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SEPTEMBER 7, 1957, RUNCORN, CHESHIRE, U-K., JAMES COOKE:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

The story of James Cooke entered in ufology literature by the good care of English eccentric Brinsley Le Poer Trench, Earl of Chancarty, who reported about it in the Flying Saucer Review in 1958. It was picked up later by journalist/paranormalist John Keel who loved this kind of twaddles; but no serious ufologist put it forth as an authentic encounter with extraterrestrials. The fact is that the American so-called "contactee" George Adamski had made followers, and much more people than it is generally thought, in the Fifties, also invented stories of their visits of some home planet of "space men", almost invariably bringing back an assuaging message of universal peace and warnings in connection with the madness of the men.

Cooke's story, like quantity of similar stories, obviously and with reasons, was not believed by the serious ufologists of his time; thus, almost forgotten, it survives nowadays as an "example" in the so-called "skeptic" UFO literature, aimed at pointing how silly ufology and extraterrestrial encounters are supposed to be, and also remains as a "case" to illustrate weird thesis of the Keel/Vallée school of though, which asks to view it not just as a then fashionable fable, or attempt at getting publicity, or imaginary starting point for UFO cults, but as "interventions" of some generally undefined "superior" or "evil" earthly intelligence of some parallel world or other realm, supposed to "manipulate" the very fabric or reality.

James Cooke, a resident of Runcorn, Cheshire, England, had already told several alleged flying saucers sightings, when he became part of the "contactee" crowd by claiming that on September 6, 1957, he received, by telepathy, the injunction to go to the top of the hill of Runcorn, which was opposite the city of the same name, and said he did just this, in the middle of the night, 02:15 a.m. on September 7, 1957.

His history is that there, he saw a spaceship in blinding light arriving, coming to hover a few inches above ground-level at some 20 meters in front of him, or less, according to certain sources. The apparatus changed colors from blue to white, then blue again, then dark red.

A slope or staircase with balustrade emerged from this saucer, and a voice told him to enter, by jumping over the ramp without touching it, for the ground was wet of rain. Cooke, hardly startled, willingly did so, thus this case is not "the first alien abduction in England" that some writers thought it was.

Inside the craft, a strong light reigns, without shade, coming from everywhere at the same time, with no visible source. He is commanded to strip himself naked, does so readily, then asked to slip into a kind of plastic suit. He then went into another spaceship that had to be there somewhere, and inside, met a crew of more than 20 men of space, similar to the men, but much taller since 2.10 meters in height, with well-built bodies, black hair, blue uniforms.

As usually in such stories, these people take him along in a saucer trip towards their planet of origin, "Zomdic", orbiting another star or another galaxy, depending on ufological sources. He visits Zomdic, describing its vegetation as yellow instead of green, and the residents hermaphrodites - not bisexual as it will be reported later. "Zomdic" is governed by Wise Seniors, a Master, and as it should be, Cooke would come back from his visit with a teaching to propagate to Earthlings:

"The inhabitants of your planet will upset the balance if they persist in using force instead of harmony. Warn them of the danger."

Brought back home 45 hours after his departure for Zomdic, Cooke thought to make his story sound more true to specify than he forgot to jump over the saucer's ramp as requested when boarding, which caused him an electric shock: indeed the vessels of Zomdic function by electrifying the air, and this is besides the reason why they do not function well in wet weather and why your are not supposed to touch the ramp when the air is damp - Zomdiciens could however think of insulating the ramp, if they are so wise. As a physiological proof, he claimed that others saw the burns that this caused on him.

A little dubitative, he indicated, as for the chance of success, or perhaps as of the relevance or the interest of the extraterrestrials' preaching, reassured by the space man, Cooke then set up "The Church of Aquarius", a UFO cult having its Church in Runcorn. He sat there as a messenger and ambassador of the space men of Zomdic, receiving by telepathy their wise words of peace for the benefit of an audience about which John Keel told it was so numerous that he had to open a second Church in the city, the story not specifying if he was gifted of bilocation to sit there too.

It is claimed that this UFO cult lasted ten years there, and that Cooke "disappeared" in a puff of mystery according to certain sources, or quite simply made himself forgotten - the public interest in the "contactees" had vaned at the end of the Sixties, and it was certainly a wise inspiration of his to "disappear" from public view.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. tg1:] THE WARRINGTON GUARDIAN:

Note: Full article with other sightings here.

[Ref. fs1:] FARSHORES WEBSITE:

This website told that on September 6, 1957, James Cook, of Runcorn, received what he called a telepathic message that said he should go to a nearby hill that night, to meet space people.

Cooke had reported many previous sightings, but said that nothing had prepared him for what was to follow: at 02:15 a.m., he claimed, on the hill overlooking the town, he saw a blindingly illuminated spacecraft hovering a few inches above the ground 20 yards in front of him. The craft changed colors from blue to white, then to blue again before it finally turned dark red.

The spacecraft came to rest a couple of feet from him, a railed ramp descended from the craft, and a disembodied voice told him to jump, not step , onto the ramp, as the ground was wet from the rain. Cooke did as he was told and found himself inside the craft, where a dazzling light that cast no shadows illuminated everything.

The voice told him to undress and put on some one-piece seamless coveralls that were made of a material resembling plastic. Then the voice told him to disembark.

Cooke then boarded another spacecraft nearby where he met with 20 alien humanoids who communicated with him telepathically. He was taken to the aliens' home planet, Zomdic, located in another solar system. There he encountered an ideal society that did not use currency and manipulated energy to create matter in any form.

He was returned safely to Earth with a message from the "Wise Men" of Zomdic:

"The inhabitants of your planet will upset the balance if they persist in using force instead of harmony. Warn them of the danger."

Later Cooke claimed to have gained healing powers from his contact with the aliens. In June 1961, he founded a sect in Runcorn called the Church of Aquarius, whose mission was to bring about universal peace. It drew enough followers to require the opening of a second church in the town. James Cooke himself disappeared one December afternoon in 1969, since when he has never been seen again.

[Ref. bh1:] ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW AND GEORGE S. HOWARD:

The authors indicate that on September 7, 1957, near Runcorn, Cheshire, England, at 02:15 a.m., James Cook saw a luminous object change from blue to white to blue and finally dark red, and then land a few feet from him.

A ladder came down and a voice said, "Jump onto the ladder. Do not step onto it. The ground is damp." He leapt on it and entered an empty room filled with a bright light, then the voice told him to disrobe and put on plastic coveralls. He was then asked to enter another nearby craft, agreed, and found twenty occupants there, all much taller than he.

During the ride, he was told that the craft is from Zomdic, located in another galaxy, and that the ship cannot operate in damp weather as it is surrounded by a type of electrified field.

The beings told him: "The inhabitants of your planet will upset the balance if they persist in using force instead of harmony. Warn them of the danger." They also explained that their vehicles used only in Earth's vicinity and could not function in outer space.

The authors indicate that the sources are John A. Keel, Why UFOs (New York: Manor, 1970), pp. 185-86, also published as UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (New York: Putnam's Sons, 1970).

[Ref. js1:] JOHN SPENCER:

John Spencer indicates that in September 1957, aliens apparently asked James Cook to meet them on the top of a hill near Runcorn in Cheshire. He did it and was taken aboard their flying saucer; which then flew him to their planet, Zomdic, a planet never heard of before or since.

The aliens warned him about upsetting the balance of nature, presumably with the development of nuclear weapons and ecological destruction. He was then returned to Earth, and apparently kept up a telepathic communication with them. He eventually started up a church and later disappeared into obscurity.

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates that in Runcorn, England, on September 7, 1957, at 02:15 a.m., Mr. James Cooke knew he would be contacted, because of previous telepathic messages. The 120-foot saucer came to within 20 yards of him, its luminosity changing from blue to red; it hovered a few inches above the ground. He was instructed to jump, rather than step, onto the stairway. Inside was a source less light; he was directed to put on a plastic suit in which he sealed himself. He transferred to a larger ship, with a crew of over 20, and was taken to a planet named Zomdic in another stellar system, where the vegetation was yellow, and the people bisexual. On return, he burned his hand on the stair rail through forgetting to jump. Other witnesses saw this burn. The "spacemen" were described as human-like well over 7 ft tall and well built, with black hair. Wearing dark blue tight fitting uniforms.

Albert Rosales indicates that the sources are Humcat 1957-9, and FSR Vol. 4 #4.

[Ref. tg2:] THE WARRINGTON GUARDIAN:

Note: Full article with other sightings here.

[Ref. wi1:] WIKIMAPIA:

[Ref. wi2:] WIKIPEDIA:

Wikipedia indicates as reference The Warrington Guardian (2004-12-07) What was that hovering over Halton?, Newsquest Media Group.

Points to consider:

See summary.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Fable of the "contactee" type, and UFO cult.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [---] ? "Recent Contacts And Landing Reports: Mr. Cooke Goes To Zomdic", by Brinsley Le Poer Trench (editor), article in the ufology magazine Flying Saucer Review (FSR), U-K., Volume 4, #4, July 1958.
• [---] ? "Why UFOs", book by John Keel, Manor publisher, USA, pp 185-86, 1970.
• [---] ? "UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse", book by John Keel, Putnam Sons publishers, USA, 1970.
• [fs1] ? "UK Alien Encounters", anonymous article, June 24, 1998, at farshores.org/abduct.htm
• [tg1] * "Take Me To The Planet Zomdic", article in the local newspaper The Warrington Guardian, U-K., May 14, 1998.
• [bh1] * "UFOs and Alien Contacts - Two Centuries of Mystery", book by Robert E. Bartholomew and George S. Howard, Prometheus Books publisher, New York, USA, pp 306-307, 1998.
• [js1] * "The UFO Encyclopedia", book by John Spencer, Headline Books publisher, U-K., pp 106-107, 1991.
• [ar1] * "1956 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2001, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1956.shtml
• [tg2] ? "What Was That Hovering Over Halton?", article in the local newspaper The Warrington Guardian, Warrington, U-K., December 7, 2004.
• [wi1] * Wikimapia, at www.wikimapia.org, circa 2007.
• [wi2] * Wikipedia, at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cooke_%28abductee%29, circa 2007.

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This page was last updated on November 21, 2007