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URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

OCTOBER 15, 1973, OMRO, WISCONSIN, USA, GEORGE WILLIS:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

Several ufological sources indicate that on October 15, 1973, in Omro, Wisconsin, USA, at a certain time after midnight, George Willis was awaked by a high-pitched noise and saw his bedroom bathed in a red-orange light, or gleam. He distinguished in front of him three "nightmarish creatures", 1 meters to 1.30 meters tall, with round bald heads, large round ears, and a wrinkled skin of a greyish-white color. These creatures had jerked movements, mechanical, like robots.

Willis lost consciousness, and remembered that when he woke up, he was on the floor, and that these entities grabbed him and put him standing against the wall. In this vertical position, his body and his members suddenly stiffened and he could not move anymore, watching the three entities examining his body with strange small oval object. When this object was directed downwards in direction of his legs, the bone of the leg was visible through the object.

He then immediately suffered of a violent headache, and again lost consciousness, apparently when one of the beings touched him.

He woke up at dawn, looked at around him in fear, and found that the bedroom lights were still on and that cloths were neatly folded.

The case was investigated initially by Lee Mehciz and Lois Sayon, of the MUFON, then by Mrs. Allen Hynek, who assisted her husband astronomer and ufologist J. Allen Hynek assiduously. Mrs. Hynek told one author who asked her what she thought of the case in April 1976, that the witness seemed sincere. Another ufologist however noted that there were inconsistencies in the witness's report, and that he had simultaneously reported another later sighting.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. ls1:] LEONARD STRINGFIELD:

The author indicates in his chapter about the "marginal cases" that on October 15, 1973, in Omro, Wisconsin, little after midnight, George Willis was awaked by a high-pitched sound. His bedroom was bathed of orange light, and he distinguished opposite him three "nightmarish creatures".

They were 1 meter to 1.30 meters tall, with round heads, large ears, and a wrinkled skin, of a greyish white. Their moves were jerky, mechanical, like robots.

Willis lost consciousness.

He remembered that when he woke up, he was on the floor, and that these entities grabbed him and propped him against the wall. In this vertical position, his body and limbs suddenly stiffened, and unable to move, he saw that the three entities examined his body using strange a small oval object. When this object was directed downwards in direction of his leg, and he could view, through this oval instrument, his leg bone.

It then immediately suffered a violent one headache, and passed out again.

He regained consciousness only at dawn, and carefully looked around him. The bedroom lights were still on. The cloths were carefully folded.

The author notes that the case had occurred four days after the Pascagoula incident, where two fishermen had been abducted by similar entities. But he points out that Pascagoula case had not been announced on the radio before the 15th, and that thus one does not see how Willis could have heard of it.

This case was examined initially by Lee Mehciz and Lois Sayon, of MUFON. Then, its investigation was resumed for more details, by Mrs. Allen Hynek, who assiduously assisted her astronomer husband, at the Center for UFO Studies. The author phoned her in April 1976 to ask what she thought of the case, and she told him that the witness seems sincere.

The author notes that one can always wonder whether his experience was a dream or a reality, but it however comprises of the details similar to those of other cases of which he could not be informed.

He adds that the witness had been suprised at the interest which they carried to his case and that their promise that he will not be ridiculed had obviously relieved it.

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Omro, Wisconsin, on October 15, 1973, late in the night, the witness was awakened sometime after midnight by a brief, high-pitched sound; the room was lit up with a bright, orange red glow, and he saw three humanoids 4-5 feet tall materialize.

They had baldheads; grayish white wrinkled skin and rounded ears. They moved mechanically.

The witness passed out, and then came to on the floor, propped against the wall, unable to move. The entities were examining him with an oval object that showed the bones of his legs when it passed over them. He had a severe headache and passed out again as a being reached toward him. He awakened toward dawn on the floor. He found lights on the bedroom and the bed sheets folded neatly back.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is "Webb in 1973 Year of The Humanoids."

[Ref. js1:] JOHN SCHUESSLER:

In a catalogue of physiological effects caused by UFOs, the ufologist notes that on October 15, 1973, in Omro, Wisconsin, at 01:00, according to UFO Canada for March 1979, a high pitched sound and bright orange-red glow in the room caused the witness to wake up.

He saw three beings and passed out. When he came to he was being examined by the beings, unable to move, and he had an extreme headache and passed out again.

The author lists as physiological effects in the case: the medical examination, the headache, the paralysis and the unconsciousness.

[Ref. ni1:] NICAP WEBSITE:

The NICAP Website indicates that on October 15, 1973, in Omro, Wisconsin, the witness was awakened sometime after midnight by a brief, high-pitched sound. The room was lit up with a bright, orange-red glow, and he saw three humanoids 4 - 5 feet tall materialize.

They had bald heads, grayish-white wrinkled skin and rounded ears, and moved mechanically.

The witness passed out, then came to on the floor, propped against the wall, unable to move. The entities were examining him with an oval object that showed the bones of his legs when it passed over them. He had a severe headache and passed out again as a being reached toward him.

He awakened toward dawn on the floor. He found lights on in the bedroom and the bed sheets folded neatly back.

He reported the incident to CUFOS in June, 1974 after a second curious incident involving his girl friend. The authors notes that "there are some inconsistencies in the details of the account" according David Webb's Catalog of Humanoid Reports and the first hand investigation.

Points to consider:

Because of lack of data in the summarized stories published in the ufological literature and the absence of availability to me of the mentioned investigation reports, I cannot provide a seriously founded explanation, although several can be suggested, among which the correct one might be:

Since David Webb mentions that there were inconsistencies or contradictions in the witness' report, a witness who reported two incidents, it is possible to interpret this as meaning that the witness had made up the story and that it would be thus a hoax.

Since Leonard Stringfield indicates that the witness could not have heard about the Pascagoula incident said to comprise similar details at the time when the incident was reported, it could be thought that the incident would be somehow authenticated. But unfortunately, in the ufological sources available to me, there is no clear and certain indication of the date when the witness initially reported his alleged experience. The NICAP web site mentions that the witness reported his incident to Dr. J. Allen Hynek's CUFOS in June 1974, and if this was his initial reporting, then the argument by Stringfield does not hold any water since the incident of Pascagoula was then largely publicized. The NICAP web site also notes that he reported this experience in supplement to another, later UFO incident, which suggests even more that the first experience's report is posterior to the date when the incident in Pascagoula was largely publicized. It is thus not possible to see any importance in Stringfield's argument.

Since the incident occurs while the witness is sleeping in his bedroom, without UFO, with parts that could be experienced consciously but also on the contrary be sleep experiences, it is not excluded that Stringfield is right to evoke that the experience could be of the order of the dream rather than of reality - although the concept of dream of a much less impressive character than hypnagogic hallucination, another type of sleep experience. In the ufological literature available to me, there is nothing that can firmly establish one or the other possibility. This thus constitutes a second possible explanation: not a hoax betrayed by inconsistencies in the details of the account, but an dream episode or an hypnagogic hallucination episode. Such an episode could naturally in all good faith be colored by what the witness could have heard of the Pascagoula incident and comprise in all good faith a number of inconsistencies or impossibilities which would not be the hallmark of a hoax but the hallmark of an hallucinatory sleep experience.

On the other end, any sleep trouble explanation is to be rejected if it was true that he did not actually go to bed, as the mention of the neatly folded sheets and lights on in the bedroom is probably supposed to suggests.

The investigation items which could, perhaps, help to search further into the accuracy of one of the other explanation not being available, the case loses in true strangeness although remaining with no clear-cut explanation. such a case should not at all have be quoted as a case of UFO causing physiological effects on its witness when so much uncertainty and at least two ordinary explanations remain.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Hypnagogic hallucination or hoax or extraterrestrial visitors. Insufficient data.

Sources references:

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

• [---] ? "1973 Year of The Humanoids, An Analysis Of The Fall ", by David Webb, Center For UFO Studies (CUFOS), Chicago, Illinois, USA, May, 1976.
• [ls1] * "Situation Red: The UFO Siege", book by Leonard Stringfield, Doubleday and Co publishers, USA, 1977.
• [ls1] * "Alerte Générale OVNI", book by Leonard Stringfield, French translation of "Situation Red: The UFO Siege", France-Empire publishers, France, pp 85-86, 1978.
• [---] ? UFO Canada, Canada, March 1979.
• [ar1] * "1973 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2001, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1973.shtml
• [js1] * "UFO-Related Human Physiological Effects", article by John F. Schuessler, available at www.scientificexploration.org/jse/articles/ufo_reports/schuessler/11.html
• [ni1] * "The 1973 UFO Chronology - A World-Wide Wave", a 35-page chronology of UFO incidents contributed by Richard Hall, William Wise, Dan Wilson, Brad Sparks and Jean Waskiewicz, April 15, 2007, at www.nicap.org/waves/1973fullrep.htm

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This page was last updated on August 28, 2007