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Children's Encounter With Odd Humanoid (Isle Of Wight; May 1973)

BS3 said:
...the reason the father was unable to find the 'hut' when he went to look for himself was that he might have simply looked in the wrong place. If he'd found it then who knows, there might have been no mystery.
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It might be that the structure was a wheeled "shepherd's hut" - type affair. This might make a Victorian survival less likely, though:

shepherds-hut1.jpg


https://www.secrets-of-shed-building.com/shepherds-hut.html

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
A little context re the mysterious "Sam" ...
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Thanks for the geographical details ...

The area of the Sandown Clown sighting has been bugging me all along. The cursory description given in the BUFORA report mentions the children went through a hedge (or hedged border) on the golf course grounds and headed toward the airport grounds. There was no description of the grounds / area between the golf course and the airport beyond its being some sort of "meadow" with the brook(s) and footbridge(s). I've been wondering whether this "meadow" was a separate area (from both golf course and airport) and - if so - what it was.

Learning this intermediate area was a shooting range is a revelation.

For one thing ... The children first heard the wailing sound (like a siren) and followed it. This is what led them off the golf course and into the meadow.

What if the mystery wailing sound was an alert sound from / for the shooting range - warning people there were people out and about down-range? This would help explain the two workmen "repairing a post" nearby, and perhaps the presence of "Sam" himself.
 
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EnolaGaia said:
Thanks for the geographical details ...

The area of the Sandown Clown sighting has been bugging me all along. The cursory description given in the BUFORA report mentions the children went through a hedge (or hedged border) on the golf course grounds and headed toward the airport grounds. There was no description of the grounds / area between the golf course and the airport beyond its being some sort of "meadow" with the brook(s) and footbridge(s). I've been wondering whether this "meadow" was a separate area (from both golf course and airport) and - if so - what it was.

Learning this intermediate area was a shooting range is a revelation.

For one thing ... The children first heard the wailing sound (like a siren) and followed it. This is what led them off the golf course and into the meadow.

What if the mystery wailing sound was an alert sound from / for the shooting range - warning people there were people out and about down-range? This would help explain the two workmen "repairing a post" nearby, and perhaps the presence of "Sam" himself.
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The Waybackmachine link I posted above mentions "swampy ground" which presumably places it in the flood meadow to the east of the stream (marked as swamp on the OS map).
 
maximus otter said:
It might be that the structure was a wheeled "shepherd's hut" - type affair. This might make a Victorian survival less likely, though:

shepherds-hut1.jpg


https://www.secrets-of-shed-building.com/shepherds-hut.html

maximus otter
Click to expand...

The description reminded me both of a shepherds hut and a 12 ton railway van body, both of which could regularly be found mouldering in English fields not all that long ago.

DlD_YpBW4AAZnYx.jpeg


I think it's clear the 'hut' was probably earthly (rather than a child's interpretation of a landed space ship or something), the only question is why it wasn't found on a subsequent visit, as it seemed fairly permanent. However I think the location is confused enough that a mundane explanation for this also suggests itself.
 
EnolaGaia said:
Thanks for the geographical details ...

The area of the Sandown Clown sighting has been bugging me all along. The cursory description given in the BUFORA report mentions the children went through a hedge (or hedged border) on the golf course grounds and headed toward the airport grounds. There was no description of the grounds / area between the golf course and the airport beyond its being some sort of "meadow" with the brook(s) and footbridge(s). I've been wondering whether this "meadow" was a separate area (from both golf course and airport) and - if so - what it was.

Learning this intermediate area was a shooting range is a revelation.

For one thing ... The children first heard the wailing sound (like a siren) and followed it. This is what led them off the golf course and into the meadow.

What if the mystery wailing sound was an alert sound from / for the shooting range - warning people there were people out and about down-range? This would help explain the two workmen "repairing a post" nearby, and perhaps the presence of "Sam" himself.
Click to expand...

l tried to trace any current use of the rifle range on the Victorian map, but with no success. There are several shooting clubs on the Isle of Wight, and all are happy to list their facilities; none match this range.

Also, l doubt that the range survived the opening of the airport, considering its proximity.

The airport’s website gives no historical details, e.g. opening date, but includes some aerial photos which might prove of assistance to a researcher.

maximus ottet
 
WeirdExeter said:
A good point re a clown, and a trap I fell into earlier in the thread.

Perhaps "all colours [Sam]" relates to creating a fuzzy felt character using all the colours available? Also, the writing down of "all colours Sam" might relate to a parent or the child herself writing the names of the fuzzy felt characters next to their creation?

Attached some images of 1970s fuzzy felt

https://picclick.co.uk/Vintage-FUZZY-FELT-Sets-x-4-Lots-of-284373813322.html

If you look in the bottom left corner there appears to be a Wollaton Park gnome car...
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I was wondering if All colors sam might be a phonetic mishearing by the children, if it was a US military personal it could have said "Uncle Sam".
 
Great work.

I am guessing the Socorro-esque markings on the chest of ‘Sam’ as depicted in the BUFORA report are artistic licence…?

I had imagined the wailing was feedback from the microphone setup, with a speaker somewhere nearby, but perhaps an airport siren might be responsible

I think either hut would fit. The children saw an electric heater, which begs the question of where the electricity was coming from, unless they saw a gas heater…? That said, operations like golf courses and farms sometimes have outdoor power supplies away from the buildings for lighting and equipment use.
 
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WeirdExeter said:
Great work.

I am guessing the Socorro-esque markings on the chest of ‘Sam’ as depicted in the BUFORA report are artistic licence…?

I had imagined the wailing was feedback from the microphone setup, with a speaker somewhere nearby, but perhaps an airport siren might be responsible

I think either hut would fit. The children saw an electric heater, which begs the question of where the electricity was coming from, unless they saw a gas heater…?
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They may have seen a wood burning stove. They were often fitted to shepherds' huts, to keep orphaned lambs (and the shepherd) warm.
 
catseye said:
They may have seen a wood burning stove. They were often fitted to shepherds' huts, to keep orphaned lambs (and the shepherd) warm.
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Then you have the question of light in a windowless hut with a flap for a door. There is no mention of lighting in the BUFORA report and we know ithe hut had two floors, so even a skylight would be insufficient. Also, no mention of a ladder or stairs either. Was it some sort of hay loft? A lot of them were constructed from corrugated metal and may well have had rudimentary electrics. But the question of how the hut was lit inside is vexing me.
 
I don't think a shepherd's hut would have enough headroom for two floors. The split stable door was about 2 metres high. I suppose it may have been possible to make a shelf to act as a sleeping space at the end but no more than that. It seems unlikely this was the construction seen.
This one has been restored and had been used as a shelter by fruit pickers. It had a four or six pane window in one side.
 

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Erinaceus said:
I don't think a shepherd's hut would have enough headroom for two floors. The split stable door was about 2 metres high. I suppose it may have been possible to make a shelf to act as a sleeping space at the end but no more than that. It seems unlikely this was the construction seen.
This one has been restored and had been used as a shelter by fruit pickers. It had a four or six pane window in one side.
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I think that as there was no mention of stairs, then there the second floor - which was described as smaller- was probably a raised shelf with a bed. Still pretty gloomy though.
 
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Ogdred Weary said:
Many excellent posts here making a plausible explanation for Sam but I do wonder if it should be understood as in the tradition of fairy encounters and there was no "Sam" or hut, in a physical sense.
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To be honest, that is my preferred theory. I personally believe that fairies, pixies, elves, UFOs, dog men, bigoot, big black cats etc are all of the same unknown paranormal origin (discounting hoaxes). Indeed, I am becoming more of a believer in the ‘Distortion Theory’ of Jose Antonio Caravaca:

http://ufophenomenondecoded.blogspot.com/p/distortion-theory.html

He has a new book coming out soon. Again, personally I feel there is an intelligent and alien (to us) other that hides it’s/their interactions with us humans by throwing up a ‘screen’ that manifests as, for example, a landed UFO and two humanoids with belts (always belts!) either trying to fix the craft or trying to look busy by pointing handheld gadgets at the ground. Moreover, this has gone on throughout human history but in many different forms.

That said, I do feel we should always consider rational answers otherwise the hardcore skeptics can accuse us Fortean of only ever sticking to our beliefs, and regrettably there have been a lot of historic UFO investigations biased towards the nuts-and-bolts ETH and hoaxes.
 
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WeirdExeter said:
To be honest, that is my preferred theory. I personally believe that fairies, pixies, elves, UFOs, dog men, bigoot, big black cats etc are all of the same unknown paranormal origin (discounting hoaxes). Indeed, I am becoming more of a believer in the ‘Distortion Theory’ of Jose Antonio Caravaca:

http://ufophenomenondecoded.blogspot.com/p/distortion-theory.html

He has a new book coming out soon. Again, personally I feel there is an intelligent and alien (to us) other that hides it’s/their interactions with us humans by throwing up a ‘screen’ that manifests as, for example, a landed UFO and two humanoids with belts (always belts,) either trying to fix or trying to look busy by pointing handheld gadgets at the ground. Moreover, this has gone on throughout human history but in many different forms.

That said, I do feel we should always consider rational answers otherwise the hardcore skeptics can accuse us Fortean of only ever sticking to our beliefs, and regrettably there have been a lot of historic UFO investigations biased towards the nuts-and-bolts ETH and hoaxes.
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Thank you for introducing me to Caravaca... I'm half way through his massive tome, it's great! Stuffed with high strangeness, much familiar and much new, and a good jumping off point to find other Spanish-language researchers.
 
SimonBurchell said:
Thank you for introducing me to Caravaca... I'm half way through his massive tome, it's great! Stuffed with high strangeness, much familiar and much new, and a good jumping off point to find other Spanish-language researchers.
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Is the English version out yet? Can’t find it on Amazon
 
WeirdExeter said:
To be honest, that is my preferred theory. I personally believe that fairies, pixies, elves, UFOs, dog men, bigoot, big black cats etc are all of the same unknown paranormal origin (discounting hoaxes). Indeed, I am becoming more of a believer in the ‘Distortion Theory’ of Jose Antonio Caravaca:

http://ufophenomenondecoded.blogspot.com/p/distortion-theory.html

He has a new book coming out soon. Again, personally I feel there is an intelligent and alien (to us) other that hides it’s/their interactions with us humans by throwing up a ‘screen’ that manifests as, for example, a landed UFO and two humanoids with belts (always belts!) either trying to fix the craft or trying to look busy by pointing handheld gadgets at the ground. Moreover, this has gone on throughout human history but in many different forms.

That said, I do feel we should always consider rational answers otherwise the hardcore skeptics can accuse us Fortean of only ever sticking to our beliefs, and regrettably there have been a lot of historic UFO investigations biased towards the nuts-and-bolts ETH and hoaxes.
Click to expand...

It's a theory with some interesting implications - sounds a bit on the lines of Keel's Operation Trojan Horse (a hugely influential book, personally speaking). Are there many differences between Caravaca's theories and Keel's?
 
Damien said:
I was wondering if All colors sam might be a phonetic mishearing by the children, if it was a US military personal it could have said "Uncle Sam".
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I may be wrong here, but I think rather than saying it, he wrote down 'Hello and I am all colours. Sam', and then showed it to the children. Which- interesting idea though it is- would discount a mishearing.
 
WeirdExeter said:
... would anyone be surprised if I drew attention to a number of discrepancie…?
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No - have at it!

The first thing I notice is something I've been meaning to mention ...

The original BUFORA report only mentions a black "microphone" with a white "flex" (UK parlance; an electrical cord or cable) attached.

There's no mention of this "flex" being of any substantial length, nor any mention of its connecting to another box or unit that may have contained a speaker.

SandownBUFORA-p10.jpg

I've seen multiple illustrations showing Sam with a microphone, most of which include a cable leading to some sort of speaker unit. There's no support in the original report for this.
 
EnolaGaia said:
No - have at it!

The first thing I notice is something I've been meaning to mention ...

The original BUFORA report only mentions a black "microphone" with a white "flex" (UK parlance; an electrical cord or cable) attached.

There's no mention of this "flex" being of any substantial length, nor any mention of its connecting to another box or unit that may have contained a speaker.

Click to expand...
Good point.

I was reflecting on the case at work today and realised that the children only reported the encounter through two of their five (six) senses: sight and sound. No smells were reported and it seems they didn’t touch Sam or taste his berries

Of course, in has to be recognised that in dreams we only utilise sight and sound., likewise in films, tv etc. This doesn’t rule out some distortion effect taking place, but it is interesting that Sam wasn’t described in terms of smell.
 
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Now about the "wailing" noise ...

It's described as "weird" and "not unlike an ambulance siren." It was this noise the children first heard from afar and followed to the swampy meadow between the golf course and the airfield.

The noise stopped before or by the time they were crossing the footbridge where they first encountered Sam.

Sam was splashing around in the brook, then moved off to the odd "hut". The kids wandered on, and were at a distance of over 50 yards from the hut when Sam reappeared with the "microphone with attached flex." The wailing sound began immediately, and it was so loud the boy nearly ran away before before the noise ceased and Sam spoke to the kids, apparently using the "microphone".

As of this second instance of the wailing sound, it was associated with Sam and the "microphone" device.

What if the "wailing" was audible feedback noise from a radio device or some other speaker system?
 
EnolaGaia said:
Now about the "wailing" noise ...

It's described as "weird" and "not unlike an ambulance siren." It was this noise the children first heard from afar and followed to the swampy meadow between the golf course and the airfield.

The noise stopped before or by the time they were crossing the footbridge where they first encountered Sam.

Sam was splashing around in the brook, then moved off to the odd "hut". The kids wandered on, and were at a distance of over 50 yards from the hut when Sam reappeared with the "microphone with attached flex." The wailing sound began immediately, and it was so loud the boy nearly ran away before before the noise ceased and Sam spoke to the kids, apparently using the "microphone".

As of this second instance of the wailing sound, it was associated with Sam and the "microphone" device.

What if the "wailing" was audible feedback noise from a radio device or some other speaker system?
Click to expand...
I feel either it was connected with the nearby airfield or it was that horrible audio feedback from a microphone.

There is also a quarry nearby:

https://mapcarta.com/W96388508

Incidentally, you get some interesting search results for “quarry blaster uniform/protective gear”

And to reiterate : why no smell from Sam, a ‘creature’ living rough in a hut…?
 
And just to complete the set ... Here's the third and final page of the BUFORA author's description of the incident (the rest is author commentary / speculation).

SandownBUFORA-p12.jpg

The only point added on the following page (p. 13) was that the girl's father had reported he'd visited the area after learning of the incident "... but could find no metal hut anywhere in sight, nor any indication of one ..."
 
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