1968: The Horror on the Stairs

THINK ABOUTIT SIGHTING REPORT

Date: September 1968

Sighting Time: 3 am

Day/Night: Night

Location: Dhekelia Barracks, Cyprus

Urban or Rural: –

No. of Entity(‘s): 1

Entity Type: Apparitional

Entity Description: disembodied head and shoulders of a humanoid being. The being had a glowing orange face and scarlet hair, and was wearing a light blue jumpsuit. It glared at the NCO with prominent unblinking eyes. As it approached the landing, it swivelled its head a full 180 degrees.

Hynek Classification: CE3 CE-III (Close Encounter III) Close observation with animate beings associated with the object.

Duration:

No. of Object(s): 

Height & Speed:

Size of Object(s):

Distance to Object(s):

Shape of Object(s): None seen

Color of Object(s):

Number of Witnesses: 1

Source: Orbis Publishing: Fact or Fantasy, p340. Alan Baker: Encyclopaedia of Alien Encounters, pp61-62.

Summary/Description: A soldier encounters a ghostly humanoid.

Full Report

Things that go Hum in the Night

Not all anomalous entities fit neatly into the categories assigned to them; ghost, alien, demon, etc. Indeed, some seem to purposefully defy our attempts to classify them. One such entity appeared in the unlikely setting of an army base in Cyprus in September 1968.

The witness was a British NCO stationed at the Dakelia army barracks. At 3am one morning, he was alerted to the presence of an intruder when his wolfhound sat up and began growling.

Fearing terrorists had infiltrated the base, the soldier crept towards the door of his room. An eerie high-pitched humming sound started up outside, and the wolfhound promptly hid under the bed.

The soldier stepped on to the landing outside his room and was confronted by an unearthly apparition. Floating up the stairs towards him were the disembodied head and shoulders of a humanoid being.

The being had a glowing orange face and scarlet hair, and was wearing a light blue jumpsuit. It glared at the NCO with prominent unblinking eyes. As it approached the landing, it swivelled its head a full 180 degrees.

A Shot in the Dark

The witness hastily backed into his room and slammed the door. The humming sound intensified to a deafening pitch. It was accompanied by a sliding noise as though the entity was dragging itself across the landing.

The soldier grabbed the only weapon at hand – an underwater spear gun – and fired it straight through the door. The sounds abruptly ceased, but the NCO was too terrified to venture outside again. A patrolling guard discovered him an hour later, still sitting on the edge of his bed paralysed by fear.

Although the witness soon recovered from his ordeal, his wolfhound was a nervous wreck. For the rest of its life, it remained terrified of the slightest sound.