•

I
magonta Humber 24, November 1986 [XUFOB 73J
-

XAGOHIA is an independent journal devoted to a broad exaDination of anomalous

phenomena and their interaction with society and the individual. It is
published independently by the editors, and has no connection with any other
magazine or group. Views expressed by contributors are not necessari ly shared
by the editors.

EDITOR: John Rimmer

Editorial Panel: John Harney, Roger Sandell, Kichael Goss, Kevin McClure, Robert
Rankin. Corresponding Editors: Peter Rogerson; Nigel 'iatson; Thierry Pinvidic
<France); Luis Gonzales <Spain>; Martin Kottmeyer <USA).

JIAGONIA is available by exchange with other publications, or by subscription

at the following rates:
United Kingdom and European Community: t2 .50 for four issues
United States: $5. 0 0 for four issues surface; $6.00 airmail. Please note that US
subscriptions must be paid for in dollar bills. Due to exorbitant bank-charges
we are no longer able to accept cheques drawn on Alllerican banks.
Other Countries: t3. 0 0 or equivalent at current exchange rates.
Cheques and money orders should be made payable to ' JO H N RIMMER'.

All correspondence, exchange magazines and subscriptions should be sent to the

Editor at:
JOHJ DEE COTTAGE
5 JAXES TERRACE, JIORTLAKE CHURCHYARD,
LONDOI, SW14 BHB,
EIGLAHD

EDITORIAL NOTES

First of all we would like to apologise to our readers far the rather poor
graphical appearance of th�s issue of Xagania, which quite frankly is
something of a dog's-dinner. Unfortunately our high-quality electronic
typewriter, with its elegant daisy-wheel printer, broke dawn about a quarter of
the way through setting up articles for the magazine. The good news was that
just at that time we took delivery of one of the now famous little Amstrad
word-processors <as has just about every other small magazine in Britain, it
seems) which has enabled us to finish producing copy. The combination of
styles and layouts is not aesthetically pleasing, but at least the magazine is
out. Next issue we hope to be able to produce something mare worthy of our
renders. Please bear with us.

As promised, this issue deals largely with BOLS/earthlights/fireballs or what

you will. 'ie have had a good response to our call for articles and more will
appear in the next issue. If you have any views on the subject, or would like
to comment on the contents of this issue, please let us know.
 Page 8 Page 9

SPOOKLIGHTS IN TRADITION In 1 855 a writer in Rates and Queries asked if WW was sti l l to be seen
AND FOLKLORE in any parts of the British Isles . He received replies from many
correspondents, giving eyewitness acounts of recent sightings .
David C l a r ke "I have litt le doubt," wrote one, "that the sprite is sti l l to be met
with in certain districts of Essex or among the Norfo l k Broads... the
••. Of purpose to deceive us inquirer might procure a sight of one i f he would enquire o f some rustic
And leadin!J us 11lalres us stray where they most frequently occur . But for this purpose he m ust know the
Lan!J "Klnter ni!Jhts out of the "Kay vernacular name in the district where he lives" 2
.And 'Khen 'Ke stick in mire or clay Nearly every country district of the British Isles has its own
He dath 'Kith lau!Jhter lead us particular nam e for YW and his kind, most of them personalised - Jean the
Drayton 's Xpphidia Wad <Devon and Cornwa l l > ; William with the little flame < Ireland) ; Jenny
Burn tail <Warwickshire ; Kitty wi 'the Wisp <Northumberland ) , and countless
Few people today will have beard about the once common others . Similar names can be found throughout Europe : irrlichtern,
phenomenon known generally in the! � t i sh Isles as I Vi ll 'wandering ligh t ' <Germany>; feux-follets <France>; Fuoco fatuo < Ita ly > ;
o'tbe Wisp' or ' Jack o' Lantern '. Prior to the end of the lyckte!Jubbe ' lantern bearer ' <Sweden> - suggesting a world-wide occurence of
19th century this rural mystery was a terror familiar to similar phenomena . other names have been given, or related to YW .

night travellers, especially in the marshy, undrained areas Countryfolk and folk lorists connect him with Puck, Robin Goodfel low, Friar

many parts of England. Rush and other pagan elementals. These traditions are unwittingly continued
which still remained in
on bonfire night when children place a candle in a hol lowed-out turnip to
represent the evi l spirit or Jack o ' Lantern.3
Wil l o 'the Wisp [henceforth WW, Ed.l is known to scientists by its Latin
name ignis fatuus - foolish fire - and is variously described as a strong , These wandering lights have been known to haunt certain spots for

f lame-like light (often first taken for a lantern or the lights of a house centuries . The folk lore of the Scottish Highlands is particu larly rich with

in the distance) seen hovering over marsh land just after sunset . Howeve r , stories concerning strange lights regarded as omens of death or disaster,
and the Gaelic language has several names for them : solus bats, a death
many reliable witnesses have described seeing bril liant W't/s dancing over
light, solus taisg, a spectre light, and teine biorach, "a fire floating in
hedgerows, rising high in the air or performing elaborate movements. They
the air like a bird" .
often appear to displ�y signs of intel ligence - the lig h t is said to recede
In 'Ghostlights of the Western Highlands'4 R .C . McLagan writes that
from an observer who approaches it, or fol low him if he retires. This
"there are places which have got their names from the belief that
appears to contradict the long-held, but never proven, be li e f that 't/Ws are
mysterious lights have appeared in their neighbourhood. Thus Creag a n T­
caused by the spontaneous ignition of marsh-gas or 'phosphoretted hydrogen '
Soluis, a rock above Cairn near Port Charlotte, has its name from a belief
in swampy areas .
that supernatural lights used to be seen about it. For the same reason
In 198 0 A .A . Mil ls, a chemist at Leicester University, published a study
another rock down at the shore below Cairn Cottage is cal l ed Carraig na
investigating the possible connections between marsh-gas and WWs . 1 He
Soluis."
worked initia l ly o n the o ld premise that the phenomenon was due to ignition
of natural gas or methane <CH4>, perhaps ignited by contamination with
A l most everywhere these lights are regarded as omens of death, partic u larly
phosphine <PH3> o r a higher hydride. Mi l ls experimenta l ly tried to create a
in Gel tic countries where the 'corpse candl e ' tradition originates . One
WW in his laboratory by filling a ga l lon g!ass bottle with compost, peat,
account describes the cand l e as a light "seen during the night s lowly
eggs, bone meal and other such ingredients, which were then a l lowed to
gliding from the house to the gate of the churchyard and a long the ch u rch­
incubate at a warm temperatur e . He collected the 'marsh gas' which bubbled
road, bu t that by which the funera l processions pass"5 McLagan notes that
o f f, "but a lthough repulsively odiferous it never displayed the slightest
" In the Isle of Man, on May Eve, many of the inhabitants remain o n the
luminosity when a llowed to come into contact with air " . Further, Mi l ls
hills ti l l sunrise, endeavouring to pry into futurity by observing
stated that to explain VY as marsh gas one had to "explain how to achieve
particular omens . If a bright light were observed to issue, seemingly, from
natural ignition o f intermittent, disconnected bubble o f gas rising through
any house in the surrounding val leys, it was considered a certain
the marsh" . The suggestion that phosphine could provide this natural
indication that some member of that family was soon to be married ; but i f a
ignition is a non-starter, as phosphorous is never found in a pure state in
dim light were seen, moving s lowly in the direction of the parish church,
nature, and vapour-phase chromatography has failed to detect even parts pe r
it was then deemed equa l ly certain that a funeral wou l d soon pass that way
m i l lion traces of phosphine in m ar sh gasses analysed in laboratories.
to the churchyard !"7
'tlYI is therefore as much a mystery in our present age as he was to
This tradition is similar to that connecting the lights to areas of
earlier generations. I n recent times he appears to have diappeared from the
pre-historic sanctity - burial mounds, stone circles and ancient religios
countryside, a long with fairies, as marshes have been drained, and as
sitess· In Norwegian folklore the little islands off the coast were
technology has re-defined his image for our modern perceptions . VIe now
inhabited by dwarfs, and on festive nights were "lit u p with countless blue
regard strange lights in the night sky as heralds of extraterrestrial
lights that moved and skipped about without ceasing, borne by the little
visitors rather than the mischevious sprites, evil spirits and elementals
underground people ; and the grave mounds of heroes emitted lamdent f lames
which were once familiar to our ancestors .
that guarded the dead and treasure buried with them4 .
 Page 11
Page 10
that shows any such light; the fireflies there are no larger than fireflies
A fascinating account of this kind appeared in the popular science in Italy."''
magazine English Xecbanlc during 1919. This described how a correspondent,
T. Sington, saw "strange lights . .. no doubt will o 'the wisps" whilst walking Another writer in the same publication tells an interesting story of
with a friend in the dead of night near the ancient and spectacular similar lights observed in another part of India, upon which similar
Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick in the Lake District: legends were attached .
"'When we were at a point near which the track: branches off to the "I was staying on a tea-garden [plantation] near Darjiling last year
Druidical circle, we all at once saw a rapidly moving light as brig h t as < 1 893) , and one evening as we were walking around the flower garden our
the acetylene lamp of a bicycle, and we instinctively stepped to the road eyes were caught by a light like that of a lantern being carried down the
boundary wall to make way for it , but nothing came . As a matter of fact the path which leads to the vegetable garden some 200 feet below . My host sent
light travelled at righ t angles t o the road, say 2 0 feet above our level , for the }{tJhli who came down from his house , and asked him what business
possibly 2 0 0 yards or so awa y . It was a white light, and having crossed the anyone had to be going to the vegetable garden at that time? 'Oh ' , said the
road it suddenly diappeared. 'Whether it went out or passes behind an man , ' that is one of the chotlJ.-tJdmis (i.e. little men ) ; and on being asked
obstruction it is i m possible to say, as I have not yet had an opportunity to explain, h e said that these little men lived undergrou nd , and only came
of again visiting the place during daylight. There is certainly no out at night. He did not appear to be very clear as to what their
crossroads there . Ye then saw a num ber o f lights possibly a third of a mile occupation was , but they always walk or fly with lanterns. They are about
away , directly in the direction of the Druidical circ l e , but of course much three feet hig h , and they will never allow anyone to get near them; but if
fainter, no doubt due to distance, moving backwards and forwards by any chance one was to come upon them unexpectedly, they would quickly
horizontally; we stood watching them for a long tim e , and then only left as disappear, and the person who saw them would become ill and probably die.
it was so late at the hotel people might think: we were lost on the mountain They are constantly about on dark nights, sometimes as many as twenty or
<Helvellyn > , thirty together, but be and all the natives always gave them a wide berth .
"Whilst w e were watching a remarkable incident happened - one of the "Whilst he was speaking we watched the lig h t , which apparently left the
lights , and only one , came straight to the spot where we were standing; at path , and in two or three minutes flew across to another portion of the
first very faint , as it approached the light increased in intensity. 'When it hill , between which and the vegetable garden was a steep dip which would
came quite near I was in no doubt whether I should stoop below the take an ordinary individual at least half an hour to descend and ascend the
boundary wall as the ligh t w ou l d pass directly over our heads . But when it other side; then it disappeared , and we saw no more that night , but two or
came close to the wall it s l owed down , stopped , quivered , and slowly went three times afterwards we saw similar lights , sometimes carried along the
out, as if the matter producing the light had become exhausted. It was paths and at others flying across dips in the hills . 'We made enquiries from
globular, white , with a nucleus possibly six feet or so in diameter, and the natives , who all told the same tale; but when we asked other planters
just high enough above ground to pass over our heads" they cou ld tell us nothing about them . The light was too large and not
Mr Sington concluded his fascinating story by stating his suspicion erratic enough for any fire f l y that we have seen in that neighbourhood ,
that the ancient builders of the stone circle had selected this particular more like a lantern than anything else we could think of ."' :z
spot "owing to some local conditions at present unknown . . . such lights would
have attracted the attention of the inhabitants , who would have attached There can be little doubt that there is a rea l , objective natural
great significance to them, and might then have selected the site as a phenomenon lurking behind many of these accoun ts , which appear to be
place of worship or sacrifice."e In view of recent research at various describing luminous shape-shifting blobs which have a mysterious
megalithic sites by members o f the Dragon Project9 Mr Sington 's idea seems relationship with certain areas and types of terrain . They appear to
to be vindicated. interact in mysterious ways with human beings , particularly those
undergoing intense emotional excitement - as shown by the phenomena
In Folklore <1894>, Mr M . J . Walhouse describe a visit to the marv e l l ous accompanying the 'Welsh Revival of 1905, or are attracted to the electric
megalithic stone-rows a t Carnac in Britanny, where h e asked a boy who was fields surrounding human beings out in the open . Although they may appear
guiding him about any local popular beliefs attached to the stones : " It was to possess some kind of rudimentary or mischievous intelligence, this is
not easy to understand him, and I could only gather that on certain nights more likely to be an illusion produced by the observer through some process
a flame was seen burning on every stone , and on such nights no-one would of perception. It is more likely that the energy from which they are formed
go near - the stones are there believed to mark burial places.'"._,. 'Walhouse is affected by external changes in the surrounding environment - geology,
adds that "in the extreme south of India the Shanars , a very numerous caste variations in the earth's magnetic field, changes in air density, etc . These
of devil-worshippers, believ that waste- places , and especially burial may all contribute to giving the im pression of intelligent motion.
grounds, are haunted by demons that assume various shapes , one after In 1967 ufologist John Keel had realised that it was th e spooklight
another, as often as t he ye o f the observer turns away , and are often seen sightings , what he described as 'soft objects ' , which "represented the real
gliding over marshy land like f l ickering lights. They are called in Tamil phenomenon." H e described these sight.ings as of "transparent or trans lucent
pey-neruppu, i .e . devil fires. Riding late after dark over a jungly tract objects seemingly capable of a ltering their size and shape dramatically."'3
near mountains I once saw what the natives averred was a pey-neruppu; it During his investigations in 'West Virginia keel actually had the
seemed a ball of pale flame, the size of an orange, moving in a fitful opportunity of watching them from his skywatch position at Gallipolis
wavering way above the bushes and passing out o f sight behind trees; its Ferry.
movements resembled t he f light of an insect, but I know of none in India
 Page 12 Page 13

In The Xath11an Prophecies' 4 he says : "Each n ight from three to eight area told Mclagan that "there used to be a large light of ten seen at the Carn Bhan indeed
unidentified 'stars' appeared. They were always in the same pos i t i on at the I think it is not so very long ago s ince it �as seen there, I have o f ten seen l t there
beg inn ing of the evening and a casual observer would autom atically conclude 11yself, il 11as as large as the light of that lamp•, 1 2 , Folklore, vo l . 6, (1 895), pp , 245-
they were really just stars . However, on overcast n ights these u n iden t i fieds 246, 13 , KEEL, JOHN A,, ' The principles of transMogrif icatio n ' in Flying Saucer Reviu,
would be the only 'stars ' in the s k y , meaning they were below the clouds . vol , 1 5, no , 4, (June-July 1968), pp , 27-3 1 , 14, KEEL, JOHN A, The /'foth•an Prophecies,
Yhile the rest of the night sky slowly rotated , these phony stars would Outton, 1975 , 1 5 , Craven Hera.ld (Sk ipton, Yorksh ire), July 2 1 , 1 983 ,
rem a i n in their f i xed pos it ions , sometimes for hours , before they would
beg i n to move . Then they would travel in any d i rect ion , up, dow n , cloc k w ise ,
etc . they ha d a number of curious traits . 'ihen a plane would fly over they
would suddenly dim o r go out altogether. As soon as the plane was gone they
PERSINGER" S
would flare up aga i n ."

These strange l i ghts are st ill w ith us, appea r i n g at various spots TECTONIC STRAIN THEORY

throughout the world , and there is little doubt the i r com ings and goings
w ill add to the considerable amount of folklore already in ex istence. The
lights which have been haunting the remote Norweg ian valley of Hessdalen
since 1 9 8 1 d i splay remarkable ghost-like characterist ics - playing tag w i th
observers , at times appearing to be gaseous and at others solid; sometimes CLAUDE KAUGE
showing up o n radar and at others not . A s i m ilar k ind o f phenomenon - this
time a brilliant orange ball o f light - has been plaguing the Penn ine hills
of Yorkshire and Lancashire s ince the 1 9 7 0's , particulalry the Rossendale
Valley and the area around Sk ipton und Grassendale. The fact that both Sightings of lights in the sky are often neglected by many ufologists who
these areas are criss-crossed by numerous geological faults can surely be consider them too 'simple' , and unworthy of their avant-garde researches .
no coincidenc e , and adds to the considerable ev idence now ava ilable which Yet this s i mplicity is an important factor. Abnormal luminous phenomena can
appears to i n d icate that one of the variables which may explain the be compared w ith rather well- known manifestations, such as St Elmo'G Fire,
creation and origin o f the lights - fault l ines - has now been isolated . auroral phenomena or optical refraction phenomena, m a n y examples of which
As regards the recent sightings in the Craven d istrict of Yorkshire, can be found in Corliss's books . Others , such as ball l i ghtning , are

local UFO i nvestigator Tony Dodd , a police o f f icer and alleged witness to progressively integrated into the scien t i f ic corpus , or are phenomena

over 200 sightings , said in 1 983 : claimed by ufolog ists , but stud ied by scientists (e . g . green f ireballs) .

"There are strange things flying around at n ight , but where they come
Several authors today th ink that UFOs , or at least a large part of them ,
from is another thing . They seem to be m ore prevelant on w i nter nights . A
are geophysical phenomena essentially linked w ith seism icity . The best
lot of the ones I have seen have been way below cloud level. This area has
known ones are M ichael Persinger in Canada , and Paul Devereux in Great
a very high percentage of national s ight i ngs . I have seen 60 to 80 of these
Britain. I would l i ke to take a particular look at Pers inger 's Tec ton i c
machines in the last ten years . . . I feel because this is one of the hotspots
Stra in Theory <TST > , wh i ch is indisputably one of th e mos t i mportant and
as far as s i ghtings go, there are bases located in certa i n places where
interesting attempts at a study of the UFO phenomenon .
they go underground ."'5
Although Xr Dcxld may not realise it, he may have g iven us one o f the
Tectonic Strain Theory
most important clues to solve this mystery.
There is no question of expounding this theory i n full here . It is complex ,
still evolv i n g , and is the subject of numerous papers. Its outlines are
presented , for i nstanc e , by Persinger..,·'0, Yanderer2' or Mauges. Its
Iotes and References 1 , PII LLS, A, A , , 'Will o ' the \lis p ' in Ch�11istry in Britain,
essential bases are very well summarised by Persinger himself' o in the
1 6:69, Feb. 1 9 80 , 2, Notes ind Queries, April 4th 189 1 , 3, Old drawings and woodcuts
following passag e :
showing WW consis tently depict the 1 ight being carried in the outs tretched hand o f an ihp
"This theory requires the analysis of the U F O problem at three separate
or hobgoblin, 4, McLAGAN, R , C , , ' Ghostlights of the Western Highlands' in Folklore, vol,8
(1 897)1 pp , 203-2 5 6 , 5, FEILBURG, H,H , , ' Ghostly Lights ' in FolKlore, vol. 6 (1 895l, levels : 1, the large scale space-time pattern; 2, the particular UFO eve n t ,
and 3, the neuropsychological contributions of the observer [ . . .) Each
p , 293 , 6 , This connection has beco11e appa rent to 11e tirae a f ter tirae during research work ,
component is characterized by a major hypothes i s . F i rst , most UFO phenomena
The sightings around Burton Das s ett1 Warwickshire, in 1 923/4, des cribed in /:J"pol)k/ights,' a
are generated by processes associated w ith crustal deformation <or
British Survey were seeraingly centred upon a pre-Norman church and its holy well, This is
'earthstress ' ) over geophysical time. Second , the s ingle UFO event is a
one of 1any exa111ples which could be cited , 7, Tra ins Isle of run, v o l , ii, p, 1 1 8 , 8,
h i ghly localised <a few metres ) 1 transient <a few m i nutes ) 1 extraordinarily
S I NGTON, T,, ' A Mys tery ' i n English /'fecha.nic, O ct , 1 7, 1 919, pp , 1 52-1 5 3 , 9 , ROBINS, 0,,
energetic electromagnetic-like m a n i festation of this earthstress . Third , the
Circles of Sil�nce, Souvenir Press, 1 9 85 , 1 0, WALHOUSE, M , J, 1 'Ghostly Lights ' in
rich variety but persistent common themes of close UFO encounters are a
Folklore, vol. 5 (1 894), pp , 293-299 , 11, In McLAGAN, op, cit,, there is the story of a
predictable consequence of the d irect e ffects of the UFO event upon the
prehistoric burial cairn near Ledaig in Scotland called Carn Bhan which has a legend
electrochemical act i v i t ies of the observer's bra i n . "
a ttached to it that seven k ings were buried there, A 70-year-old woraan res ident of the
�
 Page 14 Page 15

However , TST presents a certain number of ambiguities and weak poin ts , region studied is indeed partly justifiable by different geology; but it can
some of which are seriously damaging to the m od e l. Rutkowski' 9 .2o has > a lso reveal artifacts , as long as we do not have causal or at least partly
already presented some objections , insisting on the question of the quantified reasons for the variations <converse l y , such causal and
selection of ufological data , statistical problems , and the weakness of the quantified reasons wou ld be very strong arguments in favour of TST).
geophysical basis of the mode l. J It is c lear the seismic is used as an observable indicator of the
RelitJbility of ufological datlJ tectonic strain : earthquakes do not directly produce UFOs, the cause of both
The first point is fundamenta l , and Rukowski is unfortunately tota l ly right. phenomena is the unobservable strain. However, like Rutkowski' ", I thought
None of the data sources used to build TST <Fort , UFOCAT , FtJte> seems to be that too great a distance between luminous events and corresponding seisms
reliable enough to be the basis for a valid study. Persinger'7 reproaches is "intuitively unsatisfying". Persinger17 partly replies to this objection :
Rutowski for having criticised his sources using value judgement and not "The requirement of such large space-time frames within which to see a
empirical criteria. However , it was Hendry's empirical experience which had phenomenon is not unique to [his] hypotheis" and that the argument "would
led him to reject UFOCAT as a reliable statistical too l .3 repudiate the most recent developments for the forecasting o f earthquakes"
As for m e , I showed4 albeit with a very limited and particular sam p l e , which use parameters changing months before 'quakes. This is however an
that t h e 2 9 trace cases o f t h e French 1 9 5 4 wave a n d t h e 16 Belgian trace argument by analogy , and the matter is to know if it is valid for our
cases which appear in a computer printout from UFOCAT6 give the fol lowing problem , because the variables mentioned are not those uses in TST.
results <the first number corresponds to the French cases , the second to Some of the correlations obtained by Persinger are not so well founded
the Belgian ones ) : as the author claims . For instance, his results for five European countries,
sound cases <unexp lained after serious counter enquiry>, 1 / 1 ; France and Italy included 1' , absolutely do not predict (tJ posteriori) the
inconc l usive cases < lack of sufficient data , unre liability of primary major French- Italian wave in autumn 1 954 . It is however possible that the
sources, etc. ) , 8 /6; used function predicts this peak with a short delay , since the results show
dubious cases <with particular reasons for caution> , 7 / 1 ; a very high score for 1955 , but Persinger does not note this discrepancy,
explained cases , 1 3 /8 . In any case , the predicted continuous peak from 1955 to 195 9 is erroneous:
Yet these 'physical evidence ' cases are often regarded as the most reliable the year 1 957 only showed an 'actua l ' peak , much lower than the 1 95 4 one.
records by researchers. The predicted peaks in 1 946, 1 963 and 1964 seem likewise to have been non­
Persinger recognises that there are misinterpretations which have existent in these countries. The 1 954 wave is also not predicted in an
nothing to do with TST , but he is apparently not wel l informed of the improved version'6, which is a lso unable to predict the 1 973- 1 974 wave. In
primary ufological literature, for which one cannot b lame him. So he is both versions the function used was built with Fort 's data during the 1 870-
wrong when he thinks that in UFOCAT the UFO types with medium to high 1905 < o r 1 9 1 0 > interva l .
strangeness <types 3 to 9) "did not inc l ude non- UFO reports'""', and even But were the numbers of European events reported by Fort significant of
that the ' luminosities' reports <types 3 to 6) form "a very select sub­ the actual numbers , or of the numbers of events reported by witnesses? This
cluster". Now it is proved in several high-strangeness cases, and probable problem is always a potential bias in all ufological statistics.
<or at least possible> in the large majority of them , that they correspond
to misinterpretations rather more sophisticated than in the cases of It may be logical that the 1 954 wave, which was of a socio logical
reports of
stationary of regu lar-trajectory luminosities <UFOCAT types 1 nature to a very large extent , is not predicted by geophysical variables.
and 2> . Rutkowski20 uses the same argume n t , and notes tha t : But if so , why are these variables able to
predict the major 1 897 U .S .
"Persinger dismisses this argument by saying that using a consistent wave , which was a lso essentia lly journalistic?22 Here is another weakness
data-base wi l l a l low the relationship to come throu g h anyway , subtracted of TST , which tota l ly neglects sociological factors , yet these are
out as 'noise ' in the final analysis. However a 907. l evel of noise is not fundamental in ufology. Persinger admitted their ro l e ,9 but the only aspect
that easy to filter out , especia l ly i f one cannot distinguish it from the he considers is the variation of imagery according to c u l ture. In his reply
rest of the data." <I think that the 1 07. 'unknowns ' residue generously to Rutkowski he even mentioned the hypothesis that "much non-seismic UFORs
conceded by Rutowski is greatly overestimated . ) [UFO reports] were randomly distributed within each [space-time] increment".
We know already how important is the role of the media in the production
The Correlntian problem or the extension of several UFO waves. Such sociological factors also
But if the data are inadequate , why do the various calcu lations converge on explain the correlations between numbers of UFO reports in UFOCAT and Fllte,
rather coherent and quite impressive results? Several arguments a l low us to and these correlations therefore tel l us nothing . about the re liability of
think it might be statistical artifacts , which Persinger recognised as data , contrary to what Persinger claims.17
possible for the first resu lts concerning the Washington-Oregon area.18
Persinger in fact tests severa l functions in varying the co-ef ficients Fina l l y , some methodological details seem to m e to be unclear; I sha l l
of the geophysical variab les , and he keeps the ones <s> which give the best cite only one. Persinger notes (e.g. 18) that he seeks to "attenuate the
correlations. This procedure is mathematica l ly accurate , but the seismic­ effects from outliers". This is mathematically accurate: in a ' norma l ' data
geomagnetic variables are not always independent , which can bias set , outliers are often aberrant points. But in ufology it is possible that
statistical calcu lations , and the little reliable UFO data are heterogeneous , such a procedure eliminates the right data - that is , strange and reliable
which can introduce other biases . The
selected functions , reached correlations
fact that optimal a la lysis increm ents ,
are di f ferent according to the
} cases differing from the u fological
correspond to badly investigated and potentia l ly explainable cases.
'norm ' , whereas the 'nor m ' would
. , Page 16

Page 17
Persingers statistical results therefore pose some serious problems of
interpretation . It would be desirable to examine the statistics much more In his repl y to Ru t kowski , Persi nger says a " su bstant i a l por t i o n " of
exhaustive l y than I have been able to , for instance in comparing carefu l l y UFOs g e ne ra t e d by t e c t o ni c st rai n " wou l d not be e voked by the trau ma t i c
t h e predicted peaks w i t h t h e actual 'waves ' It would be h e l p fu l i f a n expert s t i mu l ation" that is t he di rect a c t i o n on t he brai n . If t hi s " su bstanti a l
in statistica l theory could say if it is possible that so many apparent por t i o n " con tai ns a substanti a l number o f c l ose e ncou n t e r s , t hi s s t a t e me n t
converging results can render o n l y statistical artifacts . Such questions are
is new and it di ms t he i mpact of the above cri ticism, but I f ea r the
not unwarranted , because Persinger writes that "the critical test of the
" su bstanti a l por t i o n " concerns only distant sighti ngs , t h e r e f ore t he
hypothesis is the systematic spatial and temporal coupling between UFORs
obj ect i o ns sti l l have t he i r va l u e .
and earthquake measures within a region" ' 7 that is , the obtained
correlations.
Concl usion
In f ac t , TST seems to be u n ne ce ssary for the l a rge ma j ori t y o f si ght i ngs
The IndividlllJ l UFO event whi c h , besi des i ne vi t a b l e hoaxes and psychopa t ho l ogical case s , wou l d be the
We have for the time being no viable physical m od e l to explain the
conc e r n of t he ' soci o-psycho l ogi cal hypothesi s ' . These cases wou l d be
formation of the 'electromagnetic co lum n ' <EM colum n ) . But this situation is
' on l y ' more or l e ss mundane misi nt e r pr e tations , some t i me s c o mp l ex , ei t he r
not damning , particularly for ufologists who speculate far beyond the most
wi t h an obj e c t i ve descri pti o n , or on which t he witness grafts a set of
'advanced ' physics . Persinger ' 7 disputes Rutkows ki's argument ' 9 according to
t h e me s and i mages accordi ng to what he kno ws , more or l e ss consci ou s l y ,
which •the geophysical basis for the theory [. . .) is extremely dependent
about t h e UFO phe no me no n .
upon recent reports of luminous e f fects produced by strain on rock dur ing As for the remai nde r , possi b l e t e mpor a l l obe transi e nt s or si mi l ar
fracture tests " . In fact , several authors , such as Brady and Rowell' or processes and origi n a l geophysi c a l p h e no me na , so me of whi c h wou l d be the
Devereux et ,p report having obtained a light emission in such concern of a TST l i mi t e d to pa r t i cu l a r areas and / or t ypes of si g h t i ngs,
circum stances . Others , such as Ogawa et ,y notice the emiss ion of <low
seem far the t i me being we l l s u f f i ci e nt .
frequency> EM waves . The important question is the problem of the
Bu t i f Persinger cou l d succ eed f i rs t l y i n rei n forci ng t he v a l u e of his
extrapolation from laboratory 'micro' results to the natural sca l e ,
corr e l ati ons < particu l ar l y by t a ki n g soci o l ogi c a l factors i nto account > i
especia l ly sinc e , as far as I know, all Persinger 's interpretations are second l y in c l a ri f yi ng the processes which create the ' EM Co l u mn ' and
purely qualitative. t hi r d l y in c l ari f yi ng t he processes o f the action of this ' co l u mn ' on the
c e ntra l nervous syst e m , then TST wi l l r ea l l y dese r ve t h e l a be l of the best
Effects on Jfitness 's cen tral nervous systeDs sc i e nti f i c t heory o f UFOs .
The model assumes that in close encounters the electromagnetic field of the
EM column can induce several types of physiological effects : it can produce
References:
induced currents in various structures of the central nervous system ,
1 . BRADY , B , T , and ROWELL , G . A, ' Labor a t o r y i nves t i g a t i ons of the e l e c t r odyna. i c s of rock
particu lar ly those of the temporal lobe . A consequence could be very
f r a c tu r e ' Na.tur�, 29 Hay 86, 321, n ' 6069 : 488-492 , 2, DEVEREUX , P. , M c CARTNEY , P, a r: d
complex and vivid hal lucinations . But such hal lucinations are obtained with
ROB I NS , O, ' B r i ng i ng U F O s down to e a r th ' , Net! Scientist ', 1 Sep , 83 , .99, n ' 1 373 : 627-630
direct stimulus by intracranial electrodes, in surg ical circumstances,
3 , HENDRY , A, The /JfO Handbook, Dou b l eday , 1 97 9 : 244-24 7 , 4, HAUG� , C, , ' OV N I -OV I : s� r un
amongst essentia l l y epileptic patients . I have not read all of Persinger 's
c e r t a i n e t a t de l a ques t i o n ' I
lnfor�spa.c�. June 8 3 , n ' 63 : 6-8 , 5 MAUG� . c . , I n t r od u c t t on a
references , but those I have do not mention these phenomena for subjects
la theor i e des c on t r a i n t e s t e c t o n i ques de M , P e r s i nge r ' , lnforespace, Dec . 85 , n ' 6 9 : 1 6-26 ,
placed in EX fie lds . Hallucinations are the crude <eg . phosphenes>, and the
6 HERR I T F , Physial Traces of /JfO sightings - a co111puter printout, CUFOS , 2nd ed , , 1 980 ,
associated physiological phenomena are of the headach e , fatigue or pain '
type . We are again faced with the problem o f extrapolation: is it legitimate
7 : OGAWA, r , , D I K E , K . and M I URA, T , ' E l e c t r or.agne t i c r ad i a t i on f r oa r o c k s ' , J urna.l of �
or is it not7
fieophysical Research, 30 June 85 , 90, n ' D4 : 6 245-62 4 9 , 8, �
PERS I N E R , M . A. , Pos s t b l e
i n f r equent geophys i c a l sou r c es o f c l ose U F O e n c ou n te r s ; expe c ted phys 1 c a l a n d behav l o u r a l ­
But it is perhaps Persinger himse l f who brings out one of the most
b i ol o g i e a 1 et f ec ts ' , in HAI N E S , R, F, ( Ed . } /JfO Phenomena and the 8eha vioural S eientist,
interesting arguments against the TST , o r rather against the large number
S c a r e c roli P r es s , 1 97 9 : 396-433 , 9 , PERS I NGER , 11 , A, , ' Ea r thquak e a c t i v i ty and a n t e c e d e n t UFO
of UFO sightings it is supposed to exp lain . First , he righ t l y notes the
r epor t nurnbe r s ' , Perceptual and 11otor Sl: ills, 1 980 , SO, n ' 3 , p a r t 1 : 7 9 1 - 7 9 7 ,
1 0 . PER S I NG E R ,
basic identity between UFO 'sightings' and religious entity 'sightings ' . ' 0
M , A, ' P r ed i c t i n g UFO e v e n t s a n d expe r i en c e s ' , /982 .
if/JfON IJFO Sy11p� sw• Proceed1n�s, MUFON ,
Second, he considers that "many close-encounter-type experiences .
1 982 : 33-40 , 11, PERS I NGER , I'I.A , , ' Geophys i c a l v a r i ab l es and behav 1 our : V I I , P r ed 1 c t 1 � n � �
(concerning gods , demons or aliens> could be produced by temporal lobe
r e c e n t European U F O repo r t yea r s by n i ne t eenth c en t u r y l u11 i no s i t y and s o l a r - s e t : ta t c
dysfunctions not initiated by c lose proximity to UFO-related
luminosities ' " 0 • 1 2 but by various stimuli such as fatigue, socia l isolation ,
11 e a s u r e s ' , Perc�pt, 1 983 , 56, n ' 1 : 9 1 -95 ,
11otor Stills, 1 2 , PERS I NGE • . M . A , , ' Geophys t c a l �
va r i a b l es and behav i ou r : I X , Expec t e d c l i n i c a l c onseque n c es o f c l ose p r ox u 1 t y t o UFO- r e l a t ed
perturbations of circadian rhythms , hypoxia , personal crisis, certain drugs,
l u11 i nos i t i es ' op, cit. : 259-265 , 1 3 , PERS I NGER , M . A , , ' Re l i g i ous and Mys t i c a l expe r i e n c e � as
and so on . Third , he is developing the tempartJl l o be transients hypo thesis,
a r t i f a c ts of te11po r a l l obe f un c t i o n : a gene r a l hypothes i s ' , Percept, Motor SA· J Jls,
endogeneous or exogeneous with 'munda ne ' stimul i , to explain religio­
1 983 , Sl, n ' 3 p a r t 2: 1 255- 1 262 , PERS INGER , M , A , , ' Peop l e who r � po r t r e l i g i ou s expe r i en c e s uy
mystical and paranormal experiences . ' 3 •1 4 •1 5 One can then wonder whether an a l so d i s p l ay enhanced tellpo r a l - l o b e s i gns ' , Perc�pt, Motor St i ll�, 1 984 , 58, n ' 3 : 9 63-97 5 , 15,
original geophysical process of ltJrge extent is needed to trigger off the .
PERS I NGER , M , A, , ' Pr open s i ty t o r e po r t p a r ano r m a l expe r i e n c e s 1s
c o r r e l a ted li l t h t e � po � a l
mechanism o f the 'UFO ' sighting .
l obe s i gns ' , Percept, l/lotor Stills, 1 98 4 , 5.9, n ' 2 : 583-586 , 6 , PERS I NGE R , M . A.
. .
!'.
, P r ed t c t t on .
of h i s t o r i c a l and c o n te11po r a r y l u11 i nos i ty < UF O > r e p o r ts by s e t s ll t c v a n a b l e s 111 t h t n \ties t e r n �