Encounters With Humanoids And Advanced Alien Vehicles: UFO Accounts From The Roaring Twenties

While UFO sightings and encounters with bizarre humanoid beings continued throughout the 1920s, this mysterious activity was decidedly quieter than the decades that proceeded it and particularly those that would follow. The reasons for this temporary drop-off in sightings of aerial activity are not clear. However, that sightings continued on a relatively regular basis throughout the decade shows that whatever was behind these anomalous vehicles, their presence remained following the carnage of the First World War.

One detail that remained the same throughout the 1920s was that many of the vehicles witnessed were described as disc or cigar-shaped, and many featured humanoid occupants, some of whom were witnessed outside of the vehicle during several landing encounters.

As our own aviation capabilities increased, so did sightings from those with experience in the air, including some that saw these mysterious crafts approaching airplanes to extremely close proximity. And while we didn’t see some of the fatal aircraft incidents rumored to have involved UFOs in the late 1940s and early fifties, that this apparent alien intelligence had an interest in humanity’s activities is clear.

Incidentally, you can read about UFO sightings in the opening decade of the twentieth century here, and of the following decade here.

The Mount Pleasant UFO Landing Encounter

Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing encounters of the early 1920s is an apparent landing at Mount Pleasant in Iowa. At around 10 am on 3^rd June, according to an article in the 7^th July 1920 edition of the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper, Clark Linch was working on his father’s farm on the outskirts of the town when he made a sudden decision to stop for the day and go fishing. After all, he reasoned, it was his birthday.

However, while he was on the bank of the water a bizarre egg-shaped object appeared out of the sky and began to descend. It remained completely silent and was a strange “transparent blue”. It landed around 15 feet from where he stood. He remained where he was, watching the object for any sign of movement for around 15 minutes but nothing happened.

He later recalled how he “wasn’t in any hurry” to approach the object, adding that “it might have killed” him had he done so. He did contemplate getting closer, however. And just when he was about to do so, the object rose into the air once more, still remaining completely silent. As he watched it take off into the sky, he realized the color of the object and the transparent look would make it almost impossible for it to be seen once high in the sky.

When Linch eventually walked over to where the object had rested only moments earlier, he could see a clear impression of where the grass had been pressed down. He couldn’t, however, see any scorch or burn marks.  Linch would also offer that because the object was relatively small – as well as the fact that no occupants left the object – he believed it was likely an unmanned craft and appeared “lightweight”.

A Potential Abduction In France?

The following year in 1921, came a claim from a witness known only as “Mr. G B” that they had not only witnessed an apparent vehicle from an alien world but that they had been onboard it. According to the account, the incident unfolded in Marseilles, the 8-year-old witness was wandering in the countryside, enjoying the hot, sunny weather when he noticed two strange humanoid figures that appeared to be dressed in an odd type of diving suit.

Before the young boy could react to their presence, they reached out toward him, grabbed him by the arms, and started forcing him toward what the witness, at first, thought was a tank, albeit a strange one. The beings dragged him inside.

At this stage, beginning to be overwhelmed by fear, the young boy began to cry, something which he recalls the beings appeared temporarily intrigued by. It seemed the object was moving, and after a few moments, “an opening appeared in the ceiling” of the object, allowing him to see out. The next thing he knew, he was back on the ground and the object was no longer there. He wasn’t, however, anywhere near where he had been when he had been accosted by the strange entities. And had to “walk during a large part of the afternoon” before he was near home again, even though, only five minutes of time had passed between him being dragged to the craft and finding himself back on the ground.

By the time he arrived home, it was almost night and his parents were both worried about him, as well as angry that he was so late. When he told them what had happened, they didn’t believe him.

Many Reports Of Round And Disc-Shaped Objects

In early 1922 in Poland (the exact date and location are not known) multiple witnesses saw a silver, disc-shaped object with a “rotating ring” going around the center. After several moments a beam of light shot forth from the object, which then shot into the sky and disappeared, a “loud noise” announcing its departure. Across the Atlantic Ocean around the same time, both in Manitoba, Canada, and Lincoln, Nebraska, were reports of almost identical objects, each of which moved across the sky unlike any aircraft of the time.

At around 5 am on 22^nd February, also in Nebraska, in Hubbell, William Lamb was walking when he noticed strange tracks on the ground and began following them. As he was doing so, a sudden “high-pitched sound” rang out. When he turned in the direction of the noise, he found himself looking at a “circular object” that was moving across the sky. And what’s more, it was heading in his direction, eventually landing in a small clearing. A short time later, the same witness saw a “creature”, around eight feet in height, flying through the air having emerged from the direction the bizarre object had landed.

Multiple residents of Medford in Oregon reported seeing a similar object on the evening of 24^th June, describing it as being of “unusual appearance”, while on the 9^th September in Barmouth, Wales, John Morris, and William James witnessed a strange object land in the ocean. They went out onto the water in a boat in case the object was an aircraft that had ditched into the water, but nothing at all was found.

In early 1923, two college professors reported seeing a “revolving red object” passing overhead in Greencastle, Indiana, with a similar object being reported around the same time in Michigan by two female witnesses, who further claimed the object landed in a nearby swamp for 30 minutes before rising into the air and disappearing.

A particularly interesting report comes from Quetta in Pakistan at some point in early 1923, stating that an unidentified object exploded in midair sending flaming debris onto the town’s buildings below.

In June 1923, back in the United States in Northern Wayne County, Indiana, according to an article in The Evansville Courier (Electronic Edition), 10-year-old Norman Massie witnessed an oval-shaped object near his father’s farm while opening the gate to let the horses into the pasture. He told his father what he had seen but was told that he should not mention it to anyway, something he did for 75 years.

At around 7 am on 15^th July 1923 in Sosnovka, Russia, near the Vyatka River, a “crescent-shaped object” was witnessed by several passengers on a steamboat for several minutes before it disappeared from sight.

The “Little Robot People” Who Wanted To Destroy A School Science Building

The following year in early 1924 in Dade City, Florida, school student, Evelyn Wendt was in the schoolyard of the Holy Name Convent School when she noticed a bizarre egg-shaped object on the ground a short distance away. It appeared to be shining a light which at one point reached where she was standing. Then, the light went out and a doorway opened in the side of the curious craft. As she recalled it, several “little robot people” appeared out of this doorway and made their way outside. ^[1]

These strange creatures were much shorter than her and had faces that reminded her of flowers. Of more concern, they appeared to be carrying some kind of futuristic weapon and were seemingly headed toward the school, specifically, the science buildings.

Although she couldn’t recall who, she recalled someone warning her that these entities were dangerous and they wanted to “stop the work that was being done in the science building”. Try as she might, she couldn’t recall what this “work” was or why these strange beings wanted to stop it from proceeding. Whatever happens, it appeared that the creatures changed their minds and headed back to their vehicle which then shot into the air and disappeared. Whether the young girl hallucinated the incident or whether she was caught in some kind of exchange that she only has basic memories of is perhaps open to debate.

Advanced Craft With Humanoid Occupants

There were several other curious incidents that took place in 1924. A short time after the above incident in County Wexford in Ireland, two young boys watched for several moments as a bizarre solid beam of light traveled in front of them a short distance from the ground, eventually following the rail track and disappearing into the distance.

Also in January 1924, in Melbourne, Australia, multiple people witnessed six disc-shaped crafts passing overhead. The objects were at such a low altitude that witnesses recalled seeing occupants inside the aerial vehicles.

Around the same time on the other side of the world in the Osage Hills in Oklahoma, two horse riders witnessed an oval object in the sky shining a beam of light that stretched down to the snowy ground. Another encounter from the opening weeks of 1924 unfolded in Benest, France, when a spherical object ascended into the air from a field and then moved away from the witness at a relatively low altitude. The object remained in sight for around a minute before vanishing.

At just after 6 am on 23^rd August in Saskatchewan in Canada, reports of an oval-shaped craft were received from a local resident, who also claimed he saw several humanoid occupants inside. Later that same day, at 8:30 pm in Wellingtonbridge, Ireland, a similar object was witnessed by two 17-year-old farm workers. Another very similar object was witnessed several weeks later in mid-September in Koping, Sweden.

In early 1925 in Chelsea, Michigan, three witnesses reported seeing an unknown aerial object that moved with speed and performed moves that none had ever witnessed before. The object remained visible for several moments before disappearing.

In the summer of the same year, in Moora, Australia, according to the research files of Bill Chalker, two young men were walking in the country when they noticed a disc-shaped object resting on four legs nearby. Initially, the two men were suddenly overcome with fear and fled the scene. They returned a short time later, and while the object itself had gone, there were markings on the ground in the location they had spotted it.

Several weeks later, in August 1925, a metallic disc-shaped object was witnessed in the middle of the afternoon in Birmingham, England, and a report of a similar craft was made by two teenagers a couple of months later in Blecket, Sweden.

“Flying Manhole Covers” Approach Aircraft In Flight

Some very intriguing sightings of unknown aircraft were reported in the opening weeks of 1926. At around 1 pm in early January just outside of Wichita, Kansas, for example, six “flying manhole covers” were witnessed, and what’s more, these objects purposely circled an airplane. According to the witness, and stunt pilot, Bert Acosta, the objects were around four feet across and came to around 10 feet from his aircraft.

Around the same time in China, Nicholas Roerich, along with several members of his team, reported seeing a disc or oval-shaped craft hovering high in the blue afternoon sky. He recalled that the object’s exterior was of a shiny material that reflected the sun brilliantly. After several moments, it headed into the distance with great speed.

At around 8 pm one evening in early 1926 in Westmount, Illinois, a huge disc-shaped vehicle was witnessed with five smaller objects – also shaped like discs – traveling behind it in formation. Then witness recalled that when the objects passed through the clouds, their lights made them glow from the inside.

Several months later, at around 11 pm one September evening just outside of Salt Lake City in Utah, an airmail pilot reported a cylindrical object approaching his airplane, coming to within a distance of 150 feet. This happened several times, and each time the anomalous object approached, the witness’s plane began to experience difficulties with its engine. Eventually, fearing he would drop out of the sky, the pilot proceeded to make an emergency landing. As he did so, he noticed the strange craft take off “like a shot out of a gun”, vanishing from sight within seconds.

Later in the year, in the winter of 1926, two strange close encounters took place in the United Kingdom. And it is to those that we will turn our attention to next.

Close Encounters In The UK

One evening in November 1926 in Bolton, Lancashire, in England, a young boy, Henry Thomas, was playing hide and seek in the backstreets of the housing estate where he lived. ^[2] As he crept down the alleyway looking for places his friends might be hiding, he noticed one of the gates open and immediately walked toward it.

He pushed it open a little more, and stepped into the backyard, fully expecting to discover at least one of his friends. However, instead, he found himself face to face with three bizarre humanoid figures, each wearing strange clothing (that resembled the Michelin Man character), black boots, and with “transparent dome-like helmets” on their heads that had tubes coming from them that were attached to a black backpack.

Suddenly, seeming aware of his presence, all three of the creatures turned around to face him. Henry noticed how each of them had a particularly pale face, with heads “shaped like lightbulbs”. When one of them made a strange gurgling sound, Henry turned and ran from the yard as fast as he could. He would later state that even though he was genuinely scared, he didn’t believe that he was in danger and that the strange figures were friendly.

Several weeks later, sometime in late November and early December, Mary Kibel was returning home from Scremerston, Northumberland to Berwick on Tweed on the England-Scotland border after attending a concert. However, during their journey, a bizarre craft appeared out of nowhere with a “terrific swoosh” causing the group of four people to cower toward the ground in case whatever was flying over them crashed into them.

They saw the object go over the hedge at the roadside and seemingly come to a hovering stop in the field. The entire area was now washed in neon red and blue which appeared to come from this strange craft. Then, after only a moment or so, the object took off back into the air and disappeared. Although it moved too fast for them to get a proper look at it, the witnesses recalled that the strange craft appeared to be a round shape.

The following day, each still perplexed and intrigued as to just what they had seen the previous evening, the group returned to the location in question. However, even though they searched the ground for some time, they could see no signs that the object had ever been there.

Landing Encounters Around The World

One evening in February 1927 in Queensland, Australia, two young brothers witnessed a disc-shaped object with a domed top fly overhead. The object was so bright that it lit up the entire valley. It eventually landed in a nearby field before rising once more and disappearing into the distance. When the brothers ventured out to the field the following day, they discovered a “circle of scorched grass” where the object had been the previous evening.

Around the same time in Sausalito, California, at 9 am one morning, the writer, Ella Young, was sitting outside the Madrona Hotel when out of the clouds she could see a “cigar-shaped craft” suddenly emerge. She recalled that the object moved extremely quickly and with an “contracting and elongating” motion.

In the summer of 1927, one afternoon in Nicolae Balcescu in Romania, multiple residents of the village witnessed a cylindrical object pass overhead at an approximate altitude of 800 feet. The object was a smoky grey color was around 70 feet in length and remained completely silent throughout the encounter.

Only days later in Rovigo, Italy, according to the files of Italian Ufologist, Paolo Fiorino, 11-year-old Francesca C was on her way to obtain drinking water from near the river when she witnessed a “round and luminous object” passing overhead. The more she watched the object she soon realized it was heading toward the river, although rather than crashing it appeared to be purposely taking itself below the waves.

The young girl watched the water for around five minutes, after which the craft suddenly reappeared causing multiple bubbles to appear on the surface. A moment later, it was ascending rapidly and was soon out of sight. As it was emerging from the water, though, Francesca managed to see through what appeared to be a window or a porthole. On the other side of what she presumed was glass was the head and shoulders of a “small man”. Ultimately, once the object had disappeared the young girl retrieved the water she had come for and returned home, opting not to tell her mother of the encounter.

The following year, in the summer of 1928 in Leicester, England, an anonymous witness was walking in a field when a strange aerial vehicle flew overhead, so close, in fact, that the witness could even see the occupants of the bizarre craft. Around the same time, at 10 pm one evening in Orebro, Sweden, four teenagers witnessed two strange objects flying purposely through the sky before they disappeared into the distance. Very similar objects were seen in Chandler, Oklahoma in August, and in Zoutpansberg, South Africa in October.

Without a doubt, one of the strangest claims of an extraterrestrial encounter came from Lake Geneva in Wisconsin on 15^th October. On the day in question, farmer, Velma Thayer, was working on her land when she claimed that a saucer-shaped object landed in one of her fields. A moment later, several “little fellows” emerged from the object, each between four to five feet tall and with particularly blond hair. Even stranger, these apparent alien visitors stayed on her land for no less than 10 days, during which time they offered that they were from Saturn and were a scout ship crew of a much larger peaceful mission. As we might imagine, many researchers suggest we should take this encounter with a slight pinch of salt.

A Suggestion Of A Coming Increase

Although most of the 1920s were relatively quiet in terms of UFO sightings, certainly in comparison to the decades that proceeded and followed it, there was a clear, if only slight increase of such encounters in the decade’s final year. One of the earliest such encounters unfolded early in the year in Hertford in the United Kingdom where two young children witnessed a rounded object with two occupants inside during the day in the countryside.

Perhaps one of the most interesting sightings occurred around the same time in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. On the afternoon in question, a young boy was walking with his mother through the neighborhood when they suddenly became aware of a strange light overhead. The light appeared to be moving in a completely straight line, and the pair watched it for several moments. Then, without warning, it shot straight upwards and disappeared from sight. The mother told the young boy not to mention to anyone what they had seen as people would think they were “crazy”.

In April 1929 there was not only a sighting of a strange object but a possible photograph of an alien vehicle. On the day in question, Edward Pline was taking photographs of the sawmill when he suddenly heard a “terrible, thunderous bellow”. When he turned his attention to the area the sound appeared to have come from, he could see a huge, circular craft that was moving steadily across the sky. He watched the object disappear, and while other people in the area heard the commotion, none saw the actual craft itself.

However, a short time later when the photograph was developed, Pline was amazed to find he had captured it on film, in what could be one of the earliest pictures of a genuine UFO. You can see that picture below and see what you think.

In mid-June 1929 in Quebec, Canada, at around 11 pm 20-year-old Levis Brosseay was riding home to the town of Ferme Neuve on horseback when he noticed a “dark object with a yellow light” a little way ahead of him on the road. At this point his horse began to act nervously, and rather than force it onward, he dismounted and secured it at the roadside. He then proceeded to approach the strange object on foot.

When he was around 150 feet from it, he could see several small men in the immediate vicinity of the object, their concentration seemingly being the vegetation of the ground. After several moments, the men climbed back inside the craft which promptly rose into the air and took off into the distance, passing directly over the top of him at around 50 miles per hour. He estimated the object was approximately 50 feet across and contained windows that displayed a bright light inside.

According to the research files of Maurizio Verga, in the summer of 1929 in Roccagloriosa, Salerno, Italy, at around 2 pm in the afternoon, a young girl was working in a field when she suddenly noticed a bizarre “ball of white light” overhead. To begin with, the object hovered in one place. Then it suddenly dropped, stopping when it was but several feet from the ground. As it descended, the young girl could see a strange door-like opening on its side.

After several seconds, a figure that appeared to be female and dressed in black clothing similar to the style and fashions of the nineteenth century stepped out of the doorway. Behind this figure, the witness could see two or three smaller figures peering out. The figure made her way toward the witness, only she didn’t appear to be walking but floating. Before she reached her, however, her direction changed, and she ventured into the woodland. At this point, the witness turned and ran as fast as she could to find her father. Although he did search the area she said she had witnessed the strange events, he didn’t find anything untoward. He did, though, notice an aroma of roses that he couldn’t explain.

Across the Atlantic in Spring Valley, New York, a local resident encountered several strange figures with a “distorted, short body”, “large head” and wearing what “looked like a diving suit” while walking. Incidentally, this encounter was investigated by veteran late UFO researcher, Budd Hopkins as a possible alien abduction encounter.

In July 1929, in Robsart, Canada, Einar Rostivold, along with four others, witnessed a “huge ball of light” that was “giving off fiery colors” moving steadily and purposely overhead. From their position, it appeared the object landed a short distance away, its lights eventually fading so the witnesses were unable to see it.

Further Encounters With Humanoid Beings

According to the research files of UFO researcher, Albert Rosales, on the afternoon of 5^th July in Burns, Oregon, a mother, and her son were driving through the rocky terrain when a bizarre-looking object suddenly appeared over the top of their car and then stopped and hovered a short distance ahead of them.

As the witnesses looked across at the object, they could see a “transparent window” through which they could see “two completely human-like figures”. Of more concern, these figures appeared very much to be pointing directly at the witnesses. The son went to get out of the car so as to get a clearer look at this curious craft leaving his mother to order him back inside the car. Then, in a flash, the object was gone, vanished with blistering speed.

Another of Rosales’s accounts occurred the following month in August 1929 in the Novgorod region of Russia. On the day in question, 17-year-old Anna Petrovna Poletayeva was making her way to visit her parents’ home, a journey that took her past Gusevskoye Lake. As she glanced at the water on this particular day, however, she noticed an airborne vehicle moving slightly above the surface of the water. She would later describe the object as “round, small, (and) without wings”, with the upper section appearing to be glass-like and the underside appearing to be a copper color.

Inside the top section, Anna could clearly see two humanoid figures, one of which appeared to be male and the other female. Even though these occupants appeared very much human, the witness suddenly felt a surge of fear overtake her and she suddenly turned and ran. She looked back once, noting that the object remained exactly where it was just above the water.

In the same month in Krini, Chalkidiki in Greece, at around midnight one evening, 19-year-old Theocharis Moustakas, was making his way back home, carrying a cart of flour after grinding the wheat at the nearby mill. As he did so, he suddenly noticed what appeared to be a parachute descend out of the sky and land in a field near the roadside. When he stopped and looked in the direction the object had landed, he could see three small figures, each dressed in white hooded clothing and speaking a language that was unknown to him. Terrified, the witness turned and made his way straight to his home village.

A similar encounter unfolded in Brazil later in the year when a “large, shiny, white, metallic craft” with “several windows” along the side was witnessed on the ground. Around it were two humanoid figures, each dressed in shiny, silvery clothing.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing encounters occurred in the North Atlantic Ocean when a crew member of the SS Coldwater, Thomas Stuart, positioned around 400 miles from the Virginia coast, reported seeing a bright light moving in the direction of Bermuda at a speed in excess of 100 miles per hour. Stuart put forward that the light appeared to be long to a large passenger aircraft, however, a search of the area found nothing of interest. It is interesting that the light was traveling toward Bermuda, which would become synonymous with vanishing boats and aircraft as the twentieth century unfolded.

Why Was Their A Decrease Of UFO Activity In The 1920s?

As we can see, then, although sightings of strange aerial vehicles and encounters with mysterious humanoid figures were not as rife as in previous decades, they were still occurring on a regular basis, with many encounters sharing details and so suggesting that, whatever it might have been, something very real was taking place.

We might ask, though, why the 1920s was, relatively speaking, so quiet in terms of UFO encounters while almost all other decades saw regular reports. Might it be that the alien presence of the previous decades was pulling away from Earth, perhaps having concluded that the planet was of little interest to them? And if this was the case, just when did the alien race that appears to have dominated the Modern UFO Era begin arriving here? Or might we find that the extraterrestrial entities of the Modern UFO Era are the same as those in the early twentieth century, and that after the opening decades of reconnaissance, a purposeful reduction in visits from these alien beings?

As we shall see in our look at the final decades in the run-up to the start of the Modern UFO Era, sightings of these curious crafts would begin to rise dramatically, including during the bloody years of the Second World War, a conflict that ended with the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an event that many believe sparked the surge of sightings in the late-1940s, a surge that has not relented since.

The video below looks at some of the most fascinating encounters with alien entities.