1974, 27 octobre, Angleterre, Aveley, Essex
Le soir du 24 octobre 1974, John Day rentre en voiture avec sa femme Sue et ses enfants, près d’Aveley, dans l’Essex, en Grande-Bretagne II est près de 22 heures, la nuit est claire et il y a peu de circulation sur la petite route de campagne. John et Sue remarquent d’abord une lumière bizarre près de la route – un halo ovale, d’un bleu iridescent, comme une grosse étoile. Au sortir d’un virage, les Day se trouvent plongés dans un épais brouillard vert. Toutes les lumières du véhicule s’éteignent d’un coup. Un brouillard glacial pénètre à l’intérieur de l’habitacle qui subit des secousses violentes. Enfin, il s’immobilise. Quand le brouillard disparaît, les Day se trouvent à moins d’un kilomètre plus loin, mais il est une heure du matin. Trois heures se sont effacées de leur mémoire ! Le lendemain, tous les membres de la famille sont extrêmement fatigués. Trois ans plus tard, John lit un article sur les ovnis et décide de prendre contact avec un groupe local d’enquêteurs. Les Day acceptent une thérapie sous hypnose. Celle-ci révèle qu’ils ont bien été enlevés à bord d’un ovni. Des êtres de grande taille les entouraient, avec d’autres, plus petits. Ces derniers étaient très laids, avec une sorte de fourrure brune sur la tête et les mains, de grands yeux fendus, des oreilles pointues. Un appareil a inspecté tout le corps de John, qui a ressenti une sensation de picotement et de chaleur. Après l’examen médical, ils ont eu droit à quelques « explications ». On leur a fait une séance de projection, avec cartes d’étoiles, diagrammes, coupes de véhicules défilant à toute vitesse, puis ils ont vu une image holographique d’une planète – est-ce la Terre ? – en train de mourir, « ruinée par la pollution ». Soulignons que ce genre de vision dramatique est typique dans les témoignages d’enlèvement.
FSR VOL 23 N°6 & FSR VOL 24 N°1
The following information is sourced largely from renowned British Ufologist Andrew Collins’s report – The Aveley Abduction – compiled January 1978, along with other supporting online sources. At the time Collins called The Aveley Abduction “probably the most important British case ever” and it still gets heralded today as such by those in UFO research communities.
On late Sunday evening October 27th 1974, a run of the mill Essex family were driving a route between Harold Hill and Aveley to see relatives. The Avis family, consisting of John, aged 32, his wife, Elaine, aged 28, and their three children: Kevin, aged 10, Karen, aged 11, and Stuart, aged 7, were on Hacton Lane about one mile out from Hornchurch with, for them, the roads noticeably quiet even for a Sunday night.
Elaine recalled the car jerking violently as the mist curled around the car at a point in the journey, it was Kevin, the only one of the children awake, who asked his parents about a light he could see above the country lane houses.
Collins reports, “Glancing round, both John and Elaine saw, at an angle of about 25 degrees – 30 degrees above the skyline, an oval-shaped, pale blue iridescent light, like a big star, over the top of the houses to their left”.
The family remembered that this “big star” seemed to be travelling in the same direction as the car, stopping and starting as it moved. The light seemed to “stay with them” but for periods where rows of trees on the country lanes would obscure the view, at which times in the early stages they would relax, thinking it may have gone. At first, John and Elaine thought it might be a helicopter light, but it was not long before the family began referring to it as a UFO.
The Avis family cleared the last of the houses, venturing into open countryside, eventually passing the White Hart pub. They were approaching country lanes near Upminster at about 30mph when they had a “terrible feeling that something was wrong”. Suddenly, the engine and tyres went silent and the only sound that could be heard was from their radio. Then, as they went through a bend on Aveley Road, they could see, no more than 30 yards in front of them and covering the whole road, a thick mist, or fog, described as “dense green and banked about 8-9 feet high”.
Just as the mist was seen by the Avis family, the radio started crackling and smoking, causing John to pull out its wires. Then they were engulfed by the fog, still travelling around 30mph.
Elaine recalled the car jerking violently as the mist curled around the car. With two children asleep and Kevin awake, John and Elaine recall it was “very light” inside the fog and that they “felt very cold”. A tingling sensation was felt, and there was dead silence. They recall being in the mist for “what seemed like a second or two” before they were out.
There was a jolt described as “like a car going over a hump back bridge” and the “mist” was gone. Elaine remembered asking “is everybody there?” with herself and John both feeling very nervous and frightened, although no ill effects were remembered and the two children aside from Kevin still asleep. The couple don’t recall talking a large amount about what had happened and the situation instead provoked a “let’s just get home” atmosphere. The couple expected it to be around 10:20pm when they arrived home, but it was 1am, leaving around three hours the couple could not account for.
The family reported unnerving incidents around the family home after the encounter including an object levitating There were noticeable changes in the family following the incident, Collins reports. Before Christmas that year John had a nervous breakdown and stopped working, before later taking on a job working with mentally handicapped people, something he had wanted to do for years. The job “fell into his lap”, a different direction from his usual carpentry and construction work; he would also begin writing poems about life. Elaine started attending college and reportedly grew in confidence.
Additionally, John & Elaine stopped eating meat and became far more health conscious in their nutrition, with the taste of meat/fish now making them ill. And whereas before the incident they would “enjoy a good drink”, the couple would now not touch a drop of alcohol. The couple reportedly also became very environmentally conscious, with John also quitting his “60 to 70 a day” smoking habit. Kevin’s reading age at school reportedly was “well beyond his years” whereas prior to the incident it had been reported as “backwards of his age”. The family reported unnerving incidents around the family home after the encounter including an object levitating, “clicking noises” and the sound of “Morse code”, and young Kevin reportedly seeing a strange figure beside his bed on one occasion, similar in looks to that of a clown.
When questioned by Collins, both John & Elaine would admit to strange dreams in which creatures would examine them on long tables and other visions of that ilk. At this point, Collins sought hypnotist Leonard Wilder to query the couple’s subconscious and see if these dreams were masking real abduction memories.
John was first to agree to hypnosis while Elaine declined preferring to try and move on and “forget it” instead. It was decided hypnotising Kevin was not an option due to his age and the impression any memories may leave. John, the first under hypnosis, began to remember that as the car entered the mist, he found himself in a big room with tall “peaceful” beings, in one-piece colourless suits. John recalled that they had pink eyes and communicated by telepathy. They put him on a table and ran a bar like instrument over his body.
He asked where they came from; they showed him “a map but not a map”, and gave an explanation of which he could only remember “Phobos”. They travel, he was told, almost instantaneously. They explained how but he could not understand. A small being was present at the table; it had fur-like covering and made chirping sounds; it served the tall beings.
Leonard Wilder remarked to Andrew Collins that John was an excellent subject for hypnosis, and a second session was arranged. In the second session John remembered that when the car entered the mist, a white beam cut through it, and lifted the car. The next thing he knew was that they were in a very large room. Here, an “examiner,” “smaller than us,” with big eyes and a mouth “not like ours” examined him.
The tall beings had no visible mouths. John understood that their propulsion system used a magnetic “vortex”, though he had begun to mutter somewhat incoherently his responses at this point. He encountered only three of the tall beings, and only one communicated with him. When John was asked the reason for the beings visit to earth, he replied, “No visit. They are here always.” Asked where they came from, he said “There was no need for them to say,” and that they have no need to return home; “they have more than one base,” he said.
After being brought out of hypnosis, he said that at this point he felt prevented from saying anything more (following questioning surrounding the beings origin). My understanding is that the sessions were stopped there as memories came flooding back naturally outside of hypnosis. Collins reports to have kept in touch with the family and that John & Elaine would later separate with the former moving to Scotland to live with a new partner. End
This case is still spoken of frequently in UFO circles: Andrew Collins did a very accurate report at the time and since; but there have been a number of articles subsequently written by others that are way off mark to say the least; for instance, contrary to some reports the witness is neither « uneducated » nor « unskilled »; far from it in fact.
People seem to forget that John was an actual abductee and he reported what he believed took place; it was truly a life-changing event for him.
John has explained that he would like to be more involved with the UFO scene but every time he tries to do so, strange things seem to happen around him and his family.
His encounter led to a whole catalogue of events which even he still finds hard to understand.
The Aveley Abduction by Brent Raynes
On October 27, 1974, an East London family had a strange experience. It was late at night, around 10 p.m., when the young married couple with their three children in the car (two asleep and one awake) noticed an odd looking oval-shaped pale-blue irridescent light some 25-30 degrees over the eastern horizon. It appeared to be traveling in the same direction as their car, seemingly “stopping and starting.” At first the couple speculated that it was possibly a helicopter, but within a short time they were both calling it a UFO. The husband remarked more than once on the lack of other traffic. They seemed to be the only ones traveling on this night.
The mysterious object seemed to be an estimated 500 yards distance (or no further away), although some direction changes and a higher elevation level on the horizon were noticed. The family was a short ways outside of Aveley, in Essex, when they were entering a bend in the road at about 30 miles an hour, passing a block of four terraced houses on the right, when something felt terribly wrong. All of a sudden, the engine and tires went silent. The only sound they heard was from the radio. Then as they were driving through the bend in the road, no more than 30 yards ahead of them, there was a dense green “mist” or “fog” covering the road up to a height of about 8-9 feet. Just as the “fog” was seen the car radio began crackling and smoking. The man went ahead and pulled out the wires. Then the headlights went out.
Still traveling at 30 m.p.h., the car entered the green mist. The wife remembered the car violently jerking at this point. The couple had seen fog different times in their lives, but this green “fog” seemed very different from anything that they had ever experienced previously. In addition, it seemed very light inside the “fog,” they felt very cold (the windows were rolled up), and they recalled a tingling sensation and remarked on the curious dead silence.
Next things seemed a little hazy. The couple couldn’t even remember for sure if the car was still moving. It seemed as though they were only in the mist for a second or two, then there was a jolt “like a car going over a hump back bridge,” and the “fog” was gone. At this point the driver realized that they were about a half mile further up the road. The coldness was gone and the car was functioning fine, except of course the radio still remained unwired.
When they returned home, the husband rewired the radio, checked the headlines, and then the two still sleeping children were carried into the house. The wife then noticed the time. Expecting the clock to read about 10:20 p.m., it instead read about 1 a.m.! They were disturbed that some three hours had passed for which they could not account for.
Ufologist Andrew Collins, who learned about this case in August 1977 and initiated his first investigation of this family’s experiences beginning on the 15th of that month, would later drive this very same route from Harold Hill to Aveley, and it took him exactly 22 minutes to drive the nine miles distance.
This case became a very important one, and one which offered Andrew many significant insights into the deeper and more complex implications of the so-called “abduction” phenomenon. In a report that was compiled in January 1978 on behalf of the UFO Investigators’ Network (UFOIN) and published in England’s prestigious Flying Saucer Review, Andrew wrote: “Never before have we been able to present a fully documented account of an abduction, a car teleportation, and an important contact case all rolled into one…in Great Britain.” Andrew considered this “probably the most important British case ever.”
Andrew described the family as “a very normal, simple, and warm” family of Aveley, Essex. They were John, then 32, his wife Elaine, age 28, and their three children: Kevin, 10; Karen, 11; and Stuart, 7. Though John had left school at the age of 15, Andrew described him as a very intelligent and creative person who had worked many different jobs over the years, mostly carpentry and construction, but also spent many evenings as a radio disc jockey. “He expresses points very effectively and has a vast vocabulary, although keeping his typical Londoner-type personality, i.e. accent, humor and views,” Andrew wrote. “He says he dislikes officialdom, snobbery and the rich.”
His wife Elaine, on the other hand, was described as very quiet, left school at age 16 to become an accountant, then married John and became a full-time housewife and mother. They appeared to be very credible people.
After Effects?
Notable personality changes occurred with all members of the family following the green “fog” incident. Particularly with John and Elaine. Shortly after the incident John suffered a nervous breakdown, for which there existed no apparent cause. This occurred sometime before Christmas of 1974, and caused him to stop working, which he did until September 1975, when a job working with mentally handicapped people “fell into his lap.” This had been something he had wanted to do for years, and he now felt very confident of himself. Then he resigned in July 1977 after a disagreement with the management, at which time he began working for himself “creating things,” and hoping to embark upon a career in which he would teach arts and crafts. Since November 1974, John began writing lots of poems about life, written “on the spur of the moment.”
In the meantime, Elaine had become much more self confident, and beginning in September 1975 attended college, something she had wanted to do for years. Kevin, the child who had been awake during the UFO/fog incident, and was also the first one to spot the mysterious light, suddenly began to improve in his reading ability, in fact soon was “way ahead of his reading age,” whereas previously he had been backward in his reading at school. Additionally, John, Elaine, Kevin and Karen all stopped eating meats and got to where they couldn’t even stand the smell of it. John and Elaine had tried on different occasions to eat fish and meat, but the taste made them ill. They also began eating health foods to some extent, and avoiding foods with preservatives, colorings, flavoring, etc.
While before the incident John and Elaine enjoyed “a good drink” they hardly ever, as of January 1978, touch alcohol. John and Elaine also became very environmental minded and expressed great concern over how we are abusing our natural environment.
John used to smoke some 60 to 70 cigarettes a day, but before Christmas 1974 he gave up smoking completely, and now hates the smell of cigarettes.
Strange Events since the initial incident
Shortly after the UFO/fog encounter, John and Elaine began to often notice three certain cars following them around. A small red “sports” looking car, a blue jaguar, and a large white car (Ford Executive?). All of them had darkened windows.
Paranormal events also manifested themselves. At about 7 p.m., on December 13, 1977, John and Elaine were watching television, when a large portable radio sitting on top of the TV set rose into the air about three inches, and then dropped back down. Later that same evening the entire family was gathered in front of the TV when the handle on the door leading to the hall outside turned slowly as if someone was opening it. Then it shot back to its original position.
Twice the back door of the house, normally kept locked, forcefully flew open. The second time this happened a smell like lavender filled the room. Anomalous humming noises, “clicking” sounds and even “morse code” type sounds were occasionally heard inside and outside their home.
In October 1977, Andrew was visiting John and Elaine and ended up staying the night as it was very late and a thick fog had set in. He slept on the sofa, but during the night was awakened by what sounded like pots and pans being banged together in the kitchen. It had really shaken Andrew up. The commotion had lasted for only a few seconds. Instead of going into the kitchen to investigate, he remained under the sheets. Andrew wrote: “Suddenly I felt a very strange sensation in my feet: it gradually moved up my whole body and over my head. It was a very stimulating and soothing feeling that soon passed away. Then the sensation was felt again in my feet, and again it moved up through my body to my head. Once more it faded and went. This feeling left me really at ease and peaceful, whereas before I had been very frightened after hearing the banging.”
I e-mailed Andrew about that personal incident, to which he replied in a recent message dated July 8th, 2006: “It was an instant calming effect that started in the toes and moved very quickly up to my head. I went from being genuinely frightened to being in a state of relaxation in seconds. Very odd indeed, and not something I have experienced since.”
Young Kevin recalled seeing a strange man, apparently dressed in white, standing at the side of his bed. He said that he looked like a clown. John had recalled two experiences with ghost-type apparitions back in his childhood. In both instances, John described seeing a small boy that would suddenly disappear before his startled eyes.
The incident of October 27, 1974, was not the first and only UFO encounter described by this family. The first episode had occurred while John and Elaine were courting, perhaps around 1965-1966. They were at a seaside resort in Essex, located at Walton-on-the-Naze. They were strolling along the seafront when out over the ocean they spotted a large “flat” star-like thing flying erratically. “It was stopping, looping the loop, and darting across the sky,” Andrew wrote. “It was in view for about 10 minutes before it shot off out to sea. At least 10-15 other people had been watching it.”
Then in 1968, John was a passenger in a car with three others riding down M1 Motorway outside of London when a “large bluish-white light” headed towards them. Andrew wrote: “…the brake lights of the car in front intensified then went out. After which the car appeared to be slowing down and John presumed the engine had cut. Then the lights and engine of the car John was travelling in, also cut. They then hit the car in front, and that consequently hit a car in front of that, whose lights and engine had also cut! All drivers left their cars and chatted together, then decided to call the police. In the confusion the light was ignored and presumably disappeared.”
Sometime just before or just after the 1974 incident, John was driving along Aveley Road (the road of the UFO/fog encounter) around 8:30 a.m. when he happened to glance up through his windshield and noticed an airliner in the clear sky above. However, John was quite amazed to notice that behind and above the airliner a large cylindrical looking object, seemingly twice the size of the plane, appeared to be keeping pace with it. Then suddenly the mysterious object shot away and was lost from sight.
Then on October 7, 1977, the family was traveling from their home in Aveley to Walton- on-the-Naze, along A12 between Gallows Corner and Brentwood, when they noticed a large bluish “star-like “ light moving through the sky in a similar direction as their car. “This light kept in view on the left-hand side of the car until they almost reached Colchester, some 40-50 miles from where they had first seen it,” Andrew wrote in his report. “During this time the object changed speed and height and at one point was just above tree top level, at which point they could make out that it was oval in shape. Also at this point the car radio crackled and eventually the station was lost. The car’s lights and engine also acted oddly at this point. Eventually the light climbed high into the sky and was seen to disappear in front of them at an incredible speed.”
“Abduction” memories
John and Elaine had been asked if they had had any unusual, recurring dreams. John remembered something about being operated on (or “something similar”) by “small ugly” beings that resembled “gnomes.” He also remembered from the dream state something about “tests” being carried out on him. Elaine recalled a “dream” wherein she was laying on a flat wide table, feeling as if she could neither move nor speak, while standing nearby was a being of small stature in a white coat. Suspecting that these “dreams” might be masking real abduction memories or something of potential significance, Andrew Collins initiated an effort to locate a hypnotist, and soon had lined up Dr. Leonard Wilder, a dental surgeon. The first session was set up for September 25, 1977.
“Abduction” memories
John and Elaine had been asked if they had had any unusual, recurring dreams. John remembered something about being operated on (or “something similar”) by “small ugly” beings that resembled “gnomes.” He also remembered from the dream state something about “tests” being carried out on him. Elaine recalled a “dream” wherein she was laying on a flat wide table, feeling as if she could neither move nor speak, while standing nearby was a being of small stature in a white coat. Suspecting that these “dreams” might be masking real abduction memories or something of potential significance, Andrew Collins initiated an effort to locate a suitably qualified hypnotist, and soon had lined up Dr. Leonard Wilder, a dental surgeon. The first session was set up for September 25, 1977.
John later admitted to Andrew that he came close to backing out of the hypnosis session. In addition to the hypnotist, Dr. Leonard Wilder, this first session was also attended by Dr. Bernard Finch, acting as a medical adviser, and noted UFO researcher Gordon Creighton, present as an observer and a consultant, as well as Andrew and another researcher named Barry King. John was successfully hypnotized, but not actually or fully regressed. He recalled various scenes or images, like the strange image of a man with an Arabian looking headdress holding a circular red light, with hills or mountains behind him, and the consciously remembered events, but seemingly in more detail, leading up to the missing time (i.e., the radio being on fire, the green “mist” all around the car, the white beam, etc.).
The second hypnosis session was conducted on October 2, 1977. John was described as more relaxed this time. He now knew what to expect. The hypnotist and those present remained the same, except for the absence of Barry King. During this session several interesting details emerged. John described tall peaceful seeming beings in one piece suits, with pink eyes, wearing like hoods. Also a grey looking room, laying on a table and submitting to some unusual kind of examination apparently.
John stated: “They said they need us…as hosts, and they know how, and they…help…and they (mumbles) and they are us.” Dr. Wilder asked John to explain what this meant, but John replied, “Won’t let me.” He became silent for over a minute. Then a different question was asked.
The third hypnotic session was conducted on October 16, 1977. This time John had persuaded Elaine to come as an observer. Others present from before continued to be in attendance, in addition to Creighton’s son, Philip.
Dr. Wilder did an age regression on John, going back through his childhood, stopping at ages 10, 6, 3 and then 1. Next he went back in time when John was someone else. He stated that he was Jim Bayliss, ploughing a field. The year was 1640. “The most amazing thing was that he was speaking in a very, very broad country dialect,” Andrew wrote.
Then John was directed to relive the green mist incident. Speaking once again in his normal London accent, John described tall beings, about 6 foot 6 inches tall, with no visible mouths, and a smaller being he called an “examiner” who “operated the machine” that seemed to scan his body. He had apparent difficulty at this time in remembering this entity’s appearance. He also described what he was told about the ship’s propulsion system, that it was “very complicated” but had something to do with “ion magnetic” energy and something called a “vortex,” or something similar.
Dr. Wilder asked John what the purpose of their visit was, and John stated, “No visit, they are here always.” Then John was asked why they were here, and he said, “To observe and to lead…through observation.” Then John was asked where their bases were and John fell silent, stating later that he had been blocked from saying more.
After this third session Dr. Wilder expressed the opinion that no further hypnotic regression sessions seemed necessary. It was being noted that more details were emerging and being remembered following the hypnosis sessions than were being recalled during them.
Andrew wrote in his report in England’s Flying Saucer Review: “It seemed that the more we talked together on the subject the more information would be released. As Elaine put it: ‘It’s like if you hit the right note, the flood gates will open.’”
That evening, on the drive home, Elaine remarked that she was suddenly hit with an urge to paint a figure wearing a headdress, with a city behind him and with hills in the background. Andrew asked John if he had told Elaine about the similar image he had described to them earlier under hypnosis, and John insisted that he had not. Andrew then instructed them both to later separately draw what they saw, and noted afterwards the results were “almost identical.”
By mid-December 1977, a great deal of information had seemingly surfaced from John and Elaine’s subconscious memories about the encounter.
John’s memories…
John remembers how in the beginning the car became completely engulfed in a mysterious dense green “fog” or “mist.” Then there was a white “shaft” of light that pierced through the fog. At first it was about six feet in front of the car, and about 3-4 feet in diameter, and then it quickly moved towards the car, growing progressively wider, until within seconds the “shaft” of light seemed to have latched somehow onto the automobile and John then feels an upward ascent. Then he blacks out, and the next thing he remembers is being on like a balcony with a railing in front of him, looking down at a lower level, approximately 15 feet higher than the car, with the car an estimated 50-60 feet distance. The car appears to be inside of like a large “hanger,” and inside the car he sees a man with his head over the steering wheel, and a woman next to him whose head laid back, both seemingly unconscious. John has the strong impression that he’s actually somehow looking at himself and his family!
As he watches this scene, some sort of “panel” closes in front of the car. John then notices an entity, approximately 6 feet and 8 inches in height behind him. Standing next to him is his wife Elaine, and possibly their son Kevin. Then John and the entity move off to John’s left and soon they are inside of a room with a table that has lights over it. The entity then touches John’s left shoulder and he passes out. When John comes to he finds himself laying on the table.
Above his head, he sees what he describes as a “scan” type of apparatus about 18 inches over him, supported by two circular rods, one on each side of him. The “scan” device is rectangular shaped, 30-36 inches in length, about 3 inches in width, and perhaps 1 _ inches thick. The underside of it has a kind of honeycomb shaped design and a faint glow. The device takes about one minute to pass over his body. John notices as it does this that he feels a warm tingling sensation on the area being apparently scanned.
Then John is aware of three tall entities to his right and two small ugly looking ones to his left. The smaller ones he calls “examiners,” and as the “scan” device moves over him, one examiner puts a pen-type instrument on various areas of his body. The instrument, about 8 inches in length and _ inch in diameter, never actually touches the skin. It is kept about _ distance, while the part close to the skin generates an intense white light. Again there is a warm tingling sensation associated with this activity.
The “examiner” being stands about four foot tall and wears a white gown. The gown reaches to the floor and has long loose sleeves that are drawn at the cuffs. The being has no apparent neck, is slightly hunched over, with bushy brown hair (or “fur”) covering its whole head and hands, with large slanted triangular eyes, light brown nose or “beak”, a slit for the mouth, and pointed, slanted back ears. Its hairy hands looked large, with only four digits seen on each hand, with claws or long nails. Heavy set, these beings walked awkwardly and made occasional gutteral chirps.
The table looked to be about six feet long, 2 feet and 6 inches wide, and 3 feet and 6 inches above the floor. The surface seemed soft, with small “bubbles,” and like most things inside the craft seemed grey in color.
While on the table John was unable to move. After the “scan” stopped John asked the tall entities if he could get up. “Sit there for a while,” he recalls he was told, but was startled to realize that they didn’t speak the words. It was a strong mental impression. Shortly though he got up and the “examiners” left the room. Then he notices that he’s wearing a one piece garment, similar to what the tall entities are wearing. He also takes in his surroundings, and notes that the room is oval shaped, perhaps 20 feet in length, 12 feet in width, and about 7-8 feet high. Everything looks to be perfectly smooth like the inside of a bubble. Other than the table and two overhead lights, no other furniture seems to be in the room.
John also notices that the taller entities look to be 6 foot 6 inches tall, except the “leader” who seems to be some 2 inches taller. They all seem to be wearing a one piece suit made of material resembling lurex or synthetic felt that even covers their hands and feet and forms a “balaclava” over their heads. They have two eyes, slightly larger than ours, with pink irises and “creamy” eyeballs. No nose or mouth seems obviously visible, and John suspects that they may be wearing masks. They also seem to have only three fingers on each hand and their skin looks very pale. In fact, almost transparent. The entities also make John think of a “bendy toy” or “blow up doll” as they don’t seem to have joints in their arms or legs, yet walk gracefully but with no long strides. During his entire onboard encounter, the tallest entity was the only being that John had direct contact with.
John asked these beings what they did when they went outside of their ship. He was told that they used a visor, which then was shown to him. John compared it to a welder’s visor in appearance. He recalls being given this explanation: “We find this unfortunate (the use of the visor) because we see through your eyes for most purposes. There are many occasions when we cannot find suitable eyes, so we use the visor to change your lights to match our optic nerves.”
John then asked why there were no colors inside of the craft. He recalls being told: “For you there are no colors but for us there are. Because of the structure of our optic unit the light we receive is reacted to in a way different to that in which your optic nerves operate. The conditions are controlled in our favor and that is why you see what you see.”
John then requested to be able to look around the ship and was indeed given a tour. They walked up to a wall whereupon an oval shaped hole about seven feet tall and three feet wide opened up. John and the three tall entities walked down a “connecting” tunnel a short ways to another room. With couches and a table near a wall, John felt it was a leisure room. The room was similar in size to the one they had just been in. Then they were in another tunnel and next entered what resembled a laboratory, where they explained that they did “research.”
After awhile they went up a vertical tube into a larger room, what John knew had to be the control room. Four more tall beings were seated at a crescent shaped unit with panels along its top surface. The beings had their backs to John, and appeared to be busy working controls, passing their hands above some sort of instrumentation.
John was ushered over to a couch where he laid down. It was comfortable, covered with miniature air cushions, and about six feet long. Some 18 inches above his head was a dish-shaped object some 15-16 inches in diameter. Soon a single dimensional picture, some 5 feet long and 2 feet and a half high, was projected on the wall in front of him. Over the next few minutes he was shown hundreds of images, pictures of plans, maps, drawings, and charts, all in a rapid fire fashion. Object overhead seemed to supply “verbal accompaniment,” narration for the images. When John complained that it was all “going too fast,” he was told, “Don’t worry, it is all being remembered by your mind.”
John doesn’t consciously remember much about what he was shown, but stated that he did recognize a map of our solar system, and recognized Saturn “because of its rings.” During this time he remembers hearing the word “Phobos”, and admitted that he didn’t know then that Phobos was the smallest satellite of Mars.
John was then led to a darker area of the control room where a hologram was projected. He observed a complex of pointed grey metallic looking cones protruding from an alien landscape, with mountains or hills behind them. He was told that this was how their planet looked in its last years after it had been ruined by pollution and natural problems. In front of this scene a figure could be seen. Wearing a hooded robe, the figure looked very old, had pink eyes, and held a round object that glowed red and yellow. John was asked to touch this object. When he did he felt some sort of strange sensation moving up his arm. He felt that it had something to do with their planet’s energy, though he couldn’t recall being given an explanation. He did state that he felt privileged to have seen this. Then the “leader” told him that it was time to leave but that they would meet again one day. Then soon he finds himself back behind the wheel of the car, and soon he’s moving down the road again.
Elaine’s memories…
Elaine and John’s memories dovetail quite precisely in many respects. Elaine also recalls the green fog or mist, the white beam of light, feeling the ascent, and blacking out. Then she finds herself on a balcony standing next to John and looking down at a hanger looking area. She remembers seeing the car, with John, herself and Kevin standing in front of it. And, if she remembers correctly, Kevin was also standing near her on the balcony. Then she was led away, recalls descending a short distance, and a hole appeared in the wall. Behind it were two “examiners” (her description matches those of John’s) and she was led into the room. Kevin however was taken away against her will by a tall entity and an examiner to another part of the room out of view. Elaine was led then to a flat table and made to lay down and a strap was put across her legs and arms. As she struggled two “examiners” began conducting tests, one doing the testing while the other assisted. With a kind of “pen,” about 4 inches in length and 3/4 inches in diameter, her whole body was examined, beginning with her feet. The interior of the “pen” glowed with a purple color, which seemed to change in luminosity. Little by little the examination procedure continued until they reached her head. Particular attention seemed focused on her left side around where her kidney would have been.
The “examiners” seemed to be humming or singing like to themselves during the procedure. Continuing to struggle and still very scared, one tall entity advised her that they couldn’t do anything with her like this, and so a tall entity then approached her and placed a middle finger on her forehead and the two others on the outsides of her eyes, during which she passed out.
After awhile Elaine came to and noticed that the straps had been removed. Nonetheless, she was unable to move. She then noticed that she was wearing a long gown with a tight hood rather like those worn by the tall entities. The material looked almost transparent and resembled crinkly cellophane.
Next Elaine recalls walking down corridors with walls covered in honeycomb design. She was accompanied by 2 or 3 of the tall entities. At one point, she noticed John in his one piece suit walking in the opposite direction with two other entities. Neither of them acknowledged the other.
Soon she too found herself inside what she recognized as a “control room.” She was led across the room to another entity that was seated. The being swung around in his seat and faced her, took her hand and helped her up to a seat at his level. “That wasn’t too bad was it,” Elaine believes the being said. “It was nothing to fuss about.” At this point, Elaine realized that they weren’t “speaking” to her. She was puzzled, and felt even more uneasy.
After awhile the entity asked another being standing nearby to “play her some music.” Elaine described how the tall entity began to twiddle its hands slowly and she heard a soothing sound, a sound that made her think of a high-pitched harp. She wasn’t sure how the music was being produced but noticed that once finished she did feel relaxed. Around about this time the entity seemed to sense Elaine’s concern for her children, turned to her and said: “Your children are safe. You value your children. We do not reproduce. We do not have children. We reproduce through you. You are our children.”
Later Elaine was led across the control room to a dark area where she was told to lie down on a couched area and watch the screen. Over her head was a dish shaped device with a concave octagonal shaped inside. Elaine was also shown many maps, charts, pictures and drawings. Se described the experience as like “having the contents of an encyclopedia pumped into one’s head all in one go.” The images flashed on and off very quickly. She only remembered one, a star chart that she recognized as showing our solar system, but instead of the traditional nine planets there were eleven! Then the screen went blank, and Elaine was led to another area where John and Kevin were also. This was the holographic experience it seems that John had also described. She remembers how the entity explained: “This is the seed of life, our past and your future, our whole existence. Accept this from us for yourself, your children and your fellow kind.” Elaine saw John and Kevin already touching the mysterious ball as she was being told to do it also. So she did, and then the “leader” told her it was time to leave, but that she would see them again.
Soon the family appeared to be in the hanger area again, standing on like a catwalk that circled around the car. The catwalk appeared to be some 4-6 feet higher than the car. Between the catwalk and the car were layers of several steps. The car was also facing the opposite direction it had originally been in, and was sloping downwards. The “leader” appeared and the entity who had played the music as well. Elaine believes she heard the “music man” refer to the “leader” as Lyra, and heard the “leader” call the “music man” something like Ceres. Both entities said goodbye to Elaine. She looked at the car and the children were already inside and John was about to get in.
As she stood there taking this in, she feels that she may have given the impression of being reluctant to leave as she was told that she could stay if she wanted to. She felt though that they didn’t really mean it, and figured later that they were simply testing her. But as she stood there the car “fizzled” away, dematerializing through the wall, and as this was happening the room became very bright. When the car had completely disappeared, Elaine began to worry. She was told not to worry though, that she could catch up. Then she saw the car traveling along the road around a wooded area and then found herself getting into the vehicle as it was still moving. Shutting the door she noticed that the interior light was on. The car experienced some kind of jolt, and Elaine looked around and asked if everyone was in the vehicle.
Though descriptions of the tall entities and “examiners” tallied very precisely with John and Elaine, their descriptions of the examination rooms varied considerably, though both described a “pen” type device attached to wires, but related differences in size and color. Both told of a control room, how they were shown maps, drawings and charts on a screen, and also experienced an incredible hologram.
John asked if they had any computers to which they seemed amused and replied that they had an organic computer which could control the craft when required. In addition, they explained, they could link their minds directly with this computer if needed, bypassing the use of manual control.
The entities also explained that they had their own system of communication, but that when conversing with humans they could somehow pick our words from out of our minds and redirect them to form a communications link with us. Presumably they possess no language or vocabulary themselves, but function on an emotional level, and can somehow process the equivalent of a thousand of our words in a fraction of a second. In addition, when they first make contact with a human they will allegedly scan that brain for emotional acceptance. They even reportedly admitted that they could then project an image acceptable to ones emotional level.
Andrew again recalls this case in his book Alien Energy, adding that John came to conclude that he and his family never actually physically were onboard a real spacecraft. He feels it was an alien contact, but it was in “some form of astral domain,” and that the alien intelligence responsible could convey their knowledge and ideas in a way that would be acceptable. He called them the Watchers, presumably an alien race of great stature who formerly inhabited our planet long ago. Andrew wrote: “I therefore find it intriguing that in European occultism the term eggregori, Greek for Watchers, was the name given to balls of etheric light that watched over the affairs of mankind. Perhaps John might have been closer to the truth than he could ever have imagined.”
Recent Notes on this case from Andrew Collins
Though initially the pseudonyms of John and Elaine Avis were used, I learned in an email from Andrew Collins on July 2, 2006 that their real names were John and Sue Day. When I met Andrew while he was visiting Dr’s Greg and Lora Little at their home in Memphis, Tenn., on June 10th, we discussed this fascinating case. As we had been talking about shamanic elements of similarity with UFO contact situations, Andrew told me how these witnesses had nightly OOBEs that he had found similar to what shaman’s described. I asked him about it and in this email he wrote me: “…it is true that the sometimes nightly journeys of John and Sue Day, where they went to some kind of collective consciousness somewhere out there in the universe in order to communicate with the Watchers, the perpetrators of their abduction, mirrored exactly the experiences of shamans achieving similar astral journeys. In their case they believed they went to the sky-world, or a place of light, where the souls of the ancestors resided. Yet the contact is more-or-less the same, even though abductees almost always achieve their altered states of consciousness without the use of stimulants or sensory deprivation.”
In an email dated July 8th I learned additional details. Andrew wrote: “The couple split up many years ago, as they both entered separate lives. The wife, Sue, ended up becoming a pagan witch and midwife who served the Allies in Iraq during the first Gulf War. …John has many strange dreams, but generally things have calmed down over the years. He is still psychic, and very much in tune with the environment. He is a sculptor, artist and maker of child’s doll houses and lives a reclusive life with his second wife in the wilds of Scotland. He still doesn’t drink any alcohol either.”
“The family are very credible, and what is important is that they have always attempted to analyze what happened from a grounded perspective, suggesting even that the whole thing had been an astral experience after they all entered the green mist.
“In my opinion, the whole incident happened instantaneously for the family and car, but outside usual space-time for the rest of the world, leaving them with a three hour time loss.
“I am sure I could eventually work out that something like this is possible on a quantum level, using Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity.”
I asked Andrew to describe his apparitional experience at John and Sue’s home back in 1977, which he related in an email dated July 14, 2006:
“Myself and Barry King would camp round at the Day’s home every Friday night to see whether any paranormal phenomena might occur, and sometimes it did. You know about the pots and pans episode [described last issue editor]. Another night John, Barry and I sat up chatting until the early hours. So as not to disturb his wife, Sue, who was asleep, John remained with Barry and I as we bedded down for the night. John and Barry were in sleeping bags on the floor, and I was on the sofa.
“I slept, and was then awoken around seven o’clock that morning by the sound of the door handle moving behind my head, at which I craned my neck to see in the dawn light the door opening just feet away. I thought that John or Barry had got to the toilet upstairs, and were returning to the room. A tall silhouetted figure stood momentarily in the doorway, before moving quickly out of sight as if walking away. It was at that moment that I glanced on to the floor and saw that both John and Barry were clearly present and both fast asleep.
“I became slightly anxious, but assumed that the person had to be Sue, the only other adult in the house. This was despite that no sound of anyone going up the stairs followed the figure’s disappearance, and these were right by the door. It could not have gone anywhere else as it had stood in the house’s tiny reception area, which leads only onto the stairs.
“It was then that very suddenly and unexpectedly I was engulfed by an extremely pungent smell like rotten eggs, which stifled me, and then instantly I fell back to sleep and woke up around 10 o’clock.
“The whole thing eventually came back to me, and I recounted what had happened. Sue assured me that she had not come down at all, which made sense as the figure was in my opinion male. Moreover, Sue is quite short.
“It was definitely no one in the house, and an intruder can be ruled out as the doors to the outside would have been locked (they almost always are in Britain). The strangest aspect was the pungent smell, which we know is associated very strongly with UFO entity cases.
“The person/entity was unquestionably physical, and not etheric.”
FSR-1978-V-23-N-6