a
reatty did contain gold, however.was tanned, bronze colour, heavily
to blastit apartwith dynamite,and so wrinkled,its body was barrel-shaped,
this is what they did. Once the its hands were large and its long
resuttingcloudsof dust had begunto fingersbore minute but readily visible
disperse, the two men peeredthrough fingernails.The top of its head was
the yawning hote'teft behind and abnormallyflat and coveredin a dark.
discoveredthat the watl had been gelatinoussubstance, eclipsingall but
hiding a smallcavern.It wasa natural a fringe of hair aroundits edge.
cave,about 4.5 metres(15 feet) tong The bewilderedprospectorscarefully
but only 1.2 metres(a feet) high and lifted this enigmaticlittte effigy off its
wide.Insidewasa smallledge,and to ledgeand took it backwith them when
the astonishmentof the prospectors. they eventually returned to Caspar,
they could see a tiny pixie-tike whereit attractedan immenseamount
creaturesitting cross:tegged upon it, of interest. It becameknown as pedro
with its arms folded acrossits waist. (after its mountain origin) and was
Looking closer at this extraordinary eventualtypurchasedby Ivan Goodman,
being,however,they discovered that it a car dealerin Caspar.Whenscientists
was no longer alive. In fact, it was a first learnt of its discoverythey were
mummy,but untike any seenbefore. somewhat sceptical,suspecting a hoax.
 Instead, however,the X-ray plates
confirmed that Pedro possessedan
irrefutably man-like skeleton, despite
its tiny stature.It exhibiteda complete
set of ribs, fully formed armsand legs
with att bones readily discernible,a
backbonethat had oncebeenperfectly
formed but which had subsequently
sufferedan injury, and llso a fractured
left collar-bone. Indeed.it seemed asif
this littte person had met its death
through some violent attack,
accountingnot only for thoseinjuries,
but also for its flattened headand the
dark gelatinous substance.'When
examined,it was found that the skull
had been smashedby an extremely
heavy blow and the dark substance
was exposed brain tissue and
congealed blood.
As for Pedro's age,despitethe severe
damageits skull wassufficiently intact
to reveal that its fontanelle (a soft
spacebetweenthe skull'sbones)was
Themummified standsat a
humanoid"creature closed.This is an adult characteristic;
mere14 inchesin height. in babiesand smalt children, it is stitt
open. Moreover,Pedroalso had a full
set of teeth, the most distinctiveof
Nevertheless, after being shovrrn the which were its large, noticeably
mummy by Goodman,anthropologistDr pointed canines. Its overall
Henry Shapiro from the American morphology,internally and externally,
Museum of Natural History was indicatedthat it was about 65 years
intrigued enough to ot'ganize an X-ray old when it died. and in Shapiro's
examination for it. If this mysterious opinion it was not from recenttimes,
midget was simply a hoax, carefullY but dated far backinto history.
constructed externally but with no In 1950,Goodmandied and Pedro
internal substance,X-ray analysis would became the property of Leonard
swiftly exposeit as such. Wadler,but later vanished from the
 headlinesand today its location is attack them with tiny bowsthat shot
unknown.In 7979,Pedro's X-rayswere poisonedarrows.Accordingto some
shown to Wyoming University traditions, these pygmies even kill
anthropotogistProfessorGeorgeGiU, their own kind when they becomeilt,
who announcedthat it had probably by beheadingthem or smashingtheir
been a grossly malformedinfant or skulls - just like Pedro'sskull had been
foetussufferingfrom anencephaly - a smashed. It wouldbe strangeindeedif
severeconditionin which most of the the true identity of Pedroprovedto be
cranium and 'brain have failed to a euthanased elf.
develop. Sometimes,moreover,the
portion of brain that ftas formed is
exposed,with no protective bony
covering. This coutd account for
Pedro'sflattened heada4d its covering
of congeated blood and brain tissues,
but anencephaty cannot explain
Pedro'sadult featuresand dentition.
In L993, French zoologist Dr
Frangoisde Sarresuggested to me that
Pedromay havebeena foetussuffering
from microcephaly(abnormalcranium
and brain formation),but on to whose
skeletonthe skin of an adult man had
been carefullymoulded- in the same
way that the Jivaros do when they
produce their famous tzantzas or
shrunkenheads.
ProfessorGitl thought that Pedro
may have belonged to a race of
unknown prehistoricnative American
people.However,many modernnative
American groups claim that this
continent was, and stitt is, home to a
very aggressiverace of pygmies or
Little People, whose descriptions
closelytalty with Pedro.In particular,
the Shoshonenation of Wyoming
speak of the Nimerigar,who would
 Flying$aucers r
andUF0s
orElusiue
tlien$pacecraft
Sky-heasts?
rffiq@
ofsupposed saucers and UF0s are alien,
flffin:).ffi "nusishtinss
\U-ffftying saucersand UF0s extraterrestrialspacecraft;but what if
are simple misidentifications of at leastsomeof them are extraordinary
certain earthly or astronomical living creatures,native to our planet
objects, including weather balloons, yet undiscovered by science?Largely
the planet Venus,light-reflectingfog unconsidered elsewhere, this
or clouds, distress flares, flocks of fascinating idea has received
geese or even swarms of insects appreciable attention from researchers
reflecting tight, lenticular clouds, in North America.
aeroplane vapour trails, low-flying Fewecologicalnicheson land or in
aeroplanes and meteors. the waterare not occupiedby animals
As for the remainder,most people modifiedfor existencehere- but what
assume that any "genuine" flying about the sky? Atthough certain
UF0taking off in France. insectsand birds spendmuch of their
Somethink they are spaceships,othersthink time in flight, there are no animals
they are somethingcomptetelydifferent. that live their entire lives airbornein
the sky, adapted for an exclusive
existencein the atmosphere encircling
our planet- or arethere?
It is well known that the term
"flying saucer" was coined by a
reporter documenting Idaho
businessman KennethArnold'ssighting
of nine flying disc-shaped objectsnear
Mount Rainier, Washington, while
pitotinga Callairaeroplaneon 24 June
 1947.Lesswell known is that Arnold America's mostcelebrated investigators
consideredthese objectsto be living of mystery beasts. And in the early
organisms:"sort of like sky jetlyfish". 1960s, scientist and hydrophone
Nor was he alone in his opinion. inventorJohn M. Cagefrom NewJersey
A month later, John P. Bessorfrom St drew comparisonsbetween incidents
Thomas, Pennsylvania,submitted a involving dolphins following ships
similar theory, which he had with sightings of UF0s trailing
developedin 1,946,to the United aeroplanes,postulating that these
StatesAir Force.Farfrom dismissingit latter entities were in .reality
as unrealistic,the officer who reptied intelligent tife-forms that fed upon
to Bessordescribed his notion as "one negativeelectricity.
of the most inteltigent theories we The most famous and extensive
havereceived". explorationof the sky-beasttheoryfor
The sky-beast concept gained UFOs,however,is that of TrevorJames
further impetus in 1955 with the Constable,a radio officer in the US
publicationin the USA of a detailed merchant marine. In 1918, he
appraisalof this idea by Countess Zoe pubtished his investigations and
Wassitko-Serecki, a prominenttiberal- findings in a very absorbingbook,
minded thinker. She proposedthat entitled SIryCreatures.
planet earth's upper atmosphereis According to Constable, some
populated by enormousbladder-like reported UFOsare indeed gigantic,
beastswith glowingbodiescomposed undiscovered native life-formshighty
of energyenvelopinga centralcoreof modifiedfor a wholly aerialexistence
solid matter. They exhibit the ability within the earth's atmosphere.He
to changetheir shapeat witt, from a named these exceedingtyspecialized
spherical configuration when organisms"critters" and described
stationaryto a cigar-likeform when them as single-celled(like amoebae),
moving,absorbingenergyto fuel their but encasedwithin a mica- or metal-
non-corporealbeings. In the years like outer covering,and existingin a
followingher statement,duringwhich wide rangeof sizes- from as muchas
UFO sightings have become nearly a kitometre (hatf a mite) in
increasingly common, a notable length down to a few centimetresat
number have indeed featured most.Thereasonthat thesecrittersare
distinctly cigar-like shapesrecalling seen only infrequently, explained
the appearanceof the sky-beasts Constable,is that they often reflect
predictedby the countess. infra-red tight (invisible to the human
in addition, her ideas won praise eye). Becausethey change colour,
from zootogistIvan Sanderson, one of under certain conditionscritters will
reflectvisibtetight and it is then that 27-28), he uncoveredthe work of a
they "become"UF0s. It seemsthat hitherto-obscure scientist called
they canbe photographed usinginfra- Withelm Reich. who claimed to have
red cinefilmand an appropriatefilter, discovereda mysterioustype of energy
and Constable's book includes many termedorgone.Collinssuggested that
photosof allegedcritters,obtainedin orgonemay well hold the key to the
the MojaveDesertin California. cropcirclemystery,claiming that all the
In 7992,the conceptof tiving UFOs. phenomenadocumented in relation to
sometimestermed "bioforms", also modern-daycrop circles have also been
received pubticity outside the USA, recorded in associationwith Constable's
through British author AndrewCollins's critters. In turn, if critters are
book.Ihe Circlemakers. Collinsreported composedof orgone, their occasional
how. while seekingan explanationfor contact with the earth's surface could
the formationof crop circles(seepp. thus exolainthe circles'creation.
 Critters,atwaysassumingthat they opinionsspeakfor themselves:
do exist, may not be the only form of
atmosphericsky-beastnative to our IMen you tossa pebbleinto a pool,
planet. Duringthe SecondWorldWar, you see the water animals - the
an early form of UFO was often nymphs, crawfish, minnows, water
encounteredby fighter pilots, who insects- streakingaway in fright. But
reportedseeingsmallballs of brittiant almost beforethe ripples have died in
white or reddishlight dancingaround the pool they are back, investigating
and pacing their aeroptanesin a curiously.Perhapseventson this earth
manner that seemed uncannily - atomic explosions,rocketflights into
intelligent, even ptayful - almost as if the stratosphere
and so on - kavebeen
they werecuriousabout the natureof Iike the pebble tossedinto the pool.
the planes. They have disturbed the stratosphere,
Theseballs of light becameknown perhaps have sent ripples into the
asfoo fighters.andwerebelievedto be fabric of space itself. And the space
a secretweaponof the enemy,untit it animals, in curiosity,are comingdown
wasdiscovered that American,British, to investigate.
Germanand Japanesepilots were all
seeing them. Similar objects can As a zoologist,I had alwaysbeen
sometimesbe detectedby radar too, perplexed by the absence of exclusively
whereuponthey are referred to as sky-dwellinglife-formson our planet,
gizmos or angels.Constablebetieves especially given the incredible
that foo fightersmaybe very primitive ingenuity demonstratedby evolution
sky-beasts,less sentient than their in successfullypopulating everywhere
giant-sizedrelatives. else with tiving things. If Constable,
- Thereis no doubt that the concept Cageand other proponentsof the sky-
of UF0s as living sky-beastsis beast scenarioare correct, however,
exceedingly radicatandwouldprobably perhaps I no longer need to be
be dismissedout of hand by the more perplexed- merely frustratedthat I
conservative membersof the scientific have yet to glimpseany examplesof
community. Consequently,the last evolution's best-kept but most
wordshouldgo to a leadingbiologistat amazinqsecretof all.
the Wright-Patterson.Air ForceBaseat
Dayton, 0hio, which is the
headquarters of the USAir Force'sUFO
investigations. In view of the
controversial natureof this subject,he
prefersto remainanonymous, but his
 r
fromUenus
Uisitors
orinter-
Ertra-terrestrials
dimensionals?
.ffi..
(6s*M surprisinsnumberof contact with the Venusianthrough
\n:-@Americans have reputedlY binoculars, at a distanceof about 1.5
been visited by aliens claiming to be kilometres (1 mite).
from other planets in our solar system, In his books flying SaucersHave
particularly Venus; but are these Landed and Inside the SpaceShips,
alleged extraterrestrialsall that they Adamski alleged that he met the
seemto be, or is their true origin much Venusian on several subsequent
closerto our own than we realize? occasions and was taken on to its ship,
Themostfamousreportedvisitation travelling aboard it to the far side of
from Venustook place during the early the moon, where he spied cities,
afternoonof 20 November 1952 in the forests, mountains, lakes and- a furry
Californiandesertnear Desert Center. four-legged animal. In later years, he
when 61-year-old 'UF0 enthusiast even claimed to have visited the ringed
George Adamski supposedlY planet Saturn to ' attend an
encountered a sandy-haired humanoid interplanetaryconference !
Venusian.With slanting grey-green Inevitably, Adamski's accounts drew
eyes,tanned hairlessface,and wearing short shrift from the scientific
a shimmeringone-piecegarment,this community and such scepticismhas
distinctive figure communicated via been adequately justified by
sign-language and telepathy with astronomical research since his death
Adamskifor almost in hout before in 1,965. For example, America's
making its departureaboard a scout mannedlunar landings,beginningin
ship hovering nearby. According to 1969 with Apotto 11, revealedthe
Adamski, he succeededin taking moon to be a barrenlifelessworld,far
photos of this ship, and someof his removed from his descriptions of
colleagueshad been observing his advanced lunar civilizations and
GeorgeAdamskiclaimed
contactwith Venusians.
natural grandeur. Equatty,as Saturn planet. Its fiery surfacetemperatureof
has been shown to be a gas planet 480"C (896'F), baleful vista of
composed principallyof hydrogen,how volcanoes,omnipresentthunder and
it coutd function as a venue for a tightning storms, and sulphuric acid
cosmic conference attended by rainfall have inspired astronomersto
Adamski,or any other humanoidform liken this infernal world to a
of life, is hard to imagine. traditional imageof hell!
Even his famous photos of the In an attempt to circumventthis
Venusianscout-ship have failed to latter impasse. a number of
withstand the test of time. The researchersinto the esoteric have
commonscientificconsensus nowadays suggestedthat Venusianhumanoids
is that these were actually fakes, may normallyinhabit a dimensionof
depicting models made from bottle higher "atomic vibration" than the
coolersand chickenfeeders. physical three-dimensionallevel in
As for Venusbeingthe homeplanet which we live. For them this is a
of Adamski's olive-eyed, smooth- totalty real and substantialdimension
skinned visitor, it would be truly but one from which they must "step
astounding if any humanoid down" when wishing to manifest
civilization coutd exist on such a themselvesto planet earth dwellers.
Yet even if att this is true, another 1,954by GeorgeKing, a formerLondon
issueequally difficutt to resolveis the taxi driver.King claimsto be the earth's
diversity of eyewitnessdescriptions representative on a Saturn-based
concerningVenusians. council called the Interplanetary
In 1950, SamuelThompsonsaw a Parliament, and also to be in
troop of nude diminutive Venusians communication with an unseenCosmic
with btondwaist-lengthhair and dark Master called Aetherius. living on
skin, ptaying merrity in a glade near Venus. According to this society.
Markham, Washington, while their Venusians are2-2.75metres(7-9 feet)
spaceshiphoveredcloseby. Atthough talt, with long pale hair and cinnamon
they were benevolent like other skin, eyes that lack pupils, and tiny
supposedVenusians,in Thompson's feet. Theyno longerneedto eat, their
opinion they seemedextraordinarily energy intake is accomplishedmerely
chitdtike: indeed, his descriptionis by breathing;Aetherius,apparently,has
more reminiscentof elves or some not eatenfor over 3000yearsl
other traditional race of Little People So who, if anyone,is correctout of
than of ETs. the aboveselectionof those claiming
Certainly they were in great contact with Venusians?Is there any
contrast to the highty sophisticated, way of reconcilingthese and other
futty humanoid Venusians who conflicting testimonies? In their
regularly contacted Howard Menger absorbingbook Life Beyond Planet
throughout his tife, following his Earth?, Janet and Colin Bord offer
initial meeting as a 10-year-oldboy somecompellingspeculations.
with a beautiful golden-eyedfemale Many ufological sceptics believe
Venusiannear his New Jerseyhomein that the variety of formsandlife-styles
1932. Accordingto Menger,Venusian of Venusiansdescribedby their earthly
technotogy is 2500 years more eyewitnesses indicatesthat thesealien
advancedthan our own, and the encounterswere realty hallucinations
Venusians are vegetarians, whose or visionsinducedby fear,stress,drugs
speciallyprocessed foodstuffspossess or even dietary stimuli. However,as
a far greaternutritional contentthan notedby the Bords,illusion may be as
their counterpartson planetearth. important as delusion.That is, some
TheAetheriusSocietyis dedicatedto encounters with Venusiansmay be
storing up spiritual energy in genuine, not imaginary, but the
mountain-contained"batteries" that Venusians purposefully adopt
can be dischargedto trouble spots whicheverguise they considerto be
anywhereon planetearthfor the easing the most influential for a given
of suffering.Thesocietywasfoundedin situationor evewitness.
 Perhaps the most thought- would be threatenedif evera meansof
provoking aspect of the Venusian enteringit werediscovered by our more
visitations, however, is that these aggressive culture.And so,by spinning
beingsmight not evenbe from Venus talesto us of populatedextraterrestrial
at all. It is very interesting that most worlds, our visitors lure our minds
encounters with atiens claiming to away from the far likelier concept of
havejourneyedhere from Venus- or interdimensionaltravel.
from other planets within our solar There is one other notable
system- occurredbeforespace-probes explanation that also eradicatesan
had been sent out from the ptanet extraterrestrial origin for these
earth, exposingthese worlds to be supposedVenusians. Is it possible,as
incapableof sustaining the existence some UFO researchers have
of advancedforms of life. Sincethen, speculated,that they are actually
as the Bordshave pointed out: "alien from our own planet's future? Are
entities have continued to make these entities our own far-distant
contact with Earth people,but they descendants, a highty evolved,
have stoppedclaimingto come from advancedrace of humans that mav
our SolarSystem.As Mankindreaches actually be visiting us to preventui
out into the Universe,so the entities from embarking upon deleterious
retreat- and changetheir tactics." projects,or to study us as examplesof
But why? Why do they apparently their own less sophisticated,more
not wish us to learntheir true origins? barbaric past? Any considerationof
Perhaps,as the Bords suggest,their time travel necessarilyconjuresup all
true home is far closerto us than we manner of mind-bending paradoxes
currently realize - a parallel planet involving the future influencing the
earth sharingthe samespaceas our past, but there is littte doubt that
own, yet existing in a separate whateverthey are,and whereverthey
dimension. Since its inhabitants can have come from, our friendly
visit us on our planet (but not vice- neighbourhood Venusians are
versa), however,theirs must be much decidedtyinterestedin our activities.
more advanced, socially and It wouldbe equallyinteresting,not to
technologicalty.Evenso, they may be mention reassuring,to know the
afraid that their planet's existence reasonfor their curiositv.
 IheGohlins
ofl|opkinsrille
ffi
Fill*+'-*-"" Y*'
I t U t I*, "ny of the wortd'smost carryingrifles, so both men shot the
celebratedcasesof alleged entity, but instead of falling to the
encounterswith extraterrestrials(ETs) groundit simptyflippedbackwards and
have occurredin North America. Yet scurriedaway.
even these have attracted great It was soon back, however,and
scepticismfrom someinvestigators. so this time it was accompanied by at
that their authenticity is stitt least one other of its kind. During
unresolved.Thereis, however,at least the next 3-4 hours,the Suttonswere
one very notable exception to this besiegedby these macabre"space
trend - the astonishingcase of the goblins",which appearedin nearby
Hopkinsvillegoblins. trees, scrambled over their
0n the eveningof 21 August 1,955, farmhouseand peered in at them
at their farmhousein the hamlet of through the windows. One of the
Kelly, closeto Hopkinsville,Kentucky, creaturesevenleaneddownfrom the
the Suttons (sevenadults and three porchroof, and with a talonedhand
chitdren)wereentertaininga visitor, a snatchedat the hair of Taylor,who
local friend cattedBitty Ray Taylor.At wasstandingunderneathl
around8 p.m., Taylorsteppedoutside Accordingto descriptionsgiven by
to fetch somewater from a well in the the Suttons in subsequentinterviews,
backyard,where he observeda silver eachof the "goblins"stood75-105cm
objectskim acrossthe farmhouseand (2'f,-3'f, feet) talt, was principally
land about 100 metres (300 feet) bipedat and glowed silver. Its domed
further away in a gutty hidden by head was disproportionatelylarge and
trees.Whenhe told the Suttonsabout bore two short antenna-likestructures.
this, they were amused but not It also had a pointed chin, a conical
convinced. Shortty afterwards, nosewith a roundedknobat the tip and
however,their dog,which wasoutside, a pair of huge. pointed, elephantine
began barking in such a frantic, ears.Its big, bulbous,laterallysitedeyes
hystericalmannerthat Taylorand one glowedyellow, and its extremelywide
of the Suttons'sons,Elmer,went out to mouth'supper tip was tucked beneath
investigate.Theyweregreatlyshocked the lowertip. Therewasno neck.
to see a glowing goblin-likecreature The goblin's body had a powerful
floating towards them! They were chest,but the restof the torsowasverv
thin, and its arms and legs were entities would be alarming enough,
positively spindty. The arms were but the most unnervingaspectof the
extremelylong too, so that its broad Suttons'prolongedencounterwith the
hands almost touched the floor even goblinswas that these extraordinary
when the creature was standing beingsappearedto be totally immune
upright. Eachhand had four webbed, to bullets.The Suttonsscoredseveral
clawed fingers. Its legs were much successfulhits, but on each occasion
shorter than its arms but were the goblin simpty back-flippedtike a
exceedinglythin and terminated in circusacrobatand scuttledawayon all
circular feet that resembledsuction fours,or, if hit white in a tree, merely
cups.Therewasno tail. floated slowly down to the ground.
Merely to be confrontedby such Eventually, the Suttons and Taylor
 becameso frightened that they ran 2-metre- (6-foot) high domed craft,
out of the house,jumpedinto two cars standingon legs,which promptlyflew
and fled at top speedto the police off into the sky at greatspeed.
station at Hopkinsville,where they Thecaseof the Hopkinsvillegoblins
spokeat greatlength to the localChief has been exhaustivelyinvestigatedby
of PoliceRussellGreenwell, his deputy manydifferentUFOresearchers, but no
GeorgeBatts and someother officers one has currently revealed any
at the station. evidence,or reason,to suggestthat
Not surprisingty,the police were this wasa hoax,or evenan instanceof
thoroughlynonplussed by the Suttons' masshaUucination or misidentification
incrediblestory, but they were also of knownanimals.Alsoworth notingis
struck by their genuine terror. that despite being subjected to
Something had clearly frightened extensive public ridicute over the
these hardy, no-nonsensecountry years, not one of the eleven
people very severety.And so, afler eyewitnesses has ever retractedtheir
persuadingthe Suttons to return storyor any portionof it. Soif the case
home,Greenwell and the other officers rs genuine, where did the Suttons'
went back with them, but nothing amazingvisitorscomefrom?
could be found. Yet as soon as the If they aretruly extraterrestrial,they
police left the farmhouseand drove arebeyondthe limits of our world - and
back to Hopkinsville,the goblins the subject of this book. However,as
returned, inspecting the farmhouse with the visiting Venusians documented
and its human contentsas before.By eartier(pp.137-139), it is possible
that
sunrise,however,they had gone- and the Hopkinsville entities' undisclosed
this time they did not comeback. originowesmoreto inner spacethan to
Something that may be an outer space.Theselarge-headed, big-
interesting sequel to the Suttons' eared, thin-limbed, bug-eyed,
experienceoccurrednear Gastaghin diminutive beingsbear a very striking
Vicenza,Italy, on 24 November1,978. resemblance to certain forms of Little
Angelo DAmbros was gathering People,notably the goblins - hence
firewood in the woods when he their ufological nickname. Reading
encounteredtwo small entities that through the UFOliterature,moreover, it
greatly resembtedthe Hopkinsville becomesincreasinglyapparent that
goblinsand which, like them, floated manyhumanencounters with supposed
through the air rather than walking. ETs and with Littte People share a
After he threatenedthem with a piece surprisingnumberof similarities.
of wood,they fled away,but when he Just like fairies, elves and other
chasedafter them he sawthem entera Little People,a lot of reportedETsare
smaltin size, emit a glowingtight or abductedfor only a short time, when
appearwithin a ball of light, seemto longerperiod
in reality a considerably
be invulnerableto bullets or suchlike, has passedby. 0nce again,this time-
and can float abovethe ground.The lapsescenariois mirroredin traditional
abitity to vanish without trace and to folktales, featuring fairy-abducted
hypnotize (enchant?)their human humanswho believethat their visit to
contacts are further characteristics Faeriehas spannedonly a few hours,
sharedby ETsand Little People. but ultimatety discoverthat years,
In many documentedcases of evencenturies,haveflitted by.
humansattegedtyabductedby ETs,the The comparisoncan be taken even
person believesthat he has been further: just as somereportsof alien
abductions feature bizarre-sounding and the manned moon rocket, the
ctaimsthat the ETshave forcedtheir Little Peopte of the late twentieth
human abducteesto mate with them century have developedmuch more
(ostensiblyto improve their alien sophisticatedflying machines,steek
tineage),so too in fairy talesarethere aerialskycraftthat we refer to asUF0s?
many accountsof fairies kidnapping Thesenotionsmay well seemmore
human babiesto rear as their own, akin to science-fantasy than factual
replacingthem with changelings. science, but UFO researchers
Yet wheredo sharedsimilaritiesend recognizethat the parallelsbetween
and sharedidentitiesbegin?As we saw human encounterswith Little People
earlier (p.24), whereasmodern-day and with supposedETs are too
sightingsof traditional Littte Peopleare extensiveto be dismissedentirely as
far fewer than in previous centuries, coincidence. Consequently,if, as
reports of UFOsand ETs are ever- popularlybelievedby investigatorsof
increasingin number.In just over a the Little Peopte,this enigmaticrace
century, humankind's technological derivesfrom a parallel equivalentof
knowledge and capabilities have our own planet earth, but can travel
advancedimmeasurably. If Littte People freely between the two, this could
arereal entities,why shoutdwe assume explain visitations by various of
that their capabilities have not today's reputed ETs, such as the
advancedtoo? And bearing in mind Hopkinsville goblins, and perhaps
that their skitts have, always far even the notably elfin "Venusians"
exceeded our own, shouldwe reatlybe seen by SamuelThompson(p.t38),
too surprised if, while we have dancing just tike latter-day Little
progressed only as fdr as the aeroplane Peopleneartheir hoveringspaceship.

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THrUNEXPLAINxD
Text@ Dr Karl P.N. Shuker1996