The appearance in the sky of luminous balls, which are now called UFOs, have always caused fear in people. The object that appeared at the end of the 19th century over the Basque country was no exception.
The term UFO was coined only in 1947 and in the media this acronym replaced the long phrase "flying saucer". And even earlier, the vehicles of the aliens were called the chariots of the gods or the fiery chariot of the biblical prophet Elijah.
For the first time, the UFO phenomenon became widely known after the mysterious events that took place from March 3 to March 28, 1897 in Spain. A well-known political newspaper then published a series of articles about "mysterious lights" that appeared every night, instilling fear in ordinary peasants.
The newspaper reported that “at night, in the area between Yurre and Lopidana, a luminous ball of bloody color appeared, which completely silently moved above the ground and flashed brightly, painting tree trunks, roads and all uneven terrain in ominous red colors. Sometimes a small ball would separate from an object, wander playfully through the air, or stop at the ends of dry branches.
The newspaper provided readers with a truly poetic description with all possible details: “The mysterious light did not stay in one place. He smoothly moved from the point of appearance towards Estarrona, getting lost in the dense forests."
Indeed, these forests were famous for their huge trees, which were then cut down in the 20th century. Another piece of news read: “The glowing ball could be seen from a great distance. The curious city woman said that she opened the window to better see the source of the light, and hastily closed it when she saw him approaching her. According to the locksmith, he experienced panic when the balloon flew right over his van."
Naturally, this event gave rise to all sorts of rumors and hypotheses, resurrecting almost forgotten legends about witches, elves, wandering spirits, filling the hearts of local residents with fear.
Another story was published in the same newspaper on March 14, 1897: “The mysterious light that we reported in Thursday's issue continues to attract the interest of Victoria. Many of them have already visited or intend to visit the places where he appears. The best place, as we have already reported, is the area between Antezana and Yurre. We inform you that this light was seen in meadows or deep in forests."
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Day after day, the newspaper continued to feed its readers new information about the mysterious glow. The latest news about him came on March 27: "The strange lights in Anthezan, which have become widely known throughout Spain, are most likely wandering lights, consisting of glowing phosphorous hydrogen that forms in swamps and cemeteries."
Voronina Svetlana