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JUNE 16, 1978, OULTON, CHESHIRE, U-K., A MALE YOUTH:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

BURFORA's Martin Keatman reportedly told about a case in Oulton, U-K., on June 16, 1978, at 11:15 p.m.

A 16-year-old boy was returning from his girlfriend's house under a heavy rain, when suddenly he heard a very loud voice "talking nonsensically" all around him. It was so loud that he thought it would wake up everyone in the village. He compared it to that of a radio newsreader.

The volume intensity rose and fell as though the voice was being blown on the wind. The words could not be distinguished. It faded away after about five seconds.

The witness then continued walking, and about 50 meters further on, he noticed, through a wooded gate to his right, a cylindrical column of white light. This vertical beam appeared to be in the grounds of a convent and was an estimated 200 meters away, seemingly 3 to 3.5 meters high and 2 meters in diameter. It appeared to be solid and sharply defined.

At the precise point where the witness considered the beam to be, there is a tall cross about 2 meters high, but from the witness' position, only its top could be seen due to foliage and a small bank obscuring the rest. The bottom of the beam, however, was visible, just as if it were reaching the bottom of the cross.

The witness then had the impression that something was in the beam, he became scared and ran home, having watched the beam for about 5 seconds.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. jr1:] JENNY RANDLES:

Discussing sightings, the author mentions "a voice speaking into the mind of a witness at Oulton, apparently emerging from a column of light coming out of the ground", a case of her own file.

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Oulton, England, on June 16, 1978, at 2315, the 16-year old witness was returning from his girlfriend's house under a heavy rain when suddenly he heard a very loud voice "talking nonsensically" all around him; this was so loud that witness thought it must wake everyone in the village and he compared it to that of a radio newsreader. The volume intensity rose and fell as though the voice was being blown on the wind; words however could not be distinguished and it faded away after about five seconds. The witness then continued walking, and about 50 meters further on he noticed, through a wooded gate to his right, a cylindrical column of white light. This vertical beam appeared to be in the grounds of a convent and was an estimated 200 meters away, seemingly 3 to 3 1/2 meters high and 2 meters in diameter; it appeared to be solid and sharply defined. At the precise point where the witness considered the beam to be, there is a tall cross about 2 meters high, but from the witness' position, only its top could be seen due to foliage and a small bank obscuring the rest. The bottom of the beam, however, was visible, just as if it were reaching the bottom of the cross. The witness then had the impression that something was in the beam, became scared and ran home, having watched the beam for about 5 seconds.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is "Martin Keatman Bufora Journal Vol. 9 #1."

[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 16 June 1978 at 23:15 in Oulton, UK, "At 11:15 p.m. a 16-year-old man was returning from his girlfriend's house in a heavy rainstorm when he started hearing a very loud voice "talking nonsensically" all around him. The voice was so loud that he thought it might wake everyone in the village and he compared it to the voice of a radio announcer. The volume rose and fell as though the voice was being blown on the wind. He could not distinguish the words, however, and it faded away after about five seconds. He walked another 50 meters further on when he noticed, through a wooded gate to his right, a cylindrical column of white light. This vertical beam appeared to be on the grounds of a convent and was 200 meters away. It looked to be 3 1/2 meters high and 2 meters in diameter, and it appeared solid and sharply defined. The witness then had the impression that something or someone was in the beam, and he became scared and ran home, having watched the beam for about 5 seconds."

And: "The 16-year old witness was returning from his girlfriend's house under a heavy rain when suddenly he heard a very loud voice "talking nonsensically" all around him; this was so loud that witness thought it must wake everyone in the village and he compared it to that of a radio newsreader. The volume intensity rose and fell as though the voice was being blown on the wind; words however could not be distinguished and it faded away after about five seconds. The witness then continued walking, and about 50 meters further on he noticed, through a wooded gate to his right, a cylindrical column of white light. This vertical beam appeared to be in the grounds of a convent and was an estimated 200 meters away, seemingly 3 to 3 1/2 meters high and 2 meters in diameter; it appeared to be solid and sharply defined. At the precise point where the witness considered the beam to be, there is a tall cross about 2 meters high, but from the witness' position, only its top could be seen due to foliage and a small bank obscuring the rest. The bottom of the beam, however, was visible, just as if it were reaching the bottom of the cross. The witness then had the impression that something was in the beam, became scared and ran home, having watched the beam for about 5 seconds."

The source indication is a broken link.

Points to consider:

Oulton Park is an automobile racetrack, and Oulton Broad is a district, located in the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England, 8 km from Winsford.

Under an appearance of high strangeness, the case is perhaps not that impressive.

The heard voice is not connected to the column of light. It is heard only for 5 seconds. Nothing makes it a abnormal voice, the words are not heard. The volume changes, and this perhaps explains by changing winds as not suggested in the report. What if, quite simply, fom his home, somebody there had played a radio too loud, or put the HiFi tuner sound too loud for a few seconds? And turned it downat the end of these 5 seconds? So there is nothing here that is truly "unexplanable" or really "strange".

The column of light could also seem quite abnormal. But is is seen only 5 seconds also (how this was measured is not known). We are told that at the place where it was located it could normally not have been seen like this, it should have been partially hidden. So either the place was wrongly localised, or it must be imagined some "phenomenon" resulting in the column's light making obstacles transparent... All that is not very clear, one does not know exactly how these presented facts were collected and assessed. Was there some work in progress, using a projector directed towards the ground? In the middle of the night under a strong rain? This is mildly strange, without being "impossible". Perhaps some accident, a firemen intervention?

Anyway, if it is considered that a "close encounter of the third kind" consists by definition in the observation of UFO occupants, we are here in a borderline situation at the very least: no "occupant" at all was seen, only a voice was heard, a voice that had nothing "inhuman"; as for the "UFO", it is only a column of light having some strangeness, but not flying at all and quite far away from the "flying saucer" or extraterrestrial machine.

Add to all this the points in the List of issues below, and in the end the report does not seem to prove or demonstrate anything.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Possible multiple confusions.

Sources references:

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

• [---] ? Article by Martin Keatman in the ufology magazine BUFORA Journal, BUFORA, U-K., Volume 9, N.1.
• [jr1] * "Mind Monsters - Invaders From Inner Space?", book by Jenny Randles, Aquarian Press publishers, U-K., 1990.
• [ar1] * "1978 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2007, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1978.shtml
• [ud1] * "16 Jun 1978 - Oulton, UK", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2010, at thecid.com/ufo/uf19/uf6/196492.htm

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This page was last updated on December 8, 2011