REALL News - Vol 06 No 03 - 1998

Magazine Overview

Title: The Illinois UFO Mania of 1897
Issue: Volume 6, Issue 3
Date: March 1998
Publisher: The REAL News
Author: Robert Bartholomew

This issue of The REAL News focuses on the historical phenomenon of the "Illinois UFO Mania of 1897," examining it as a precursor and parallel to modern-day UFO reports. The article, written by Sociologist Robert Bartholomew, argues that the widespread belief in airships during that era was a manifestation of mass hysteria and perceptual psychology, rather than evidence of extraterrestrial or advanced unknown craft.

The Illinois UFO Mania of 1897

The article details how, between November 1896 and May 1897, a significant portion of Americans became convinced that a new type of heavier-than-air flying machine had been invented. This belief led to an "airship mania" that swept across the United States. Bartholomew highlights that at the peak of this phenomenon, tens of thousands of Americans in various states reported seeing these craft simultaneously, with descriptions of maneuvers far exceeding the technological capabilities of the time, and even by today's standards.

The typical description of these craft was an oval or cigar-shaped body with an attached undercarriage, a powerful headlight, and either giant fans or wings that protruded from the sides. Some witnesses even claimed the wings flapped like a bird's.

The Illinois Airship Hysteria

The state of Illinois experienced a surge of airship reports specifically during April 1897. The first documented sighting occurred in Nashville, Illinois, where a balloon-like airship with a large red light was observed at 8 p.m. by numerous residents.

Subsequent reports include:

• April 8th: A Rock Island police officer described a "glittering steel hull" with "dim wing-like fans" swaying gently overhead.
• April 9th: Hundreds observed the phenomenon over Chicago, Evanston, Niles Center, and Schermerville.
• April 10th: Jacksonville residents, including police officers and firemen, witnessed the airship.
• April 11th: In Springfield, Richard Schriver, foreman of the county jail, and another man observed a "radiating light not unlike a locomotive headlight" for 30 minutes.
• April 12th: In Lincoln, over fifty people saw what they believed to be the airship's light in the distance, particularly when lightning illuminated the sky.
• April 13th: Near Lincoln, more than 200 people saw white and green lights. Later that evening, Benjamin Carr described a cigar-shaped hull, approximately 15 feet long, with large wing-like projections.

These are presented as just a few examples from hundreds of Illinois sightings during April 1897.

Close Encounter Cases in Illinois

The article briefly mentions three "close encounter" cases from Illinois during this period, noting they are part of a larger number of such reports.

• Near Springfield (April 16, 1897): According to the Decatur Daily Republican, an airship allegedly landed three miles west of the city. Farmhand John Halley and vineyard owner Adolf Wenke reported a long-bearded man emerging from the craft, which contained another man and the scientist's wife. The man explained they rested in remote areas during the day to conceal the vessel's wings. When asked his name, he pointed to the letter 'M' on the side car.
• Near Carlinville (April 12th): The Springfield News reported an airship landing near town. William Street, Frank Metcalf, Ed Temples, and a telegraph operator allegedly saw it alight, and a man emerged to fix machinery before the craft rose and disappeared.
• Elburn, Kane County (April 10th): A report in the Rockford Daily Republic mentioned trainmen hearing that an operator said stockmen and farmers reported the ship had a breakdown and landed for repairs.

Additional sightings reported in the Chicago Tribune around April 15th included:

• Mount Vernon: Over 100 people saw the mysterious airship.
• Carlyle: The airship was seen traveling rapidly in a northwesterly course.
• Quincy: A Wabash passenger train raced for 15 minutes with the alleged airship, which displayed one white and one red light.
• Hillsboro: Reputable citizens saw the airship in the western heavens.

Skepticism and Explanations

Toward the end of the month, the press began to exhibit increased skepticism. Several mass sightings were later attributed to pranksters after the discovery of tissue balloons or fire balloons in the vicinity. Illuminated kites were also cited as explanations for some sightings. A journalist for the Monmouth Daily Review commented that the "airship neck" was becoming a "modern malady." The Chicago Record noted instances where the airship was reportedly sighted in multiple locations simultaneously.

Bartholomew posits that the most likely explanation for these sightings lies in social psychology. He argues that in the heat of excitement, witnesses may have lost their usual rationality, succumbing to a herd mentality, or simply misperceived existing objects. He emphasizes that human perception is unreliable and heavily influenced by one's "mental set" at the time of observation. Stars and planets, which can appear to move, change color, and flicker, are common sources of misidentification for contemporary UFO sightings.

He draws a parallel between the 1897 airship wave and present-day UFO phenomena, noting that the primary difference is the expected form of the craft. In 1897, people expected to see airships, and thus they saw them; today, people expect to see saucer-shaped UFOs, and that is what they report seeing.

Author and Related Works

Robert E. Bartholomew is a Sociologist at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. He is the co-author of "UFOs and Alien Contact: Two Centuries of Mystery" with Professor George S. Howard of Notre Dame University. The article serves to highlight the historical Illinois airship sightings, which are not detailed in his book, making Illinois skeptics aware of this chapter in their state's history and promoting his publication.

Editor's Note

The editor's note confirms that Bartholomew and Howard's book uses thousands of press reports and social psychology theories to examine UFO sighting waves, including the 1896-97 US airship wave, Edison's "giant light bulb," Canada's ghost balloons, the New Zealand Zeppelin Scare, the New England airship hoax, the British UFO panic, phantom German raids during WWI, Sweden's ghost rockets, and flying saucers since 1947. The book also covers pre-Roswell crashed UFOs and alien contacts. The editor emphasizes that the detailed discussion of the Illinois airship sightings is not in the book, but has been written into this article for local awareness.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The central theme of this article is the examination of historical anomalous aerial phenomena through the lens of social psychology and mass hysteria. The editorial stance, as presented by Bartholomew and the editor's note, is that many historical and contemporary UFO sightings can be explained by psychological factors, societal expectations, and misidentification of known objects, rather than by extraterrestrial visitation. The article aims to provide a rational, historical perspective on UFO phenomena, particularly focusing on the often-overlooked "Illinois UFO Mania of 1897."