‘Many years ago (circa 1982) I lived in ***, an old ***, Brisbane mansion that had been converted into flats in the 1930s. Next door, at the end of a cul-de-sac, was an overgrown lot on which stood a once-magnificent house built by a wealthy timber merchant in the 1920s. It had become abandoned and somewhat derelict. Often my friends and I would explore the beautiful old place wishfully imagining the grandeur of the old house in its heyday. One night, after a visit, I was returning alone to the border of the two properties. On the border stood some magnificent and very old trees. I think they were some sort of imported conifer because the original owner of the property, having been in the timber trade, had planted some rather unique exotics. On this night as I made my way back home I was suddenly arrested by the apparition of a glowing bluish light that appeared from somewhere near the base of the huge tree and rapidly rose in an arc up in front of the tree then plunged into the branches several metres above ground level. The occurrence was stark, simple and absolutely real. At the time I thought it may have been a mini UFO! In the January 2004 issue of Fortean Times Moyra Doorly in an article Invitation to Elfland relates that she saw ‘fairy lights’ while living on Arran Island off the coast of Scotland. They appeared as very small, very bright, balls of light, 10-15cm in diameter, which hovered on the air before shooting off at great speed to disappear among the trees. (Doorly, 2004. p.42) This description is identical to what I saw.’ ‘In this instance it was not a ‘fairy’ per se but rather a very distinct but weird light.’ ‘[Why a fairy?] Because of the similarity to the experience described by Moyra Dooley: this is in hindsight
§462
Queensland, Australia
1980s
Male: Age 41-50
occasional supernatural experiences
in a city, in a garden
9 pm-12 am
less than a minute
on my own
No special state reported
no fairy mood reported
profound silence before the experience, a sense that the experience was a display put on specially for you, unusually vivid memories of the experience, a sense that the experience marked a turning point in your life