What has been happening in the fields this summer and what strange effects have been reported?
I have had an excellent response to the Human Effects questionnaire and to date have received over 60 reports which is better than ever before. You are doing a splendid job and each and every one of you are playing an important part in furthering this area of research; please keep sending them to me. As you know all reports are confidential unless you give me permission otherwise. I would particularly like to thank all the men who have completed questionnaires. There was a time when the response came primarily from women. This year however, the large proportion have been received from men. Well done fellows. Keep it up, you are doing a splendid job!
It is clear that not everyone experiences anything strange whilst in a formations or in their vicinity, but it is also very apparent that many people do not report what has happened to them, either because:
they may consider it a nuisance to complete the questionnaire,
they are unaware of which effects are relevant,(they all are!) they do not associate these effects with their crop circle visit until much later,
they do not know to whom to report their experience.
they may be embarrassed about their experience and worried about confidentiality.
There may be many other reasons for not receiving more reports, not everyone is a member of the CCCS and many people are unaware that research is being done in this area. Therefore just as there are probably 15-20% of crop formations annually that are never reported, so I believe that maybe 50% of crop circle experiences also go unreported.
However the response is encouraging and hopefully word of this research is being passed around.
Already I am beginning to see a picture developing but a lot more work needs to be done and I need qualified medical help. I hope to be working with a local doctor who has kindly agreed to try and analyse these reports this winter. However this is a mammoth task and more skilled help is needed. That many people experience multiple and contrary effects within a single formation adds to the complexity of interpretation.
As you will see from the analysis of reported effects, the overall unpleasant effects are decreasing and after 298 experiences you will note that the figures show 60.5% negative as against 70% in earlier days.
It is interesting to note that whereas the physical reactions are largely unpleasant, the emotional effects are predominately beneficial.
Also the long lasting experiences appear to be favourable in the main. (67%)
Several new effects have been reported to me, such as:
awareness of a `presence` whilst visiting a formation,
a peculiar sort of `metallic` taste,
panic attacks,
blurred vision.
When considering blurred vision, it also raises the question of visual effects. It is not easy to determine which experience can be classed as `internal` rather than `external` viewing? When people report `luminosities` (without the sighting being witnessed by others), are they describing visual hallucinations or physical sightings? This is another area where rigid conclusions cannot be drawn. In fact this whole field is fraught with ambiguities and therefore all reports are important and need to be included in order to present an overall picture.
Many effects continue to be contrary to expectations; several people who previously had prided themselves on being completely impervious to the `so called` reactions reported by others, have now had strange experiences themselves.
They are no longer doubters, they no longer regard my reports as being from people with `over active imaginations`; they have had a first hand experience and this has had a dramatic and profound effect on them. It is almost as though they have `seen` for the first time.
I believe the majority of reports sent to me are from sober minded, level headed people, and as such must be taken seriously and cannot be dismissed out of hand.
The value of personal experience is of the greatest importance and should never be underestimated. Thomas Carlisle put it well when he said "What is all knowledge but recorded experience?"
Strange animal behaviour and mechanical failures continue to be reported.
At the end of July a spectacular formation appeared at East Dean, near Chichester. I spoke to the farmer's wife, her father and other local inhabitants. At 4 am on the 24 July, the cattle were heard making a tremendous commotion. A few hours afterwards the formation was found. Sceptics have suggested that the cattle, which had calves with them, were protecting their young from intruders who doubtless were carrying cumbersome equipment needed to make the formation.
By chance I managed to test this theory. On Monday 25 July, I visited the formation with the farmer's permission. My sister, Steve Alexander and Graham Harrop accompanied me. In order to reach the formation we had to walk through a field where the cattle and calves were grazing. Steve and Graham both carried long poles and other bulky equipment needed to take photographs. We passed close by the herd and they paid us no attention whatsoever; they did not make the slightest murmur!
It has been suggested to me that on the night the formation occurred, the cattle were frightened because `it` came from above. I wonder how many of you have noticed how desperate dogs become when an air balloon flies over their garden. It is invading their territory and yet they cannot do anything about it. It is an unknown and disturbing quantity and they react dramatically. Could the cows have responded to an unfamiliar aerial threat in a similar manner?
David Kingston from Dorset also reported that "the cattle in the village were very restive prior to the formation".
Mechanical failures continue to come in "Flash gun failed to operate several times whilst in formation".
Another report from Ann Smith, relates how her automatic ...? camera on which the number display goes backwards, was left on the back seat of the car at no 27, after taking pictures of the `Spectacles` at the Sanctuary. "After driving further down the road for about a minute, my camera made a whirring sound and then stopped. No 24 was now registering. This could not happen, the button to take photos had not been pressed". She had also felt a `presence` whilst taking the photographs. Was the camera being manipulated by some unseen hand?
Another camera malfunction happened at the Sanctuary. "After filming in the circle, then in the Sanctuary itself, followed by Silbury Hill, my friends and I proceeded to West Kennet Long Barrow to see the formations opposite. The camera would not work! When we got back to the car, I changed the battery, still no luck, so I inspected the buttons. On the top of the camera, there is a `play\camera` switch. This was in the `play` position. It needs a definite push forward to put it into operation. I had not moved it, it had been lying on the back seat of the car".
John Holman also reported that whilst flying his model aircraft plus camera in this same location, the film whirred backwards.
The 1994 season started early with a spectacular burst of technicolour in Wiltshire, near the Sanctuary. Towards the end of April and the beginning of May, field upon field of oilseed rape erupted into flower, drawing the eyes like magnets to this vibrant sea of yellow. But that was not all, we had yet more wonders to behold,..formations and still more formations appeared within this brightly coloured landscape. Those of us who were fortunate to see the wondrous glyphs etched into the saffron landscape like arms emblazoned on a mighty shield, will recall how the sight literally took our breath away. We will treasure the memory.
One of the first reports came from a seasoned Croppie, Steve Judd who had been until this year totally immune to the many crop circle effects reported. He had dismissed them, just as Nancy Talbot and many others had to their cost, but who now know otherwise. He reports "I've been a regular visitor to crop circles since 1989 and pride myself on my insensitivity! But this year has shaken me!" He recalls "feeling of wanting to `go home`, not on this planet, elation, complete satisfaction, delight and joy". Yet on the physical side he has suffered quite unpleasant reactions. These include "severe migraine, aching knees, sweating and above all a strong disturbance to the solar plexus".
Steve is normally a fit, healthy man and so he found these symptoms disturbing. It was not until after the season had ended that the pain in his knees disappeared.
There have been several formations this summer that have provided numerous reports of strange experiences. There is not room to discuss them all, so I have selected one which is of particular interest for different reasons. It is the Celtic Barmaid that appeared on 24 July to the east of Avebury Avenue.
Paul Vigay sent me the report given him by "Tom and Kerry Packer who were driving back from Avebury to Knap Hill on the night of 23 July. At about 13:00-14:00 hrs they looked up and saw a bright white light above the trees towards the Ridgeway, where the first Galaxy formation had been. It appeared to be moving, but eventually disappeared. The following morning the Celtic Barmaid formation was found."
This elongated formation was clearly visible from the road and I suspect that many people visited it. My first report comes from Ann Smith who with her husband Richard, visited the formation a week after it had formed. Ann found she was impatient to enter and in her hurry left Richard behind. "I could not believe what was happening to me, I have visited many circles over the last few years and have never felt an energy as strong as this. It felt as though I was entering another world, a different habitat. I could function superbly. I ran around the formation with such joy for it was like discovering a secret garden." During this time Richard was experiencing quite contrary effects. He recalled how he "could not enter, a physical barrier was preventing me and I felt nauseous". Debbie Bensted also describes a "reaching the outer ring of the Eye formation where I hit an invisible wall that forced me to double over. This was followed immediately by vertigo and dizziness."
I have since map dowsed the Celtic Bar-maid field and find that a negative energy line runs through that area. Whereas most people will be adversely affected, is it possible that Ann not only is drawn to negative energy lines, but like cats, actually enjoys and relishes the `buzz`?.
Both Chad and Gwen Deetken visited the Celtic Bar-maid. Chad reports "whilst measuring and photographing this formation, I started feeling nauseous and dizzy, especially in the upper area which looks like a `maze`. After leaving, the feeling went away."
Gwen described her experience "I began to feel quite agitated and finally had to leave. The effect was most intense in the higher part. We left the formation about 5 or 6 p.m. I felt fine until later that night when I woke up feeling nauseous. The next day I felt a weak and disorientated". She points out that she had just arrived from Canada and was suffering from jet lag. However she returned to the formation with Paul Vigay about three weeks later after the field had been combined. "This time I stayed for about 20 minutes. The area in the upper slope (maze area) was definitely the most powerful. I felt headachy, dizzy, like there was a weight on my body and irritable and uneasy. I also felt this formation had a madness in its erratic form. All in all quite negative." Paul reported that they "both had to lie down to recover as repeat symptoms started to recur".
I was driving past the field one day with a friend and stopped the car, saying I would like to go into the formation. My companion became very agitated and seemed to be struggling to find a reason to stop me. "The farmer will be upset" she said. "I am going to ask the farmer's permission", I replied. "Please don't go in" she pleaded. I am not easily deflected if I set my mind to something I consider important, yet at the same time for some unknown reason I was quite glad to acquiesce, my emotions felt muddled and mixed.
My final report about the Bar-maid comes from Paul Vigay. "....The next bit I visited was to the north-west of the formation (the mazy bit). I got no anomalous readings from my gizmo, but started to feel a bit `wobbly`. I was initially puzzled by this as my pre-conception was that it was a hoax and I had visited numerous formations before with no ill effects. The feeling started to get worse and tended to be more psychological - although my knees felt weak - but I had really bad `vibes` and felt that I HAD to get out of the formation ASAP before anything bad happened. It felt really claustrophobic and was quite terrifying at the time. It got to the point where I could stand it no more and I literally ran out of the formation and back to the car. By the time I reached the car I felt fine although I still had a slight `butterflies in the stomach` feeling."
This panic sensation was also reported by John Sayer whilst visiting the Spider's Web to the east of the Avebury complex.
He had been "very eager to visit the formation, yet I hung around for a time, losing my enthusiasm, which puzzled me as it had never happened before. It took 5 minutes before I decided I would actually walk across to the formation. Even though I was occupied with pacing out measurements and filming with my camcorder, I began to feel uneasy. I was making my way down one of the straight paths towards the centre, but never reached it. The unease became worse, changing to foreboding, through panic to almost terror. As I retreated from the formation, I nearly broke into a run. I tried to fight against the feeling but it was overwhelming. I confess to being reduced to a state of paranoia by the time I got out of the field."
One of the most striking features of these reports is that in nearly every case, the effects are quite contrary to expectations and in consequence are more convincing to the sceptic.
As yet we are still a long way from reaching any conclusions or coming to any particular interpretation. We need solid evidence and when dealing with such an illusive enigma which has managed to side step most of our efforts to date, it is clearly not going to be `a piece of cake`. Many different aspects have to be taken into consideration; electromagnetic radiation is one that is spoken of more and more frequently. As we put increasing amounts of this `energy` into our atmosphere, the effects are clearly going to felt. They would appear to range from neutral to dangerous. That radiation is involved and present in the crop circles, is I believe a real possibility. Is it dangerous? How long does it last? Until we are able to measure scientifically what is happening, the answer is "I do not know." I would suspect that it varies from formation to formation. I would however strongly advise anyone who does not fell well, to leave a formation immediately. I would caution anyone who pregnant NOT to go into a circle. It is advisable to be careful when dealing with something we do not fully understand.
It is also possible that effects may be felt in formations that have been hoaxed. As most formations appear to be on energy lines it is conceivable that these lines may be contributing to the bizarre happenings.
As you will know from previous my article (The Circular Vol 4:4 Issue 16 March 1994)
I have been engaged in trying to find some rational and scientific explanation for some of the more often reported physiological and psychological anomalies. By walking down this path I am not decrying intuitive responses or gut reactions. Quite the reverse, I rely on and treasure my intuitive abilities and indeed our forefathers may often have been saved by their close relationship to nature and their instinctive understanding of accompanying perils. Birds and animals do not need to analyse the reasons behind their behaviour, but they know of impending danger ahead of humans. I believe our brain is capable of registering what is occurring more accurately than any computer, it simply cannot print it out in the required numerical and statistical manner.
Peter Staples and Isabel Maxwell-Cade once again kindly lent their expertise and E.E.G. and E.S.R. machines to the research we started last year. I value their help enormously. This appears to be an important line of investigation. I will be writing up and discussing their report in the next issue.
Also by then I hope maybe to have some news about the 20 mg bottles of water I have been burying in the fields for the past two years and which I know has caught the imagination of the many people who have witnessed this research in action! Finding a satisfactory method of analysing the water to see if there has been any change in the structure of the water in bottles buried in a formation as against control samples, is proving to be a problem.