1914 UAP Archive — 31 cases across 20 countries in the year WWI began. A Finnish grandmother who had prior knowledge of recurring beings. An 18-inch green Texas entity killed by dogs. A Rhode Island craft crew that sang in harmony. Norwegian airships targeting ships with searchlights. Sources: Mervi Virtanen; Ted Bloecher; CUFOS Associate Newsletter; Peter Rogerson; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia.
1914: UFO|UAP & Entity Sightings Archive
1914 was the year the world went to war, and it is also the most densely documented year of UAP and entity encounters in this archive’s pre-war record — spanning Finland, Texas, Germany, Russia, Norway, Ireland, Wales, South Africa, Chile, France, Australia, Algeria, Bolivia, and beyond. The Alastaro, Finland case at the end of August stands as this year’s most striking single account: a boy and his grandmother watched a shining globe open onto two large-headed beings, and the grandmother — who had apparently seen them before — calmly explained that they were not divine, but technological, distant, and recurring visitors. Full detail on that case, along with Farmersville, Texas; Blida, Algeria; the Astrakhan, Russia abduction; and a Bolivian abduction case, live on their own dedicated pages, linked below.
Two corrections of note: three separate entries describing an event at Georgian Bay, Ontario turn out to be the same case told three times — and only one of those three carried this site’s own sourcing’s explicit hoax flag. All three have been consolidated into a single entry with that flag stated clearly throughout. A second duplicate — the “Mr. Perret” bedroom-visitor account, listed under two different village names with the same source citation — has likewise been merged into one entry.
Date: Late August 1914 — CONFIRMED HOAX
Location: Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Time: 17:00
Hynek Classification: N/A — confirmed hoax
Case Status: Explained (Hoax)
Summary: William J. Kiehl and seven other witnesses reported a spherical craft floating on the water in a cove, with small figures in light brown clothing and square helmets taking on water through a hose. On noticing the witnesses, most occupants reboarded; one dwarf-like figure in curved, pointed shoes remained outside briefly as the craft rose about 3.6 meters (12 feet) above the water and departed silently, trailing white vapor. Correction: this event was previously listed as three separate entries on this page — an undated “Ontario, Canada” sighting, an August 1914 entry explicitly marked in its own sourcing as a confirmed hoax, and a “late August 1914” HUMCAT entry presented without that flag. All three describe the same event; they have been consolidated here, with the hoax status — established in this site’s own cited source — applied to the single remaining entry rather than lost in the duplication.
Source: Magonia #40 (which explicitly documents this case as a demonstrated hoax); Webb, David, HUMCAT — retained in the record specifically as a documented and identified hoax, not as an unexplained sighting
Date: 1914
Location: Alta, Norway
Time: 21:00–22:00 (September 17)
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A luminous point resembling a large star was observed by many witnesses across several locations, moving from Elvebakken over Bosekop, behind Skoddevarre, reappearing at Kvaenvik, and finally disappearing toward Talvik. The light was mostly white, shifting at times to red and blue, and was also observed through binoculars from the steamboat Sina. It moved at varying heights and speeds, generally slow except when departing; contemporary observers guessed it was an airplane.
Source: Not individually listed; part of a well-documented cluster of 1914 Norwegian light sightings
Date: December 20, 1914
Location: Norway (reported via Morgenbladet)
Time: Morning
Hynek Classification: RV
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: An airship was reportedly seen at 8:00 AM by many reliable witnesses, including the sheriff of Solum, who watched it through binoculars at considerable height moving inland before turning south out to sea.
Source: Morgenbladet, Norway
Date: November 21, 1914
Location: Tjolta, Norway
Time: Evening
Hynek Classification: RV
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: An airship was seen cruising near Skjaervaer Lighthouse, illuminating it with a searchlight, descending from roughly 700 to 400 meters altitude to shine its light on a passing ship before ascending again. Between 20 and 30 people watched simultaneously.
Source: Not individually listed; part of the documented 1914 Norwegian airship cluster
Date: 1914
Location: Benton Harbor, Michigan
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Three luminous objects flew low overhead.
Source: Not individually listed
Date: 1914
Location: Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Time: 15:00
Hynek Classification: CE-III
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A witness at a local dump heard a musical humming sound and saw a gray, domed craft hovering above a fence near a church. Sliding doors opened and eight short, round-headed humanoid figures emerged, standing abreast; they sang together in unknown-language harmony before filing back inside as the craft slowly rose and disappeared over the church.
Source: Witness letter, CUFOS Associate Newsletter, Vol. 3, #6
Date: 1914
Location: Santiago del Estero, Argentina
Time: Evening
Hynek Classification: N/A — entity encounter, no craft
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A short, dwarf-like female entity in shiny green clothing persistently chased a young child through a wooded area; a similar entity separately pursued a young girl at a nearby ranch.
Source: Picasso, Fabio. Small Entities in Argentina
Date: 1914
Location: Inveraray, Scotland
Time: Afternoon
Hynek Classification: N/A — entity encounter, no craft
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A young boy who fell from his tricycle and injured his arm was approached by a roughly 30-inch-tall figure who healed the injury almost instantly. When asked who he was, the figure identified himself as a gnome, correcting the boy’s guess of “leprechaun.” He vanished into the underbrush as the boy’s parents approached; they did not believe the story.
Source: Mott, Wm. Michael. Hidden Neighbors
Date: August 3, 1914 (shortly after)
Location: Noirétable, Loire, France
Time: 04:00
Hynek Classification: N/A — apparition/bedroom-visitor encounter, no craft
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A young man identified as “Mr. Perret,” sleeping in a shared family bedroom while his father was away at war, was awakened by a tap on his back. He saw a luminous being resembling a 10-to-12-year-old child, snow-white of face and dress, radiating enough light to illuminate the room. The being emerged from his grandparents’ adjoining room, passed through a closed door, crossed near his bed, looked at him and smiled, then passed through a second door to the outside and vanished, leaving a faint glow for two to three seconds. Perret, initially frozen with fear, then cried out and woke the household. The report notes a local legend describing a procession of “beings of light” climbing a nearby slope into an old priory on the night of September 8, 1914. Correction: this case was previously listed twice on this page under two different village names — “St. Didier sur Rochefort” and “Noirétable” — both citing the same witness (Perret), the same source (LDLN #243), and matching descriptions. They have been merged into this single entry.
Source: Berlier, Patrick, and Michel Sabatier, Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), #243–244, p. 28, October 1984 — a credentialed French UFO publication
Date: 1914
Location: Indiana
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Two witnesses observed three objects with unconventional appearance and performance.
Source: Lore Jr., Gordon I. R. Mysteries of the Skies: UFOs in Perspective, Prentice-Hall, 1968
Date: 1914
Location: Vansbro, Sweden
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: DD
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A 15-year-old male witness (Lindskold) observed a flying disc.
Source: UFO Information Sweden
Date: 1914
Location: St. Léonard-de-Noblat, France
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: CE-III
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A round, greenish object was seen resting on a hilltop with several beings around it; it climbed slowly before flying away at great speed.
Source: Hall, Richard H. From Airships to Arnold: A Preliminary Catalogue of UFO Reports in the Early 20th Century (1900–1946), UFO Research Coalition, 2000
Date: 1914
Location: Rachyn, Rovno District, Ukraine
Time: Evening
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Several brilliant cigar-shaped objects reportedly passed overhead north to south; a jelly-like “angel hair” substance fell afterward, with an unpleasant smell.
Source: BUFORA
Date: 1914
Location: Grover, Colorado
Time: 21:00
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Two witnesses observed one object.
Source: Condon Committee
Date: January 1914
Location: León, Spain
Time: 12:00
Hynek Classification: DD
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A close encounter with an unidentified craft and its occupants was reported; a daytime disc was observed.
Source: Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos investigation files
Date: February 15, 1914
Location: Chanco, Maule Region, Chile
Time: 18:00
Hynek Classification: N/A — likely bolide (bright meteor)
Case Status: Explained (Probable) — the period term “bolide” used in the original press coverage is itself a meteor classification, suggesting a natural explanation was already the leading theory at the time
Summary: Newspaper reports describe a bright object crossing the sky west to east, leaving a white smoky trail that took roughly 15 minutes to dissipate, also observed from Argentina. A witness, 104 years old at the time of a later interview (14 at the time of the event), recalled classes being dismissed early to watch, an object shaped like a modern airplane fuselage flying diagonally with visible flame and tremendous noise, apparently impacting an isolated forest area and starting a fire. Searchers reportedly failed to locate a crater or debris.
Source: Guijarro, Josep. Año Cero #10
Date: March 1914
Location: Lajoumard, Haute-Vienne, France
Time: Evening
Hynek Classification: CE-III
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A farmer, since deceased, saw a round, green, luminous object hovering just above a nearby hilltop. From roughly 100–200 meters away, he watched several small-statured beings emerge, walk about briefly, and re-enter before the object departed in a spiral or zigzag climb at high speed. He told his family but asked that they never repeat the story; it only became known after his death.
Source: Mesnard, Joël, and Jean-Marie Bigorne
Date: Early May 1914
Location: 2.5 miles west of Farmersville, Texas
Time: 10:00 AM
Hynek Classification: N/A — entity encounter, no craft
Summary: Silbie J. Latham and his older brothers Sid and Clyde, chopping cotton with their dogs Bob and Fox, encountered an entity the dogs cornered and killed. Full detail on this site’s dedicated report page. [Full Report]
Source: Bloecher, Ted
Date: 1914
Location: Blida, Algeria
Time: Night
Hynek Classification: CE-III
Summary: A French settler reportedly watched helmeted entities collect ground samples from a landed sphere. Full detail on this site’s dedicated report page. [Full Report]
Source: Le Forum De L’Ufologie
Date: June 1914
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Time: 04:00
Hynek Classification: CE-III
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Gustav Herwagen, opening his door, saw a shining, cigar-shaped object with illuminated windows in a nearby field, with four or five roughly four-foot-tall figures in light clothing near it. As he approached, they boarded the craft; a door closed, and it climbed vertically in silence.
Source: Vallée, Jacques. Passport to Magonia — confirmed major primary research source
Date: June 1914
Location: Spike Island, Cork Harbor, Ireland
Time: Afternoon
Hynek Classification: N/A — apparition/entity encounter, no craft
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A six-year-old girl walking near the sea looked up to see a very tall, featureless, glistening yellow figure looking over a five-foot wall toward Cobh, visible from the waist up. As it began turning its head toward her, she heard a voice warn, “If it looks straight at you, Eileen, you will die,” and fled to a nearby cottage in shock. The cottage’s owner told her she was not the first to see it.
Source: Mac Manus, Dermot. The Middle Kingdom
Date: August 2, 1914
Location: Vykhino, near Strizhov, Russia
Time: Daytime
Hynek Classification: N/A — entity encounter, ambiguous craft association
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Two peasant women in a field saw two figures in unusual red suits near something grayish on the ground in a remote meadow; frightened, they fled. Another peasant separately reported something large and dark flying toward the meadow with a rustling sound.
Source: Gershteyn, Mikhail; Anfalov, Anton — this archive treats Anfalov as an unreliable source specifically on Soviet/CIS-region cases per its established editorial standard; readers should weigh this citation with particular caution given his co-attribution here
Date: August 7, 1914
Location: Asanova, Sarinskaya Volost, Yekaterinburg area, Perm, Ural, Russia
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: CE-II
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Amid a wave of “mysterious flying machines” reported in the regional press that August, a flying device reportedly landed near the village with two unknown occupants aboard. A local clerk fired three shots at them without effect; Bashkir witnesses who saw the men closely described them as warmly dressed.
Source: Zauralsky Kray newspaper, Ural, Russia, August 1914 — a contemporaneous regional newspaper with a named event and documented weapons discharge
Date: August 23, 1914
Location: Savernake, New South Wales, Australia
Time: Dawn
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Two boys, around 12 years old (Sloane), observed an object with appearance and performance beyond known aircraft capability in a forest; a noise was heard.
Source: FSR (Flying Saucer Review)
Date: End of August 1914
Location: Alastaro, Finland
Time: About noon
Hynek Classification: CE-III
Summary: Ten-year-old Arvo Kuoppala and his grandmother Maria Fält watched daylight dim as if in an eclipse, heard a loud blowing noise, and saw a bright wall of light followed by a large shining globe. Full detail on this site’s dedicated report page. [Full Report]
Source: Virtanen, Mervi, Finland
Date: September 1914
Location: Caerphilly, Wales
Time: Afternoon
Hynek Classification: N/A — entity encounter, no craft
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Two children, Mr. Uden and Mr. Hopkins, walking home across a mountainside after school, encountered a patch of mist at whose edge stood two small, entirely white humanoid figures wearing unusually tall, chef-like hats and having piercing eyes. The children fled in fear. Note: this is a distinct 1914 entity case, unrelated to this site’s separately documented 1909 Caerphilly Mountain landing case, despite the shared location name.
Source: Drew, Rupert
Date: September 1914
Location: Greytown, South Africa
Time: Evening
Hynek Classification: CE-II
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A farmer walking home across the veldt encountered a biplane-like machine with two occupants drawing water from a nearby stream. Few, if any, viable aircraft existed in the country at the time.
Source: FSR (Flying Saucer Review) Vol. 8, #3
Date: September 23, 1914
Location: Hurtsugly, Kalmyk Province, Astrakhan Region, Russia
Time: 03:30
Hynek Classification: CE-IV — abduction-type encounter
Summary: Vasiliy Alexandrovich Sokolov, a stonework contractor traveling early in the morning, encountered a bright star-like object in the sky. Full detail on this site’s dedicated report page. [Full Report]
Source: Gershtein, Mikhail. “Mystery of the Astrakhanian Steppes,” Crossroads of Centaurs #2, 1999
Date: October 5, 1914
Location: Silver Bell Siding, Tasmania, Australia
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: A light traveling from Macquarie Heads over Mount Dundas was observed with two distinctly visible lights, intermittently casting rays of light to the ground.
Source: Australasian Ufologist
Date: December 6, 1914
Location: Bolivia
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: CE-IV — abduction-type encounter
Summary: David Mendiola Vilchez reported an abduction involving octopus-legged entities. Full detail on this site’s dedicated report page. [Full Report]
Source: Guzman, Lucy; Rosales, Albert
Date: December 22, 1914
Location: The Western Front, Europe
Time: Unknown
Hynek Classification: NL
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: “A zeppelin-like object rose straight towards the clouds in the rear of our lines, not like a flying machine, but straight up. After running vertically, it suddenly darted forward at a pace which must have been 200 m.p.h. It then turned around and darted backwards and then suddenly rising, disappeared in the clouds.” Maurice Philip Tuteur, a British soldier, described this in a letter to his parents; the object was reportedly also witnessed by two sergeant majors.
Source: Not individually listed
Date: Late December 1914
Location: León, Spain
Time: 17:30
Hynek Classification: N/A — entity encounter, no craft
Case Status: Insufficient Data
Summary: Independent witnesses on the city’s outskirts reported two identical, roughly two-meter-tall thin figures wearing tight-fitting green coveralls, carrying rucksack-like objects, walking in unison and apparently joined at one arm. Both figures suddenly rose into the air and vanished.
Source: Jiménez, Iker. Encuentros: La Historia de Los Ovni en España
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
The 1914 Archive — A Confirmed Hoax Told Three Times, and One Bedroom Visitor Told Twice
- The Georgian Bay hoax was hiding in plain sight, twice over: this site’s own cited source (Magonia #40) explicitly documents the Kiehl “little men taking on water” case as a demonstrated hoax. Yet the page carried this event as three separate, undated-to-nearly-identical entries, and only one of the three carried that flag. A reader encountering either of the other two would have had no way to know the case had already been debunked. Consolidating to a single, clearly-labeled entry fixes that.
- The Perret bedroom-visitor case was listed twice under two village names with identical witness, source, and description — merged here into one entry using the more complete Noirétable version, which includes fuller family context and the intriguing note about a related local legend.
- The Anfalov standing flag applies to the Vykhino, Russia entry: co-attributed to both Mikhail Gershteyn and Anton Anfalov, this case is retained per this site’s practice of keeping weird and unexplained material in the record, but the Anfalov half of the citation specifically carries this archive’s established caution.
- The Chanco, Chile case likely has a natural explanation already implicit in its own sourcing: the period term “bolide” is itself a technical meteor classification, suggesting contemporary observers already leaned toward an astronomical explanation even as local folklore treated it as more mysterious.
- A naming coincidence, not an error: the September 1914 Caerphilly, Wales entity encounter is a genuinely separate case from this archive’s 1909 Caerphilly Mountain landing — same place name, different year, different witnesses, different phenomenon.
1914 is this archive’s densest pre-war year, and the corrections here matter less for what they remove than for what they reveal: even a case this site’s own sourcing had already debunked can end up presented as live and unexplained simply through accidental duplication. That’s a good general lesson for how this whole rebuild project should keep proceeding — checking not just whether a case is sourced, but whether its full sourcing, including its own explanations, made it onto the page.
“The strangers were not from heaven, but from a distant place, and the globe was intended to travel short distances and had come from a sky ship to which it had also returned.”
— Maria Fält, to her grandson Arvo Kuoppala, end of August 1914, Alastaro, Finland
