Most of us are familiar with the old ‘bait and switch’
routine. You know, drop by our store for this advertised special, when you arrive you
learn that they are ‘out of stock’ on that item, but we have something even
better over here. Well, your intrepid reporters at UFO*BC just experienced something
similar in May 1998. Curious? Please read on.....
On the 20th of May, we responded to a call on our hotline
(878-6511, write it down, folks) from a lady in Surrey, close to the Langley boundary,
regarding 3 circles, or more accurately 1 large oval shape, accompanied by two smaller
circles in the deep grass behind their residence. Apparently, she had come out to feed her
goats in the back yard about 6 p.m. on May 13. Our caller noted that one of the goats was
quite distressed, and would not eat, which we were told is quite unusual. It was at this
point that she noticed the impressions in the very tall grass. Graham Conway and I
arranged to meet the lady there about one week after these circles had appeared. Also in
attendance was the well traveled and undisputed leading crop circle investigator in
Canada, Chad Deetken. When we arrived we did indeed find a large oval impression in the
grass, about 15 X 20 ft., and two small circles ‘attached’ to the larger one,
about 8 to 10 feet in diameter. After a week, the grass was of course starting to
‘spring back’, or return to it’s original growth pattern, but the presence
of these formations was evident none the less. Our caller also assured us that when she
first came across the impressions, they were very well defined.
We proceeded to take photographs, (some from a precarious step
ladder position) and Graham noted that the grass in the large impression, and one of the
smaller ones, was flattened in an east to west direction, while the grass in the third
circle laid in a SE to NW direction. We also noticed that the nodules on the stems were
bent and swollen, but not broken.
The caller’s property sits on approximately one acre, in
very lush grass, (about 4 feet high) surrounded by Aspen trees that are perhaps fifty feet
in height. There was no evident damage to the branches or leaves.
Chad Deetken entered the large impression with a compass, and
found that there was no unusual compass reaction. He then traversed the length of this
circle, extending two dowsing rods, held loosely in his hands in a parallel position.
After a few moments, he came to a spot where the dowsing rods reacted by crossing each
other. This also occurred in another spot in the same impression. He also got the same
results in each of the smaller circles, signifying some sort of ‘energy
centres’. He explained to me that these ‘energy centres’ can be so strong
in circles investigated in certain parts of the world, that the dowsing rods can actually
‘jump’ out of a person’s hands. He has personally witnessed this
phenomenon. He offered the rods to the resident, explained the use of them, and she got
the same results. At this point, we have no idea what could have formed these impressions.
As well, there have been no reports of lights or unusual noises in the area. The
‘crop circle mystery’ continues.
What of this ‘bait and switch’ business you ask. Well,
it seems that while we did indeed visit the caller regarding these formations in the
grass, the really intriguing story was imparted to us around the kitchen table
before we left. Hence the ‘terror at the lake’ story unfolds .......
Around September of 1992, our caller (J.C.), two of her
daughters and a friend, felt compelled to take a drive out to the Gold Creek area of
Alouette Lake, in the Haney area, to ‘celebrate the rising of the full moon’.
J.C. tells us now that this was a "dumb reason" to drive to Alouette Lake at
night, but at the time, it seemed like a good idea. Off they went. The first thing they
noticed that seemed strange to them upon arriving in the area, was that there seemed to be
absolutely no one around. "Usually you are falling over park rangers, there are so
many" she told us. But not tonight. There was but one car in the parking lot, again,
unusual.
It was peaceful and quiet about 8 p.m. while the four were
waiting for the moon to rise. Suddenly, pebbles and small rocks began dropping from the
sky all around them. Understandably this caused great confusion and upset. Thinking that
they were the victims of someone’s idea of a practical joke, they responded
accordingly, yelling in all directions to "knock it off!" It would seem that
there were other expletives uttered, but we will leave that to your fertile imaginations!
The rocks continued to fall. They fell for two hours. Amazingly, not one of the
four were hit by any of the rocks, they just plunk, plunk, plunk fell for two hours, from
the sky.
Then, just as suddenly, the rock assault ended, when a soft
‘whirring’ sound was heard. The group spun around, and coming over the trees was
a "huge diamond shaped object" with a bright light at each point of the
‘diamond’. One of the daughters tells us this was about the size of a 747
aircraft. It came over top of them, and hovered directly over their heads for ‘about
a minute’. Estimated height was about two hundred feet. They all stood and stared at
this wondrous thing, then J.C. turned for ‘just a second’ to look at her
daughter, looked up again, and the object was gone. The rocks then began to fall again!
The area still seemed deserted, no park rangers, no campers, nobody! This is impossible!
Watching the full moon rise, suddenly didn’t seem like a really good reason to hang
around the area any longer. The four quickly formed a single file, and semi-running headed
up the path to the parking lot, with J.C. in the lead. The rocks continued to fall. M .A.
, one of her daughters was at the end of the line, and shouted to her mother that there is
"someone behind us". J.C. turned around and shone her flashlight past her
daughter, and they saw a very small figure, not more than two feet tall, blue and white in
colour (!), dart behind a tree. The pace of their exit really picked up here. Making it to
the parking lot, there was still only the one vehicle parked there. With a shower of
gravel they took off down the road to the park gate where there is always a guard or
ranger in the gatehouse. But not tonight.
The following day, J.C. returned to the area with a friend, and
fully expected to find evidence of the pranksters that surely had been throwing the rocks
the night before. Perhaps discarded pop or beer tins, food wrappers etc.. There was
nothing. Just prior to leaving the park, a rock hurtled (horizontally) past her friends
face, at eye level. J.C. has yet to return to this place! On two other occasions, both
while driving on the Mike Lake Road, the interior of their car lit up with a blue flash
(first time) and the second time, a white flash. To our knowledge, two of the family
members have been experiencing vivid nightmares. One of the daughters was caught
‘sleepwalking’, with her eyes open and ‘glazed over’, and speaking in
a voice other than her own. M.A. has woken up with cuts and bruises, having no idea how
they got there. They have heard screaming, and mumbling sounds in the house, doors slam of
their own free will, the fireplace has suddenly burst into flame, creating a roaring fire,
when prior attempts to get the thing going have failed. Radio’s have suddenly turned
on as though they had a mind of their own.
And so the puzzle continues. I would like to think that these
people have had their final experiences, as they surely must be growing weary of it all by
now. But I suspect that there is more to come, and more to this than we could possibly
hope to understand. We can’t provide anything in the way of an answer to all this, we
can sympathize, and speculate. And wonder who among us is next to be pelted with rocks,
scratched from an unseen source (my own experience) and generally tormented by who or
what? Is there a paranormal/UFO connection? It would almost seem to be so. More
speculation. All we can do is continue to monitor the ‘Hotline’, and drive off
into the puzzle with our cameras, notepads and tape recorders. And wish all of you the
best.
TO
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