A regional newspaper reports on October 7, 1954, in the midst of many UFO and occupants reports in France, that Elise Blanc, of Lugrin, claims that on August 23, 1954, she met two strange men close to a machine which resembled an aluminum camp-site trailer.
She claimed that these two beings were 1 m 20 high approximately and dressed in silver color, and that when they saw her, they grunted like pigs and jumped in their machine which took off while taking a color of fire and disappeared in a multicolored cloud.
Elise Blanc had already told a few years before she adopted a brown dog of which she claimed that its ancestors were the wild beasts which devastated the herds of Valais and Haut-Chablais, an important information given by the newspaper but which was omitted by the ufologists who mentioned the story in their books.
No investigation was carried out at the time, the newspaper story being simply included in the ufology literature. In 2006, a local correspondent told me that Elise Blanc actually reported many visits by small beings.
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[Ref. dl1:] "LE DAUPHINE LIBERE" NEWSPAPER:
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A resident |
[Ref. lo1:] CORAL AND JIM LORENZEN:
The authors indicate that on August 23 in Lugrin, near Thonon, France, a man approached a landed object which looked like an aluminum trailer. Two small beings in silvery clothing who grunted like pigs were standing nearby. After the little men entered it, the object glowed red and flew away.
[Ref. jv2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
In a chapter for Charles Bowen's book, French ufologist Jacques Vallée indicated that on August 23, 1954 in Lugrin, near Thonon, France, a man approached an object looking like an aluminum trailer with two small beings in silvery dress, grunting like pigs, standing close by. The craft took on a fiery color and flew away.
[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
French ufologist Jacques Vallée summarized the case in his Magonia database:
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137 Aug. 23, 1954 Lugrin, near Thonon (France). Elise Blanc approached an object looking like an aluminum trailer with two small beings in silvery dress, grunting like pigs, standing close by. The craft took on a fiery color and flew away. (Challenge 129) |
[Ref. gl1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
The two ufologists and authors indicate that on August 23, 1954, Mrs. Elise Bland was walking in the vicinity of Lugrin when she suddenly saw two small "strange" men of 1 meter 20 of height equipped with silver colored costumes. They were close to a machine; which resembled a camping trailer. The authors report these remarks of Elise Blanc:
"When they saw me, they started to grunt like pigs. They jumped in their apparatus which took off while taking a fiery color, and disappeared in a multicolored cloud."
The sources are indicated as being newspaper clipping and their personal file.
[Ref. fr1] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two ufologists and authors indicate that on August 23, 1954 at some unspecified time, in Lugrin, Elise Blanc, in her sixties, saw an object resembling "a small camp-site trailer" of aluminum color and two beings of 1 meters 20 height equipped with costumes of silver plated color, which were standing close to the machine while "grunting like pigs."
When these beings saw Elise Blanc, they jumped into their machine which rose while taking a fiery color and disappeared in a "multicoloured cloud."
The two authors indicate the books by Garreau et Lavier and by Jacques Vallée as sources.
[Ref. cc1:] GILBERT CORNU AND HENRI CHALOUPEK:
The authors indicate that on August 23, 1954 in the Creuse, Mrs Blanc, about sixty years old, saw two beings "grunting like pigs" who were close to an unknown object resembling a camp-site trailer of aluminum color.
When these two beings saw the witness, they reinstated "their funny machine" which then rose while becoming "color of fire."
The authors wonder whether it should be thought that this person has a lot of imagination, but that this imagination would curiously recut other ufological testimonys, or if it should be thought that she attended a strange scene "which is not so rare than one wants to often believe it, for the folklore is rich of such visions at the edge of the possible."
They indicate that the source is "Face aux ET" by Garreau and Lavier, page 198.
[Ref. mc1:] MARK CASHMAN'S SIGHTINGS DATABASE:
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Lugrin, near Thonon (France). 8/23/1954 Elise Blanc approached an object looking like an aluminum trailer with two small beings in silvery dress, grunting like pigs, standing close by. The craft took on a fiery color and flew away. |
[Ref. ad1:] STEVEN DUNN, OCCUPANTS DATABASE:
| DATE | DESCRIPTION | MICAP_CLAS | REF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/23/1954 | Thonon, FR 23 Aug 54 A man approached a landed UFO near which two small creatures were standing. They were dressed in light-colored suits and grunted like pigs. | CE-3-002 | Randle/Estes, FOV pg 264 |
[Ref. 312:] UFOCAT'S "ON THIS DAY":
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On this Day August 23 [...] 1954 - Elise Blanc approached an object that looked like an aluminum trailer in Lugrin, France. Standing close to it were two small beings dressed in silver uniforms. They made grunting sounds like pigs. The object took on a glowing, fiery color and flew away. [Note: the Airstream model of trailer, common for this period, is aluminum in color and somewhat ovoid shaped.] (Sources: Jacques Vallee, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, p. 129; Passport to Magonia, p. 208). |
[Ref. 134:] ALBERT ROSALES, HUMCAT:
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71. Location. Lugrin France Date: August 23 1954 Time: unknown Elise Blanc approached an object like an aluminum trailer, with 2 small beings in silvery dress, grunting like pigs, standing close by. The craft took on a fiery color and flew away. Humcat 1954-45 |
[Ref. 1034:] LUIS GONZALES, FIRSTHUMCAT:
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August 23, 1954 - Lugrin, near Thonon Elise Blanc approached an object which appeared to be an aluminum trailer with two small beings in silvery suits and who grunted like pigs, standing at its side. The apparatus took a fiery color and it rose, while moving away. Sources: MAGONIA catalogue #137. |
[Ref. le1:] CORRESPONDANT'S EMAIL:
On September 9, 2006, a non-anonymous person of the area sent to me by email the new information that follows:
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a small contribution about lugrin.... Dear Patrick, I am 35 years old, I am a resident of ANNEMASSE. I have also lived on three occasions, ufological events, but today I come to give you some elements, quite thin... on the LUGRIN (74) affair. LUGRIN, is at some km from EVIAN, after the exit of the city, in direction of ST-GINGOLPH, which is the last community before the Swiss border, at the end of the GENEVA lake... This village lived mainly of the bovine breeding, and counted until the beginning of the Sixties, nearly 100 sharecropper (hiring the ground, and share of the harvests with the owner...), then this number decreased very fast. In 2006, it is said that there would be no more but two or three people busy in breeding or farming... I went on several occasions to LUGRIN, the old railroad which connected THONON to SWITZERLAND via the banks of the LEMAN lake is still visible, but abandonned... Mrs Elise BLANC (her name of marriage...) had a maiden name: TUPIN Unfortunately, she died at an unknown date, and her house was destroyed... At its back were the fields where she would have had her strange encounters, fields which are still exploited nowadays... Years went by, and it is quite difficult to find some other information on these events, the rare old people which still live in the village are too old to answer questions, but, I learned in 2002 from an inhabitant, that the "visitors" had given to Miss BLANC, "stones", that she had shown to close relations... according to this person, she would have received many visits of the "small beings" before daring to entrust that, which she always regretted, for the gibes and mockeries did not cease any more thereafter... Miss BLANC always maintained her story until her death. Miss blanc is said to have children in the area, but after a number of phone calls, I could not find her filiation... After sending of a cordial letter to the current mayor of LUGRIN, I still did not receive an answer to date... who does not try, does not get anything! Til soon, with all my encouragements for your website! [First name NAME] |
The case occurred according to the witness in August, well before the flying saucer reports flap, but is told rather late by the newspaper, when the flap is at its maximal. This does not appear in the account by Jacques Vallée who does not mention his sources, while he mention sources of other cases.
Jacques Vallée, who published this case, word for word, obviously decided that it was not suitable to report the story of the dog adopted by Mrs. Blanc. However, it is logical to think that if the newspaper indicates this detail which is without direct relationship with the Martians, that can only have been to inform the reader about a witness' tendency to mythomania. This omission, like that of the multicolored cloud, is thus a serious error.
The same omissions are in Coral and Jim Lorenzen's book, where in addition the witness has become a man, probably following the translation of Jacques Vallées' summary into English, in which the first name Elise was omitted, and probably thought to be a male first name by an english-speaking translator.
| Id | Topic | Severity | Date noted | Raised by | Noted by | Description | Proposal | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ufology | Severe | September 9, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | No investigation was done. | No solution. | Closed. |
| 1 | Ufology | Severe | September 9, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing information. | No solution. | Closed. |
| 1 | Ufology | Severe | September 9, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Severe omissions by the first ufologist reporter. | Corrected. | Closed. |
Probable witness invention.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors | None |
| Reviewers | None |
| Editor | Patrick Gross |
| Version | Created/Changed By | Date | Change Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | September 9, 2006 | Creation, [dl1], [lo1], [cb1], [jv1], [gl1], [fr1], [mc1], [sd1], [uo1], [ar1], [lg1] | ||||
| 0.2 | Patrick Gross | September 9, 2006 | First published | ||||
| 0.3 | Patrick Gross | September 14, 2006 | Addition of new source [le1] | ||||
| 0.4 | Patrick Gross | October 11, 2006 | Reattribution of short text in Bowen's book to Jacques Vallée as author [jv2].
In the summary, No investigation was carried out is changed to
No investigation was carried out at the time, the newspaper story being
simply included in the ufology litterature. In 2006, a local correspondant
told me that Elise Blanc actually reported many visits by small beings.
| 0.4b
| Patrick Gross
| February 2, 2007
| Addition, [cc1]
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