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INTCAT 1880 - 1887

1880. (Approximate date)
OSKALOOSA (IOWA : USA)
The Kading family, including a small girl, saw a large lighted object fly over the house and behind a nearby hill. The family retreated to the cyclone centre, but eventually the father and girl went to investigate and saw a glow coming from the other side of the hill. They saw a large machine 12-18m diameter, illuminated like a birthday cake. They retreated to the cyclone centre again for the night. When they went to the field the next day they saw several burned places in the grass in a huge circle. Neighbours had also seen the large object in the air. 
  • Phillips 1975 p3 case citing letter from John Johnson, the girls grandson, to CUFOS
  • Evaluation - Only known third hand, possible mismemory of a tornado. 
1880. (Approximate date)
IMBER (WILTSHIRE : ENGLAND)
While returning from a Saturday shopping trip on a foggy day Mr and Mrs Plank were passed by a white robed figure. Their horse also seemed to react to the figure. 
  • Rogers 1994 p104
  • Wiltshire 1973 p37
1880.
EASTERN VENEZUELA
A 14 year old boy observed a luminous ball descending from the sky, stopping in mid- air not far away. He felt drawn towards it, but managed to overcome the compulsion and ran away in terror. 
  • Lorenzen 1968 p206 citing Manuel Trujillo in an unidentified newspaper clipping
  • Evaluation - Source unknown, original contemporaneous account missing
January 1880. Afternoon.
PIERCEBRIDGE (DURHAM : ENGLAND)
Two young girls out walking heard the sound of wheels behind them and moved to one side to avoid by splashed by the slushy lane. They saw an unusual coach driven by a coachman and horses and inside of which was a woman. They saw the same thing a few years later. 
  • Woodhouse 2015 p28 citing Darlington and Stockton Times n.d. November 1938
March 26 1880. Evening.
GALISTO JUNCTION (NEW MEXICO : USA)
Soon after the arrival of the train from Santa Fe, the local operator and two or three of his friends, taking a short walk before retiring were startled by voices coming from above them. Looking up they saw a sort of large balloon coming from the west. As it came closer they heard voices shouting in an unintelligible language, as if to attract attention. The object was shaped like a fish and at one point it was so low that the witnesses could see ornate lettering on the outside of the car. The craft appeared to be fully under the control of the occupants, and to be guided by a large fan like apparatus. They heard laughter and strains of music coming from it, as if a party were in progress. Some articles were dropped from the machine, including a flower attached to which was Japanese paper, and a cup of peculiar design. The balloon appeared to be huge, with about 8-10 people in the car. After it passed the junction it sailed up to a great height and away to the east. The next day a collector of curios arrived on the scene, informed the populace that the items came from Japan and bought them at a high price. 
  • Lucius Farish in FSR 11,3 p 34 citing True West June 1964 citing Daily New Mexican c. 28 March 1880.
  • Skylook 35
  • Clark and Coleman 1975 p131
  • Clark 1998 p44 citing Santa Fe Weekly New Mexican 29 March 1880.
  • Evaluation - Press Hoax
May 8 1880. Morning.
XI-NAN (HUBEI : CHINA)
Farmer Ju Tan was walking towards a copse on the hill behind his cottage, when he saw a strange multi-coloured luminous object in the undergrowth. He tried to pick it up and found himself in the air, with a great wind in his ear. He was set down on a mountainside in Guizhou province 500km away. 
  • Paul Dong in FSR 29,6 p16 citing County Annals of Song-Zi Xian Vol 19
July 28 1880. (Approximate date)
LOUISVILLE (KENTUCKY : USA)
A tall thin being with pointed ears, a long nose and long fingers, wearing a shiny garment, metallic looking helmet and long cape was seen in the area. It had a powerful light on its chest and escaped by leaping over objects. 
  • Brandon 1978 p92
  • Evaluation - Hoax based on below and popular descriptions of Spring Heeled Jack
July 28 1880. 1830hrs.
LOUISVILLE (KENTUCKY : USA)
People in Louisville saw in the sky “an object like a man surrounded by machinery which he seemed to be working with his hands and feet”. The object moved in various directions, ascending and descending as if under control, disappearing when darkness came. An object with a sphere at either end was seen in Madisonville. 
  • Fort 1959 p641 citing Louisville Courier-Journal 29 July and 6 August 1888.
  • Theo Paijmans in Fortean Times 285 p30
  • Evaluation - Press Hoax? Cloud?
August 30 1880. 2000hrs.
LLANTHONY (MONMOUTHSHIRE : WALES)
John Stewart (12) was playing with three friends in the Abbott’s Meadow at the Abbey Community, when he saw a luminous figure gliding towards him. It appeared to be a woman surrounded by an oval light with her hands raised. The figure went into a hedge and disappeared. Similar visions were seen on the 4th and 14th of July. 
  • McClure 1983 p118
September 2 1880. 1715hrs.
GRAVESEND (NEW YORK : USA)
A black thing, about a quarter the size of a balloon was seeing going over the south side of the village in a westerly direction at about 300m. It resembled a sort of large flying insect, with the wings and legs operated by the occupant, whose face could be seen. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Fortean Times 284 p32 citing New York World 3 September 1880.
  • Evaluation - Unmanned kite, Paijmans op cit citing New York Sun 3 September 1880.
September 11 1880. (Approximate date)
CONEY ISLAND (NEW YORK : USA)
Many residents observed something like a man with bat’s wings and "improved frogs legs" apparently swimming in the air towards New Jersey at an altitude of about 300m. It wore a cruel and determined expression on its face 
  • Keel 1970a p203 + Clark 2012 p52 both citing New York Times 12 September 1880.
  • Evaluation - Press hoax see Theo Paijmans in Fortean Times 284 p32

December 1880. (Approximate date) Night.
LAWRENCEBURG (INDIANA : USA)
On several nights Joseph Slater saw a fiery light resembling a railway carriage, around which were a group of figures carrying lights. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Fortean Times 350 p29 citing Dallas Daily Herald 8 January 1881 + National Police Gazette 22 January 1881.)
1881. (Approximate date) 2200hrs.
GARRYHILLIE, UIST (WESTERN ISLES : SCOTLAND)
Donald Mc Millan was walking home to Dalibrog from Garryhillie when he heard a whistling sound like a flock of plover. Looking the east he saw the figure “that did not have the solidity of an ordinary body", of a human being of indeterminate sex, moving as if floating just above the ground. 
  • Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p267)
May 21 1881.
JINGERA (NEW SOUTH WALES now part of AUSTRALIA)
Peter Thurbon and some other people saw a hairy humanoid, larger than a man. 
  • (Dimitry Bayanov in Markotic and Krantz 1984 p104 citing Joyner 1977 citing Goulburn Herald 24 May 1881. citing the Cooma Express n.d
  • Smith 1996 p147
  • Healy and Cropper 2006 p210 case 24 citing above + Joyner 1977 p6 
January 1882. (Approximate date) 1000hrs.
WESTMINSTER (LONDON : ENGLAND)
While house-sitting a property in Hyde Park place, Kathleen Leigh Hunt and her cousin, Miss Lawrence, saw a more than one occasion the figure of a woman dressed in a light dress and a white cap, which they took to be a servant. Searches were always fruitless. 
  • Bennett 1939 251 direct from witnesses
June 1882. Night.
CHELTENHAM (GLOUCESTERSHIRE : ENGLAND)
Rosina Despard (19), a medical student was preparing for bed when she heard someone at the door. On going to investigate she saw a tall female figure dressed in black, her face covered by a handkerchief. Rosina’s candle went out and nothing more was seen. She and other members of her family saw this figure on numerous other occasions. Odd sounds and lights were also reported at times
  • MacKenzie 1982 p43
  • Evaluation - Though often claimed to be the ghost of a drunken former inhabitant, this seems much more like a stock apparition, of the type often assumed to be nuns
October1 1882. 
CAMAS PRAIRIE (IDAHO : USA)
Two cowboys, searching for cattle that had gone astray in a storm, were crossing lava crags when they saw a large figure that skipped across the crags. After an hours pursuit the men lay down to rest, at which the thing approached them, stopping on the opposite side of the lava. It was well over 1.8m tall, with muscular arms that reached to its knees and covered in long black hair. It wore skins around its feet and waist. It had a dark swarthy face, long head hair, bright eyes, tusks that protruded from its mouth and long claw like hands with long, sharp nails. When the witnesses called out the creature moaned, and when they fired it performed a summersault , jumping 5m to a low bench and growling. 
  • Clark 2012 p 83 citing Ford County Globe 28 November 1882.
  • Noel 2013 p 29 citing Helena Independent 28 October 1882.
December 1 1882.
BATEMAN’S BAY (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
Alerted by a commotion among the birds naturalist H J McCooey or Mc Hooey saw on a slight rise less than 20m away, a humanoid creature, covered in black hair, about 1.5m tall. The hair on its head and chest had a reddish tinge. Its arms and legs seemed to be out of proportion
  • Redfern 2015a p22 + 339 citing December 9 1882 issue of Australian Town and Country Journal
1883. (Approximate date) 0100hrs.
POLLACHARA, SOUTH UIST (WESTERN ISLES : SCOTLAND)
Lachlan Steele and his neighbour Colin O’Henly had gone from their home in North Boisdale to the inn at Pollachara, to get a bottle of whisky each and drank two glasses at the inn. On the way back, on the shore path, they encountered at a stream called Abhainn Mhor, on the sands two women dressed in black hoods and cloaks close to the sea. These women moved in a peculiar fashion, one walking 50m ahead, while the other stood still, and then the latter catching up and going a further 50m, while the first one now stood still. Lachlan was loath to approach the women but Colin pushed him to accompany him. As they got with 100m of the two women, they turned and faced the two men, who realised that, despite good moonlight, they could not make out the faces of these women. When the men moved closer again, the two women walked out over the sea, apparently walking on the water. At this the two men fled. 
  • Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p299 (only known second hand)
1883.
BOERNE (TEXAS : USA)
Local people reported seeing a tall thin being that ran faster than horses and had long hair. 
  • Guttilla 2003p 57 citing Toronto Daily Mail n.d.
1883. Night.
KEERA (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
William Telfer had camped for the night on the bank of a creek and was sat smoking his pipe, the moon illuminating the area for about 200m. William heard a noise and saw, about 100m away, a larger than human creature of an ape like appearance. 
  • Healy and Cropper 2006 p28, 211 case 27 citing Graham Joyner citing William Tefler Early History of the Northern Districts of New South Wales
January 1883.
MOUNT KEIRA (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
A long haired humanoid with claws was seen by several people between Mount Keira and Mount Kembla. 
  • Healy and Cropper 2006 p211 citing Joyner 1977 p3 citing The Illawarra Mercury 19 January 1883.
March 1883. Evening.
SZEMERJA, SANTU GHEORGHE (COVASNA : ROMANIA)
A woman returned home saw, by the light of the moon, a small furry humanoid, the size of man’s arm, dressed in a red suit with a black cap. The hair covered its face and hands. After a minute or so the thing got up, walked a few steps and then vanished. The women saw the same thing the next night. The thing was seen by three other people and left footprints. 
  • Tucker 2016 p196 + Bord 1997 citing press sources
July 1883.
LAFAYETTE (INDIANA : USA)
Mrs Coffman was walking through woods when she saw, to her right, something like a woman with long black hair and short grey body hair, breaking twigs and eating the bark. Mrs Coffman was unable to move. The creature then turned, saw the witness and, uttering a shriek, fled into the forest. The terrified woman fled home. A pursuit was made for the creature and it was followed through the forest as it swung from tree to tree. It eventually disappeared out of sight in a swamp. 
  • Clark 2012 p 78 citing Victoria Daily Colonist (BC) 2 August 1883.
  • Newton 2006 p82 citing Atkinson Globe 19 July 1883.
  • Arment 2006 p146 citing Fort Warne Daily Gazette 10 July 1883.
July 1883.
KINGSTON (ONTARIO : CANADA)
A driver, employed by Peter McLaren, was sat in his tent when he saw among the shadows, the figure of a man about 2.5m tall, with long shaggy hair that hung about his face, It wore a vest, sleeveless coat and knee length trousers. The creature made no reply to enquiries and, when the witness through a stone at it, it fell into the river, then run off. 
  • Clark 2012 p84 citing Toronto Daily Mail 28 July 1883.
July 1883. 1500hrs.
PRETTIS ISLAND (ONTARIO : CANADA)
Messes Toughey and Sallman went to this island near Pembroke where there had been tales of a wild man. A creature, resembling a gorilla covered in black hair, emerged from a thicket, carrying a stone tomahawk in one hand, a bludgeon in the other. The giant creature followed them yelling and gesticulating. It hurled the tomahawk, fracturing Toughey’s arm. Sallman fired at it without effect, and it retreated. A family who camped on the island on July 28th saw a hairy humanoid about 2.5m tall, dressed in a vest and knickerbockers 
  • Clark 2012 p 84 citing Newark Daily Advocate 1 August 1883.
  • Arment 2006 p260 citing Daily Advocate op cit + Renfew Mercury 3 August 1883.
  • Noel 2013 p 49 gives the year of the article and event as 1863
September 1883. Night.
CENTREVILLE (ILLINOIS : USA)
A strange tall naked man with matted hair and a long dark beard and “fierce” eyes was seen coming out of an orchard by Mrs Saltenberger, who was driving her horse and buggy. The creature approached and she fought it of with her whip, but as she drove away, it leapt on the back of the buggy, where it hung for some moments before jumping down and running into the woods. Searches were fruitless. 
  • Taylor 2011 p8
  • Newton 2011 p54
December 3 1883. (Approximate date) 
CALCUTTA (OHIO : USA)
Henry Rauch and Robert Bradley were hunting in the woods north of Calcutta, when, walking along the top of a bluff they heard a strange cry. At first they could not see anything, but then a human like creature covered with hair came out of a cleft in the rocks. It stared at the men for a few moments it gave another yell and rushed off into the woods. One of the men shot at the retreating creature, wounding it in the arm, at which it turned and chased the hunters, who abandoned their weapon and fled. It followed them until they jumped over a fence in a clearing, at which it turned back into the woods. 
  • Clark 2012 citing Lynchburg Virginian 18 December 1883.
  • Arment 2006 p227 citing Fort Wayne Gazette 11 December 1883.
February 1884. Late Night/Early hours.
RIGA (LATVIA then part of the RUSSIAN EMPIRE)
W D Addison was sleeping in the drawing room five weeks after his wife had given birth. He was awoken by someone calling his voice and saw a woman approaching his bed. He first thought that it was his wife asking for help with the baby, but then saw it was too short to be her. He next thought it was a servant sleep walking and saw that it was a figure dressed in what looked like a grey shawl. Addison went to light a match at which the figure rose from the floor and backed towards the window, fading away as it did so. He got up, found the room still locked, checked with his wife and then returned to bed. He again woke up shortly afterwards and saw the figure again. As he got up, he knocked a table over. The figure began to come towards him, so using the bedclothes as a shield Addison leapt at it and passed right through it. He turned around and found himself in a sort of dense but impalpable darkness that seemed to feel pressure from all sides and to become paralysed, though still standing, and unable to speak. He eventually forced himself free and went to his wife again. She confirmed that he was dripping with sweat and his heart was pounding. 
  • Carrington 1920 p70 citing Borderland Magazine
  • Stead 1970 p214 citing letter from witness
March 1884.
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN (GEORGIA : USA)
A man living on one the spurs of Lookout Mountain encountered a 2.7mta tall hairy humanoid with luminous eyes and which roared like a lion. 
  • Arment 2006 p130 citing Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daily Gazette 25 March 1884.
June 6 1884. 1300hrs.
BENKELMAN (NEBRASKA : USA)
At a location 56km south of Benkelman, a number of people including John W Ellis heard whirring sound and saw a luminous object descending to the ground behind a bank. They followed a trail of red hot debris and surrounding burn grass to a ravine. They were unable to approach further because of intense heat and dazzling light. One of the witness, Williamson, looked at the thing too long and suffered serious burns to his face and hair. The trail of the object was further marked by an area of fused sand 9m long, 6m wide.
The brilliant light was visible throughout the night. The next day a further investigation was launched and some portions of machinery were found, including a wheel 2-2.5m diameter. The whole object was estimated to be a cylinder 15-20m long, 3-4m diameter. 
  • Cohen 1981 p169 citing Everette Sutton citing an undated issue of Nebraska Nugget
  • Andrews 1986 p77 citing Lincoln Daily State Journal 8 + 10 June 1884.
  • Randle 2010 p14 citing Nebraska State Journal 8 June 1884.
  • Evaluation - Newspaper hoax
Summer 1884. Night/Early hours.
(ISLE OF MAN)
A postman was on his rounds collecting the various mail bags, when about 10km from his destination he encountered a group of beings dressed in red and carrying lanterns, who threw his mail bags onto the road and danced around them. No sooner did the postman replace the bags than the beings threw them down again. The man was very shaken and arrived at his destination at 0500hrs., four hours late. 
  • Bord 1998 p32 citing William Martin in Folk-Lore 13 (1902) citing his own investigation

 1895. (Approximate date) Night.
FLEA CREEK (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
William and Joseph Webb were preparing to camp when they heard a deep bellowing sound and then a disturbance in the scrub. A bipedal creature covered in hair emerged. When the men shot at it then thing turned and fled. Footprints with unusually long strides and elongated toes were found at the site. 
  • Healy and Cropper 1994 p121 citing John Gale An Alpine Experience 1903

 1895.
TATHRA (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
Tom Michael (15) was milking a cow in a paddock by thick woodland when he saw a hairy, bipedal female creature looking out at him from the bushes. He offered it a pail of milk, but the creature just walked away. 
  • Gilroy 1995 p209

 1895. Night.
(INDIANA : USA)
On a warm sultry night, at an undisclosed location a group of people, including Charles L Searcy saw a luminous sphere 60cm-1.2m diameter moving in an irregular course along a meadow ridge. At time it seemed to almost touch the ground and at others rose to 3-5m, as it came within 60m of the witnesses. It was still visible when about 1km away. It was travelling at moderate speed. 
  • Corliss 1974 G1-69 citing W J Humphreys in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 76 p613 citing Charles L Searcy

1895. (Approximate date)
CENTER TOWNSHIP (IOWA : USA)
A young woman, Miss Crowe, daughter of Andrew Crowe, who had been taken ill the year previously disappeared from her home. After about a year she returned and claimed to have spent the year with the fairies, who travelled in invisible vehicles. A few days later, when visiting her sister and brother in law in Dubuque (James Hayes ). The girl announced that the fairies had come for her. Mrs Hayes saw her in the company of two men dressed in old fashioned black clothes, who had just appeared in the house. She followed them as they went outside and the three just vanished. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Dark Lore 2 p174 citing Kansas City Star 31 March 1886. + Macon Telegraph (Ga) 2 April 1886. + Waterloo (Iowa) Courier 7 April 1886. etc
  • Evaluation - While a James Hayes of Dubuque city existed, he was a sawyer and not a teamster as given in the text. There is no trace of an Andrew Crowe in Dubuque county at this period, and note that this story originates from remote locations. Newspaper hoax

 January 13 1895. (Approximate date)
OLNEY (INDIANA : USA)
A group of hunters were south of the Ohio and Mississippi railway bridge over the Fox River when their attention was attracted by a noise on a fallen log. They saw a dark coloured humanoid with a large mouth filled with fangs, eating a hog. Its neck was 60-90cm long and covered with short red hair. It’s body was 1.5-1.8m long and covered in scales. It had a tail 60-90cm long and curved over its back. It had short legs with webbed, clawed feet. When one of the men tried to lasso it, it lashed out with its tail and threw him some 6m. The thing then disappeared into a creek. 
  • Clark 2012 p87 citing St Louis Globe-Democrat 17 January 1895.

 February 24 1895. 2355hrs.
PACIFIC OCEAN
The crew of the Barque Innerwich sailing between Victoria and Yokohama saw the sky turn red and then a fiery mass plunged into the sea, setting off a huge wave that nearly swamped the ship. 
  • Gaddis 1965 p212 + Corliss 1974 pG1-136 + Cade and Davis 1969 p65 all citing Science Vol 5 p242
  • Evaluation - Not reported in the press

 November 2 1895. Dawn.
SCUTARI now USKUDAR (ISTANBUL : TURKEY)
A luminous object circled the harbour at 5-6m altitude. It was seen as a blue green flame which illuminated the whole town. The object made several circles over the ferry boat pier, its light illuminating the street and the interiors of local houses and then plunged into the sea. It was observed for 60-90 seconds. 
  • Vallee 1966a p14 citing L’ Astronomie 1895. + Raymond Veillith in LDLN 48 citing Mt Mavrogordato

 December 1895. (Approximate date)
HAPPY CAMP, SISKIYOU COUNTY (CALIFORNIA : USA)
While out hunting, Jack Dover saw, picking berries a 150m away, a more than 2m tall humanoid with a long beard. Its head reminded Jack as that of a bulldog and it had small ears. Jack raised his gun to it several times, but would not shoot as it looked too human. 
  • Green 1973 p123 citing John McClarin in Bigfoot Bulletin 1 p2 citing L W Musick The Hermit of Siskiyou (1896.) citing letter dated 2 January 1886.
  • Aremnt 2006 p98 citing letter in Del Norte Record 2 January 1886.

 December 1895. 2355hrs.
WELLINGTON (PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND : CANADA)
Mourners following the drowning of a 15 year old boy on thin ice heard a noise like a train and saw a light. Going out they saw what looked like a locomotive drawing two coaches, illuminating the area. It stopped at the station, people got on, and then it carried on and vanished. A railway worker and two friends went to take the trolley car off the line and saw a light approaching, and then disappear before it reached them 
  • Watson 1988 p123
  • Colombo 1988 p71 citing Sterling Ramsay Folklore : Prince Edward Island 1973

 December 1 1895. 2000hrs.
ROCKWAY BEACH (NEW YORK : USA)
John B Ennis met a strange creature near Atlantic Park. It was a hair biped that seemed to be dancing. On seeing the witness the thing uttered a screech and ran into the sea. A number of other men saw the creature which was covered by long auburn hair. 
  • Clark 2012 p 79 citing Brooklyn Daily Eagle 23 December 1895.

 December 1895. Night.
NEW YORK (NEW YORK : USA)
Strange figures were reported in various locations in and around Queens. Something, not fully described, was seen around the belfry of the Episcopal Methodist Church in the outer suburb of Lawrence and something wearing white and projecting fire was seen around the Centreville Race Course near Woodhaven. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Anomalist 13 p29,30 citing Brooklyn Eagle 7 + 18 December 1895.)

 December 7 1895. Night.
ELIZABETH (NEW JERSEY : USA)
Lizzie Steckel and her boyfriend were pursued by a large white thing. The following day two other women Amanda Miller and Victoria Reinhart were pursued by a white something with luminous eyes and horns. The thing leapt over a fence. Other people reported the thing as being 3-3.5m high. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Fortean Times 310 p28 citing St Louis Globe-Democrat 14 December 1895. + Newark Evening News 11 December 1895.

 Late December 1895.
LEBANON (OREGON : USA)
Mt Fitzgerald and a companion out hunting encountered a naked humanoid covered in hair. The thing was eating a raw deer and fled when the men approached. They believed that this was actually a local man who had disappeared in the wilderness four years earlier. 
  • Arment 2006 p265 citing Winnipeg Daily Free Press 31 December 1895.
  • Redfern 2005a p27 citing unspecified press sources

 December 24 1895. Night.
CLOGHER (IRELAND)
At an undisclosed rectory in the Anglican diocese of Clogher, which covers parts of Fermanagh, Tyrone and Monaghan, the rector was alerted by his cook to strange noises coming from the kitchen. They, along with the rector’ man servant, went into the kitchen. There they heard loud sounds accompanied by a sort of vibration, which however, did not affect any of the kitchen utensils. The locked pantry door then opened and something resembling a woman dressed in a long white dress an short black cape emerged and went towards the stairs, whereupon iy vanished. The rectors’ two small boys in a upper room saw the woman cross their room. This figure was seen on a number of subsequent occasions. 
  • Seymour and Neligan 1990 p6

1886. Evening.
SOUTH LOCHBOISDALE, UIST (WESTERN ISLES : SCOTLAND)
On a bright moonlit night, Hector MacIntyre saw two female figures in a vertical orientation, apparently swimming in the air.
  • Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p268

1886. (Approximate date) Night.
WELWYN (HERTFORDSHIRE : ENGLAND)
The driver of a train approaching Hatfield Railway Station saw a dark figure at the foot of the bridge over the railway. Then the figure, dressed all in black and emitting a feeling of cold, appeared on the footplate and indicated that he slow the train down, This the driver did, at which the figure vanished. This action saved a collision with derailed wagons at Hitchin 
  • Stratton and Connell 2006 p85

1886.
FALCONBRIDE (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
A woman colleting firewood encountered a 2m tall humanoid with its head hair reaching to the ground. Its eyeballs were surrounded by a yellow rim. Before the woman could call out to her husband the thing left, taking several fowls with it. It left a track 75mm deep. 
  • Healy and Cropper 2006 p211 case 30 citing The Illustrated Sydney News 3 October 1889.

January 9 1886. (Approximate date) Night.
NEW HAVEN (CONNECTICUT : USA)
Five men, including Oliver McNulty, saw a strange moving light and following it came across a small being, 90cm tall, dressed in velvety looking suit. The men saw the same creature the next day and Oliver struck it with his space, cutting the thing in two. It then reunited and disappeared. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Dark Lore V p228 citing New York Times and St Louis Globe-Democrat both of 12 January 1886.

March 10 1886. (Approximate date) 1930hrs.
MILLINGTON (CONNECTICUT : USA)
Edgar Martin was riding home in an ox cart when the oxen became disturbed and saw, about 6m ahead, a being no more than 90cm tall, wearing a long flowing cloak, conical hat and stockined legs. The thing was carrying a sort of cane, larger than itself. Edgar jumped down from his cart and rushed at the figure, striking it with his whip. The thing disappeared on the spot but on the rest of the journey home Edgar felt as though he was surrounded by “invisible beings”. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Dark Lore V p230 citing St Louis Globe-Democrat 13 March + 3 April 1886. + Rocky Mountain News 11 April 1886.)

May/June 1886.
GROVER CROSSING (OHIO : USA)
From late May through June people here saw a gigantic figure wearing nothing but a slouch hat and a pair of boots. It had long, matted hair, tanned skin and eyes that “flashed like fire”. It ran very fast and made loud, unintelligible sounds. 
  • Clark 2012 p85 citing Burlington Hawk-Eye 30 June 1886.

July 1886. (or following month) Early hours.
BAYSWATER (LONDON : ENGLAND)
Frank Hives (15) had come home on school holidays to a newly moved into family house. He found his room had an unpleasant atmosphere . he awoke suddenly some time after midnight, shaking, and with a sensation of evil. Noises like footsteps were heard outside his door, He then found himself paralysed. The door opened and a filmy figure in grey came in, crept up to the foot of the bed, where it straightened up to reveal the figure looked like a middle aged woman. As the thing appeared to be about to strike him, Frank recovered his mobility and fled the room. Other members of the family had found this room most unpleasant. A woman was supposed to have murdered her sister in it. 
  • Hives 1932 p19
  • Evaluation - Probably an exaggerated and overwrought description of an ASP experience. Possible carbon monoxide poisoning

August 17 1886. 2100hrs.
(MALTA)
The crew of the steamer Transition, about 300km from Malta, saw a luminosity about 10m wide rise out of the sea to a height of 30m. There was an earth tremor in the area on the 19th. 
  • Worcestershire Chronicle, 21 August 1886. p5

August 18 1886. (Approximate date) Afternoon.
BREDBO (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
Mr Flynn was looking after stock when he saw a hairy humanoid about 2.1m tall walking in the bush with an unsteady swinging but fast pace. Its arms were bent forward, nearly reaching the ground. The thing was a chestnut red in colour. Flynn road away as fast as possible. He reported the mattered to Mr Cummings who lived 3km away. Cummings later saw the creature himself as did Joseph Hart of Jingera. 
  • Clark 2012 p 222 citing Queanbeyan Age 24 August 1886.

October 24 1886. Night.
MARACAIBO (ZULIA : VENEZUELA)
A family of 9 living in a rural location some kilometres from Maracaibo were awakened by a loud humming and a vivid dazzling light which lit up the interior of their hut. They experienced no heat but there was a smoky atmosphere and smell They started to pray but were interrupted by vomiting and swellings on the upper part of their bodies. These latter turned into black blotches which after 9 days became open sores. They all developed hair loss on the sides of their head exposed to the light, and 9 days afterwards trees in the area suddenly withered and died. 
  • Corliss1976 p 207 citing Warner Cowgill in Scientific American December 18 1886. p 389 citing own investigation

November 1886.
WAYNE COUNTY (OHIO : USA)
Near a place called “Big Spring” a party of four hunters were started by the appearance of a naked man covered in matted hair. The thing ran towards the men making strange guttural sounds. The hunters fled pursued by the strange figure until they reached a main road, at which it turned and dived into Killbuck Creek, swimming in the fashion of a dog. 
  • Arment 2006 p228 citing Indiana (Penn) Progress 25 November 1886.)

1887. (Approximate date)
EINASLEIGH RIVER (QUEENSLAND : AUSTRALIA)
Arthur C Bickerton was told by an old settler about a “wood devil”, a bipedal creature about 1.8m tall, with long arms and big hands, which made a moaning sound. The man said it had killed some of his dogs. Bickerton hunted and shot the creature, which resembled “a big monkey”
  • Clark 2012 p 222 citing Arthur C Bickerton Travel and Adventures in Northern Queensland (1895)
1887. (Approximate date)
DALIBROG, UIST (WESTERN ISLANDS : SCOTLAND)
At a place in this village called Lag nam Bocan, Marion McKinnon encountered a strange being and a circular object, like the rim of a cart wheel, rolling past her. 
  • Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p263)

1887.
PARUNA BAY (NORTHLANDS, NORTH ISLAND : NEW ZEALAND)
The crew of the schooner Christina, off Paruna Bay, during a severe thunderstorm, heard a terrific sound and saw a large fiery sphere, the size of a coal basket and giving off a blinding light pass close to the ship and descended into the sea. This was followed by a choking sulphurous smell. 
  • Hassall 1998 p23

Winter 1887. Evening.
DAILBROG, UIST (WESTERN ISLANDS : SCOTLAND)
Mrs McKinnon of North Lochboisdale was walking homer from DaLIbrog when, just after a couple of people had passed her, she found herself accompanied by a stranger, who seemed to read her mind and told her things she did not feel at liberty to discuss. 
  • Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p262

March 19 1887. 1700hrs.
ATLANTIC OCEAN 
During a severe storm at 37.39N, 57.00W, Captain C D Sweet (or Swart) of the Dutch barque JPA and his crew observed two aerial objects. They were spherical, one being very black, the other brilliantly illuminated. The latter passed over the ship with a terrific noise and descended into the sea alongside. As it passed over the upper atmosphere was darkened while the sea and ship appeared covered with fire. When the sphere hit the water it produced heavy breakers that washed over the vessel making it roll dangerously. There was a suffocating atmosphere, which made all on board sweat profusely, and a sulphourous smell. Immediately afterwards solid lumps of ice fell on the deck, and the deck and rigging became coated with an icy crust. There were terrific oscillations of the barometer. The side of the vessel facing the fall appeared blackened and blistered. The thermometer registered 660 F. 
  • Lore and Deneault 1969 p 42 citing H D Northrop Earth, Sea and Sky + Report to Maritime Exchange New York, branch of US Navt Hydrographic Office April 29 1887.
  • Fort 1959 p 284 citing Monthly Weather Review March 1887.
  • Aubeck and Shough 2015 p205 citing Monthly Weather Review 15:84 1887.

August 1887. Afternoon.
BANJOS (sic) (SPAIN)
Harvesters were resting after their mid day meal, when two children emerged from a nearby cave. Their skins were a curious green colour. The frightened children were brought to the house of a local magistrate, who noticed their almond shaped eyes. They would only eat beans, as a result of which the boy died. The girl thrived and became a servant in the magistrates house. She recounted they came from a country of perpetual twilight, across a rive from a country of light. She had been transported there after a loud noise. 
  • Kolosimo 1971 p68 citing John Macklin in Grit December 1966
  • Bergier 1975 p161
  • Evaluation - Literary hoax. The story is simply a retelling of the famous story of the children of Woolpit, a classic medieval tale. Macklin repeatedly retold old stories and legends giving them “modern” names and locations.
  • Graham Fuller and Ian Knight in The Unexplained 63 p1244
  • http://anomalyinfo.com/Stories/1887-august-green-children-banjos

August 1887. (or following year)
SENNEN COVE (CORNWALL : ENGLAND)
Grace Penrose saw three small doll like figures dressed in white gowns dancing by a well in her garden. 
  • Shuker 1996 p24

October 25 1887. (or following day) 1900hrs.
SCHWARZ (MECKLENBERG : GERMANY)
A retired army captain was stood outside the church, by his carriage, waiting for a friend, when he saw a black sphere, the apparent size of a balloon, rising up from the church and moved off in the direction of the moon’s location in the sky. The witness thought it was an ill omen about his ill mother. 
  • Parrish 2011/1897 p348
  • Evaluation - The location is guesswork as it is just given Schw. In the text

November 12 1887. 2355hrs.
CAPE RACE (ATLANTIC OCEAN OFF NEWFOUNDLAND)
Captain Moore of the crew of the Siberian observed an enormous fireball rise slowly from the sea to a height of 16-17m. It travelled against the wind and came quite near to the vessel. It then turned towards the south east and disappeared. The observation lasted less than five minutes. Similar occurrences had been noted by Captain Moore in this area on previous occasions. 
  • Flammarion 1905 p 68
  • Fort 1959 p 273 citing Flammarion op cit + L’Astronomie 1887 + Nature 37-187)

1888. (Approximate date)
SARON near ABERDARON (CARNARVONSHIRE : WALES)
A boy sent down to the beach to collect driftwood on Whispering Sands disappeared. His mother found a large circle in the sand. Three weeks later the boy reappeared and recounted that after collecting the wood he had heard a strange noise and saw a dark object land near him. From it emerged two beings like doctors who carried the boy into the object, which took off and landed. The boy was taken into a large building where he was put on a table and “something was taken from him”. The place had amazing colours and the people smiled. Another person saw the object from a distance. 
  • Hanson and Holloway 2013b p341 citing Fry 2004
  • Fry 2004 p39 citing Margaret Haige-Lloyd
  • Evaluation - Allegedly a family legend, might be an old folk story given a 19th century setting and a 20th/21st century ufological makeover or just a modern hoax, possibly just a joke on the ufologist. Despite a claim in the story that the police were involved no contemporaneous news reports could be found.

March 1888. 200hrs.
CORFU (WISCONSIN : USA)
On several occasions people near the Peanut Railway between Corfu and Indian Falls observed lights like a large lamp manoeuvring over the railway tracks within a metre or two of the ground. When someone tried to approach the light it disappeared. On one occasion the light was seen to burst shooting out smaller lights. Anything between three and twenty lights might have been seen at a time. 
  • Clark 2012 p 59 citing Weekly Wisconsin 17 March 1888.

Early June 1888.
JACKSON (GEORGIA : USA)
A man inspecting his plantation followed some strange tracks and encountered a bipedal creature with a humanoid face with oversized eyes, human hands, hoof like feet and a tail like that of a deer. It walked bent double. Sensing the witnesses it emitted a whistling sound and ran off. 
  • Arment 2006 p130 citing Atlanta Constitution 11 June 1888. citing an undated issue of Jackson Argus 
  • Evaluation - Press joke

July 1888.
MEHALFLEY (PENNSYLVANIA : USA)
Several people saw a hairy humanoid creature about 3m tall on the beach. Footprints 40cm long were found at the site. 
  • Clark 2012 p 79 citing Indiana Weekly Messenger (PA) 1 August 1888.

July 19 1888. 0700hrs.
VALLENSANGES (LOIRE : FRANCE)
Jean Bernard (13) had been sent out by his mother to get firewood, and on seeing a lizard looked for a stone to kill. He then saw a foot on the lizard, which foot belonged to a beautiful woman wearing a white dress and blue, star spangled coat, veil and golden headpiece. The woman gestured to him to kill the lizard and then rose into the air. He encountered the woman, whom either he or the community had identified as the Virgin Mary, 19 more times, though no one else could see the figure, which uttered the usual religious homilies. 
  • Evans 1987 p54 citing Bayle 1978)

August 4 1888.
HIGHLAND LAKE (CONNECTICUT : USA)
During a powerful gale a ball of fire passed along the lake, the water for some metres ahead being parted almost to the depth of the lake and piled up on each side to a height of about 6m. When it was within 100m of the shore there was a flash of lightning and the sphere disappeared. 
  • Feindt 2010 p95 citing Hartford Times 6 August 1888.

Late August 1888. Night.
SOUTH LOCHBOISDALE, UIST (WESTERN ISLANDS : SCOTLAND)
Father Allan McDonald was returning by boat from giving the last rites to a sick woman, when one of the rowers drew his attention to a light on the shore at the place where they had come from. This lasted for some time. The next day he discovered that the woman had died at that time. 
  • Father Allan McDonald and Campbell and Hall 1968 p257

September 3 1888. 0400hrs.
ALBANY (NEW YORK : USA)
A doctor was awoken by a strong light in his face saw what he first thought was his wife, who slept in the adjoining room and was due to rise early that day, standing at the foot of his bed. The figure, which was white, retreated across the room and then faded away without a sound. The light moved toward the safe, and fearing burglars the doctor called out. His wife was woken by this and saw his room illuminated by a soft yellow light, which began to fade as she entered. 
  • Podmore 1897 p262 citing Richard Hodgson in Proceedings of the American SPR p403
  • Evaluation - Like many such stories this is presented as a “telepathic hallucination” of a patient who died that night, but this seems to have been a very much after the fact re-interpretation

September 20 1888. (Approximate date) 2030hrs.
MIDFORD (CONNECTCUT : USA)
A woman walking down Broad Street was confronted by a being about 2.5m tall, with huge red eyes, which grabbed at her clothing. 
  • Citro 1997 p177 citing New Haven Evening Register 21 September 1888.

October 1888. Night.
ALDBOURNE (WILTSHIRE : ENGLAND)
On a bright moonlit night, Rev H C Lambert, the vicar of Baydon was walking back from Aldbourne when, topping a hill, he encountered a figure like a headless man in a white jacket. When Lambert reached out to touch it, the figure disappeared. 
  • Lee 1894. p46

1889. (Approximate date) Night.
GLENDALE, SKYE (INNER HEBRIDIES : SCOTLAND)
Dugald MacInnes from Eriskay and his crew were fishing near here on a rainy, stormy night when the lookout alerted them to what he thought was the mast light of a steamer. When they looked however they could not see any ship, only s red light moving against the wind. The light went over the land, hugging the landscape. 
  • Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p272

January 30 1889. (Approximate date)
HIGH POINT (GEORGIA : USA)
A man out prospecting for minerals heard loud screams and then saw, about 100m away, a 2-2.3m tall hairy humanoid. The thing had a 3m long pole in one hand and in the other a stone which he threw at the witness. 
  • Arment 2006 131 citing Atlanta Constitution 4 February 1889. citing an undated issue of Walker County Messenger

March 10 1889.
WALKER COUNTY (GEORGIA : USA)
Local people saw a man clothed in a bear skin suit and cloak, with hair and beard down to his waist and the nails on his hands and feet looking like claws. The man carried a large club. 
  • Arment 2006 p132 citing Atlanta Constitution 16 March 1889.

May 1889.
JINDABYNE (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
A number of stockmen, including Ben Douglas, were gathering cattle in a forested area, when their dogs started to act up. They then saw a hairy bipedal creature, about 3m tall, brandishing a large branch. One of the men fired at the creature, wounding it in the shoulder. The thing fled, but they could hear it screaming for a good length of time. 
  • Gilroy p197

Summer 1889. Night.
HOWARTH MOOR (WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE : ENGLAND)
Ernest K Harris was caught out on the moor in a violent storm and was struggling on when he saw a light in the distance that vanished shortly afterwards. He then heard what sounded like shrieks of terror, followed by a hissing sound. The wind and rain then suddenly stopped and Ernest came across a strange object like a caravan, which he proceeded to enter. The thing was unoccupied so Ernest settled down to sleep. He was awoken in the early hours by another shriek followed by a hiss. Going outside into the now clear pre-dawn he saw a luminous sphere approach from some trees, at about 1.6m above the ground. He it was surrounded by a strange 'gruesome' light, which resolved into a disembodied human head. Ernest fled the scene.
  • Earth 6 p10 citing an unspecified work by Elliot O’ Donnell
  • Evaluation - The editor of Earth does not say which of O’ Donnell’s very numerous books this story came from. In any case O’ Donnell was a notorious fictionaliser

July 1889. 2355hrs.
WADING RIVER (NEW YORK : USA)
Something with a smoky appearance was seen in the churchyard on several nights, leaping onto tombstones and firing “fiery darts”. 
  • Theo Paijmans in Anomalist 13 p30 citing Brooklyn Daily Eagle 21 July 1889.

July 4 1889. 2350hrs.
PRAIRIE DU ROCHER (ILLINOIS : USA)
Mrs Chris and her friend were on her porch holding a vigil for her dead baby when they saw a one wagon was something that resembled a coffin, giving the impression that this was a funeral procession. It was completely soundless but disturbed a neighbour’s dog, and he also saw it. Some 40 wagons and 13 pairs of horses were seen. Nothing was seen returning in the opposite direction. 
  • Scott and Norman 1986 p45

October 1889.
WATERFORD (INDIANA : USA)
Charles and Henry Powell were walking along a road near Waterford when they saw a light fly along the road and then take off. They chased it but were unable to catch up with it. 
  • Clark 2012 p 59 citing Milwaukee Weekly Messenger 8 March 1890.

October 1889. 1850hrs.
PENWORTHAM (LANCASHIRE : ENGLAND)
Rev Holland Stubbs of Penwortham set off in his pony and trap to go to conduct a bible class when near a square built house in a wooded area his pony suddenly stopped. Stubbs managed to get the animal going, but it showed signs of great nervousness, stopping and starting and trembling all over. Stubbs then saw something in white on the grass verge of the road and sped up to catch up with what he thought was a servant in dress and apron. The thing turned and went through a hedge. A couple of days later Stubbs examined the spot but found no sign of a gap anyone could have got through. The horse was almost at the point of collapse by the end of the episode. 
  • Stead 1970 p189 citing letter from witness

November 1 1889. 2145hrs.
(LONDON : ENGLAND)
At an undisclosed location the four Du Cane sisters had just gone to bed when they saw the figure of a youngish looking man with a luminous face, with a dark moustache, dressed in dark clothing and peaked cap glide noiseless by and then vanish. As it passed the women felt a cold air. 
  • Bennett 1939 240 citing investigations by Dr Kingsland and Eleanor Sidgwick

December 20 1889. 0600HRS.
LEOMINSTER (HEREFORDSHIRE : ENGLAND)
The Ellwood brothers (23, 19) had just awoken when they saw a short figure dressed in what looked like a nightshirt, come into the room. Fearing a burglar the elder brother leapt out of bed to tackle, but before he could do so the figure vanished. 
  • Bennett 1939 p250 direct from witnesses

 1890. (Approximate date) Late Evening.
(BASUTOLAND now LETHOSO)
Mrs Minnie Martin, the wife of a colonial official, went out to investigate a disturbance among the cattle, along with her nurse girl and her dog. They did not see anything, but as they walked back to the house, when they heard a noise like a dog and the sound of the fence being touched. They saw no more than 12m away, ahead of them, a small being the size and shape of a six year old boy. It moved with a peculiar shuffle, moving its head from side to side. Both the nurse and the dog were terrified by the experience. 
  • Tucker 2013a p175 citing Minnie Martin Basutoland : Its Legends and Customs 1903

1890. Night.
SOUTH BOISDALE, SOUTH UIST (OUTER HEBRIDES : SCOTLAND)
Norman Maclean, a miller in Smarclet was on the road above South Boisdale when he saw something like a railway engine approach. As it passed he dismounted lest his horse panic. 
  • Notebooks of Father Allan McDonald in Campbell and Hall 1968 p275

March 3 1890. (Approximate date) Night.
WATERFORD (INDIANA : USA)
Mrs Pattee looked out of her window, and saw, a few metres away a light resembling a locomotive light. It rose from near the ground to above the treetops several times, circling the fields. 
  • Clark 2012 p 59 citing Milwaukee Weekly Messenger 8 March 1890.

May 1890. Night.
DUILETTER , LUING, SLATE ISLANDS (ARGYLE : SCOTLAND)
James Campbell was walking home through this small glen when he saw a bright light some distance ahead. It was approaching at high speed following the course of the stream running though the glen. The light stopped at one of the bridges over the stream and then disappeared. The next day the bridge collapsed when a local man was riding across and he was killed 
  • MacGregor 1955 p208

October 19 1890.
CAPE COD (MASSACHUSETTS : USA)
Captain E M Knight and members of the crew of Edward K Mayberry off Cape Cod were passing through squalls when a large object came from the west, fell close to the stern of the ship and travelled through the water at speed. It left a sulphurous smell which made several of the crew feel ill. 
  • Lore and Deneault 1969 p46 citing the ships log

1891.
ONEIDA LAKE (NEW YORK : USA)
On a number of occasions prior to the end of May people saw a glowing sphere, about the size of an orange, which manoeuvred to and fro about 6m above the ground, in a area of 30 sq metres, near to an Indian grave
  • Clark 2012 p 60 citing Gogebic Advocate 23 May 1891

March 1891, (Approximate date)
VERNON (INDIANA : USA)
Alexander Shephard and a friend were walking in the hills near Vernon, when they came across a cave. While exploring it, they came across a humanoid figure covered in brown hair. It looked at them for a few seconds then ambled off. They were too afraid to follow. A store of potatoes, corn, wheat and bones was found nearby. 
  • Clark 2012 p 81 citing Galveston Daily News 10 April 1891

March 1891 (Approximate date) 2100hrs.
HATFIELD (HERTFORDSHIRE : ENGLAND)
As the 2030hrs. train from London was passing through Hatfield Station, the driver saw the figure of a man board the footplate of the moving train. The driver found himself icy cold and unable to speak. When the figure put its hand on the regulator, the driver was compelled to do the same, thus avoiding an accident. The fireman saw nothing, and the driver never saw how the figure departed. 
  • Broughall and Adams 2010 p 104

Early April 1891.
RUMSEY (CALIFORNIA : USA)
Mr Smith from Northern Capay Valley was out hunting near Rumsey when he heard a strange sound and looking up saw a humanoid figure covered in hair in an oak tree. Smith tried to communicate with the creature but it just grunted as if in anger. As Smith ran back to his camp he saw the thing come down from the tree and stand upright. Smith returned with colleagues and saw the thing eating game from the bag he had discarded in haste. Dogs refused to approach it. It seized on a small tree and broke it harm using the lower part as a club. There were other witnesses and the creature was blamed for stock loses. 
  • Arment 2006 p99 citing Woodland Daily Democrat 9 April 1891

July 1891.
WOMELSDORF (PENNSYLVANIA : USA)
A group of people out picking blackberries went through a ravine, where they heard an unusual noise and on investigating encountered a woman covered with long hair, and with one arm and leg shorter than the other. She was hanging on a vine swinging to and fro and apparently humming. On seeing the witnesses the creature got and down and walked away, still chattering away. 
  • Clark 2012 p 82 citing New York Times 2 August 1891

August 1891 0010hrs.
KASSEL (HESSE : GERMANY)
Agnes McCaskill and her cousin, who did not want her name used, saw a light and then a tall figure, dressed all in white, including the face, except for its green luminous eyes. The thing seemed to come out of the wall and was transparent. The cousin saw it first and alerted Agnes. As it approached her, Agnes seized hold of the thing, which felt like flimsy drapery, which receded from her grasp and sink into the floor. 
  • Hornell and Ella Hart in PSPR XLI (130) p213 citing Journal SPR Vi p13

August 1891 Night.
EL DORADO (KANSAS : USA)
Journalist William Allen White was awoken by the sound of music and looking out of the window he saw a group of small humanoids only 7.5-9cm tall dancing,. He looked away and back again and they were still there. He went back to bed but later looked out again. The beings were still there, but as William looked, the things faded away. 
  • Bord 1997 p70 + Clark 2000 p266 both citing William Allen White Autobiography 1946

September 4 1891,
NORWELL (MASSACHUSETTS : USA)
Mrs Damon and another woman were picking blackberries when the figure of a man seemed to come out of the ground in front of them, as from a narrow opening in a hemlock tree. It was almost naked, with hair covering its body. It seemed to be very frightened. 
  • Clark 2012 p 85 citing Boston Daily Globe 9 September 1891

June 16 1891 Afternoon.
RUMSEY (CALIFORNIA : USA)
Herman Gilbert and his brother in law were in a rural area near Rumsey, when they encountered footprints around their camp. These they followed until they heard a strange cry. They descended the mountain and saw, down in a ravine. Where they saw a hairy humanoid beating its breast and surrounded by bones. They fled the scene. 
  • Arment 2006 p103 citing Woodland Daily Democrat 25 June 1891

August 28 1891.
WINSTEAD (CONNECTICUT : USA)
Passengers on a stage coach saw an ape like creature cross the road ahead, jump over a fence and stand on its hind legs. 
  • Arment 2006 p112 citing New York Times 30 August 1891

September 2 1891.
COLEBROOK (CONNECTICUT : USA)
Some kind of hairy humanoid spent the night on Mrs Culver’s doorstep. 
  • Arment 2006 p112 citing New York Times 4 September 1891
  • Note the source gives the report date as September 8th, this is clearly a printing or transcription error for 3

September 4 1891. 0005hrs.
CRAWFORDSVILLE (INDIANA : USA)
On this night and the following, local residents saw a luminous object, surrounded by a dim white light in the sky. It appeared to be about 5.5-6m long, 2.5m wide and to have appendages that resembled fins, but otherwise lacking in a clear shape. The “fins” flapped from time to time and the thing uttered a wheezing sound. It travelled mainly at 100m, but on occasion came down to 30m. The object had a sort of fiery red spot, and when it came low, spectators could feel the heat. On both nights the thing, which gave the impression of being a living organism, was visible for two hours. Among the witnesses was the Rev G W Switzer, a Methodist minister, and his wife. 
  • Gaddis 1967 p34 citing own interviews and press sources
  • Evaluation - If not a press hoax or invention by Gaddis, might be some form of aurora. 

October 1891.
GLADWIN COUNTY (MICHIGAN : USA)
George W Frost and W W Vivian saw a humanoid figure covered with hair, over 2m tall, with its arms hanging below its knees. The thing’s hands were twice the size of a man’s, and when they set their dog on it, the creature killed it with a single blow. The creature moved off in jumps 6-7m long. 
  • Clark 2012 p 83 + Arment 2006 p186 both citing Oshkosh Daily Northwestern 28 October 1891
  • Evaluation - Not traced in Michigan newspapers for the period. Probable hoax. (Shoemaker in Strange 5 p23)

November 7 1891. 1900hrs.
AIGHTON (LANCASHIRE : ENGLAND)
A student at Stonyhurst College was standing by a window when he saw a ball of light fall towards the field between the seminary and the college. The thing descended till it was at the height of a second floor window, at which pointed it expanded like a slow explosion and then just disappeared. 
  • NUFON News 178 p 15 citing Stonyhurst Archives

1892. (Approximate year) Night.
(LONDON : ENGLAND)
A woman and her daughter both suddenly awoke to see a woman with dark curly hair, dressed in a white garment stood facing a mirror over the fireplace. The mother saw the woman’s profile, reflected in the mirror, while the daughter saw the back of h air. Both women leapt of bed to check the doors, which were locked, and when they turned round the figure had vanished. 
  • Hornell and Ella Hart in PSPR XLI (130) p212 citing Journal SPR VI p145

January 2 1892. (approx date)
COLE HARBOUR (NOVA SCOTIA : CANADA)
Residents encountered a 2.1m tall being resembling a gorilla 
  • Clark 2012 p 83 citing Manitoba Daily Free Press 9 January 1892.

May 7 1892. 1730hrs.
ST BOSWELLS (ROXBUROUGHSHIRE : SCOTLAND)
Miss M W Scott was running down a road in a hurry when she was pulled up by the sight of a tall man in black ahead of her on the road, walking at a moderate pace. She stopped to let him increase his lead and saw him turn into a hedge. When she reached the place seconds later the man was nowhere to be seen. She then met her sister, who had seen the figure approaching her and suddenly disappear The figure seemed to be dressed in britches, cloak and “low crowned hat”. The sisters saw the same figure on a number of other occasions, as did some other people. 
  • Podmore 1908 p260 
  • Bennett 1939 p269

July 27 1892. (Approximate date)
MAYVILLE (KETUCKY : USA)
A man out in the hills encountered a huge hairy biped that hurled rocks at him. Others were said to have seen the thing. 
  • Arment 2006 p161 citing Ohio Democrat 11 August 1892.

November 1892. (Approximate date)
(MONTANA : USA)
A man exploring along the Montana/Wyoming border saw a sort of hairy biped. 
  • Arment 2006 p205 citing New Haven (Conn) Evening Register 11 November 1892. citing an undated issue of Anaconda Standard

1893.
(NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
A farmer saw a disc shaped object land in a paddock and walked towards it. As he did so, a being wearing strange clothing emerged from the machine and shone something like a torch at him, knocking him out. When he came to the being and craft had disappeared. The hand that had been hit by the beam was paralysed for the rest of his life. 
  • Basterfield 1997 p 125 + Basterfield1981 p77 + Basterfield 1980 case 2 Chalker 1996  citing investigation by Dr Miran Lindtner and UFOIC (Sydney) + Australian 14-16 May 1969

1893. (Approximate date)
IRELAND
At an undisclosed location on the Dublin-Cavan Road , James O’Connor (9) was walking with his aunt Alice Connell, when looking over a hedge, saw in a triangular field, a group of bewiskered men, with strange head gear, kicking a ball around in the apex of the field about 20m away. He then realised that this would have been impossible without the ball leaving the field. 
  • Johnson 2014 p86)

 June 1893.
CEDAR CREEK (KANSAS : USA)
A number of people including Robert Sanders and an employee of Edward Lane independently observed a humanoid creature about 2m tall, covered in brown hair. It walked in a stooping posture, its long arms crossed over its chest. It moved off when rapidly when challenged. Sanders claimed to have been chased over 1.5km by the thing. Others reported cattle killed and mutilated. 
  • Clark 2012 p 83 citing Sioux Valley News (Iowa) 22 June 1893.
  • Arment 2006 p158 citing Syracuse Sunday Herald 25 June 1893. + Correctionville (Iowa) Sioux Valley news 22 June 1893.)

July 2 1893. Early hours.
HENSERSON’S ISLE, PUGET SOUND (WASHINGTON : USA)
William Fitzhenry, H L Beal, W L McDonald, J K Bell, Henry Blackwood and two east coast gentlemen who did not want their names to be used, were on a fishing expedition in Puget Sound. They camped on Henderson’s Isle, about 100m from a surveying party. Both parties were suddenly awakened by a terrific noise, brilliant light and sensation of electricity in the air which gave them an unpleasant prickling sensation. Coming towards them was an oval object 45m long, 9m wide at the thickest, which appeared to be covered by dark hair. The whole thing was illuminated except for 6 dull, plate sized “eyes”, which appeared to be on a walrus shaped “head”. The body of then thing appeared to be encircled in copper bands at 2.5m intervals, from which the electricity appeared to be generated. At the rear of the object was a sort of revolving propeller and from the centre of the “head” were two tubes from which electrically charged water appeared to be projected. When one of the surveyors came close, he was hit by the water and fell, stunned, to the ground and the same happened to MacDonald when he tried to rescue him. At this the rest of the party fled into the woods, from where they saw the “monster” submerge, its luminous trail being visible for some time before fading into the darkness. When they returned to the beach they found McDonald and the surveyor stunned but alive. 
  • Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark in FSR 18,3 p 12 citing Tacoma Daily Ledger 3 July 1893.
  • Evaluation - Press hoax
1894. (Approximate date)
NESTING (SHETLAND : SCOTLAND)
Andrew Hunter (b.1888.) was a young boy when his dog stopped and made strange noises. He then saw a woman neighbour coming along, accompanied by a group of small people wearing dark clothes. These included a woman wearing something like a white apron. The woman and her sister were plagued by poltergeist disturbances. 

1894. (Approximate date)
(BRITISH COLUMBIA : CANADA)
Henry Napolean, a member of the Clallam tribe, was visiting relatives when he encountered a giant, that invited him back to its cave home and revealed to him secrets. 
  • Noel 2013 p 28 citing Nevada State Journal 16 July 1924 citing Jorge Totagi
  • Evaluation - Little more than a traditional tale.

January 1894. (Approximate date) 
MINE HILL (NEW JERSEY : USA)
Three women working at a local mill were terrified by a naked human figure with long hair. Their cries led to a hunt in which two woodcutters Bill and Mike Dean cornered the creature, but it escaped up rocks, hitting a dog that went after it with a club. Searches were fruitless. 
  • Coleman and Hallenbeck 2010 p37 citing New York Herald 9 January 1894.
  • Evaluation - Press hoax?

February 4 1894. (Approximate date)
(FLORIDA : USA)
Captain Corning of the British Schooner W&H Witherspoon sailing in the Gulf of Mexico saw lights which rose from the water to a height of around 8m, then would emit a report and go out. 
  • Clark 2012 p 60 citing Lowell Daily Sun 8 February 1894.

August 8 1894. (Approximate date)
Night. EAST MACON (GEORGIA : USA)
Men out hunting saw a large faint light on the top of Fort Hill, an artificial mound. It resembled a Japanese lantern except that it was larger and emitted a red light, and manoeuvred around the mound. When they tried to rush towards it, it took off with a hissing sound. 
  • Clark 2012 p 60 citing Macon Telegraph 9 August 1894.

October 1894. (Approximate date) Early hours.
WASHINGTON COUNTY (KENTUCKY : USA)
Joseph Ewalt went out to see what was leading to stock losses and went to the springhouse about 100m from his house. As he opened the door a human figure with long white head and facial hair and hairy legs, dressed in a skin loin cloth emerged. Joseph fainted and was found by a dazed state by his family. The following Sunday Eph Boston and his sons Tom and James saw the thing, which was about 1.9m tall, with hands and feet terminating in claws and walked with a stooped posture. The thing ran off faster than a horse to a cave where feathers and bones were found but the yells of the creature deterred searches from a deeper probe. 
  • Arment 2006 p161 citing Lincoln (Neb) Evening News 14 November 1894. citing an undated issue of Louisville Courier Journal

 October 3 1894. mid Afternoon.
SNOWBALL (NEW SOUTH WALES : AUSTRALIA)
While riding in the bush Johnnie McWilliams encountered something upright and hairy that stepped from behind a tree, gazed at him for a moment, then dashed into the woods about 1.5km away. 
  • Clark 2012 p 223
  • Bord 1980 p149 citing Joyner 1977 p9 citing The Queanbeyan Observer 30 November 1894. p2 + The Coma Express 30 November 1894. p3
  • Smith 1996 p147)

1895 (Approximate date)
MAINLAND (SHETLAND : SCOTLAND)
A small boy was walking with his mother and a neighbour and her dog when the dog started acting up. The boy saw to his side, a large group of small beings dressed in dark clothing, thought the women among them had something white in front. 
  • Alan Bruford in Narvaez 1997 p135 citing a 1974 interview with the boy then aged about 86

May 5 1895 0700hrs.
FINCASTLE (VIRGINIA : USA)
S. B. Smith the deputy postmaster was at his house on Roanoke Street when he observed multi-coloured spheres the size of a man’s head falling about his garden. They seemed to come from the direction of the sun, and fell in groups of 15, some brilliant, others dark or pale. After a brief time some of these lights would dissolve into a smoke, other sparkled brilliantly and disappeared. There clusters would sometimes take the form of pyramids or other shapes. A number of other residents also saw the phenomenon. 
  • Clark 2012 p 60 citing Olean Democrat 10 May 1895 citing an undated issue of Richmond Dispatch

July 1895. Night.
DELAWARE COUNTY (NEW YORK : USA)
Peter Thomas was out driving along a lonely road when an ape like biped jumped into the road, seized the rear horse, broke its neck and dragged it away. Later remains of a camp fire surrounded by animal remains was found. 
  • Arment 2006 p218 citing Middletown Daily Argus 27 July 1895 citing undated issue of Waton Reporter

August 16 1895.
COLEBROOK (COLORADO : USA)
Riley W Smith was picking berries when his bulldog came to him in fear. Smith then saw a naked hairy humanoid run from the bushes into the woods at great speed. 
  • Arment 2006 p113 citing Hartford Courant 21 August 1895

August 22 1895.
COLEBROOK (CONNECTICUT : USA)
Passengers on a stage coach saw a hairy humanoid. 
  • Arment 2006 p113 citing North Adams Transcript 23 August 1895

1896. (or following year) 0030hrs.
BALLAGAWNE (ISLE OF MAN)
J H Kelly was walking from Laxey to Douglas, when as he reached the school at Ballagawne, had the feeling that he was surrounded by an invisible crowd. He then saw four figures of human size coming towards him, coming out of the Garwick Road onto the main road. Kelly turned off onto a byway leading to Garwick Glen, still feeling accompanied by this invisible crowd. This went on for about 1.5km, but as he began to climb a hill he experienced a sense of strange quietness, isolation and depression as the sense of crowd went away. 
  • Evans-Wentz 1977 p134 citing J H Kelly

1896.
AROLLA (VALAIS : SWITZERLAND)
The occultist Aleister Crowley was walking in the Alps when he suddenly saw two little men. He made a gesture to them, but they did not seem to pay attention and disappeared among the rocks. 
  • Vallee Case 10 citing Crowley’s Magick without Tears

1896. Afternoon.
WALLS (MAINLAND, SHETLAND : SCOTLAND)
Elizabeth Johnson (5) went out to visit a neighbour who lived 100m away. She heard a grunting sound and saw, laying on a turf dyke at the back of her house, a little man dressed in dark brown, He started at Elizabeth in an aggressive manner. Elizabeth stood transfixed for about 5 minutes and then fled. 
  • Johnson 2014 p40 citing Mrs William Tate

January 10 1896. (Approximate date)
GLOCESTER (RHODE ISLAND : USA)
Neil Hopkins was returning home to Glocester from Dandelion Hill when, at a dark spot in the road he encountered a huge fiery thing which gave off a metallic sounding noise. It followed him for a short while and then moved off into the woods, cracking twigs and dead branches as it did so. 
  • Neil Arnold in Fortean Times 267 p54 citing The Evening Hour 15 January 1896.

February 1896.
MADISON (INDIANA : USA)
George Phillips was walking near Riker’s Ridge Cemetery when he saw a light come out of the ground near his feet, rise up above him and then go back into the earth behind him. The young man fainted in fright. Other local residents also saw the luminous sphere 
  • Clark 2012 p 61 citing Galveston Daily News 1 March 1896. citing an undated issue of Chicago Record

March 1896.
TILLY-AUR-SEULLES (CALVADOS : FRANCE)
A group of nuns and children at a local school saw the figure of a woman, identified as the Virgin Mary by an elm tree in a nearby field on a number of occasions. 
  • McClure 1983 p120

August 1896. Night.
HOWELL COUNTY (MISSOURI : USA)
Ezra and Serepta Vickers and their children Pearl May (9) and Ben were sat on their farm porch when their attention was caught by a circle of lights descending towards them. It stopped over the barn and they saw that it was a saucer shaped thing, with blinding lights which lit up the barn. The family fled indoors, from where they watched the object, Ezra praying in terror. The next day three steers were found dead at the site, their bodies drained with blood. Other cases were supposed to have happened. 
  • Shannon Graham in Fate November 1985 p52 citing story told by her grandmother Pearl Vickers Chenowith to Missouri Historical Society c. early 1980s
  • Evaluation - A claim in the story that other cases were reported in the press was false. The story seems to be influenced by the UFO/mute stories of the 1970s. False memory?

November 2 1896. 1500hrs.
BUTLER CENTER (NEW YORK : USA)
School teacher D F Everhart was returning from Wolcott when he saw an object in the air about 100m ahead. It was the figure of a girl aged about 20 clad in a long white robe, which left her arms bare. On its shoulders was a pair of long white, nearly motionless wings. As the apparition rose, its features became less distinct. The thing was observed for about 20 minutes on this cloudless day. At least 19 other people in Butler Centre, South Butler and Slyburg also saw the figure. 
  • Clark 2012 p53 citing Olean Democrat 20 November 1896.

November 6 1896. 2100hrs.
CAMPTONVILLE (CALIFORNIA : USA)
A young woman’s screams alerted residents to an aerial machine that appeared to be landing on Hamm’s Hill 3km away. Five young men went to investigate and came upon a landed object the occupant of which was a man who appeared to be deaf and dumb. They wrote out questions on a sheet of paper and the pilot replied, using an alphabet board, saying that he had flown from the Montezuma Mountains where his wife and two children lived but would not communicate further. The thing stayed on the ground until 1600hrs. the next afternoon when it took off without leaving a trace. 
  • Thy Kingdom Come March/April 1959 p11 citing Feather River Territorial Fall 1958 citing unspecified press sources citing William Meek
  • Clark and Coleman 1975 p143 (gives date as December 7th)
  • Keel 1971a p 78)

November 17 1896. Evening.
SACRAMENTO (CALIFORNIA : USA)
A number of residents saw, on this dark rainy night, a light moving across the sky at about 300m altitude. A number of people saw a dark egg shaped object, with three or four powerful lights and fan like wheels, moving against the wind. A former railway man, R L Lowry, standing by the brewery, heard voices calling for the ship to go up higher. He observed the object as a light in a transparent glove, above which two men sat on an apparatus like a bicycle frame, apparently peddling the object along. Someone stood next to Lowry called out to these men and they replied that they would reach San Francisco by half past twelve. Above the men was a sort of mezzanine box capable of carrying two people and above that, an elongated cigar shape. A number of the witnesses thought they heard the sound of revelry from the object, while others thought it was machinery. 
  • Gross 1974a p2 citing Sacramento Bee + San Francisco Call 18 November 1896.
  • Deneault and Lore1969 p5 citing San Francisco Call 18, 19 and 22 November 1896.

November 20 1896. Night.
WATERTOWN (CALIFORNIA : USA)
Five Watertown men saw an enormous airship nearly colliding with a cornice on the city post office. It had a brilliant light on it. They could see human forms on board the object. 
  • Clark and Coleman 1975 p147 citing a letter from the witnesses in San Francisco Call 20 November 1896.

November 22 1896. Evening.
KNIGHTS FERRY (CALIFORNIA : USA)
Two Methodist ministers, Rev. M Copeland and Rev John Kirby were driving their buggy across a bridge when they observed a ball of fire red 200m ahead. It rose slowly and began to move in their direction, circling round to keep its distance. It then rose slowly and gathered speed and moved away. It had two points of intense white light on its front, at right angles to the body, the other on the rear. 
  • Gross 1974a p8 citing Livermore Herald unspecified issue November 1896.

November 23 1896. 2200hrs.
LANTHROP (CALIFORNIA : USA)
A nightwatch at the Lanthrop State Insane Asylum observed a cigar shaped object, with smoke issuing from both ends, come low over the asylum, emitting two loud booming sounds. 
  • Gross 1974a p13 citing Stockton Daily Independent about 24 November 1896.
  • Evaluation - Bolide?

November 24 1896. 1800hrs.
LODI (CALIFORNIA : USA)
Col H C Shaw of San Francisco was collecting material for an agricultural exhibition, in the company of Mr Camille Spooner from Nevada. They were driving back from Lodi when their horse stopped suddenly with a terrified snort. They saw three humanoid figures, about 2m tall and very slender. The men were afraid and tried to drive on, but the horse would not budge. Seeing that the beings were regarding them with curiosity rather than hostility, Shaw attempted to speak with them. They replied by conversing amongst themselves in an incomprehensible warbling tongue. They scrutinised the witnesses and their horse and buggy closely. These beings had small delicate hands, with no finger nails and their feet were twice as long as normal and very narrow, with long prehensile toes, like those of monkeys. Shaw placed his hand on one of their elbows, finding that the being was extremely light, so that he could easily lift it. The beings were naked and covered with soft velvet like skin. Their faces were bare, with very small ears, noses like polished ivory, large lustrous eyes and small toothless mouths.

Each of them had, slung under their left arm, a bag, to which was attached a nozzle that they would put to their mouths from time to time. They gave off the impression of great grace and beauty. Each held in his hand an object like an egg, which, when held up emitted an intense penetrating light, which did not, however, have a deleterious effect on the witnesses’ eyes. At a signal from one who appeared to be the leader, the beings tried to lift Shaw but without any success. They then flashed their lights towards the bridge over Woodbridge Canal, illuminating an aerial object 45m long, 6m wide, hovering 6m above the water. It was pointed at both ends and a large rudder was the only visible machinery. The beings walked towards this object with a swaying motion, their feet only touching the ground every 4-5m. The witnesses followed them as rapidly as possible and reached the bridge in time to see them disappear into the machine with a small spring, opening a door on the side as they did so. Shaw threw a rock at this thing, but it made no sound on impact. The object then rose very rapidly, expanding and contracting as it did so.
  • Gross 1976 p 5 citing Stockton Evening Mail 27 November 1896. p1

November 26 1896. (or 28th) Day.
SAN FRANCISCO (CALIFORNIA : USA)
John A Horen, an electrician with the San Jose Electric Improvement Company went by appointment to Sandy Beach, where he was taken on board the airship, which rose up to a great height, the altitude being read by a meter. He was told by the alleged inventor, a man of 45m that the machine was not operated by steam or electricity. On the morning of the 27th, they saw lights, which the pilot said were those of Honolulu. They returned on the 28th landing to where they had taken off. The object could hover in the air, was noiseless and had two propellers. 
  • Data Net VI, 8 p 10 citing unspecified press sources

December 2 1896. Early hours
PACIFIC GROVE (CALIFORNIA : USA)
Two fishermen, Giuseppe Valinziano and Luigi Valdvia observed an airship land on the water several hundred metres away. It floated easily and its three occupants appeared to be in full control, directing it onto the beach and then dragging it into the woods. The two fishermen dragged in their nets and made for the shore, landing after several attempts. Their efforts to land their boats attracted the attention of the aeronauts, who approached them and ordered them to go. They refused and Giuseppe asking for more information. The stranger was evasive, but when his further threats had no effect, he returned to his companions, coming back after 15 minutes gesturing Giuseppe and Luigi to follow him. They met all three crew members at the edge of the trees. One, who was addressed as the captain told the two men that it was an experimental machine, which needed minor improvements. The other two strangers were performing repairs. The Captain told the two witnesses that they could view from a distance but could not approach. Sometime later they were invited on board to dine with the crew and when they had finished, the captain urged them to stay and that they would be given a trip. After some time the captain told them that it would not be possible for the repairs to be concluded on time and let the two men go. 
  • Clark and Coleman 1975 p141




POSTED MARCH 2018