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Jenny Randles – Supernatural Pennines

The way in which apparently simple sightings can turn out to be more confusing - almost bending reality - is well revealed by this next case from Alverthorpe, West Yorkshire.

It happened on 13 March 1979 and exactly what took place is still open to debate.

Walter Parr was an engineer who on this cold night had headed off to the pub to meet some friends. But he found himself in an odd state of consciousness, ….. For no apparent reason he took a route across some mud-sodden fields - a 'short cut' that he would never normally follow. He just felt 'compelled' to do this. Notice how often you will hear this said in other cases. Then, halfway across the field, alone and vulnerable, he realized that a huge light in the sky was paying him undue attention and swooping towards him.

Baffled by this, but trying to dismiss the object as a security light that he had never seen before, Walter tried to rush through the wet field in the darkness. It was now about 8 p.m. but the 'thing' had placed itself at rooftop height dead ahead. Looking at it, he could see that it was a long oval or 'squashed rugby ball' shape and surrounded by a greenish mist. The mist was fluorescent and seemed to cling to the surface of the metal of the object, causing it to glow.

Walter also now realized for the first time that he had been 'cut off' from reality in a very odd way. ….. It is extremely common in such cases but witnesses rarely realize it or know that others have reported it beforehand. To them it is just an oddity. This appears to be an altered state of consciousness during which the mind 'tunes in' to signals from another reality whilst temporarily tuning out the sense of the world around…..

In that field near the Alverthorpe pub Walter was aware of the sudden eerie silence and how the normal busy building was deserted. It was almost as if he was now in an alternative version of the world where all human life had vanished.

What happened next was impossible for him to describe. There was a ‘jump’ in reality. He was now inside the toilets on the edge of the pub. …... Time and sounds and people were back to normal. But how he got from A to B was beyond his comprehension. There was simply no transition - as if he had been dumped back into another world in a slightly different spot but instantaneously - when he entered the pub the landlord smiled and noted that it was a good job he was a little late because they had just suffered a power cut and were unable to serve beer for a few minutes.

Even more curious is that Walter left the toilet having forgotten all about the experience - rather as we forge our dreams upon waking. This incident dissolved like snowflakes in the sun. Moments later as he entered the pub to meet his friends.(without noticing whether there was any obvious 'missing time') it was just a feeling inside his head.

‘If you can imagine that you have a got a thought right at the back of your mind and you are very aware of the fact that something is there, but you don't bother to think about it’ he noted.

Then, 3 days later, the events came back but only slowly and in bits and pieces with the confusion enhanced by this 'blink' in reality. It took Walter months to pluck up the courage to tell his wife and when sharing it with investigators his self effacing testimony was obvious.