About 3am, several flashes of light VERY similar to a strong camera flash or a Hollywood style lightning effect went off outside my window, lighting the whole room. I was awake at the time. I live in London, but my room backs on to quiet garden areas. I looked out of the window about a minute later. There was no storm and nobody around, it was very still, no noise and no movement. Yes, a neighbour could have taken a pic with a flash but I don’t think a flash from far away would cause the strength of this light. Also, there were no parties going on, nobody around. This is the third time it’s happened over 12 years, the last was about 3 years ago and I remember immediately googling what had happened and seeing quite a few posts about it. There is a road about 35 metres away parallel to my flat, but it’s a one way street and unlikely to be headlights from a car doing a 3 point turn. It’s a total mystery. The light is exactly like a strong camera flash from outside the window. Any ideas?
Flashes Of Light Outside Window
ChasFink
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2016
- Messages
- 2,571
Are there overhead power lines in the area?
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 29,619
- Location
- Out of Bounds
Can you give an estimate of how many flashes you saw?
Were these flashes in rapid succession? Or ... ?
Did the flashes occur at a steady tempo? If so - how fast / slow?
Were these flashes in rapid succession? Or ... ?
Did the flashes occur at a steady tempo? If so - how fast / slow?
SummerLightning
Junior Acolyte
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2019
- Messages
- 84
- Location
- Bath, UK
How far are you from a railway/underground line? Arcing from third rail/overhead lines can be the source of flashes like these in parts of London.
maximus otter
Recovering policeman
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 14,653
No record of lightning in London on any weather resource l can find.
maximus otter
maximus otter
Dick Turpin
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2018
- Messages
- 1,079
I have posted before on this Forum, that we used get this quite often in our old London flat. Never during the night though, only during the day light hours and only in the living room.
My initial thought was that it was something to do with the light on top of the canary wharf building, but in saying that our living room overlooked the city of London, whilst the front of the property overlooked canary wharf so it couldn’t have been that.
It was always corner of the eye as well. We never got to the bottom of it
Not very close, I can hear a line in the distance sometimes but arcing would be a routine event that I would regularly see, this is a rare event. Happened 3 times in the past decade.
No, this is a white light, not blue.
It’s exactly like a flash from a camera. Like one flash for half a second followed by several rapid flashes that are shorter. All are white and very powerful.
No, no pylons and being London, most of that infrastructure isn’t overhead in the towns as it is in many other areas of the world. But it’s a good call, because it’s similar to the flashes you might get from such infrastructure. However, wherever I’ve been in the world with this infrastructure, the flashing is quite regular and accompanied by noise. This was totally silent.
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 29,619
- Location
- Out of Bounds
I've seen that sort of sequence occurring in the interplay of primary versus secondary warning / beacon lights on large aircraft, but I don't think that's what caused the ones you saw.
Bigphoot2
Not sprouts! I hate sprouts.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2005
- Messages
- 11,150
Does the light shine in at a specific angle?
Could it aircraft activity - landing lights can be very bright and seen from a long way off. It could be the aircraft is turning to land or take-off and momentarily light up the room and the angle of the plane and weather conditions combine to make it seen from your house. Might be worth checking flightradar24.com next time it happens to see if there is anything in the area.
Could it aircraft activity - landing lights can be very bright and seen from a long way off. It could be the aircraft is turning to land or take-off and momentarily light up the room and the angle of the plane and weather conditions combine to make it seen from your house. Might be worth checking flightradar24.com next time it happens to see if there is anything in the area.
Spookdaddy
Cuckoo
- Joined
- May 24, 2006
- Messages
- 8,116
- Location
- Midwich
Mundane answer might be a faulty motion sensitive emergency light. This happened with my downstairs neighbour's security light a couple of weeks back. In the early hours I became aware of a sporadic and very bright, white, flash lighting up the garden - the reflection of which was powerful enough to noticeably light up my darkened bedroom, which is three floors away.
It was odd, because I've not been aware that the light has actually been operational for years, and the fact that it suddenly became so suggests to me that a dodgy bulb, connection, circuit etc - which usually prevents functioning - possibly stimulated by movement of the actual device and/or connections by wind or rain, was intermittently 'fixing' a broken system.
Or it's aliens.
It was odd, because I've not been aware that the light has actually been operational for years, and the fact that it suddenly became so suggests to me that a dodgy bulb, connection, circuit etc - which usually prevents functioning - possibly stimulated by movement of the actual device and/or connections by wind or rain, was intermittently 'fixing' a broken system.
Or it's aliens.
There are motion detector lights on one property, but they work fine. The house opposite tends to keep lights on all the time at night for security and the light it emits is a soft amber colour rather than the bright white I experienced.
No specific angle and I’m too far from Heathrow for it to be landing lights. In terms of angle, the best I can describe it would be if someone was directly outside my window with a powerful camera flash.
MorningAngel
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- May 14, 2015
- Messages
- 3,467
It’s something I have seen people reporting at various time and places. Some people have even experienced it inside. Didn’t we have someone reporting that on here?
I experienced this just a few nights ago! Going upstairs to bed, almost got to the top step and in an instant all I could 'see' (experience) was a strange electric blue flash of light all around me.
No Idea where it had come from or initially what might have caused it, but I concluded (cos that's what the brain does) that in all probability it must have come from a car's headlights, the colour of the flash of light was a dissipated electric blue light - not a beam as I would normally have noticed. It was in my back room, as well as in my front facing room at the same time, (just a fraction of a second).
Anyway, eventually, I'd just mentally marked it up as a stray light which had entered probably from a car turning around from the driveway of a couple of houses across the main road (some 100yds) from my house.
hunck
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 9,832
- Location
- Hobbs End
Yes, I think I remember a similar thread a few years ago. Unless it’s been pruned it’s probably still around somewhere at the back of a cupboard. In my recollection the flashes remained a mystery.
AgProv
Doctor of Disorientation Studies, UnseenUniversity
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2014
- Messages
- 1,395
- Location
- too North to be Midlands, too south to be North
Do the Met police use drones to supplement helicopters? Police drone taking pictures, or using a searchlight to illuminate an area? That would explain the relative lack of noise.
Not all emergency vehicles have blue flashing lights or red in fact. We see many vehicles passing our house with white flashing lights - highway maintenance, and similar.
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 29,619
- Location
- Out of Bounds
There are multiple threads here in the IHTM section relating to flashes of light:
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...odes]=1&c[nodes][0]=21&c[title_only]=1&o=date
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...odes]=1&c[nodes][0]=21&c[title_only]=1&o=date
... observed both outside and within a building / home.
In general, we don't usually merge or consolidate IHTM threads unless it's clear that they're referring to the same thing. The various flash / flashing IHTM threads exhibit considerable diversity in the type, manner, color, and other factors involved in the reported observations.
Paul_Exeter
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2012
- Messages
- 4,853
Have previously posted on here about this phenomenon
Myself and many others witnessed this in November 1984 in the village of Witheridge, Devon (600ft+ above sea level so clear views). It had snowed and was approx 7pm on a clear, dark evening. These rapid ‘camera flashes’ came from low in the sky (but above the horizon). Some of the Angel pub regulars ran out into the village square as they believed photography on an epic scale was taking place. No noise, just three bright flashes.
We later found out three lads from the village had seen it much closer than us, in the air above a field and building site. They said it temporarily blinded them and was quite near.
(written from memory, maybe some slight variance from earlier report but those flashes are etched on my memory)
Bad Bungle
Tutti but not Frutti.
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2018
- Messages
- 4,165
- Location
- The Chilterns
Do you live in the East Yorkshire ?
'UFO sighting' in Cottingham as woman records 'bizarre' lights outside her home
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/new...ufo-sighting-cottingham-woman-records-7630527
eburacum
Papo-furado
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2005
- Messages
- 6,039
Network Rail use an array of bright lights when they are examining the overhead wires. A blue light emitted by a test train has been responsible for several UFO reports. However the OP did say the light was not blue, so that rules out this particular system.
eburacum
Papo-furado
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2005
- Messages
- 6,039
I'd suspect electrical flashovers myself, which give a blue-white light. These flashes are quite common in other countries, especially where infrastructure is badly maintained or prone to damage by falling trees or earthquakes.
In this country (UK) the electricity supply system and overhead wires are quite well maintained, but there are still flashovers at times (sometimes due to vandalism/theft). Serves 'em right if they get burned.
In this country (UK) the electricity supply system and overhead wires are quite well maintained, but there are still flashovers at times (sometimes due to vandalism/theft). Serves 'em right if they get burned.
Salmonellus
Ephemeral Spectre
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2020
- Messages
- 257
My first thought was along the lines of arcing from electric powered transport. Because the contact has to be loose to let the vehicle move, you can get some spectacular flashes of light. It's a common sight in Melbourne, and there are some Youtube videos showing it:
But the problems are - a) Does London have anything comparable? and b) If there was anything like that in your area you'd know about it already, and it wouldn't be a mystery.
But the problems are - a) Does London have anything comparable? and b) If there was anything like that in your area you'd know about it already, and it wouldn't be a mystery.
Hi, yeh definitely not this, my nearest line is too far away and I’d know about it already, as you correctly say. Nice footage though!