Greetings Earthlings Revisited: The Winchester Space Brothers

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[Part 2 of the reposted Greetings Earthlings archives. Originally posted on June 26th, 2007. See here.]

Where: Winchester, England
When: November, 1976
Witnesses: Ted Pratt & Joyce Bowles
Artist: Jennifer Cook

Introduction

Unlike Jean Hingley's hour-long ordeal in Rowley Regis, this encounter seems to have lasted but a matter of minutes. It caught my attention because, a) I was a postgraduate student in King Alfred's College, Winchester (not far from the location of the sighting), and, b) The account in Peter Hough's article "UFO Occupants" was accompanied by the wonderful illustration reproduced above.¹

Event

While driving along a narrow country lane one night Joyce Bowles and Ted Pratt (who were either a "middle-aged couple"² or, simply, "neighbours" depending on who you believe) noticed an orange glow in the sky. Moments later Joyce lost control of the car which proceeded to swerve onto the grass verge by the side of the road.

Ahead of them, hovering in the middle of the road, was a glowing, orange cigar-shaped object, approximately 5 metres long. Through the windows on the object's side three heads were visible, peering in their direction. As they watched (presumably terrified), one of the creatures exited the object and began walking towards the stalled car. Hough's account describes "him" as:

…about 1.8 m (6 feet) tall, slimly built, wearing a one-piece foil-like suit, with a zip which went up to his chin. He had long blond hair combed back from his forehead, but wore a dark beard; his complexion was pale.³

As he reached their Mini Clubman (fabulous cars, my mum used to have one) he placed a hand on the roof and (according to Joyce) "peered through the window at the dashboard controls". The two occupants then noticed that the creature's nose was "long and pointed", while his eyes were "pink – entirely pink, without irises or pupils". Joyce also recalled that as she turned her head away, "an after-image remained on her retina, similar to the effect of staring at a naked lamp".⁴

Hough doesn't provide the tale with an ending but an entry on Vreflect.com (whatever that is) obliges. According to that (rather odd) source the Mini's engine and headlights had conked out for the duration of the encounter. As soon as both returned to life the creature and the orange "craft" simply vanished. Our friends at Vreflect also point to a possible "Ley line" connection and illustrate their brief summary with an image that mixes the aesthetics of 50s "B-Movie" posters and Ladybird books to winning effect. I'm reluctant to reproduce it here (due to their scary-sounding, bottom-of-page prohibitions), but it's well worth a look.

Thoughts

As Peter Hough notes, glowing eyes "abound in the annals of historical folklore, attributed to black dogs and other supernatural entities".⁵ Patrick Harpur concurs, suggesting that "many daimonic animals might be mistaken for a natural species were it not for their glowing red eyes", a feature "we read about again and again".⁶ They are, indeed, quite prevalent in the 'otherworld' – adorning everything/everyone from Mothman, to The Owlman of Mawnan, to Spring-Heeled Jack (etc., etc). Why "glowing red eyes" should give us the heebie-jeebies to the extent that they undoubtedly do is a matter of debate, but (like the leering face at the window) they remain potent horror staples.

Interesting too to note how hirsute the dashboard-fixated alien was. In an era where smooth, baldy "Greys" rule the imaginative roost, it's worth remembering a time when (Nordic) "Space Brothers" wouldn't be caught dead without a shock of blond hair.

Returning to matters ocular…I'll leave the final word to Hough, who dryly states, that there appears to be "no biological reason why eyes should glow, although it does make the entities more 'scary'".⁷

No arguments here (as I rush to pull the curtains).

Addendum (01/08/2010)

Since I originally posted the above (3 years ago) an uploaded video has materialised showing Joyce & Ted telling and reliving their story (in inimitable style). Added juicy detail of a sinister phone call from London (and Mrs. Bowles' indignant and determined response to same) is delicious. It also appears Mr. Pratt was simply "a friend of the family". Enjoy.

Images

1. Hough, Peter, "UFO Occupants" in UFOs 1947-1987: The 40 Year Search for an Explanation, eds. Hilary Evans & John Spencer (London: Fortean Tomes, 1987), p. 129 [back]
2. Ibid., p. 128 [back]
3. Ibid [back]
4. Ibid. [back]
5. Hough, p. 128 [back]
6. Harpur, Patrick, Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld (Ravensdale, WA: 2003), p.273. [back]
7. Hough, p. 128 [back]

July 31, 2010

Posted in Greetings Earthlings and tagged 1976, Bearded, Blond, Cigar-Shaped Craft, England, Foil Suit, Glowing Eyes, One-Piece Suit, Pale, Pink Eyes, portholes.