Southern West Virginia 1930's Large" Ball Of White Light
Date: 1930's
Time: Approximately 9:00 p.m.
This possible UFO sighting occurred around the mid to late 1930's
in southern West Virginia. It occurred about 3 miles distant from
the sighting my grandma had earlier in that decade of a possible UFO.
James, whose brother had married into our family, was a no nonsense
kind of person. A hard worker, who raised a large family, he was also
known as one who was "afraid of nothing and no one".
On the night this happened, James had left the church which let out
around 9:00 p.m. He had a long walk to his home down a country road
known as Saw Mill Road. Often, especially after church services or
revivals, groups of people would be walking together on the road to
their respective homes. Whether or not James had such company for
awhile isn't known, but he was definitely by himself when this event
happened. As to whether anyone else in the area on their way home
may have witnessed something unusual in the skies that night is unknown.
At any rate, not too far from the church, the road had a steep uphill
grade. It was banked by a forest on one side and small meadow below
on the right. As James reached the top of this hill, he began to feel
uncomfortable. He wasn't afraid or spooked by anything, but the feeling
that overcame him caused him to be wary. As we use to say "to
put one's guard up". He looked around as he walked, but saw nor
heard anything unusual.
He had reached the bottom of the hill and had walked less than five
minutes further when something caused him to look behind him. It was
never made clear whether it was a sound , a flash of light, or that
feeling that someone was following that caused him to do this.
But in doing so, what he saw was a "large" ball of white
light suspended very low and very near him. One thing he knew for
certain about this was -- it wasn't the moon.
If James expressed sheer fear he never indicated it to his family
when telling the story. In fact, there was never any indication that
he was so frightened that he bolted.
His exact words were "the faster I walked, the faster it picked
up speed". The object kept right up with him. It never attempted
to overcome him or out distance him. Instead it tagged along behind
him on the long road like a wary dog for approximately another mile.
When James reached the forks of the Saw Mill Road, the white ball
of light had suddenly disappeared . "I looked one second and
it was there. The next, it was gone." He had not witnessed whether
it sped away or just blinked out.
Someone in later years suggested that the white ball of light might
have been something like "swamp gas" or some such phenomena
as that. I find it difficult to believe that a ball of "swamp
gas" would tag along behind someone, making every twist and turn
of the road, for a mile or so as this one did.
As far as I know, James never offered an explanation himself as to
what he thought it might be. Given his character, I believe he just
told the events as they happened and somewhere in his mind classified
it as something that was profoundly out of the ordinary in his life.
Something as it turned out would never happen again to him.
If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind
enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net
with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept
confidential.
Credit: The Vike Archives & Sightings.com
