The article below was published in the daily newspaper Combat, Paris, France, page 8, on September 22, 1954.
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THE HAGUE, September 21 — The 194 inhabitants of the small village of Zuidlaarderveen, in Groningen, have been suffering from collective insomnia for a week, fearing they might become the next victims of an invasion of fireballs which, according to a local farmer, Mr. Van der Veen, took place inside his own home.
Mr. Van der Veen was chatting the other evening in the traditional Brittany-style box bed he shares with Mrs. Van der Veen, when he noticed a small ball the size of a marble, emitting a yellow glow and surrounded by a black ring, floating above the bed.
As he tried to catch it, the ball began to grow and then vanished.
A few moments later, to the horror of Mr. and Mrs. Van der Veen, about fifteen small balls suddenly appeared and started rolling over the blankets. The couple jumped out of bed, and while Mr. Van der Veen, with a trembling hand, tried to light his oil lamp, the balls rose into the air and merged into a long ribbon that, twisting like a snake, circled the room and disappeared just as the lamp was lit.
Mr. Van der Veen's account, supported by the credibility of his solid reputation, has met with little skepticism in the village and has even made its way into the major Dutch newspapers.
