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ALSACAT:

ALSACAT is my comprehensive catalog of UFO sighting reports in Alsace, the region is the North-East of France, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ALSACAT catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file. A general index and thematic sub-catalogs give access to these Alsatian case files.

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Case of Drusenheim, circa 1800:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1800-00-00-DRUSENHEIM-1

Summary:

The famous poet Goethe had written in his autobiography:

"Amidst all this pressure and confusion I could not forego seeing Frederica once more. Those were painful days, the memory of which has not remained with me. When I reached her my hand from my horse, the tears stood in her eyes; and I felt very uneasy."

"I now rode along the foot-path toward Drusenheim, and here one of the most singular forebodings took possession of me. I saw, not with the eyes of the body, but with those of the mind, my own figure coming toward me, on horseback, and on the same road, attired in a dress which I had never worn, - it was pike-gray with somewhat of gold. As soon as I shook myself out of this dream, the figure had entirely disappeared. It is strange, however, that, eight years afterward, I found myself on the very road, to pay one more visit to Frederica, in the dress of which I had dreamed, and which I wore, not from choice, but by accident. However, it may be with matters of this kind generally, this strange illusion in some measure calmed me at the moment of parting. The pain of quitting forever noble Alsace, with all I had gained in it, was softened; and, having at last escaped the excitement of a farewell, I, on a peaceful and quiet journey, pretty well regained my self-possession."

One foreign author at least thought this had to be told in his book about "alien contact experiences".

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: circa 1800
Time: ?
Duration: ?
First known report date: 1832 or earlier.
Reporting delay: Decades.

Geographical data:

Department: Bas-Rhin
City: Drusenheim
Place: A foot-path toward Drusenheim
Latitude: 48.761
Longitude: 7.953
Uncertainty radius: 10 km

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 1
Number of known witnesses: 1
Number of named witnesses: 1
Witness(es) ages: Adult.
Witness(es) types: Famous poet.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Autobiography.
Type of location: Foot-path.
Visibility conditions: ?
UFO observed: No
UFO arrival observed: N/A
UFO departure observed: N/A
Entities: Yes
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): No.
Witness(es) feelings: Comforted.
Witnesses interpretation: His doppelganger.

Classifications:

Hynek: CE3
ALSACAT: Poet's work, not related to UFOs.

Sources:

[Ref. jge1:] JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE:

Amid all this pressure and confusion I could not forego seeing Frederica once more. Those were painful days, the memory of which has not remained with me. When I reached her my hand from my horse, the tears stood in her eyes; and I felt very uneasy.

I now rode along the foot-path toward Drusenheim, and here one of the most singular forebodings took possession of me. I saw, not with the eyes of the body, but with those of the mind, my own figure coming toward me, on horseback, and on the same road, attired in a dress which I had never worn, - it was pike-gray with somewhat of gold. As soon as I shook myself out of this dream, the figure had entirely disappeared. It is strange, however, that, eight years afterward, I found myself on the very road, to pay one more visit to Frederica, in the dress of which I had dreamed, and which I wore, not from choice, but by accident. However, it may be with matters of this kind generally, this strange illusion in some measure calmed me at the moment of parting. The pain of quitting forever noble Alsace, with all I had gained in it, was softened; and, having at last escaped the excitement of a farewell, I, on a peaceful and quiet journey, pretty well regained my self-possession.

[Ref. cwn1:] COLIN WILSON:

Goethe, in his autobiography, tells how, having just said goodbye to his sweetheart, he was riding along a road in Alsace when he saw, coming to meet him, his Own double (or doppelganger), dressed in a grey and gold suit. Eight years later, on his way to visit the same girl, he realized that he was now dressed in the grey and gold suit. He had 'seen' his future self.

Discussion:

Map.

Goethe was a poet, and wrote his autobiography as a poet would do.

The notion that what he told here was a "contact experience" with "aliens" is totally far-fetched, and Colin Wilson did not perform an "investigation" here.

One may want to read this other story by the same "witness", also re-interpreted as a close encounter of the third kind by some ufologists.

Evaluation:

Poet's work, not related to UFOs.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author: Patrick Gross
Contributors: None
Reviewers: None
Editor: Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version: Create/changed by: Date: Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross March 13, 2014 Creation, [jge1], [cwn1].
1.0 Patrick Gross March 13, 2014 First published.

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This page was last updated on March 13, 2014.