UFO Newsclipping Service - 1979 05 - no 118

Magazine Overview

This issue of the U.F.O. NEWSCLIPPING SERVICE, dated May 1979, focuses on a variety of UFO sightings reported across the United States and the United Kingdom. The cover headline, "Local UFO sightings report 'large objects'," highlights the prevalent theme of unusual aerial phenomena. The issue includes reports from various locations, expert analysis, and discussions on the psychological and potential physical aspects of UFO encounters.

Key Articles and Reports

Local UFO Sightings Across the USA

The issue features numerous reports of UFO sightings from different regions:

• Oconee County, South Carolina: Ben Chastain, a Westminster businessman, and Oconee County Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Roach, along with other individuals, reported seeing a bright, round-shaped object with amber lights on March 6th. Chastain described it as moving slowly and silently, hovering near his home and appearing to land at an electrical substation. The object reportedly had a searchlight that swept the ground.
• Greenville County, South Carolina: Multiple reports described a hovering craft with a strong light that penetrated vehicles, traveling at incredible speed with little or no sound.
• Davison, Michigan: Three witnesses reported seeing a huge, strange object in the sky with lights all around it, moving at a slow pace and making no noise.
• Westminster, South Carolina: A motorist reported seeing a hot metal-looking red object race across the sky on March 13th, which might have been a reflection off clouds.
• South Lake Tahoe, California: Two unidentified flying objects reportedly fell to earth with a bright flash early on Sunday morning, April 15th, between Freel Peak and Echo Summit.
• Auburndale, Florida: Auburndale police officers Guthrie Knorr and John Knapp spotted five brightly colored, disc-shaped objects streaking through the skies in a V-formation on March 27th.
• Southwest Memphis, Tennessee: Hundreds of people reported sightings of "red balls and objects resembling stars" in the area of Coro Lake and Rob-Co Lake on March 2nd.
• Lower Keys, Florida: Sheriff's Department Deputy Mike Young and Auxiliary Deputy Bill Thomas sighted a UFO hovering over the keys on April 17th. It was described as a light craft with strobe lights in a triangular shape, making no sound, and capable of extreme speed.
• New Mexico: State Policeman Gabe Valdez reported seeing an "unidentified flying aircraft" on March 11th near Dulce, potentially connected to cattle mutilations.
• Greenbrae, California: Residents reported seeing an unidentified object rotating slowly as it moved through the sky on April 28th, described as intermittently lit by a searchlight.

UFOs and Mental Phenomena

Professor Alvin Lawson of Long Beach State University is featured for his research linking UFO experiences to mental phenomena. He suggests that UFO sightings, drug-induced hallucinations, religious conversions, and deathbed experiences share common imagery from the human consciousness. Lawson identified six categories of entities seen on UFOs (human, humanoid, animal, robot, exotic, apparitional) that also appear in folklore and mythology. He conducted experiments where volunteers under hypnosis imagined being abducted by UFOs, and their drawings were remarkably similar to those of alleged abductees. Lawson concludes that these experiences are subjectively real and deserve serious research.

International Sightings

• England: Reports include a bright orange-white light seen in Bacup, Lancashire, on March 3rd, which reportedly stopped, changed color, and descended into a quarry. Another report from Oxford describes seeing a plane-like object with wings and fuselage on fire, plunging downwards without sound. Photographic experts were also called to examine dramatic pictures of a large, oddly-shaped UFO taken in Crewe.
• Scotland: A van driver in Aberdeen reported a chilling encounter on a bleak road on March 28th, describing a bright light and a beam that illuminated his cab.
• Manila, Philippines: A dispatch from the Eastern Regional Air Intelligence indicates that UFOs were seen more or less regularly in the vicinity of the Philippines, with early light sightings reported.
• Pennsylvania: Two UFO reports are being investigated, one involving a noiseless object with colored lights seen by a woman driving on Route 6, and another involving two white lights and then colored lights from a rectangular object.

UFOs Created by Mind Manipulators?

Dr. Jacques Vallee, a leading expert on UFO experiences, is quoted suggesting that UFOs might not be extraterrestrial but could be created by sophisticated mind-manipulators on Earth. He warns that the expectation of contact can lead people to seek salvation from a "greater power," which he sees as a danger in the UFO movement. Vallee's research into UFO sects and cults, and his own experience as an astronomer, led him to believe that UFOs warrant serious research because they are not entirely nonsense.

Legal Disputes and Investigations

• Connecticut: Stanley and Gaylen Troski are suing an investigator for invading their privacy after he interrogated and tape-recorded them following their sighting of a disc-shaped craft in March 1975. They seek the return of their tapes, drawings, and photographs.
• New Mexico: State Police are investigating a mysterious aircraft seen over a ranch near Dulce, potentially linked to cattle mutilations.
• Oconee County, South Carolina: The UFO sightings from March 6th have been classified as an "unknown or non-natural phenomenon" by a national UFO Center spokesman.

Other Reports

• Monroe, North Carolina: Reports of silent, mystery objects in a triangular shape, matching characteristics of UFOs seen worldwide, were investigated. Some sightings were attributed to Army helicopters on a night-training flight.
• Barnegat Bay, New Jersey: A "meteorite hunt" was sparked by a report of a silvery object, described as "as big as a truck," falling into the bay on April 18th. A large "rock" was later found, but its origin remains debated.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the prevalence of UFO sightings across diverse geographical locations, the consistent descriptions of object characteristics (shape, color, behavior), and the ongoing debate about their origin – extraterrestrial, psychological, or man-made. The publication appears to present these reports factually, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions, while also featuring expert opinions that explore the psychological and potential manipulative aspects of UFO experiences. There's an underlying tone of serious investigation into these phenomena, acknowledging that many witnesses are credible and that a significant percentage of sightings remain unexplained.

This issue of the Lancashire Evening Post, dated March 5, 1979, prominently features a compelling cover story titled "What was the strange white figure on the old coach road?" by Graham Nown. The magazine delves into a series of unusual events and sightings, exploring themes of mystery, investigation, and the unexplained.

The Strange White Figure on the Old Coach Road

The lead article recounts a disturbing incident that occurred on a lonely road around midnight. A car carrying four young people took a wrong turn and skidded into a ditch. It was then that they encountered a seven-foot-tall entity dressed in a white space suit that faintly glowed, featuring a rectangular box with two rapidly flashing red lights on its chest. The entity approached the car, causing panic among the occupants. One of the passengers, Geoff Hales, suffered an asthmatic attack. After managing to get the car back on the road, they sought help from a local farmer, who then contacted the police.

Three police constables investigated the scene. PC McCluskie stated that the witnesses were clearly scared and that he believed they had seen something. He also expressed apprehension about the location, noting he would not have gone there alone without a car radio.

UFO investigator Stephen Balon conducted his own investigation, taking geiger readings and fan tests, and interviewing the witnesses. He labeled such close encounters as "high strangeness" incidents. Balon noted that the case, along with many others, remains unsolved.

Further Encounters and High Strangeness

The article details two more bizarre appearances of an identical figure. A service engineer returning home saw a tall, helmeted figure near his works van. He experienced a feeling of being powerfully forced down into his seat. The figure then walked up a 10-foot grass embankment and appeared to walk through the perimeter fence of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Research Establishment. The engineer's van radio was found to have burned out circuits, and he had a 45-minute mental blank regarding the event.

In another incident, a woman walking with her daughter spotted the strange figure on a slag heap at Higher Fold, Leigh. Separately, a schoolboy photographing clouds for an arts project captured a UFO on film over Leigh.

Balon, who has 12 years of investigating experience, stated that he has no doubt the witnesses saw what they claimed, noting that many are reluctant to speak about their experiences. He believes that people in higher authority may possess more information than they are willing to disclose.

Related Sightings and Patterns

The issue highlights a pattern of intense UFO activity in a triangle across the North West. A week prior to the coach road incident, a sighting in Wigan by police, a security guard, a housewife, and a coachload of girls generated 40 public calls in one evening.

On the day before the coach road sighting, four people in Shevington saw a bright red disc, about 10 inches across, moving slowly towards Rainford, illuminated from within. This object lit up the surroundings with a glow.

Following the coach road incident, PCs Lowe and Roberts observed a brilliant white light hovering above Bold Power Station on the M62 motorway. The object pulsated and moved at a fantastic speed, appearing as an inverted "T" shape before disappearing vertically.

Balon dismisses the possibility of hoaxes, stating that police interviews view it as a remote possibility. He invites anyone with similar sightings to contact him.

Other Reports and International Incidents

Halifax Hospital Sighting

The Evening Courier (Halifax, England, March 26, 1979) reports that three bright lights in the sky startled staff at Halifax General Hospital. Maintenance worker Trevor Wood and a colleague witnessed two UFOs come together and disappear. Several other staff members had previously seen a similar object hovering over Siddal, Halifax. The object moved towards the hospital, and a second, similar object appeared from another direction. The two objects met and vanished. Mr. Wood expressed his belief in UFOs after witnessing the event.

Mystery Noise in Sidcup

The Sidcup & Kentish Times (England, March 15, 1979) discusses a mysterious noise likened to UFOs in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Residents reported hearing a strange whining noise, and one reader, Mrs. Iris Smith, reported seeing a white mist rising from the ground that obscured the sky. Another reader, GPO engineer Dave Pink, has heard the "warbling" noise for a year.

Russian UFO Interest

An article by Kevin Klose in the Mercury (Leicester, England, March 7, 1979) discusses the growing interest in UFOs among the younger generation in Russia. Despite official press criticism of astrology and occult studies, flying saucers are a popular topic. The article mentions a suppressed lecture by scientist Leon Zigel and the alleged ban on UFO publications in the USSR. It also touches upon other mysteries in Russia, such as the "Chuchunaa" (a Siberian humanoid) and the "Aidakhor" (a Soviet Loch Ness Monster), as well as the "Tunguska Enigma."

Another report indicates that Russia has ordered an official UFO alert, asking people to report sightings directly to the Soviet Academy of Science. This action was reportedly triggered by spectacular sightings over Petrozavodsk, leading a scientist to believe that space creatures will soon contact humans. A journalist described a "mother ship" with smaller bodies darting away from it or disappearing into it.

International Sightings

The issue includes a section of "Translations" detailing UFO incidents from various countries:

• France: Sightings reported in Bulgaria (December 29, 1978), Gréasque (February 14, 1979), Arles (March 5-6, 1979), Grand Canary and Tenerife Islands (date unspecified), Mines (March 8-9, 1979), and Chalon (March 12, 1979).
• Atlantic Ocean: A UFO was reported during the Rhum Race on November 25, 1978.
• France: A sighting above the express-way Brest-Morlaix on March 18, 1979.
• Argentina: Reports of three-meter-tall green "Martians" in Xucurus, Brazil, in early February 1979.
• Spain: Multiple UFO sightings reported in Cieza (January 13, 19, and 23, 1979) and Tejeda del Tiétar (around January 20, 1979).
• Spain: A possible UFO observed by several people in Carmona on January 27, 1979.

Bigfoot and Other Mysteries

Several other articles touch upon related phenomena:

• Kentucky New Era (March 3, 1979): Officials are skeptical of "Bigfoot" reports in Christian County, with deputies investigating footprints and hair samples but suspecting a hoax.
• Times (New York, NY, March 1, 1979): Two loud booms were detected in Rockland County, not attributed to an earthquake or Concorde, possibly an "atmospheric disturbance."
• Orlando: Rumbling explosions rattled windows and foundations, remaining a mystery with no official explanation.
• Spokane, WA (March 6, 1979): Professor Grover Krantz of Washington State University asserts that Sasquatch (Bigfoot) exists, detailing its characteristics and his ongoing search for proof.
• Houston, TX (April 8, 1979): A Siberian schoolteacher believes he has solved the century-old mystery of the Arctic "Wild Man" (Chuchuna), theorizing it was a Chukchi tribesman cast out due to tribal law.
• Edinburgh, Scotland (April 4, 1979): A BBC film of the Loch Ness Monster is deemed inconclusive, with the object possibly being an otter or a duck.
• Madisonville, KY (March 8, 1979): Police doubt "creature" tales in Hopkins County, suspecting a hoax regarding Bigfoot-like footprints and hair.
• London, England (April 15, 1979): The Nessie-hunt season opens with various expeditions, including one using trained dolphins.
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada (March 25, 1979): A story about a "Tunnel monster" in Cabbagetown, where a man claims to have seen a creature in a narrow passage.
• Albuquerque, NM (April 18, 1979): An investigation is being launched into cattle mutilations, with speculation about a secret band of ranchers using helicopters.
• Albuquerque, NM (April 27, 1979): An FBI agent, Kenneth M. Rommel, heads a probe into cattle mutilations.
• Albuquerque, NM (May 2, 1979): A drug and an anti-coagulant were found in the blood of a mutilated bull in New Mexico.
• Huron, SD (April 18, 1979): Cattle mutilations are being investigated on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
• Barriere, British Columbia (UPI, May 7, 1979): A youth claims to have shot a Sasquatch.
• Roseburg, OR (May 7, 1979): Strange booms are driving a Woodhaven family out of their home.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The issue consistently explores the unexplained, with a particular focus on UFO sightings and encounters. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry, presenting witness accounts and expert opinions without outright dismissal, while also acknowledging skepticism and the possibility of hoaxes or misidentifications. The recurring theme is the persistent presence of mysteries that challenge conventional explanations, whether they be aerial phenomena, cryptids like Bigfoot, or unexplained noises and events. The magazine seems to cater to an audience interested in Forteana and the paranormal, presenting a wide array of reported incidents from around the world.