The 1954 French flap:

The "flying saucers" are still the talk of the town

Three children of Pournoy-La-Chétive claim to have seen an odd machine and curious small man who talked to them.

Three children of Pournoy-la-Chétive have just affirmed to have seen in the evening of Friday an odd machine going down from the sky and a strange small man coming out of it, and talk to them. Such is the news which spread in the villages of the Seille.

It was not about a joke of bad taste. The children, indeed saw something abnormal and were the witnesses of a particular event which "struck them in such way that they lost their appetite and that they returned on their premises trembling of fear and thrown into a panic. But it is impossible to know if this was real fact or the involuntary disfiguration of an authentic and natural scene, by imaginations impressed after many accounts. Gilbert Calba, aged 11; Daniel Hirsch, aged 9, and his little brother Jean-Pierre, aged 5, had gone, Friday evening, to a skating party on the secondary road n° 41, at the entry of the disastered village. It was 07:30 P.M., and the night fell. Suddenly, near the cemetery, the children attended the phenomenon. Here the scene such as told Gilbert and Daniel, 2 excellent pupils of Mr. Martignon, the teacher of Coin-sur-Seille:

"In the sky, we saw something luminous. It was a round machine of 2 m 50 of diameter approximately, which landed a little in front of us. The apparatus had black, yellow and white stripes and rested on 3 feet. We awaited 1 minute or 2 and a man came out of it. He had a lamp lit in a hand, a lamp which launched rays, and in the other hand, a luminous object in the shape of a cross. The man had large eyes, a hairy face was very small, 1 m 20 perhaps. He was deessed of a black dress, like a priest. He stared at us in the eyes. We were afraid, but we could not move. He said something in a language that we did not understand. When he extinguished his lamp, we run away. After, we saw something luminous in the sky which went away very quickly."

And Gilbert Calba added: "is not to be noticed that I say that, but I swear to you that I saw it..." Another inhabitant of Pournoy, Robert Maguin, aged 15, also saw, it seems, the mysterious machine, in the sky. Such is this curious relation which leaves perplexed.

For its part Mr. Delacour, the sympathetic Mayor of Pournoy, hesitates to decide: "I tell you frankly, I do not believe too much in the flying saucers... I am a little like Saint Thomas... But after all, there could have something to it."

As for Mr. Raoul Lesourd, the devoted secretary of the Town hall, he only comes only Saturdays and, in the present case, he is satisfied to simply doubt... Perhaps the future will tell if the 3 children were the toys of a too wild imagination.

All that is true is not worth to be told

Because he had seen a flying saucer he gets it!

Stories of saucers, definitely, are quite disconcerting and are nowhere near to stop causing impassioned comments. Those "which see some" are die-hard believers and are obviously showing their anger at skeptics septic who meet them a tat mockingly. That's because one needs to understand the psychology of those "who do not see any." It enters in their behavior a certain amount of spite and they are "believers" in waiting. They adopt, while waiting, the wise attitude of Saint Thomas.

If up to now, the flying saucers, luminous soup tureens, cigars, half-cigars and other acrobatic objects posed multiple enigmas, they did not cause a damage however, except in the cerebral balance of certain witnesses who have not yet recovered of their emotions. But we know a 11 year old young boy who happens to be the victim of the flying saucers. The fact of having seen one of them and to have said it, earned him paternal physical punishment in due form. The poor kid will remember his "saucer."

It is in Pournoy-la-Chétive, in the Moselle, that the incident occurred. Since 24 hours, this small village located at 20 km of Metz, is divided in 2 camps: those which are for the flying saucers and those... who gently laugh.

At about 08:00 P.M., Friday, a 11 year old kid, the young Calba, returned hastily to his parents telling, breathlessly, that he had just seen a flying saucer. His father, unconvinced, raised the hand and, so that in the future the kid does not tell any more crap stories, made his taste for saucers pass. However, in spite of the paternal argumentation, the child persisted in his account, even adding that 2 of his comrades had also seen the saucer. It was when the 3 children were rollerskating, at a few hundreds of meters of the village, that the "thing" occurred. They saw a circular machine, projecting a dazzling light. The machine landed on the roadside and the kids claim that a small man, measuring approximately 1 m, dressed in black and with a hairy face had descended from the saucer. The children were seized by fear, a general stampede followed and they returned to their home at all the speed their legs could provide and likely on their rollerskates.

Interrogated separately, the 3 young boys made an identical statement and affirmed that in Pournoy, several adults have also seen the saucer — but without the bearded pilot.

[missing part]

of orange color, having the shape of a disc approximately 5 m in diameter. After having descended down until some ten meters above the ground, the machine, that the 2 witnesses claim to have been a "flying saucer," went up suddenly vertically to disappear shortly thereafter.

This phenomenon has been sonformed by several other people working with [the factory] Sidelor who saw, at the same time, a strange gleam on the side of the river Orne.

IN THE MOSELLE

Three children claim to have been
called by a "MARTIAN"
aboard a saucer

SINCE Saturday, the residents of the small commune of Pournoy-la-Chétive, near Verny (Moselle) have been divided into two clans: Those who believe in it, those who laugh at it.

We mean the flying saucer, of course.

Three children from the village claim, indeed, that they saw a saucer and its passenger. They told their story to their parents, repeated it to the teacher and confirmed it to Mr. The Mayor. All three were roller-skating on Friday afternoon near the cemetery. There were there: Gilbert Calba, 12; Daniel Hirsch, 9, and his brother, Jean-Pierre, 5.

"At around 6:30 p.m., says Gilbert, we saw a luminous and round object, about 2.50 m. in diameter, land. The craft landed near us, it had yellow and white stripes and was resting on three feet.

"Soon a man came out, holding an electric lamp in his hand.

"He was very small (about 1.20 m), had big eyes, a hairy face and wore a black cassock like Mr. the Priest. The man came to speak to us in incomprehensible language and we fled, frightened.

"We looked back a little further. The very bright object rose very high and very quickly in the sky."

This story is partially confirmed by another resident of Pournoy-la-Chétive, Robert Maguin, 16, who said he also saw a mysterious craft around the same time, but he was not close enough to distinguish the details.

Near Muenster
four Martians repaired
their saucer

Mr. Hoge, a film operator by trade, said he saw four men outside a flying saucer on Saturday night near Muenster.

These men, 1.20 m. tall or so, have a strongly developed torso and a large head. On the other hand, their lower limbs are small and lean.

Mr. Hoge was on his way home when he saw a blue light in a field, 60 meters from the road. He thought it was a plane crash, then he saw that the light was coming from an object having a shape of cigar. Four men, in rubber overalls, worked under the craft. None of them said a word.

Mr. Hoge watched them work for 10 minutes, not approaching, because he was afraid. Finally, the four men, by a kind of ladder, went into the cigar which, a few meters after taking off, took the shape of a saucer, projecting a dazzling light.

A luminous object in Calais

Many witnesses said they saw, in the sky of Calais, a "flying saucer". The testimonies are, above all, around the Fontinettes roundabout.

Mr. Jean Pinot, butcher, boulevard Pasteur; Norbert, hairdresser, his neighbor, were formal. According to them, the craft, ovoid in shape, with metallic reflections, came from the direction of the East and headed towards the West-North-West, passing over the chimney of the Belier factory, rue Van Grutten.

Another witness said the disc was spinning silently.

Another person tried not to lose sight of it and drove to the Jourdan bridge. There, in front of the curious gathered in the street, the "flying saucer" disappeared in the distance.

From Lebanon to Egypt

Other saucers have been seen:

In Lebanon, in Beirut, by the sea.

In Cameroon, where several doctors clearly saw, for 15 seconds, a kind of mushroom, beneath which a cylinder swayed with a length equal to the diameter of the hat and, too, very bright.

In Egypt, above the control tower of Muzha airport. The craft, in the shape of an elongated "saucer", changed color, changing from red to orange, then from green to gray, before moving away at lightning speed.

Finally, a "flying saucer" was observed for about two minutes, by 13 members of a gliding school, above the Ockstadt airport, near Frankfurt.

The 13 pilots and student pilots were watching the progress of a monitor, when they saw appearing above the glider in flight, at an altitude of about three thousand meters, a "slightly swollen silver disc", which moved without the slightest noise. The witnesses, including several former Luftwaffe aviators, are formal to declare that they cannot have been victims of an optical illusion.

Flying saucers
photographed
in New Zealand

Mr. K. M. Gibbons of Nelson was able to telephoto a series of photographs of three flying saucers.

When he took two snapshots of the three mysterious craft, they disappeared vertically at high speed. However, he continued to take photographs in the direction of the saucers. The developed film shows cylindrical objects, having a kind of dark core.

The "Martian" of Pournoy-la-Chétive was small, hairy and wore... the cassock

Three children with whom the unknown spoke an incomprehensible language claim that

Metz (A.C.P.).

Since Saturday, the inhabitants of the small community of Pournoy-la-Chétive, close to Verny (the Moselle) have been divided in two clans: those who believe in it and those who laugh at it.

We are talking about the flying saucer, of course.

Three children of the village claim, indeed, that they saw a saucer and his passenger. They told their story toh their parents, repeated it in front of the teacher and confirmed in front of Mr. the Mayor. All three were rollerskating near the cemetery. There was: Gilbert Calda, aged 12; Daniel Hirsch, aged 9; his brother Jean-Pierre, aged 5.

Dressed like Mr. the Priest

[...] states Gilbert, we saw a luminous and round machine of 2 m 50 approximately of diameter land. The craft landed close to us: it had yellow and white stripes and was posed on three feet.

"Soon, a man came out of it holding a flashlight in the hand.

"He was very small (1 m. 20 approximately) had large eyes, a hairy face and wore a black cassock like Mr. the Priest. The man came to speak to us in an incomprehensible language, and we fled, frightened."

Another witness

"We looked back a little further. The machine, very shining, rose very high and very quickly in the sky."

This account is partially confirmed by another resident of Pournoy-la-Chétive, Robert Maguin, aged 16, who stated to have seen, also around the same hour, a mysterious machine but he was not close enoughto distinguish its details.

DISCS, BALLS AND FLYING CIGARS

... and even Martians and Martians girls

Three red fireballs

Riom, 12. -- During the night from Sunday to Monday, the peacekeepers Roger Thévenin and Albert Daury, of Riom's urban corps, who were doing a round, saw in the sky a cigar-shaped craft which went from South to North. Three balls of red light detached from it and illuminated for a few moments part of the sky. The cigar was metallic in appearance, similar to duralumin.

A brightly lit balloon

Melun, 12. -- Mr. Jules Lefranc, a bank employee living in Paris, saw in the sky, near the François de Tessart stadium in Meaux, for about three minutes, an object brightly lit from the inside which, he stated, had the shape of a small soccer ball. The object disappeared, leaving behind, said the witness, a luminous trail the size of a stove pipe.

Residents of Trilport reportedly saw an identical stationary apparatus.

A landing

Limoges, 12. -- In Saillat-sur-Vienne, Sunday evening at dusk, Mr. Roger Gayout, transporter at Limoges, his wife and relatives saw in the sky a very brilliant mysterious machine which, after having moved for a few minutes, seemed to land a few kilometers further.

A blinding glow

Nancy, 12. -- In the night from Sunday to Monday, inhabitants of a farm located a few hundred meters from the village de Moncours (Meurthe-et-Moselle), were stirred by an abnormal whistling sound, through the shutters they distinguished a blinding glow which seemed fixed on the side of a hill and which disappeared shortly after while rising vertically. In the afternoon, research undertaken towards the place indicated by the witnesses revealed traces of intense calcination on a dirt road. Stone and earth samples were taken to be submitted to experts.

A luminous disc

Melun, 12. -- Mr. Demarcy, a butcher at Seine-Port, and one of his friends, who were traveling by car in Nandy, said they saw a luminous disc moving at an altitude of around 800 meters. The two butchers got out of their car and followed the move of the craft for about a minute.

A flaming craft

Mulhouse, 12. -- Having seen a light in a pasture on Sunday evening, two young girls from Heimersdorf, Anny and Roselyne Pracht, 22 and 18 years old, approached thinking it was a fire lit by a shepherd. They then saw, they claim, a machine about 2 meters high. At their approach, the barrel-shaped object, turned to glowing red, rose in the air and disappeared on the horizon. The same phenomenon was seen by two other people.

At an altitude of 200 meters

Quimper, 12. -- Mr. Corentin Couarch, 38 years old, living in the village of Elliant (Finistère), agricultural worker, saw in the sky, at 200 meters above sea level, a luminous craft whose shape and size he could not specify. He said that in fright he had turned off the lantern of his bicycle so as not to attract attention and moved away quickly. At 1 km, he said, he looked back and saw the light stopped at ground level.

"Cigars" in the Midi

Toulouse, 12. -- In the night from Saturday to Sunday, a baker from Bompas (Pyrénées-Orientales), Mr. Sebelli, saw, posed in a street in this village, a cigar-shaped object about two meters in length, surrounded by iridescent lights.

Mr. Sebelli woke up neighbors who witnessed the rapid departure of the apparatus.

Also, three young hunters saw moving yesterday above Gaillac (Aveyron), at a high altitude, an object in the shape of a cigar which described in the sky a series of large "S". Each maneuver was accompanied by a noise comparable to a jet of pressurized steam. The craft suddenly disappeared towards the North.

Finally, in Pont de Salars (Aveyron), a person saw last night u the sky, towards the sunset location, a disc surrunded of a large luminous circle with an unbearable brightness. Descended slowly toward the horizon, the disc disappeared at breakneck speed.

An orange glow

Melun, 12. -- A resident of Fontainebleau said he saw above Machault, a circular craft emitting a fairly bright glow, orange in color. The disc, which was about the diameter of a full moon, was moving at a fairly slow pace, crossing the sky horizontally.

Two pretty Martians!

La Rochelle, 12. -- A colonial teacher, currently on leave on the island of Oléron, Mr. Martin, claims to have met on the island of Oléron two pretty Martian women measuring approximately 1 m. 70, in boots, gloves and leather helmets. The two Martians took hold of Mr. Martin's pen and traced incomprehensible signs on his notebook, while trying to make themselves understood. Mr. Martin is said to have taken great care of this manuscript.

A saucer makes a forced landing in Westphalia

The "Martians" (broad shouldered) repair on the spot and take back the air

Munster, 12. -- Mr. Hoge, a film operator, was near Münster (Westphalia) when he saw in a field four "men" in rubber suits who were busy under an object in the shape of cigar. Mr. Hoge watched them work for ten minutes, without approaching, and, finally, the four men entered by a sort of ladder into the cigar which, after taking off, took the form of a saucer projecting a dazzling light.

The four "men" whose height was about 1.20 m. had, according to Mr. Hoge, a rather large torso, a head proportionally too large for their body and slender legs.

A "Martian" in a cassock calls out to 3 children

Three children from Pournoy-la-Chétive, near Verny (Moselle) claim that they saw a saucer and its passenger. They told their story to their parents, repeated it to the teacher, and confirmed it to the Mayor. All three were roller-skating on Friday afternoon near the cemetery. There was Gilbert Calba, 12 years old; Daniel Hirsch, 9, and his brother Jean-Pierre, 5.

"At around [?]:30, said Gilbert, we saw a luminous and round machine landing, about 2.30 meters in diameter. The craft landed very close to us. It had yellow and white stripes and landed on three feet.

"Soon a man came out, holding an electric lamp in his hand.

"He was very small (about 1.20 m), had large eyes, a hairy face and wore a sort of black cassock like the priest. The man came to speak to us in incomprehensible language and we fled, frightened.

"We looked back a little further. The very bright object rose very high and very quickly in the sky."

This story is partially confirmed by another resident of Pournoy-la-Chétive, Robert Maguin, 16, who said he also saw around the same time a mysterious machine, but he was not close enough to distinguish the details.

A motorist meets two "Martians"

Albi, 12. -- A motorist from Briatexte (Tarn), Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technical agent in a company currently exhibiting at the "Household Arts" of Toulouse, claims to have met, at nightfall, on the National Road Nr 631, the passengers of a flying saucer.

"Coming back from Toulouse, in the company of two relatives, he said, I suddenly distinguished in the beam of my headlights two little characters who crossed the road, barely a few meters from my car. I stopped immediately and, to our great astonishment, we then saw flying away from a neighboring meadow a large red disc with a diameter of six meters. Climbing vertically, the craft disappeared in the sky in a few seconds."

The "saucer" of Pournoy was only a vision

In a previous article, we had reported the statements of children who had seen, in Pournoy-la-Chétive, a "flying saucer" and a small man dressed in black. Since this day, the population had lived in fear of new appearances and locked up twice at nightfall. A discrete investigation, having been carried out, made it possible to identify the so-called "Martian" who is no other than an inhabitant of the locality.

Indeed, the latter being retained that day by his work, had not been able to go for grass for its rabbits before nightfall. Whereas he was at the exit of the village, close to the cemetery, and on the return way, he had to make use of his flashlight several times. Children playing in the vicinity were sized by fear and fled all trembling to the residence of their parents, in spite of the vain words of the "Martian", who tried to make himself be recognized. As for the flying saucer, no doubt that it was also pure imagination.

But The More Paris Changes...

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

By HENRI DE TURENNE
Special correspondent of The Sun

Paris, Oct. 16 -- The skies of France are as crowded with flying saucers this fall as Times Square is with people on New Year's Eve.

Squadrons of saucers, plates and soup tureens - in fact, practically the whole crockery family - are zooming through the atmosphere and occasionally landing in a friendly manner near schoolchildren, railway workers, farmers or even sailors at sea.

For many years the French knowledge of these foreign elements was only from scattered reports of far-off countries where they had been seen. At long last, this unhappy situation has been corrected and for the past months, all French newspapers have opened special daily columns to dozen of French citizens who give detailed accounts of their strange encounters with people from another planet.

Recognize Paris?

While the whole world is still wondering about the mystery of the flying saucers, the French have solved the problem.

In their minds there is no question that this foreign craft is coming from Mars and, judging by the newspapers, you have to be almost unsociable nowadays to miss running into one of these Martian gentlemen here while taking an afternoon stroll.

In other countries, everyone has talked about vague luminous balls circling through the skies, but in France more is known about them because they come down (preferably on railroads) and hang around for a while, letting you have a good look.

It is probably that in going over France and recognizing Paris from far away, Martian pilots cannot resist landing to get a close view of the Eiffel tower and the French girls. At least this is the way the French like to interpret it.

Shiny Object Lands

In this vein, the most detailed reports about flying saucers and their occupants are originating here. For instance, Bernard Goujon who lives in Coulommiers, a western suburb of Paris, to take one of the testimony out of thousands gathered by the gendarmes - did not believe in their existence until a few days ago. He is a 30-year-old highway engineer in good health and apparently normal without any unusual complexes. Last Thursday, while on the road with a co-worker, Armand Picket, a shiny object landed in a field half a mile from them.

Goujon gave the following account of this exciting experience:

"I told Picket 'This looks to me like a flying saucer.' He was so frightened that he jumped into a ditch to hide. 'You can go over there if you want,' he said, 'but I'm staying here.'

"Like Big Mushroom"

"I ran toward the saucer that looked as if it were made of aluminum and about 25 feet wide. Resting on a sort of tripod, it looked like a big mushroom. On top was a cockpit with three round windows. As I got about 100 yards from it, something stopped me. I couldn't move forward or backward, and I had a strange tingling sensation throughout my body as if I had received an electric shock.

"I was stuck to the spot some 30 or 40 seconds while the ship went up, started circling on itself and suddenly took off like lightning through the clouds."

Poor Goujon probably had to deal with some shy Martians. Many other Frenchmen were more lucky than he. According to them, the Martian is not very attractive, averages 5 feet in height, has a very thick, bearlike beard all over his face, wears a pointed glass helmet and does not speak any of our languages.

Like Caricatures

All in all, he looks pretty much like the caricature of him made by cartoonists all over the world. Three children in the village of Moselle (noted for its wine), in eastern France, have even seen one dressed like a priest - with a hairy face too. He talked to them, but they could not understand him.

To add support to their stories, French newspapers recalled that - according to American sources - one of these travelers has been captured in the United States. He is kept in an incubator at the Pentagon, where intelligence officers are trying to teach him basic english. "But is not easy," they claim.

In general, the French public accept the flying saucer with light irony - like other things. However, police and national scientists had started the difficult job of veryfying the hundreds of testimonies that have poured in from all over France in an attempt to separate pure fantasy or hallucination from objective facts.

Keep An Open Mind

Their position is that in the interest of science, one must keep an open mind on such matters - such is the official attitude.

This is especially true since the French have noticed that as soon as flying saucers begin appearing over French skies, the Russian press published a multitude of articles on soviet progress in building space ships designed to go the moon "in a relatively near future." Is it pure coincidence?

Collective hallucinations are one thing - the public and the press may have fun with them - but politics and science are another - and governments have to keep their eyes open.

[...]

Lastly, with the latest news, it is a true avalanche of Martians that comes falling on our grounds.

In Pournoy La Chétive, in the Moselle, three children were roller skating, when a round machine, of 2.50 meters of diameter, lands close to them. A man left from there, holding in the hand a lit lamp which dazzled the children.

He was dressed of a black cassock "like that of our priest", and after having said some unintelligible words, he flew away in his saucer.

[...]

October 9 [, 1954]

[... other cases...]

06:30 p.m.: Pournoy-la-Chétive (10 km S.Metz--Moselle): landng.round craft with tripod landing gear, diameter 2, 50 m. + dwarf dressed black, hairy

[... other cases...]

[... other cases...]

October 9, 1954: Pournoy-la-Chétive (10 km ISL to the S. of Metz--Moselle):Gilbert Calda (12), Daniel Hirsch, 9, and Jean-Pierre Hirsch, 5 (circular craft 3 m diameter + humanoid 1m20 tall dressed in a kind of black bag, with hairy head

[... other cases...]

October 9, 1954 - a strange ancounter of the 3rd kind

The strange sigthing of three youg children of the village of Pournoy-La-Chétive.

It is 6:30 p.m. when Gilbert Calda, Daniel Hirsch and Jean-Pierre Hirsch were roller skating. Suddenly, they saw a gleam close to the cemetery. It was a round machine of a diameter of 2 meters 50, of metallic color, shining, posed on the ground on three tripods. A being of small size was to come out of it, measuring approximately 1 meter 20, dressed in black, the face covered of hairs, with large eyes. The being approached the children, holding in his hand a source of light which dazzled them, uttering some words in an unknown language. Frightened, the children escaped, and turned back to see the object, which was now high in the sky. Another witness of the scene, Robert Magnin, then aged 16, observed the phenomenon from a distance.

220) October 9, 1954, 06:30 p.m., Pournoy-la-Chétive, Moselle (France):

Four children: Gilbert Calda, 12, Daniel Hirsch, 9, J.-P. Hirsch, 5, and Robert Maguin, 16, were roller skating when they saw a luminous object near the cemetery. It was round, about 2.50 m in diameter and was posed on three crutches. A dwarf, about four feet tall, dressed in black, his face covered with hair, big eyes, came out and shining a blinding light on them, spoke a few words in an unknown language. The children fled and turned around in time to see the object soar high in the sky (P. 49, M. 154).

09/10/1954 Pournoy la Chétive (Moselle)

Vers 18 h. 30, 3 enfants, dont Gilbert Calba virent une machine ronde de 2,50 de diamètre se poser près d'eux. Elle reposait sur trois pieds et portait des rayures jaune et blanches. Il en sortit un être de 1,20 m. habillé d'une sorte de sac noir semblable à une soutane. Il avait la tête poilue et de gros yeux. Il tenait à la main une lampe qui aveuglait les enfants, il proféra des paroles incompréhensibles, éteignit sa lampe et remonta dans sa machine. Tandis que les enfants prenaient la fuite, ils virent la chose disparaître dans le ciel à vive allure (Centre Matin du 12/10/1954)

393 9 October 1954 1830 hrs

POURNOY-LA-CHETIVE (FRANCE)

Four children, Gilbert Calda (12), Daniel Hirsch (9), Jean-Pierre Hirsch (5), and Robert Maguin (16), were roller-skating when they saw a luminous object near the cemetery. It was round, about 2.5m in diameter, standing on 3 legs. A dwarf about 1.2m tall, dressed in black having a face covered with hair, and large eyes, came out and shone a blinding light at them, and said something in an unknown language. The children ran e:way, but looked back in time to see the object flying avay, high in the sky.

(M220: France-Soir 12 Oct 54; Michel II, 154: Magonia, 54: Guieu II, 179)

A N H type "Martians"

10/05/1954 Loctudy (Finistère)

Around 4 a.m., Mr. Paul Lucas, a bakery worker, was in the bakery when he saw in the courtyard of the bakery a circular craft 2.50 to 3m in diameter near which a 1.20m tall being was standing, who approached the witness and touched his shoulder while uttering incomprehensible words... He had an oval face covered with dark hair and huge eyes... (J. Giraud; "Centre Matin" of 10/07/54)

A hairy "Martian"! The whole of France burst out laughing! The only brake on this hilarity was that Mr. Lucas did not long remain the only witness to have observed such a being. Similar apparitions multiplied. These "Martians" belonged to type A N (humanoids and small) but they had a new characteristic: hair! Hence the "H". They were observed on:

10/05/1954 in Mertrud (Haute Marne) ... "The 1.20m being seemed dressed in a coat covered with hair..."

10/09/1954 in Pournoy la Chétive (Moselle) ... "The 1.20m being had a hairy head and big eyes..."

10/09/1954 in Lavoux (Vienne) ... "The being measured 1.50m, he was housed in a diving suit, his legs didn't have heels and his head looked like a tuft of hair with glowing eyes..."

10/12/1954 Montluçon (Allier) ... "A being covered with hair or wearing a long coat of hair..."

14/10/1954 Lewarde (Nord) ... "A small being with large oblique eyes and a body covered with furs..."

24/10/1954 Les Egots (?)... "A man with long hair and a hairy face whose eyes were as large as those of a cow..."

Seven appearances of "Hairy Martians" in twenty days, it was a bit too much for the fact to be considered only as a hallucination or a drunken rambling... Especially since similar beings had been observed in Caerphilly (Wales) in 1909 on May 18 to be quite precise. A fact is therefore certain, the "Martian" of the A N H type exists, but a difficulty arises: in half of the cases, it is the face which is hairy; in the other half, it is the whole body which seems to be covered in fur... A question therefore arises: is it natural hairiness (hair, beard, bristles...) or is it some equipment (diving suit, spacesuit, balaclava, etc.)? The answer cannot yet be provided. We believe that the hairiness observed on the faces is natural and that the one observed on the bodies is artificial (outfit). Otherwise, and in the latter case, it would be necessary to assume that the "Hairy Martians" are naked!

In Pournoy-la-Chétive (Moselle), on October 9, 1954, 4 children observed a large round object, mounted on three legs, from which a small man of about 1.20 m reportedly emerged: his face was covered with hair, and his body was covered with a sort of black bag, like a cassock (31).

"We talked with Gilbert Calba and also his playmates, which saw only saw a large shooting star."

54-58 Oct. 9, 1954 1830 Pournoy-la-Chetive, France Type B

Gilbert Calda, 12, with 3 younger children, was roller-skating when "a round shiny machine came down very close to us. Out of it came a kind of man, 4 feet tall, dressed in a black sack like the cassock M. le Cure wears. His head was hairy, and he had big eyes. He said things to us that we couldn't understand, and we ran away. When we stopped and looked back, the machine was going up into the sky very fast."

Investigator: Jimmy Guieu

Source: Michel, Straight-Line Mystery, p. 154.

See corrections, next card.

October 9, 1954 1830 Pournoy-la-Chétive (Moselle), France

There were only 3 children. The UFOnaut held in his hands an "electric lamp."

Source: J. Guieu, Black Out, pp. 178f.

On October 10, always in the same year 1954, in Pournoy-la-Chétive, in the Moselle, three children who were roller-skating see a "brilliant machine" landing in a field. A "kind of man" reportedly came out, hardly 1 m high, dressed with with a "black bag", like a priest's cassock. The creature reportedly had many hair and large eyes. Its torch would have frightened the children and it would have pronounced incomprehensible words before reinstating its machine...

Opposite, on the left: an unusual humanoid, dressed in a kind of cassock, which was reportedly seen by three young French people, in the Moselle, in 1954.

On October 10, still for the same year 1954, in Ournoy-la-Chétive [sic], in the Moselle, three children who were roller skating saw a "shining machine" land in a field. A "kind of man" would have come out of it, barely 1 m high, dressed in a "black bag", like a priest's cassock. The creature would have had lots of hair and large eyes. Its torch would have frightened the children and it would have said incomprehensible words before returning to its vehicle...

Case #16

October 8, 1954 in Pournoy-la-Chétive (57) - (CP: T6)

At 07:30 p.m., three children: Gilbert Calba (12 years old), Daniel Hirsh (9 years old) and his little brother Jean-Pierre (5 years old) play roller-skating on the D 41 at the entry of the cemetery. Suddenly, a light falls from the sky in front of them, a round machine of 2,50 m diameter lands. The apparatus has black, yellow and white stripes and rests on three feet. A 1.20 tall little man, dressed of a black dress like a priest, comes out after two minutes. The stranger has large eyes, a hairy face and he carries in a hand a lit lamp which launches rays and in the other hand a luminous object in the shape of a cross. He stares intensely at the frightened boys who cannot move any more. He pronounces incomprehensible words then turns off his lamp; at once the children flee. Further away, they look back and see something luminous go up very quickly in the sky. Another teenager, Robert Maguin (15 years old) observes at the same time the disappearance of the phenomenon. (Ref.: Républicain Lorrain for 10.10.54 - It must be noted that this case appeared in the catalogue by J. Vallée p. 273; used again by E. Zurcher with two errors: the last witness, R. Maguin, is said to be with the group of children who witnessed the landing, whereas he saw only a light in the sky: about the date and hour, J. Vallée writes 9 October at 06:30 p.m., whereas it was Friday 8 at 07:30 p.m.. Moreover, in the comic strip "Ceux Venus d'Ailleurs" by Lob and Gigi, p. 15, a sketch shows the humanod dressed in an eccentric diving-suit! According to Barthel, p.78, contacted recently, the witness Gilbert Calba would have stated to have observed only a large shooting star in company his playmates of the time; the information would have been amplified and distorted by the relatives and the press correspondent).

7. Pournoy la Chétive (Moselle), October 9, 1954. B&B version: We spoke with Gilbert Calba and also with his playmates: they only saw a big shooting star, that's all. (p.77). LDLN version: Investigation by Jean Sider on April 22 and 23, 1989 at Pournoy la Chétive: Jean-Pierre Hirsch saw a structured object with antenna and porthole, very bright. The grass didn't grow back for 10 years at the landing site. Robert Maguin confirms the vision of a red, orange and blue luminous ball.

This latter witness was much further away than his comrades. Gilbert Calba confirms the vision of a luminous phenomenon. Very reluctant, he doesn't want to say anything more, affirms that he no longer remembers, that all that is far away. He denies the presence of the humanoid, either that it was invented by journalists, or that he no longer wishes to speak about it so as not to resuscitate the mockery of which he was the victim at the time. Our friend Christian Jay was also able to converse by telephone with the 4th witness, Daniel Hirsch, who confirmed his observation of 1954. Let us add that B&B could have corrected the spelling: Hirsch instead of Hirsh, if they really did the investigation they talk about.

October 9th. Pournoy-la-Chetive, France. (6:30 p.m.)

While at play, four French children noticed an odd light. A quote from a press account collected by Jacques Vallee says: "It was a round machine, about 2.5 meters in diameter, which was standing on three legs. Soon a man came out. He was holding a lighted flashlight in his hand and it blinded us. But we could see that he had large eyes, a face covered with hair and that he was very small, about four feet tall. He was dressed in a sort of black sack like the cassock M. le Cure wears. He looked at us and said something we did not understand. He turned off the flashlight. We became afraid and ran away. When we looked back we saw something in the sky: it was very high, very bright and flew fast." 91.

• 91. Vallee, Jacques. Passport to Magonia. p.54.

Case nr10:

On Friday October 8, 1954, 3 children from Pournoy-la-Chétive (57) Gilbert Calba (12), Daniel Hirsch (9), and his little brother Jean-Pierre (5 years old) play roller skates on the D 41 at the entrance to the cemetery (see photos in 1994). It is 7:30 p.m. when they see a great light falling from the sky in front of them. A round machine (2.50 m in diameter) lands. The craft has black, yellow and white stripes and rests on three feet. After one or two minutes of waiting, the boys observe the exit of a little man in a black cassock (1.20 m tall) with a hairy face and huge eyes. He holds two luminous objects in his hand, a a kind of lamp which throws rays and a kind of cross. He intensely stares at the terrified children and speaks incomprehensible words when switching off his lamp. The latter flee. Further, they dare to look back to see something luminous rise in the sky. Another teenager Robert Maguin (15) observes the disappearance of the phenomenon at the same hour.

According to a counter-investigation by J. Sider (April 1989), the witnesses found confirm their observation of a structured object with very bright antenna and window (!). The grass did not regrow for 10 years on the landing site (all these elements are new compared to the declarations of the time!) G. Calba denies on the other hand the presence of the humanoid, journalistic invention in his opinion.

Explanation: dubious case given the media context of the time, namely the regional newspaper "Le Républicain Lorrain" (like its national colleagues) publishes every day one or two two sensational articles on the "flying saucers", during the period concerned, on October 6 on the 1st page the phoro of robot "TOBOR" taken from a SF film (see photo page 34)., on October 7 (the day before!) A Martian enters a bakery in Loctudy, his face covered with hair, eyes like a crow's egg...", on October 9 the case of Wassy-Mertrud (52) / see case n° 9 Voillecomte) "a hairy being" and 2 photos of Martians evolving at the 2nd motor show in Paris appear in the same issue which will fuel the imagination of our three young witnesses (the mayor doubted very much their statements in "Le Républicain Lorrain" of 10/101954 first source of the case).

According to this first source, it turns out that the date is indeed Friday, October 8, 1954, and not the 9th according to the Vallée catalog case nr 220 page 295 and included in "Autres Dimensions" page 103 (J'Ai Lu 1985) by the same author, of course this error has been taken up by everyone since.

Sources: Le Républicain Lorrain for 10/10/1954; Luxemburger Wort for 10/11/1954 (CLEU nr23 page 22) page 22; La Nouvelle République du Centre Ouest for 10/12/1954, France-Soir for 10/12/1954; Samedi-Soir for 10/14/1954; Combat for 10/29/1954; J.Guieu (1956 and 72) pages 203 and 204; "A propos des S.V" by A. Michel (1958) page 262; M.Carrouge "les apparitions de Martiens" page 109; C.Garreau (1975) pages 102 and 103 Mame; LDLN nr176 page 9, M.Figuet (1979) "Premier dossier" page 137 Lefeuvre; Lob and Gig "ceux venus d'ailleurs" (1973) page 15 Dargaud, E Zurcher "les apparitions d'humanoïdes" (1979) page 312 Lefeuvre, Barthel and Brucker "La grande peur martienne" (1979) page 78 NER; J. Vallée page 295 "Chronique des apparitions E.T." and "Autres Dimensions" (1988) page 103 J'Ai Lu; Barthel et Brucker page 77.

"In the worst case, the occupant is maybe a confusion, even if its description does not correspond to anybody in the country (and it doesn't by far) but there was at least a CE2 at Pournoy-La-Chétive, with a possibility of CE3."

The case of Pournoy-la-Chètive (57) of Friday October 8 (and not 9!), our author wants to rehabilitate this famous CE3. He quotes another testimony, taken from Dimanche Eclair of 10/10/1954 page 5, that of workers at the Sidelor factory in Pont-à-Mousson (!) who saw at the same hour (!) a strange light on the side of the Orne. In fact, according to the same source, consulted at the Nancy library, the two witnesses go back up north between Metz and Rombas. They see an orange glow hovering above the Orne (a river flowing from west to east). The observation takes place "late in the evening" (no specific hour), and in the direction of the North... that is opposite Pournoy (!).

The journalist of Le Républicain Lorrain is said to have found a resident of the village returning from cutting grass for the rabbits. J. Sider doubts this "stupid" explanation by claiming that one is not going to cut grass at nightfall. This is really a reaction from a city dweller! You could reply that the children indeed were outside at this hour to play roller skates. In addition, it was a journalist from the same newspaper who found the solution, not a local rationalist, for once that our journalists pursue their investigation to the end! For our part, we will therefore keep the probability of a misinterpretation with a human being that occurred in a context favorable to the imaginative distortion of children and that of journalists in search of gossip.

"We were roller-skating, at approximately 06:30 P.M., when suddenly we saw something luminous close to the cemetery. It was a round craft, approximately 2,50 meters in diameter, which was on three feet. Soon, a man came out. He carried a lit lamp in the hand and it dazzled us. But we could see that he had large eyes, a face covered with hairs, and that he was very small, approximately 1.20 meters. He was clothed with a kind of black bag, as the cassock which the priest is wearing. He looked at us and said something that we did not understand. He turned the lamp off. We were afraid and we run away. When we looked back, we saw something in the sky: it was very high, very shiny and it flew fast."

4030: 1954/10/09 18:30 10 6:09:20 E 49:01:20 N 3333 WEU FRN MSL 9:3

POURNOY-la-CHETIVE,FR:2.5M SCR/3 LEGS:OID FREEZES 4 KIDS:/LDLN#176+/r217p190

Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 86 : FARMLANDS

On this Day

October 9

[...]

1954 - Pournoy-la-Chetive, France. Four children--Gilbert Calda, age 12; Daniel Hirsch, age 9; J. P. Hirsch, age 5; and Robert Maguin, age 16--were roller skating at 6:30 p.m. when they saw a luminous object near the cemetery. It was round, about 2.5 meters in diameter, on stood on three legs. A dwarf, about 1.2 meters tall, dressed in black, having a face covered with hair and large eyes, came out and shone a blinding light at them. It said something in an unknown language. The children ran away, but looked back in time to see the object flying away high in the sky. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 154; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, p. 222).

[...]

140.

Location. Pournoy-la-Chetive France

Date: October 9 1954

Time: 1830

Gilbert Calda, 12, with 3 younger children, was roller-skating when "a round shiny machine came down very close to us. Out of it came a kind of man, 4-feet tall, dressed in a black sack like a cassock. His head was hairy, and he had big eyes. “He said things to me that we couldn't understand, and we ran away. When we stopped and looked back, the machine was going up into the sky very fast."

Humcat 1954-81

Source: Jimmy Guieu

Type: B

Case #019: 09/10/1954, p. 137 (Pournoy-la-Chétive)

TABLE 1. UFO OCCUPANT SIGHTINGS, 1954-1963

[...]

October 9, 1954 Gilbert Calda, 12 Pournoy-la- Che live, (Moselle), France 6:30 P.M.

One 4-ft tall being, dark coveralls, large eyes; children roller-skating, shiny round craft landed near them, being emerged, made unintelligible sound; they ran away.

[...]

[... Other cases ...]

October 9: From the report of four children living in Pournoy-la-Chetive: "We were roller-skating, about 18:30, when all of a sudden we saw something luminous near the cemetary. It was a round machine, about 2.5 metres in diameter, which was standing on three legs. Soon a man came out. He was holding a lighted flashlight in his hand and it blinded us. But we could see that he had large eyes, a face covered with hair and that he was very small, about 1.20 metres. He was dressed in a sort of black sack like the cassock M. le Cure wears. He looked at us and said something we did not understand. He turned off the flashlight. We became afraid and ran away. When we looked back we saw something in the sky: it was very high, very bright and flew fast." (Vallee)

[... Other cases ...]

Examples of testimonies reporting hairy beings

[... Other cases ... ]

Pournoy la Chétive and [... Other case ...] on October 9, 1954

[... Other cases ... ]

October 9 1954, 1830hrs.

POURNOY-LA-CHETIVE (MOSELLE, LORAINE : FRANCE)

Four children, Gilbert Calda (12), Daniel Hirsh (9), Jean-Pierre Hirsch (5) and Robert Maguin (16) were roller skating when they saw a luminous object near the cemetery. It was round, about 2.5m diameter, and standing on three legs. A dwarf, about 1.2m tall, dressed in a black robe like the village priest and having a face covered in hair, and with large eyes, came out and said something in an unknown language. The children ran away but looked back in time to see the object flying away, high in the sky. A man also saw the object climbing.

Vallee Case 220, citing France Soir 12 October 1954.
Michel 1958, p.154.
Heiden citing Guieu 1956b, p.1979.
Vallee 1969, p.54.

*Oct. 9, 1954 - Pournoy-la-Chetive, France. Four children--Gilbert Calda, age 12; Daniel Hirsch, age 9; J. P. Hirsch, age 5; and Robert Maguin, age 16--were roller skating at 6:30 p.m. when they saw a luminous object near the cemetery. It was round, about 2.5 meters in diameter, on stood on three legs. A dwarf, about 1.2 meters tall, dressed in black, having a face covered with hair and large eyes, came out and shone a blinding light at them. It said something in an unknown language. The children ran away, but looked back in time to see the object flying away high in the sky. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 154; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 222, case # 220).

in our archive

Mysterious Lorraine

A ufo at the Metz fair

We are at the Metz Fair on Sunday, October 10, 1954. On the exhibit of the French army, visitors can admire a powerful projector and a radar station, ultramodern gear of the FTA (Anti-aircraft Land Forces) of the time. They were installed and regulated by some military technicians, under the authority of Commander Cottel.

When around 8 p.m. the projector was lit up and turned to the sky, its beam was caught on a motionless globe, in midair, at the vertical of the fair. It was an object "glittering like a Christmas tree ball!", Commander Cottel later said.

Unexplained phenomenon

Incredulous technicians decided to turn off the machine and clean its components, but nothing changes: once the projector is turned on again, the mysterious globe is still there, at an altitude that the military estimates at 12,000 m. It is here, the spectators see it, and yet, the radar does not detect its presence!

The machine, estimated at about fifty meters in diameter, is parked in the sky during the three hours of the demonstration of the projector.

The phenomenon is relayed by the press: Le Républicain Lorrain, the AFP, L'Alsace, Le Provençal... The news worries the military authorities and the General Governor of Metz requires a report from Commander Cottel.

Investigation is underway, especially on the possibility of a meteorological phenomenon. Yet, no communication from the army will ever come to clear the mystery...

[Photo caption:] A UFO photographed in the USA in 1966. Photo rue des Archives

UFO wave?

Between October 1st and October 21st, 1954, about twenty testimonies of UFO observers in Moselle were recorded: in the communes of Vergaville, Bidestroff, Kerprich, Guébling, Morsbach, Moncourt, Saint-Avold, Saint-Quirin or Jouy-aux-Arches. Most have been reported in our columns.

Spheres, cones or luminous cigars, batteries that discharge, dancing colors, the phenomena follow each other.

In Pournoy-la-Chétive, two children even saw a furry-faced extraterrestrial descending of his flying saucer and speak to them in an incomprehensible language.

Collective madness or encounter of the third kind? No definitive answer will ever be made.

Location: Pournoy-la-Chetive France

Date: October 9 1954

Time: 1830

Gilbert Calda, 12, with 3 younger children, was roller-skating when “a round shiny machine came down very close to us. Out of it came a kind of man, 4-feet tall, dressed in a black sack like a cassock. His head was hairy, and he had big eyes. “He said things to me that we couldn't understand, and we ran away. When we stopped and looked back, the machine was going up into the sky very fast.”

Source: Jimmy Guieu; Magonia 220

UFO wave in Metz and its region

Comments »0

Spheres, luminous cones or cigars, discharging of batteries, dancing colors, etc., between the 1st and the 21st of October 1954, some twenty testimonies and observations of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) were collected in the Moselle, the more particularly in the communes of Vergaville, Bidestroff, Kerprich, Guébling, Morsbach, Moncourt, Saint-Avold, Saint-Quirin and Jouy-aux-Arches. In Pournoy-la-Chétive, near Metz, two children declared that they had seen an alien with a hairy face come down from his flying saucer to come and speak to them in an incomprehensible language.

October 9 1954. 1830hrs.

POURNOY-LA-CHETIVE (MOSELLE : FRANCE)

Four children, Gilbert Calda (12), Daniel Hirsh (9), Jean-Pierre Hirsch (5) and Robert Maguin (16) were roller skating when they saw a luminous object in the sky. It landed near the cemetery. It was round, about 2.5m diameter, had black, yellow and white stripes and was standing on three legs. A dwarf, about 1.2m tall, dressed in a black robe like the village priest and having a face covered in hair, and with large eyes, came out and said something in an unknown language. In one hand he held a light, in the other a luminous cross. The light went out at which the children ran away but looked back in time to see the object flying away, high in the sky. A man also saw the object climbing.

• Vallee Case 220 citing France Soir 12 October 1954
• Michel 1958 p154
• Heiden citing Guieu 1956b p1979
• Vallee 1969 p54
• Gross 1954. citing Le Republicain Lorraine 10+ 13 October 1954. + Dimanche Éclair 10 October 1954.+ Le Lorrain 11 October 1954. + Le Provencal 12 October 1954

Evaluation - A strange story with religious overtones, possibly based on the bolide of that night and seeing a local resident going out to feed his rabbits with a flashlight

No Martian in Pournoy-la-chétive.

For Aimé Michel, the case of Pournoy-la-chétive validated that of Lavoux, and vice versa, since there was an exact identity of the two beings.

But first of all these two cases were hardly alike, since the description of the being was different, and then there was no more Martian in Pournoy-la-chétive than in Lavoux, because three days later, the demystification came in the same newspaper.

In fact, there had been a lousy meteor, an inhabitant with a lamp, and a journalist who built a story embellished by word of mouth.

No Martian in Pournoy la chétive

The case of the Pournoy la chétive is a textbook case. With the observation of an inhabitant of the place, demystified three days later, plus the observation of what looks very much like a meteor, the ufologists managed to make an encounter of the third kind.

The "flying saucers" continue to be talked about

Three children from Pournoy-la-Chétive claim to have seen a strange craft
and a curious little man who spoke to them

Three children from Pournoy-la-Chétive just claimed to have seen on Friday evening a strange craft coming down from the sky and a strange little man coming out, and talking to them. This is the news that was spreading in the villages of the Seille.

This was not a bad taste joke. The children indeed saw something abnormal and witnessed a particular event which "struck them in such a way that they lost their appetite and they returned home trembling with fear and panic-stricken. But it is impossible to know whether it is a real fact or the involuntary disfigurement of an authentic and natural scene, by imaginations impressed as a result of numerous reports.

Gilbert Calba 11 years old; Daniel Hirsch 9 years old; and his little brother Jean-Pierre, 5, had gone, Friday evening, to a game of skates on the departmental road nr 41, at the entrance of the damaged village. It was 7:30 p.m. and night was falling. Suddenly, near the cemetery, the children witnessed the phenomenon. Here is the scene as told by Gilbert and Daniel, 2 excellent students of Mr. Martignon, the teacher from Coin-Sur-Seille:

"In the sky, we saw something bright. It was a round craft about 2.50 m in diameter, which landed a little in front of us. The craft had black, yellow and white stripes and was on 3 feet. We waited 1 or 2 minutes and a man came out. He had a lighted lamp in one hand, a lamp that thew out beams, and in the other hand, a luminous cross-shaped object. The man had big eyes, a hairy face was very small, was very small maybe 1.20 m. He was dressed in a black robe, like a priest. He stared at us in the eyes. We were afraid, but we couldn't move. He said something in a language we did not understand. When he extinguished his lamp, we fled. After that we saw something bright in the sky that was going away very quickly."

(Le Républicain Lorrain, October 10, 1954)

Jimmy Guieu, tells the story like a "space opera" sci-fi author

Two hours later, in Pournoy la chetive (Moselle) a saucer landed near the cemetery while three children were having fun roller skating. They were: Gilbert Calda (12 years old), Daniel Hirsch (9 years old) and his brother Jean-Pierre (5 years old)

Around 6:30 p.m., stated Jean-Pierre Calda, we saw a luminous and round 2 m craft land. About 50 in diameter. The craft landed very close to us; it had yellow and white stripes and landed on three feet (frequently reported tripod landing gear). Soon a "man" came out, holding an "electric lamp" in his hand (1). He was very small - About 1 m. 20 - had big eyes, a hairy face, and wore a sort of "black cassock like Mister the Priest." The man came to speak to us in incomprehensible language and we fled, seized with fear. We turned around a bit further. The craft, very bright, rose very high and very quickly in the sky".

At the same time, another inhabitant of Pournoy la chétive - Mr. Robert Magnin, 16 - also saw the spacecraft during its ascent.

[Note by D. Caudron]: (1) Detail which also comes up frequently in witness statements. This instrument, described as an "electric lamp", was probably a defensive weapon but not a lethal one, undoubtedly a projector of the now paralyzing ray.

(Jimmy Guieu, Black Out sur les Soucoupes Volantes, Fleuve Noir 1956, page 178)

Aimé Michel uses the case of Pournoy-la-chétive to validate that of Lavoux.

What would one have said then if one had known that at the other end of France, half an hour before Mr. Barrault, children said they had approached an exactly identical being

The incident took place near the cemetery of the small village of Pournoy-la-Chétive, south of Metz, in Moselle, 60 kilometers from the German border.

We were roller skating, say the children (Gilbert Calda, 12, Daniel Hirsch, 9, and his brother Jean-Pierre, 5), when a shiny, round machine landed very close to us. A sort of man, 1 m 20 tall, came out, dressed in a black bag resembling the cassock of the priest. He had a hairy head and big eyes. He told us things that we did not understand and we ran away. A little further on, we stopped to watch. The craft was going up in the sky at full speed.

(Aimé Michel, Mystérieux Objets Célestes, Arthaud 1958, page 295)

With such a good reference, Jacques Vallée includes the case in his landing catalog.

October 9, 1954, 6:30 p.m. Pournoy la chétive, Moselle (France):

Four children: Gilbert Calda, twelve, Daniel Hirsch, nine, Five-year-old J-P. Hirsch and sixteen-year-old Robert Maguin were roller skating when they saw a luminous object near the cemetery. It was round, with a diameter of about 2.50 m and was placed on three crutches. A dwarf, about four feet tall, dressed in black, his face covered with hair, big eyes, came out and shone a blinding light on them, spoke a few words in an unknown language. The children fled and turned around in time to see the object soar high in the sky (P. 49, M. 154)

49: France-Soir, Oct. 12, 1954.

(Jacques Vallée, Un siècle d'atterrissage UFO, in Chronique des apparitions extraterrestres, Denoel 1972, page 295)

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Note: In fact it was Friday 8th, it was 7:30 p.m., Robert Magnin was not one of the children, and the light was not blinding.

And here is the machinery launched.

[Sketch caption:] Pournoy's "Martian" according to Robert Gigi

Jim and Coral Lorenzen, Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, Godelieve van Overmeire, Albert Rosales, many Anglo-Saxon authors and many websites will piously recopy this story which will even have the honor to be illustrated by Robert Gigi, in "ceux venus d'ailleurs" ["those who came from elsewhere"].

This illustration, incidentally does not even respect the original description: We should see a dwarf of 1.20 m, without a helmet, dressed in a kind of black cassock, with an electric lamp in hand, who is heading towards the children instead of passing by them.

And yet, according to Jean-Michel Charlier, editor-in-chief of the journal Pilote:

"As for the sketches of remarkable fidelity, they were executed from documents drawn from the best official sources, and with a meticulous concern for authenticity and accuracy."

Yeah, right!

That all these good authors did not think of consulting the local newspaper Le Républicain Lorrain, in this case.

They would have known that three days after the first article, a second article explained the sighting without a Martian.

Pournoy's "saucer" was only a vision

METZ. -- In a previous article, we told the statements of children who had seen, in Pournoy-la-Chétive, a "flying saucer" and a little man dressed in black. Since that day, the population lived in fear of new appearances and locked themselves in double as soon as the day fell. A discreet investigation, having been carried out, made it possible to identify the so-called "Martian" who is none other than an inhabitant of the locality.

Indeed, the latter, being held back during the day by his work, could not get to the grass for his rabbits until nightfall. While he was at the exit of the village, near the cemetery, and on the way back, he had to use his flashlight on various occasions. Children playing nearby got scared and fled trembling to their parents' home, despite the vain words of the "Martian", who tried to make himself recognized. As for the flying saucer, there is no doubt that it is also pure imagination.

(Le Républicain Lorrain, October 13, 1954)

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Note: it is the interpretation in terms of tripod craft which was pure imagination, the luminous object was not.

The irreducible skeptics Barthel and Brucker, had, of course, made the Martian disappear in the trap of oblivion:

We had a conversation with Gilbert Calba, and also with his playmates: They only saw a big shooting star, that's all. He kindly told us how, word of mouth, from son to father, from father to coffee shop friends, from boss to press correspondent... we got there.

(Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, La Grance Peur Martienne, Nouvelles éditions rationalistes, Paris 1979, page 78)

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Note: This remark joins the warning of the initial article which envisaged the involuntary disfigurement of an authentic and natural scene.

And no less of course, the irreducible believer Jean Sider, hurried to try to get the unfortunate Martian out of his trap: this is the first case of the forty supposedly imaginary investigations that he intends to demystify.

I went to Pournoy-la-Chétîve, where the four witnesses, now adults and fathers, still reside, and I met them on June 22 and 23, 1989, except Daniel Hirsch. Aside from Gilbert Calba, the others have confirmed their sighting. Jean-Pierre Hirsch still remembered having seen a strong, non-dazzling white-blue light, which occasionally descended towards the ground. He did not see an occupant but claims that the supposed place of the landing was visible for about ten years because the grass, according to him, did not grow back there. Robert Maguin, who was the farthest of the witnesses, confirmed the presence of a luminous phenomenon that he still cannot explain, but he hardly wanted to talk about the incident any longer. Daniel Hirsch, fourth witness, confirmed his observation by telephone to researcher Christian Jay.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] So far, the observation of the luminous object has been confirmed, but is compatible with that of a meteor

At the time, the sight of an occupant had been "explained" by the presence of a local who collected grass for his rabbits using an electric torch, which would have misled the children, the oldest of whom was 12 years old. Gilbert Calba, for his part, refused at first to admit having seen anything, then at my insistence, admitted having seen a mobile luminous source in the sky that he could not identify. As I asked him questions, his somewhat awkward way of shunning answers, I realized that this man was psychologically blocked. Then, a few days later, I unearthed an article published in Le Lorrain for October 11, 1954, page 5, which relates how Gilbert's father beat him up for having had the audacity to tell his observation to whoever wanted to listen. Jean-Pierre Hirsch told me that the people of the village ridiculed them, which must have marked Gilbert Calba, who was the "chief" of the pack, as the eldest. Imagine an inhabitant taken for an "ufonaut", a correction, plus the jibes of the neighbors, and think of the result that can have on the mind of a 12 year old kid. He crashes, and we can no longer get from him, even when he becomes an adult, a correct narrative of the facts because his psyche has been profoundly modified.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Note: his psyche has been changed in depth... We would like to have the opinion of a real expert in psychotherapy. In any case, the Martian did not manage to get out of the trap: it is closed by "a psychological blockage".

Finally, I was able to question the witnesses on their possible contacts with B & B. Only Gilbert Calba was contacted by telephone, but the others were not. At worst, the occupant may be a misinterpretation, even if his description does not correspond to someone from the country (and it is far from it) but there was at least a CE2 in Pournoy-la-Chétîve, with a possibility of a CE3 (DO 1).

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Note: If the description given in the first article does not correspond to someone from the country, we must much more suspect the distortion of the children's story by journalists, than the inadequacy of demystification.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] The CE2 (close encounter of the 2nd kind), should rather be renamed RCE2 (relatively close encounter), because the witnesses are often locating at 200 meters meteors at 200 km from them.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] As for DO1 (Original document nr 1), it is simply the Dimanche Eclair article of October 10, which tells us that Gilbert Calba was beaten up because his father had not appreciated that he told this Martian story. How would this correction prove that the Martian did exist?

(Jean Sider, Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste, Ramuel, 1997, page 21-22)

This luminous phenomenon moving towards the ground, looks like a simple meteor which had given the illusion of landing. But Jean Sider, who does not seem to believe in bolides more than in Barthel and Brucker, deduces that there was indeed a CE2 in Pournoy-la-chétive, and as the "psychological blockage" would explain the non-confirmation of the Martian, he sees a possible CE3. He is also capable of doing even stronger: he sees in the hoax of Casimir Sczymura, an authentic CE3, that it might be hiding a CE4!

But now happens that 35 years after Barthel and Brucker, and 17 years after Sider, Julien Gonzalez, includes this case in his catalog of CE3.

Gilbert Calba, Daniel Hirsch and his brother Jean-Pierre are roller skating near the cemetery of Pournoy la Chétive, when they see a circular and luminous craft 3 m in diameter land; it lands very close to them, it is equipped with a tripod landing gear. A small being of 1.20 m emerges from it, he has big eyes, a hairy face and wears a black cassock. "Like Monsieur le Curé", the three children will say. He addresses the witnesses in incomprehensible language. Taken with fear, they flee and, looking back, see the shining machine rise in the sky. Mr. Robert Magnin witnesses the scene, but from too far away to see the details.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Note: This is the legend spread by ufologists to Barthel and Brucker.

In 1979, MM. Barthel and Brucker affirmed in La Grande Peur Martienne that Gilbert Calba had told them that he and his comrades "only saw a big shooting star, that's all". Mr. Jean Sider carried out in Pournoy-la-Chétive on April 22 and 23, 1989 a counter-investigation on this affair: Jean-Pierre Hirsch saw a structured object with antenna and porthole, very bright. Grass did not grow back for 10 years at the landing site. Robert Maguin confirms the vision of a red, orange and blue luminous ball. This witness was located much further than his comrades. Gilbert Calba confirms the vision of a luminous phenomenon. Very reluctant, he doesn't want to say anything more, claims that he no longer remembers, that all this was long ago. He denies the presence of the humanoid, either that it was invented by journalists, or that he no longer wishes to talk about it so as not to resuscitate the mockery of which he was the victim at the time.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] Where did Julien Gonzalez read that Jean-Pierre Hirsch saw a structured object with antenna and porthole? According to Jean Sider he still remembered having seen a strong non-dazzling white-blue light, which occasionally descended towards the ground, which corresponds to Barthel and Brucker's big shooting star.

[Note by Dominique Caudron:] As for Robert Magnin, he confirmed the presence of a luminous phenomenon that he still could not explain, which does not invalidate the explanation of Barthel and Brucker either.

(Julien Gonzalez, RR3 - Le Dossier des Rencontres du Troisième Kind in France, Le Temps Present, 2014, pp 119-120)

And voila: A first generation of ufologists trust newspapers.

A second generation trusts ufologists, and everyone copies everyone else.

Then in 1979 Barthel and Brucker come and demystify it all.

In 1997, Jean Sider came to anathemize the previous ones, and to try to rehabilitate the unfortunate Martians who were victims.

Finally, in 2014 Julien Gonzalez comes to re-mystify by adding invented details. Remember that it is the same Julien Gonzalez who saw in the case of Vron, "one of the strongest of the 1954 wave". Oh, really?

And in the end, a meteor + an inhabitant holding a lamp = a hairy Martian disembarking from a flying saucer.