The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 16-Oct-54-Livry-sur-Seine.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper L'Est Républicain for October 18, 1954, spoke of the appearance of a vagabond, poacher or "Martian," a "strange being, half-man and half-ape", according to the testimony of two farmer women from Livry-sur-Seine in the Seine-et-Marne department.
They were walking in the woods of Uzelles, on the afternoon of Saturday October 16, 1954, when they saw a strange being lying across a path. They were scared but nevertheless watched him closely enough to describe it:
The size of a man, the body covered with abundant hair of brown color, a round and hairy head, no ears, very sharp eyes.
The women said:
"He waved his arm to us twice, but as we weren't reassured, we didn't dare to walk past him and we made a detour of nearly two kilometers to avoid him."
Two children who were with them also gave their testimony.
Alerted farmers took their hunting rifles and searched the place but to no avail.
The newspaper noted the absence of the "craft" of this "Martian", other newspapers noted that the brown hair indicated that it was not impossible that the "Martian" was a banal orang-utang escaped from a zoo.
In 1956, the pioneer ufologist Aimé Michel, in an article published in a US saucerist bulletin, spoke of the affair, assuring that it was a "landing" even though there had been no "craft", that there were "however no traces and only two witnesses", without saying anything about the description of the very "unextraterrestrial" appearance of the being.
Rare summaries of the case, spmetimes all the same a bit more complete that Michel's, appeared later in the ufology literature.
After publication of this file, where I obviously explained the case as "mistake, vagabond", giving the obvious reasons, ufologist Dominique Caudron also held this explanation, but found out four more Press sources of the time.
The story there is similar to that of L'Est Républicain, but sometimes gives more details, such as the witnesses names.
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
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Paris. -- The flying saucers continue their infernal round, but it seems that the French are not alone any more about "celestial visions". The majority of the news relating to the mysterious machines came indeed from Italy during the weekend.
It is the testimony of two farm woman of the Livry-sur-Seine (the Seine-and-Marne) which must however hold the attention in the first place. It is interesting in the sense that they saw a "Martian", but no craft...
They walked in the wood of Uzelles, Saturday afternoon, when they saw a strange being laying across a path. In spite of their fright, they took the time to look at him close enough to give a description.
He had the size of a man, but his body was covered with abundant hairs of chestnut color. He had a round and hairy head, but no ears and excessively sharp eyes.
"He made a gesture to us with his arm twice, they added, but as we were not reassured, we did not dare to pass in front of him and we made a detour of almost two kilometers to avoid him."
Two children who were with the farm woman also gave a very precise testimony and description.
Alerted, the farmers armed themselves with their shotguns and made a search, but in vain.
In the Ille-et-Vilaine, in Paramé, a plaster workman stated to have seen, Saturday evening, around 07:45 p.m., two luminous discs which went up in the sky at an extraordinary speed. A third luminous disc seemed to follow a parallel line in the horizon, with a pace much slower than the two others. The discs, while moving away, left behind a tail similar to that of a comet.
Lastly, the personnel of the airfield of Issoire-le-Broc and the chief controler Hébaut, who was in flight, observed a shining machine of circular shape hovering during nearly two hours at very high altitude, before moving slowly towards the west.
Close to Varèse, several motorists saw a disc of blue color, clearly detached on the background of the starry sky. After having stopped during a few minutes, it took again its vertiginous race towards the north, disappearing with a "typical" whirring sound. during the night, the strange luminous object appeared a second time in same celestial space.
From Turin, it is reported that several workmen of an establishment of the industrial park of Mirafiori saw a "luminous object" having the shape of a cigar, on the background of the sky. The "cigar" remained motionless in the sky during one hour, during which, according to the witnesses, it would have changed from time to time of shape and luminosity. The craft then disappeared by moving vertiginously towards France.
From Messina, finally, one learns that many people living on two banks of the strait separating the peninsula from Sicily saw a "luminous circle" motionless in the sky, at 2.000 meters. The machine, which was observed for ten minutes, came down quickly towards the sea to take again altitude three times. After these maneuvers, the "luminous circle" disappeared at a strong pace in the direction of Mount Etna, leaving a luminous trail behind.
All these appearances were the topic of a statement to the press by professor Antonio Eula, holder of the chair of aerodynamics at the University of Rome.
This eminent scientist in particular affirmed: "We do not know entirely the mysteries of our solar system, but we know as of now that beings similar to us cannot exist on the currently known planets. If there are some, they can only be very different. Therefore it is absurd to speak of Martians capable of human activities."
And the professor concluded that one could not, in an absolute manner, conclude that they are "experimental craft intended for a military use and protected by an impenetrable secrecy".
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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A German theologian, Professor Philippe Dessauer, invites us, in the Catholic magazine "Wort und Warheit", not to shoot the pilots of flying saucers if we happen to meet them.
The warning is timely. Saturday, a farmer from the Aisne, in a car failure on the road, suffered two shots: seeing car headlights a villager had mistaken it for a flying saucer and the driver for a Martian. He had a hunting rifle and he fired...
The saucers continue to move. Two residents of Toulon claim that they saw, near Hyères, a mysterious craft of which they drew a sketch. General Intelligence inspectors went to the landing site and noticed a circumference inside which the grass was burned.
Two employees at the Orly airport, MM. Raymond Castelle and Charles Sirets, told the Air Police that they had seen on the night from Saturday to Sunday, around 9:30 p.m., a flying saucer crossing the Orly sky from east to west, "like a jet plane". Arriving above the town of Paray-Vieille-Poste, that is to say on the edge of the west-east runway, the mysterious craft, which, according to witnesses, was moving at an altitude of 300 meters, immobilized for about ten seconds by turning on itself and emitting rays which were intensely reflected on the ground.
Our collaborator Paul Gérin saw the same phenomenon, at the same time, in Moret-sur-Loing, 40 kilometers south of Orly. It was, he tells us, a vulgar "shooting star" of exceptional brightness, which crossed the sky from east to west, at an apparently considerable height, and which disappeared on the horizon.
This rare, but not unprecedented phenomenon lasted a few seconds, it must have been seen throughout the Paris region.
As for the Martians, three have been reported for forty-eight hours. Two women claim that they met one in the Seine-et-Marne; but according to their description (it was covered with brown hair), it is not impossible that it is a common orangutan escaped from a zoo. A Seine-Inférieure veterinarian, Mr. Robert says he saw another one near Dieppe.
[Ref. lcp1:] "LA CROIX DE PICARDIE" NEWSPAPER:
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If the saraband of flying saucers over France remains at the current rate, we will have a hard time finding a Frenchman who has not seen such a "craft" in the near future. Indeed, every day, dozens of discs are reported across the country. Not content with having seen them move in our sky of Framce, eyewitnesses told to have seen, with their own eyes, weird apparatuses land, from which ame down no less weird living beings, oddly dressed, very polite, but who were little talkative, unless they speak an incomprehensible language. These mysterious hosts returned to the air almost immediately, silently and vertically.
So, very recently, Mr. Labassière and his wife, who were returning from Saintes (Charente-Maritime), saw a kind of scale waddling at low altitude. The scourge was dazzling green; one of the trays was red and the other orange. After taking an immobile position, these two plates detached to land in a field. Two small beings then left each ball and, after crossing each other, changed craft. The two craft then returned to their original place and the phenomenon disappeared in a dazzling flash.
In Livry-sur-Seine, two farmers saw a strange being the size of a man, without ears, but whose body was covered with abundant brown hair. He gestured for them to approach, but panicking, the two men fled with all their legs.
In Saint-Ambroix, in the Gard, several hunters claimed to have seen various small "Martians" who vaguely resembled human beings. They were flying in a phosphorescent machine. The hunters collected, at the place where the "Martians" had landed, curious seeds that no one has yet managed to identify.
Dreams, hallucinations, bad jokes? Difficult question to decide for the moment. But if some are convinced of the arrival of the Martians on our planet, if others shake their heads, incredulous, there are some who have this obsession with flying saucers almost play a bad trick on them.
This is particularly the case for Mr. M. Ruant, farmer in Sinceny, near Chauny (Aisne). In the evening of October 17, he was busy repairing his car in a meadow near his home, when two shots were fired in his direction. The pellets crashed onto the body of his vehicle, not far from his head. Mr. Ruant filed a complaint, and the investigation immediately opened made it possible to quickly find the author of the shots: a neighbor, Mr. Faisan, who believed "seeing a silhouette moving in the light of the headlights, to be in the presence of a Martian busy repairing his flying saucer."
Less "saucerophobic" than Mr. Faisan, Mr. Raymond Rodel, president of the "Martians welcome Committee", promised the first of them who would come to the capital a series of festivities in his honor, including a lunch at Maxim's, a reception at the Paris City Council and an audience at the Elysée. In addition, 1 million francs would be paid to whoever, the first, can prove irrefutably having seen a Martian.
Obviously if, believing to meet an inhabitant of the planet Mars and you ask him: "Are you Martian?" he answers you: "No, I'm French", as happened to one of our compatriots, you can forget the bonus.
[Ref. aml7:] AIME MICHEL:
[... other cases...]
The same day [October 16, 1954] in France another "landing" was observed at Livry-sur-Seine near Paris, there were, however, no traces and but two witnesses.
[... other cases...]
[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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| 15 Oct., 1954 | Livry/Seine | France | -- | A being covered in chestnut-voloured hair .... | 1 |
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 360 | 16 | 10 | 1954 | LIVRY SUR SEINE | F | A |
[Ref. ioi1:] "INFO-OVNI" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:
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../10/1954 Livry sur Seine (Seine et Marne)
In the daytime, two farmer womaen of Livry sur Seine and two children who were wandering in the woods of Uselles saw a strange being lying in a path. He was a normal height, but his body was covered in profuse brown hair. His head was round and hairy, but devoid of ears, and his eyes were exceedingly sharp. Several times he made a sign (to approach?) with both arms to the witnesses who preferred to make a long detour to avoid him. Later, the residents of the town, armed with rifles, organized a search party: but the being had disappeared. (la Montagne-Aurillac from 10/18/1954)
[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:
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October, 1954: time unnoted. Livry-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne).
Witnesses: two women and two children.
Refs: La Montagne-Aurillac, 18.10.1954.
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:
October 1954. Daytime
LIVRY-SUR-SEINE (SEINE-ET-MARNE : FRANCE)
Two farm women and two children were out walking in the Usselles when they saw a strange being of human size but covered with plentiful brown hair lying on a path. It had a round hairy head, extremely piercing eyes but no ears. It gestured with its arms to the witnesses, as if asking them to approach but they preferred to go round the longer way to avoid it. Later inhabitants armed with guns organised a search but nothing could be found of the being.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541016 | 16.10.1954 | Livry Seine | France | |||||||
| 19541015 | 15.10.1954 | Livry Seine | France | CE III | ||||||
| 19541015 | 15.10.1954 | Livry | France |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 1954. Day.
LIVRY-SUR-SEINE (SEINE-ET MARNE : FRANCE)
Two farm women and two children were out walking in the Usselles when they saw a strange being of human size but covered with plentiful brown hair lying on a path. It had a round hairy head, extremely piercing eyes but no ears. It gestured with its arms to the witnesses, as if asking them to approach but they preferred to go round the longer way to avoid it. Later inhabitants armed with guns organised a search but nothing could be found of the being.
[Ref. dcn5:] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
We wonder today, how, if the occupants of the flying saucer were supposed to be Martians, we were able to accept entirely hairy beings as Martians, whereas we expected to see beings disembark in spacesuits.
This is to forget that in 1954, "Martian" was a generic term to designate all the extraordinary beings that one could meet, just as "flying saucer" was another to designate any mysterious celestial object.
On the other hand, journalists, who favored sensational information, more easily reflected these stories of incredible Martians, which they did not believe at all. A saucer pilot in a spacesuit would have been less successful.
On the other hand, the first "saucerists" (one did not call them ufologists at the time), did not disdain to also collect these testimonies of hairy Martians. After all, they were part of the wave, and even in spacesuits, "Martians" were no less fantastic.
[... other cases ...]
In the midst of several dozen humanoid appearances roughly evenly distributed between the two types, eight descriptions wandered around which did not fit in at all with the rest of the phenomenon but which nevertheless constituted a perfectly coherent set. A set so coherent that it seemed difficult to refute despite its distinctly grand-guignolesque appearance. It was the "Hairy Martian" type which manifested itself in the following circumstances.
[... other cases ...]
../10/54 Livry sur Seine (Seine et Marne) ...
[... other cases ...]
So let's take a closer look at this group. We will summarize the French cases presented by Carrouges, by Giraud and by Zurcher (whether they are supposed to be true or false)
[... other cases ...]
| Date | Time | Location | Witness |
| [... other cases...] | |||
| 10/16/1954 | day | Livry-sur-Seine (77) | 2 women and 2 children |
[... other cases ...]
Here is a case that hardly excited the compilers. None of the "good authors" of the time, Jimmy Guieu, Aimé Michel, Charles Garreau, Michel Carrouges, used it. Apart from the preliminary catalog of 500 observations by Jacques Vallée, which in practice only cites the date and place, there is hardly anyone but Jean Giraud to have quoted it in a few lines.
Still, it's a fine case of a furry / hairy "Martian", but it's true that there is no saucer landing there.
Worse, the newspapers which spoke about it mentioned the hypothesis of an orangutan or a vagrant. How would you claim a monkey or a wanderer landed from a flying saucer?
Note 1: a link on this summary by Dominique Caudron refers to his case file, see [dcn2].
Note 2: It was later that I found that Aimé Michel had mentioned the case, very poorly presented ([aml7]), in 1956; he effectively "forgot" it in his 1958 book.
[Ref. dcn2:] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
It seems that Jacques Vallée's preliminary catalog of 500 observations is the only one to cite this case, citing, in practice, only the date and place.
360 16 10 1954 LIVRY SUR SEINE F A
(Jacques Vallée, preliminary catalog of 500 observations, in Les phénomènes insolites de l'espace, La table ronde 1966, page 281)
Le Parisien Libéré tells us a little more more:
The village of LIVRY-sur-SEINE (SEINE and MARNE) is undergoing a revolution. A being entirely covered with hair terrorized Mmes ROUAULT and LEBRUN, M.VIVOT, the mayor of LIVRY considers that it is a monkey escaped from a traveling circus.
(Le Parisien Libéré, October 18, 1954)
As Livry-sur Seine is near Melun, let's check out the Seine et Marne newspapers. La Croix de Seine et Marne tells us a little more:
in Livry-sur-Sine, 2 farmers saw a strange being the size of a man, without ears, but whose body was covered with abundant brown hairs.
He gestured for them to approach, but, panicked, the two women fled with all their legs.
(La Croix de Seine et Marne, October 24, 1954, page 3)
Fortunately, other newspapers are more talkative.
The village of LIVRY-sur-SEINE is in turmoil. A strange being, entirely covered with long and brown hair, terrorized the other afternoon, Mme ROUAULT and her sister-in-law, Mme LEBRUN. The phenomenon appeared to these two farmers, at the bend of a path, in the woods of PETOROFF, where the women had gone to collect mushrooms with two children.
- I do not know whether it is a Martian or an orangutan, declared Mme ROUAULT. In any case, I have never seen such a creature. He was lying on his forearms, near a tree trunk. His head scared me horribly. It was round, earless with two extremely sharp eyes. I will never forget that look.
The children were paralyzed with fear. Mmes ROUAULT and LEBRUN made a long detour to avoid the beast before returning to the farm. Armed with rifle, the farmers came to the scene in a van but found no trace of the phenomenon.
...
Mr.VIVOT, mayor of LIVRY, who does not believe in Martians, is convinced that the hairy being is only a monkey escaped from a circus.
(La Liberté, October 18, 1954, page 1)
MARTIAN ... OR ORANG-OUTANG?
Two farmers from Livry-sur-Seine, Mme L ... and her sister-in-law, Mme B ..., had gone for a walk in the "Uselles", near Livry, about 2 km from the farm. As they crossed a wooded path, with their two children, they saw a strange being lying in the middle of the path...
It was, according to the description that the two ladies gave us, of a being about the size of a man, but whose whole body was covered with a silky brown coat, reminiscent of the fur of a bear...
"What struck us the most was the head of the strange animal: a big round head with a small nose, eyes of incredible brightness, but no ears...
"We made a detour of 2 kilometers, not daring to approach the mysterious animal which, when we left, waved at us."
The men, armed with hunting rifles, went to the woods shortly after and beat about the bush in all directions... but they found nothing...
(La République, October 19, 1954)
And we still don't know the exact date. It is L'Est Républicain for October 18 which specifies that this happened on Saturday afternoon, so the 16th.
But why the hell think of a Martian if the description is that of an orangutan? And did the witnesses see it up close if they took a long detour? We know, thanks to the case of Lewarde, that a simple tramp can be mistaken for a hairy being with big eyes. And in addition, no craft reportedly landed.
So a monkey or a wanderer, but absolutely not a Martian.
Note: see [dcn3], a next, more complete version of the article by Dominique Caudron.
[Ref. dcn3:] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
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Although various newspapers of the time speak about it, the case of Livry-sur-Seine almost escaped the attention of ufologists. It is true that the Parisian newspapers did not present this case as a landing of "Martians".
Le Parisien Libéré evokes a monkey:
The village of LIVRY-sur-SEINE (SEINE and MARNE) is undergoing a revolution. A being entirely covered with hair terrorized Mmes ROUAULT and LEBRUN, M.VIVOT, the mayor of LIVRY considers that it is a monkey escaped from a traveling circus.
(Le Parisien Libéré, October 18, 1954)
As Livry-sur Seine is near Melun, let's check out the Seine et Marne newspapers. La Croix de Seine et Marne tells us a little more:
in Livry-sur-Sine, 2 farmers saw a strange being the size of a man, without ears, but whose body was covered with abundant brown hairs.
He gestured for them to approach, but, panicked, the two women fled with all their legs.
(La Croix de Seine et Marne, October 24, 1954, page 3)
Fortunately, other newspapers are more talkative.
The village of LIVRY-sur-SEINE is in turmoil. A strange being, entirely covered with long and brown hair, terrorized the other afternoon, Mme ROUAULT and her sister-in-law, Mme LEBRUN. The phenomenon appeared to these two farmers, at the bend of a path, in the woods of PETOROFF, where the women had gone to collect mushrooms with two children.
- I do not know whether it is a Martian or an orangutan, declared Mme ROUAULT. In any case, I have never seen such a creature. He was lying on his forearms, near a tree trunk. His head scared me horribly. It was round, earless with two extremely sharp eyes. I will never forget that look.
The children were paralyzed with fear. Mmes ROUAULT and LEBRUN made a long detour to avoid the beast before returning to the farm. Armed with rifle, the farmers came to the scene in a van but found no trace of the phenomenon.
...
Mr.VIVOT, mayor of LIVRY, who does not believe in Martians, is convinced that the hairy being is only a monkey escaped from a circus.
(La Liberté, October 18, 1954, page 1)
Vagabond, poacher or "Martian"?
A strange being, half man and half ape, was taking a nap at
the shade of tall treesParis. - The flying saucers continue their infernal round, but it seems that the French are no longer alone on the subject of "celestial visions". Most of the news relating to the mysterious craft did indeed emanate from Italy over the weekend.
It is the testimony of two farmer women from Livry-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne) which must first attract attention. It is interesting in that they saw a "Martian", but no craft...
Sharp eyes, but no ears
They were walking in the woods of Uzelles, Saturday afternoon, when they saw a strange being lying across a path. Despite their fear, they took the time to watch him closely enough to report it.
He was the size of a man, but his body was covered in profuse hair and was brown in color. He had a round, hairy head, but no ears and overly piercing eyes.
"He beckoned us with his arm twice, they added, but as we were not reassured, we did not dare to pass in front of him and we made a detour of nearly two kilometers to avoid it."
Two children who were with the farmers also provided a very precise testimony and description.
Alerted, the farmers armed themselves with their shotguns and beaten, but to no avail.
(L'Est Républicain, October 18, 1954)
MARTIAN ... OR ORANG-OUTANG?
Two farmers from Livry-sur-Seine, Mme L ... and her sister-in-law, Mme B ..., had gone for a walk in the "Uselles", near Livry, about 2 km from the farm. As they crossed a wooded path, with their two children, they saw a strange being lying in the middle of the path...
It was, according to the description that the two ladies gave us, of a being about the size of a man, but whose whole body was covered with a silky brown coat, reminiscent of the fur of a bear...
"What struck us the most was the head of the strange animal: a big round head with a small nose, eyes of incredible brightness, but no ears...
"We made a detour of 2 kilometers, not daring to approach the mysterious animal which, when we left, waved at us."
The men, armed with hunting rifles, went to the woods shortly after and beat about the bush in all directions... but they found nothing...
(La République, October 19, 1954)
For the oldest UFO sources, it seems that Jacques Vallée's preliminary catalog of 500 observations is the only one to cite this case, citing, in practice, only the date and place.
360 16 10 1954 LIVRY SUR SEINE F A
(Jacques Vallée, preliminary catalog of 500 observations, in The unusual phenomena of space, The round table 1966, page 281)
But in 1975, Jean Giraud is more talkative.
../10/54 Livry sur Seine (Seine et Marne)
During the day, two farmers from Livry sur Seine and two children who were taking a walk in the woods of Uselles saw a strange being lying in a path. He was a normal height, but his body was covered with abundant brown hair. His head was round and hairy, but devoid of ears, and his eyes were exceedingly sharp. Several times he made a sign (to approach?) With both arms to the witnesses who preferred to make a great detour to avoid him. Later, the inhabitants of the town, armed with rifles, organized a beat, but the being had disappeared (La Montagne-Aurillac of 10/18/54).
(UFO INFO n ° 0, April 1975, eighth page)
In 1978, Eric Zurcher kept this case in his list of ufonaut appearances
083 16.10.54 day Livry-sur-Seine 77 G3 4 witnesses
Note: 77 is, of course, for "Seine et Marne", and G3 for group 3 ufonaute, ie hairy.
(Eric Zurcher, The appearances of humanoids, Alain Lefeuvre 1978, page 312)
So here is our hairy being called a "ufonaut", ie UFO pilot. but curiously, we do not find its trace in later ufology books.
We know the exact date, since L'Est Républicain of October 18 specifies that it happened on Saturday afternoon, so the 16th.
But why the hell think of a Martian if no craft has landed, and if the description is that of an Orangutan?
We know, thanks to the the case of Lewarde, that a simple tramp, a vagrant, can also be mistaken for a hairy being with big eyes.
It was objected that the witnesses may not have seen him up close because they took a long detour. But this long hook, they did it after, and the mysterious being had seen them close enough to beckon them. So we have little reason to believe that they haven't been able to see the details they describe.
So Orangutan or Wanderer? The description would sound more like an Orangutan than a wanderer, but conversely, a wanderer would have been more likely to be there than an Orangutan, which, logically, should have escaped from a zoo. So, if there had been an Orangutan, we should have had echoes of his escapade in the press in the following days. But we still had to look for that, because ufologists are only interested in UFOs, saucers, Martians and other ufonauts. Not in Orangutan escapades.
What is certain is that the being seen in Livry sur Seine was absolutely not a Martian.
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Misinterpreation, vagabond.
Though there is a claim the woman were close enough to make the given description, it is also said they made a detour of 2 kilometers to avoid the hairy man. This does suggest that they did not really dare to get that close of him.
As for the absence of ears, I would suspect that the man was a so hairy vagrant that his ears were simply not visible.
First of all, congratulations to Dominique Caudron who found four more press sources from the time.
I add the mention of the case by Aimé Michel [aml7], preceding that of Vallée; his version is somehow "dishonest" since he refrains from describing the "ufonaut" and speaks of a "landing", which never took place!
We note that, as Dominique Caudron comments, Michel does not say anything to this affair afterwards. Surely he knew well that this "Martian" was certainly not a "Martian" - or he had learned or understood it in the meantime.
I want to make a few remarks on the "ufological perception" of the "hairy Martians."
First of all, I am one of those who think that a "Martian" such as this, with such a description, is obviously not an extraterrestrial, that there is in any case absolutely no reason to think it is!
We can show that there are two ufological "schools" about such affairs: those like me who will believe (or demonstrate) that it is not an alien, but a wanderer, monkey or other animal, just a case of misinterpretation, and those who cite such cases as if they were indeed alien encounters.
But things are more subtle than that.
In the 1960s - 1970s, an American journalist, John A. Keel, collected all kinds of "outlandish" stories - without really caring about their credibility - ranging from "aliens" to ghosts, "white ladies", fairies, leprechauns, extraordinary animals of the flying pterodactyls rype for example, flying saucers, "men-in-black" and so on. He assured (it is not at all certain that he really believed this) that all these "extraordinary phenomena" showed that there existed on Earth some "unknown force" which made them "appear" to the eyes of the people. He proposed that "extraterrestrials" were not "extraterretsrials", but some sort of illusions fabricated for us by this "force" or "intelligence" he called "ultraterrestrial."
A "theory of everything" in short, since Keel explained everything with this. (I object of course that the explanation is so gratuitous, so applicable to literally everything, so vague, and yet so irrefutable... that in fact it no longer an explanation.
This idea greatly influenced the French ufologist Jacques Vallée, then others like Jean Sider - we can call it the "Keel - Vallée - Sider" school of thought. Jean Sider came full circle by explaining that these "extraterrestrials too absurd to be extraterrestrials" are "illusions" fabricated to deceive us for some purpose, favricated by a "superior intelligence" of... extraterrestrial origin!
So, Sider and others claim to "save" cases like this: they hardly ever admit any misinterpretation, so "hairy aliens" are for them "something" other than misinterpretations, they are "materializations" made by an "intelligence" that Sider believes to be extraterrestrial, that others do not define at all.
Around 2005, I myself had a debate with a French ufologist who defended this line of though, giving me as example various "hairy Martians" of 1954: "as hairy extraterrestrials, are not realistic extraterrestrials, the UFO phenomenon is therefore of an even more extraordinary nature than that of extraterrestrial visits." Case by case, I was able to show him that these cases were explained very well as banal misinterpretations, mistakes sometimes envisaged or even proven as such at the time when they had occurred, and that there was therefore nothing there, nothing that can demonstrate this or that "ultraterrestrial" thesis or action of a "higher but not extraterrestrial intelligence."
Now, Dominique Caudron is quite right about the fact that this case did not enjoy much ufological success. It remained fairly ignored even by the proponents of the "Keel - Valley - Sider" theses.
Orangutan or vagabond?
When I opened this file in 2010, I gave the explanation "Misinterpretation, vagabond". I hardly commented. I strongly favored the vagabond thesis because, for example, the "being" had "made a sign with his arm twice," and the women "did not dare to approach." A monkey had little chance of doing what seems to be invitations to approach. And I think if it had been a monkey, the women would have probably said, "a monkey."
I specify that I did of course search in the press (the small part which I have at hand) a possible escape of an ape from a too, in vain so far.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Livry-sur-Seine, Seine-et-Marne, farmers, Martian, eyes, sharp, bois d'Uzelles, afternoon, being, strange, laying, frightened, hairy, brown, head, round, sign, children, gun, search
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 30, 2010 | First published. [ler1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 30, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | August 13, 2013 | Addition [prn1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | March 2, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | May 9, 2020 | Additions [lcp1], [ppe1], [ioi1], [agd1], [prn2]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | February 26, 2021 | Additions [aml7], [dcn1], [dcn2], [dcn3], Summary. In the explanations, addition of the part "Comments added on February 26, 2021". |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | July 5, 2022 | Addition [jve8]. |
