REVIEW ARTICLE Ufology: What Have We Learned? - Society for ...

584 M. D. Swords
Charlie Tolbert's, mysterious happenings began to occur. This was in the area of
Proctor, West Virginia, or "Out Proctor" as the locals say. The motto of the area
("We don't cotton much to strangers around here"), plus the fact that it was
universally agreed that there was nothing to see, meant that visitors were few. In
fact, the last known visitor was in the late 1950s, when the aspiring astronomer,
Charles Tolbert, came there for reasons so arcane that they have not yet been
revealed. But it is fortunate that he did or we would not have this storyan
incalculable loss. Found in a locked file drawer at the University of Virginia,
his diary of this episode tells the whole truth.
As one goes further Out Proctor, one comes to the end of it-a place known as
Bedlam Hollow (Holler, in the vernacular). Very few do go there, which is why
it was so unusual when the locals began reporting sightings of a strange entity
rummaging around sheds, barns, and (usually) abandoned houses at night. The
entity was described as humanoid but difficult to see in detail, because, if you
tried to approach, it disappeared (usually behind a tree or a barn). Upon mentioning
these sightings to the visiting astronomer, Charlie told them that there was
probably nothing to it-they'd mistook a black bear or shadows in the night.
"Surely it was just some natural phenomenon" (or hysteria, he said silently).
This didn't go down well with the witnesses at all but it made sense to those who
didn't see it. And a great deal of good-natured mockery was shared by all.
As the people who had witnessed the entity talked to one another, several of
them agreed that there was something about it that didn't seem at all like a black
bear: it wore a hat. A weird hat, too. Something that looked like a broadbrimmed
disk with little balls hanging off the rim, attached by string or something.
When this feature was mentioned, Charlie agreed that he had heard of
such a thing but it was allegedly something that persons wore in Australia.
Although Charlie believed in persons from Australia, he assured the Proctorites
that Australia was much too far away for any of them to get here. And why
would they anyway? And even if they did, wouldn't they show themselves,
announce themselves to the Proctor Sheriff or something? Some locals weren't
convinced. Reflecting on the sheriff, Mack (Big Daddy) Morgan, a 350-pounder
with little levity, they weren't sure anybody would voluntarily announce
themselves. Plus, Billy and Willy Akers (their mother had unaccountably named
both of them William) were out at night regularly with their rabbit guns and
none too careful at that. Australians sounded like a reasonable answer to most
of the witnesses.
The young astronomer complained that they had no evidence for this. "Well,
we all saw it!" they retorted, "and the whole Brookover family saw it at the
same time!" Charlie said that this didn't count as evidence, as it was just
subjective. Mack Morgan said that if the Brookovers reported seeing somebody
light fire to a barn, he'd sure use that as evidence for arson. Charlie, not wanting
to upset Mack, said "Okay. That's courtroom evidence. What I mean is science
evidence. I need something physical." "What about the footprints!? They were
all over the place when Judd Martin saw that thing after the rain." "Anybody