Observations placeholder
John Lewis - 1656, Cardiganshire, Wales - Bedroom visitation
Identifier
029009
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
He may have been lucid dreaming or it may have been a false awakening. It is unlikely to be an out of body experience as he would have had the preliminary feelings and effects
A description of the experience
quoted in Wonders In The Sky - Unexplained Aerial Objects From Antiquity To Modern Times - and Their Impact on Human Culture, History, and Beliefs - Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck
In a letter written in 1656, John Lewis of Cardiganshire (Wales) described the experience of an acquaintance of his:
"A man lay in bed at night while his family were all fast asleep. Just after midnight "he could perceive a light entering [his] little room." Suddenly a dozen or so little beings "in the shape of men, and two or three women, with small children in their arms" walked in.
"The room seemed different somehow. It was illuminated, and appeared to be wider than before. The beings began to dance around and tuck into a special feast, inviting the witness to try the meat. This went on for four hours, and in the meantime, "he could perceive no voice" except for the occasional whisper in Welsh "bidding him hold his peace." He found it impossible to wake up his wife. Finally, the party of little spirits moved their dancing on to another room, and then departed. Until the man cried out at last and woke up his family, for some unexplained reason "he could not find the door, nor the way into bed."
John Lewis described the man as "an honest poor husbandsman, and of good report: and I made him believe I would put him to his oath for the truth of this relation, who was very ready to take it."
Source: William E. A. Axon, Welsh Folk-lore of the Seventeenth Century. Y Cymmrodor Vol. XXI (1908), 116.