Case LUK/0004 — Co. Derry, reported 1936
MULTIPLE WITNESS / PURSUIT / NO RECOVERY
- Date of events
- Reported in print 2 May 1936; the events described are somewhat earlier.
- Location
- An estate in Co. Derry, Northern Ireland. The archive's earliest United Kingdom case.
- Witnesses
- An estate worker, subsequently joined in pursuit by companions.
- Summary of account
- A letter published in John O'London's Weekly (J. H. Craigen, “An Encounter with a Fairy”) describes an estate worker seeing a figure of approximately eighteen inches emerge from a bank, wearing a conical hat and red coat. The worker gave chase; his companions reportedly joined; the figure disappeared in the vicinity of a plantation and was not recovered.
- Alternative explanations
- None proposed contemporaneously. The archive observes that the pursuit element makes the usual candidates (ornament, reflection, man standing far away) difficult to sustain, as the figure was moving. An animal explanation would need to account for the hat.
- Sources
- J. H. Craigen, “An Encounter with a Fairy,” John O'London's Weekly, 2 May 1936; transcription at Fairyist (Fairy Investigation Society). The archive thanks Fairyist for maintaining the transcription. This archive has no formal connection to that site.
- Editorial notes
- Classified as a United Kingdom case on straightforward constitutional grounds, which have nevertheless generated more correspondence than the sighting itself.
- Revision history
-
Date Change 22 May 2001 File created from the Society's index card. 30 Nov 2014 Transcription located online; source link added. 6 Jan 2015 Height standardised to imperial as printed. Metric conversion (approx. 46 cm) available on request; two requests received to date. — C.G.