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URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

OCTOBER 1963, WHIDBEY ISLAND, USA, MRS. "RUTH BROWN":

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

A story published in the Flying Saucer Review of 1964 through one Marvin W. Smith, is reporting that one Mrs Brown, a middle-aged woman who is said to have already seen a strange machine hovering close to her home in July 1963, made a new experience on some unspecified day of October 1963, close to her home in Whidby Island, Washington, USA.

It is said that at 9 o'clock in the morning, she observed an object of gray color, 3 or 3.5 meters long depending on the sources, hovering at less than 2 meters, or 1.50 meters, above the ground.

Through the transparent front of the craft, she saw two or three figures, and suddenly, i.e. seemingly without being seen coming out by a door, one of them was standing on the grass. Of human appearance, he was clad in a suit having the texture of asbestos which entirely covered him, except the eyes; which were not visible all the same, neither the face, nor the feet not he hands being visible.

The being proceeded to walk around the house, with the UFO carrying a couple of other beings inside following him at walking speed as though on a lead. The grass lay flat beneath it as it moved.

It is said that Mrs. Brown shouted at him "what do you want?", and that the man then conferred with his two companions, and answered in English: "One of our party knows you; we will return", and then entered the craft in the same manner he had emerged.

The apparatus then decreased in size, tilted, its tail "sank" in the ground, then it resumed it initial size, and flew away towards the east, producing steam, a flash, and a noise.

Marvin W. Smith phoned, exchanged letters, and interviewed the witness on location and gave a positive opinion about her.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

In his catalogue of UFO landings, Jacques Vallée indicates that on October 1963 at 09:00 a.m., in Whidbey Island, Washington, a middle-aged woman, who had seen a strange craft hovering near her house the previous July, observed a gray-colored object, 3.5 meters long, hovering less than 2 meters above ground.

Through the transparent front part she could see three figures. Suddenly one of the occupants was standing on the grass. He was clothed in "asbestos-textured coveralls" and neither the face, nor the hands, nor the feet was visible. When she asked, "What do you want?" the answer, in English, was: "One of our party knows you; we will return."

The object then decreased in size, tilted, partially sank into the ground, grew to its previous size, and departed to the east, producing steam, a flash, and a noise.

Vallée indicates that his source is "FSR 64, 6."

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

The authors indicate that in October 1963, in Whidbey Island, Washington State, at 9 a.m., a woman saw a gray object hovering off the ground, with three occupants visible through a transparent front section.

One of the entities was suddenly standing outside the craft, wearing "asbestos-textured coveralls." Its face, hands, and feet were not visible. After asking, "What do you want?" the entity replied in English: "One of our party knows you; we will return."

The object began to get smaller, tilted, sank partially into the ground, expanded to its earlier size and flew east, giving off steam, a flash, and noise.

The authors indicate that the source is Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1969, page 294.

[Ref. mc1:] MARK CASHMAN:

The US ufologist checked into Jacques Vallée's claim that UFOs can dematerialize, and violate the laws of motion and therefore are not objects but paranormal illusions created by an unspecified intelligence controlling reality.

In the discussion, the author points out that from Vallée's own catalogue of 923 cases of UFOs, only 5, i.e., 0.5% seem to show UFOs that dematerialize, which is not really a significant component of the case lore, and of these 5 cases, cases 537 and 857 are not UFOs, and in case 537, the "shrinking" may have been an effect of increasing distance, while case 582 was plausibly accounted as a side effect of a possible propulsion system in a recent book, UFOs and Anti-Gravity, Cramp, ISBN 0-932813-43-7.

Among these 5 cases, the author points case 582, of October 1963 at 09:00 a.m., in Whidbey Island, Washington, and publishes Vallée's summary of that case.

[Ref. dp1:] DAVID PRATT:

The author indicates that some UFO cases have a "psychic dimension, and cites that one morning in October 1963, on Whidbey Island, Washington, a middle-aged woman who had seen a strange craft near her house the previous July observed a gray object, 3.5 meters long, hovering less than 2 meters above the ground.

Through the transparent front part she could see three figures. Suddenly one of the occupants was standing on the grass. He was clothed in 'asbestos-textured coveralls', and neither the face nor the hands or feet were visible.

When she asked, 'What do you want?' the answer, in English, was: 'One of our party knows you; we will return.'

The object then decreased in size, tilted, partially sank into the ground, grew to its previous size, and departed to the east, producing steam, a flash, and a noise.

The author listed the case as one where "the limited evidence available leaves plenty of room for speculation."

The author indicates as source Peter Brookesmith, 'Do aliens dream of Jacobs' sheep?', Fortean Times, no. 83, Oct/Nov 1995, pp. 22-30 (p. 22).

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates that in Whidbey Island, Washington, in October 1963 at 09:00 a.m., Mrs. Brown saw a gray object about 10 feet long approach her house and hover 5 feet from the ground.

The front was transparent, and she could see 3 occupants inside. One of these, of human appearance, emerged without using any visible door; he was clad in asbestos textured coveralls that covered all but his eyes, the eyes not being visible.

When Mrs Brown cried out "What do you want?" he conferred with his companions and replied "One of our party knows you; we will return!"

He then re-entered the craft in the same way he had emerged.

The UFO moved slowly around the house, then shrank suddenly in size and tilted so that its tail dipped into the ground. Then it recovered its previous size and took off, with much steam, smoke, a flash of light, and noise.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Humcat 1963-15, and Marvin W. Smith for FSR.

[Ref. jb1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jerome Beau indicates that between the 4th and the 12th of October 1963, in Whidbey Island, Washington, a woman of average age saw a strange machine with three silhouettes inside, which tilted, inserted partly in the ground, grew and left in a flash.

[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in October 1963 at 09:00 in Whidbey Island, Washington, USA, a gray object 10 feet long approached a house, hovered 5' from the ground. The front was transparent, there were three occupants. One, of human appearance, emerged without door, in coveralls. Telepathic phenomena were said to have occurred. Traces were found. One gray shifting-shape object, about 10 feet across, was observed by one female witness at a house for two minutes. A noise was heard. Three 6-foot-tall humanoids, each wearing a coverall, were seen.

The sources are indicated as Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Data-Net Report, Data-Net Report; Pereira, Jader U., Les Extra-Terrestres, Phenomenes Spatiaux, Paris, 1974; Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Cramp, Leonard G., Piece for a Jig-Saw, Somerton, Isle of Wight, 1966; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Vallee, Jacques, Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact, Contemporary Books, Chicago, 1988, ISBN:0-8092-4586-8; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

[Ref. ud2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in July 1963 at night, in Whidbey Island, Washington, USA, an object was observed. "Physiological effects were noted. One object was observed by one female witness in a yard (Brown)."

The sources are indicated as Cramp, Leonard G., Piece for a Jig-Saw, Somerton, Isle of Wight, 1966; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Eberhart, George M., A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies, Greenwood Press, Westport, 1980, ISBN:0-313-21337-2.

[Ref. ud3:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on October 19, 1963, at 09:00, in Whidbey Island, Washington, USA, a middle-aged woman, who had seen a strange craft hovering near her house the previous July, observed a gray-colored object, 3.5 meters long, hovering less than two meters above ground. Through the transparent front part she could see three figures. Suddenly one of the occupants was standing on the grass. He was clothed in "asbestostextured coveralls" and neither the face, nor the hands, nor the feet was visible. When she asked, "What do you want?" the answer, in English, was: "One of our party knows you; we will return." The object then decreased in size, tilted, partially sank into the ground, grew to its previous size, and departed to the east, producing steam, a flash, and a noise.

The website adds: "One star was observed."

The source is indicated as "Vallee Magonia Database".

Points to consider:

On August 12, 2007, when I first published the file, I commented:

"The exact origin of the story is not know, it could be some reader's story to some newspaper. The obviously far-fetched story does not seem to have been investigated at all, the witness' background is unverified, although it appears to be someone who has seen weird things more than once."

"It is thus utterly nonsensical to build up any UFO-theories on such uncertain grounds."

On December 15, 2008, I received information from a discussion on a U-K. ufology mailing list from a colleague ufologist who had read the page and corrected errors and provided information I did not have:

• The place name is Whidby Island, not Whidbey Island.
• [mc1] tells of Leonard G. Cramp as a "recent book" but it was originally published in 1966 by Somerton Publishing, Cowes,. IOW. A 1997 edition was reprinted by Adventures Unlimited Press, USA, 1997 as "UFOs and Anti-Gravity".
• The origin of the story is not some newspaper story, it came from one Marvin W. Smith of the Everett Flying Saucer Club, Everett, Washington, just across Puget Sound from Whidby island, who learned of the event(s) by word of mouth from an intermediary. He began with a "series of phone calls" to the reticent witness, then after an "exchange of letters" followed this up with a site visit and interview in early February 1964. The witness did not wish her name to be used, so Smith called her "Ruth Brown" in the account he sent to Charles Bowen, who wrote up the account for the Flying Saucer Review.
• The main event was the "landing" in October, the witness said she thought she had previously glimpsed an object outside her house that July but when she went outside there was nothing there. Strictly it is correct that this makes her a "repeater" as I noted, but that is the extent of it, and it is natural that an earlier ambiguous experience might be recalled to mind in the aftermath of a dramatic sighting, whether connected or not. She apparently gave no hint to Smith of having a history of weird stuff, on the contrary, Smith said he found her to be a "retiring middle-aged woman" who was highly suspicious of saucer publicists "cashing in" on "invented stories". He said she "shunned publicity" and was a "matter-of-fact" woman with "quite a bit of experience in "public life".
• An occupant appeared to be projected instantaneously "through the side" of the object and appeared on the ground, and then proceeded to walk around the house, with the UFO carrying a couple of other beings inside following him at walking speed as though on a lead. The grass lay flat beneath it as it moved. When challenged he said to Mrs Brown, "One of our party knows you. We will return!", then sort of teleported back inside the object, which then did its shrink and dip thing before swelling up again and zooming off with a flash and a bang.

So, this case which looked "very bad" to me now looks "better."

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Extraterrestrial visitors.

Sources references:

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

• [---] ? "Whidby Island Contact", article by Marvin W. Smith in the ufology magazine Flying Saucer Review (FSR), U-K., volume 10, #6, pp 13-14, pp 13-14, November-December 1964.
• [---] ? "Piece for a Jigsaw", book by Leonard G. Cramp, Somerton publishers, U-K., 1966.
• [jv1] * "Passport to Magonia - On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Henri Regnery publisher, USA, page 294, 1969.
• [jv1] * "Passport to Magonia - On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publisher, USA, 1969.
• [---] ? "Les Extra-Terrestres", booklet by Jader U. Pereira, Phénomènes Spatiaux, GEPA, France, 1974.
• [---] ? "HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports", compiled by David F. Webb and Ted Bloecher, CUFOS, USA, 1978.
• [---] ? "A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies", book by George M. Eberhart, Greenwood Press publishers, USA, 1980.
• [---] ? "Do Aliens Dream of Jacobs' Sheep?", article by Peter Brookesmith, in the Fortean magazine Fortean Times, #83, page 22, October/November 1995.
• [---] ? "Ufos And Anti-Gravity: Piece for a Jig Saw", book by Leonard G. Cramp, Adventures Unlimited Press publishers, USA, 1997.
• [bh1] * "UFOs and Alien Contacts - Two Centuries of Mystery", book by Robert E. Bartholomew and George S. Howard, Prometheus Books publisher, New York, USA, page 318, 1998.
• [mc1] * "A Critique of the Paranormal UFO Theories of Vallee and Keel", web page by Mark Cashman, USA, circa 2000, at www.temporaldoorway.com/ufo/hypotheses/critiqueofparanormal.htm
• [---] ? Data-Net Report.
• [---] ? "Computerized Catalog", compiled by Luis Schoenherr.
• [---] ? "*U* Computer Database", compiled by Larry Hatch, USA, 2002.
• [dp1] * "UFOs: The Psychic Dimension", web page by David Pratt, October 2002, at ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/ufo3.htm
• [ar1] * "1963 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2002, at www.aforteanosla.com.ar/albert/indice%201961-1970/1963/051-075/071.htm
• [jb1] * "1963", web page by Jérôme Beau, France, circa 2004, at www.rr0.org/data/1963/index.html
• [ud1] * "In October 1963 - Whidbey Island, Washington, USA", web page by the website UFOdna, circa 2008, at /www.ufodna.com/uf00/uf3/003724.htm
• [ud2] * "In July 1963 - Whidbey Island, Washington, USA", web page by the website UFOdna, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf08/uf6/086876.htm
• [ud3] * "19 Oct 1963 - Whidbey Island, Washington, USA", web page by the website UFOdna, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf18/uf9/189419.htm

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This page was last updated on December 15, 2008