SELECTIVELY DESTRUCTIVE
There was no electrical storm when George D. had his encounter in 1999 in Whittington Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK where he was working for a company called Wagon Repairs. "I worked inside a large workshop and we maintained rail rolling stock," George tells us. "My job was on a hot press making parts for the braking system. The doors were open, as it was summertime, and we all had hot, sweaty jobs."
Quite unexpectedly, a globe of light entered through a south-facing door, traveling at a very shallow angle no more than 5 or 10 degrees, George estimates. "It was a ball approximately two feet in diameter," he says. "It was a reddish blue. It was not solid, but you could not see through it. It hit the floor about half way down the workshop and literally ricocheted off the floor without causing any damage. It then traveled down the workshop again at about 5 or 10 degrees, but now traveling upward. It went out of the north door, across a river, then a field. After approximately one-third of a mile, it hit a chimney stack and totally destroyed it."
So how was it that it bounced off the floor harmlessly, yet demolished a sturdy chimney stack?
ATTACKED BY BALL LIGHTNING
Andi had a most extraordinary encounter with this phenomenon. In July, 1982 on the Oregon coast, she was touched by ball lighting; in fact, she says it went right through her! Andi had moved there to be near her great aunt, who owned a home that sat high on a hill overlooking the bay. In the evenings, Andi would often sit at the home’s large kitchen windows and enjoy the view of the bay bridge.
"One evening as I looked out, I could see a very bright light at the end of our driveway down below," Andi says. "I watched this light, thinking, 'That's odd.' It was about a little past eleven in the evening. No one was usually about in this quiet little town on these curved streets. As I watched, the light got brighter and started to go up the side of the hill and go under our house. I went out and tried to peer under the stairs. Sure enough, I could see this light moving around below me. I called out, 'Is someone there?' and received no answer. I tried several times.
"Suddenly, the light grew to about the size of a basketball and started with speed to come nearer. I was a little frightened and started up the stairs. I turned to look, just as it took on great speed and flew right through me! Yes, I felt a great surge of energy, like an electric energy, and my arms and limbs ached. It all happened so fast. After I got my bearings, I hung on the rail and stood by the door. [The ball of light] continued to circle the house at an alarming speed. I ran inside and shut the door. I could actually hear the humming of the electricity, like when you are under power lines. The light in the kitchen exploded. I was really scared. It soon left, and as I looked outside of our windows, I could only see darkness."
ANOTHER ASSAULT
George S. was also touched by ball of energy. He was ten and attended school in Memphis, Tennessee. "On the playground, a fast ball of light came from nowhere and struck me down," he says. "It hit my lower abdomen and flipped me on my back, leaving me breathless for some time." George does not believe this phenomenon was electrical, however, but something else. "I have pondered the idea of a seizure; however, the extreme blow to my body is not explained, nor the pain I endured for some weeks that followed."
ANOTHER SCHOOL YARD ENCOUNTER
"We played rounders after school," says Steve, "and [when we were done], a girl and I had to take the kits back up to our room. We each had one side of the box to carry it. We were walking along and from behind us a ball of light came between us. It was a perfect ball and it had light blue swirled smoke inside. It went on down the corridor and then vanished. My friend and I didn't stay around. We got out of there as fast as we could."
Next page: Ball lightning strikes twice
