December 24, 2025 • 8 mins
Within UFOlogy, there are several areas of specialization, such as abductions, landing traces, humanoids, contactees, military encounters, etc. They often have their own specialized literature put out by individual researchers or organizations, and many have come and gone in terms of popular fascination and press coverage. One aspect that has fallen by the wayside is crop circle research, also known as “cereology.” Its early history, and the reasons for it falling out of favor with the press, and even among UFOlogists, is summed up neatly in the 1986 report, Mystery of the Circles, “compiled by” by Paul Fuller and Jenny Randles (Randles is the writer) for the British UFO Association. Of course, their report didn’t put an immediate end to the phenomenon or the activity of researcher/investigators who were focused on it, but it did presage the eventual waning of interest to where very few in the community continue to consider it seriously as having anything to do with UFOs.According to Randles, mystery circles in the British West Country first started getting media attention in August of 1980, but “persistent local rumors” of them appearing in oat, barley, and wheat fields throughout Wiltshire and Hampshire goes back to at least 40 years before that. As of the release of the report, mysterious circles had shown up in fields between May and August for six successive years. Randles points out that the reason BUFORA became involved was because of the appearance of circles in the area of Warminster, which was notorious for a UFO flap in the 1960’s involving an object known as “The Warminster Thing.” She explains that this “created a definite hype which sees these marks regarded as ground traces left by a landing, or hovering, spacecraft.” Read more →
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
The Rise and Fall of Interest in the British Crop
Circle Mystery by Charles Lear. Within euphology, there are several
areas of specialization, such as abductions, landing traces, humanoids, contactees,
military encounters, et cetera. They often have their own specialized
literature put out by individual researchers or organizations, and many
(00:35):
have come and gone in terms of popular fascination and
press coverage. One aspect that has fallen by the wayside
is crop circle research, also known as seriology. Its early
history and the reasons for its falling out of favor
with the press and even among euthologists is summed up
neatly in the nineteen eighty six report Mystery of the Circles,
(00:58):
compiled by Paul Fuller than Jenny Randalls. Randalls is the
writer for the British UFO Research Association. Of course, the
report didn't put an immediate end to the phenomenon where
the activity of researcher investigators who were focused on it,
but it did presage the eventual waning of interest to
where very few in the UFO community continue to consider
(01:21):
it seriously as having anything to do with the UFOs.
According to Randall's mystery circles in the British West Country
first started getting media attention in August of nineteen eighty,
but persistent local rumors of them appearing in oak, barley
and wheat fields throughout Wiltshire and Hampshire goes back to
(01:41):
at least forty years before that. As of the release
of the report, mysterious circles had shown up in fields
between May and August for six successive years. Randalls points
out that the reason before it became involved was because
of the appearance of circles in the area of Warminster,
which was notorious for UFO flap in the nineteen sixties,
(02:02):
involving an object known as the Warminster Thing. She explains
that this created a definite height which sees these marks
regarded as ground traces left by a landing or hovering spacecraft.
While this is very likely a valid argument for crop
circles in England becoming associated with UFOs, mysterious circles that
(02:24):
started appearing in the area of Tully, Australia in nineteen
sixty six were called Tully nests and notably Saucer nests
in the press. So the association of mysterious circles with
UFOs goes back far earlier than nineteen eighty. However, the
Tully nests consisted of sworled reeds and swamp grass, so
(02:46):
they can't be called crop circles. There is an article
covering the Tully nests headlined nineteen sixty six Tully, posted
under the related Cases Australasia section on the Old Crop
Circle's website run by Terry Wilson. According to Wilson, we
assume he as the rider. They actually occurred closer to
(03:07):
the town of Uramo, south of Tully, which is known
informally as Horseshoe Lagoon. The first incident there involved a witness,
George Pedley, who reported that while driving a tractor in
the area at around nine a m. On January nineteenth,
nineteen sixty six, he heard a hissing sound and then
saw a flying saucer rise up out of a swamp
(03:29):
and fly away. When he went over to investigate, he
found a circle of flattened reeds swirled clockwise in a
thirty foot diameter circle. He later brought the landowner, Albert
Pinissi to see it, and when Pinissie waded out into
the circle, he found that the reeds had all been
uprooted and were floating as a mat on the surface
(03:49):
of the water. Five more nests appeared, all in swamp grass,
including one with a scorched center. That same year, Also
in Australia, circles in the grass were said to have
been seen, where around two hundred school children and a
teacher reported seeing at least one saucer land in the
field on April sixth. This was near Westall High School
(04:12):
in Melbourne. According to Randalls, what seems to have been
the first West Country crop circle. Newspaper report appeared in
the August fifteenth, nineteen eighty Wiltshire Times. It told the
story of two circles being found by John Skull in
his oat field just below the famous Westbury Whitehorse Hill.
(04:33):
A UFO group from Bristol that had recently formed newfora
soon to be renamed probe investigated. Ian Mertziglode and Mike
Seeger interviewed Skull, and with the help of doctor Terrence Meaden,
a meteorologist, took measurements. The circles were sixty four point
five and fifty eight point five feet in diameter and
(04:55):
had an eighty per cent and a ninety three per
cent eccentricity, respectively and sam And learned that there had
originally been three circles, but the first one was destroyed
when Skull harvested that section of his field before the
other two appeared. Merziglod published an account in the volume one,
number two, August nineteen eighty pro Report and told his
(05:17):
readers that UFOs are not ruled out, but neither are
they readily accepted as an easy answer. He noted that
natural explanations were possible. According to Randalls, the story fizzled
out like all Nine Day wonders, until three circles, all
in a line, were discovered a year later at cheese
(05:38):
Foot Head near Winchester in Hampshire. Quickly on the scene
was Ken Rogers of Buphos, who promoted the idea that
the nineteen eighty circles were created by a UFO and
held up the latest circles as evidence to support this
as local farmers became concerned about their fields getting vandalized.
The August twenty sixth, nineteen eighty one, the other An
(06:00):
Evening Echo reported that one landowner, Giles Roussel, claimed that
the circles were caused by the downwash of a twin
rotor helicopter. An mod spokesman said that an American Chinook
helicopter may have been involved mean an advised probe. It
is emphasized that he was not a member. That the
(06:20):
new circles were similar to the ones from the year before,
and that they were eccentric and swirled clockwise. His theory
was that they were caused by a weather based phenomenon.
Randall Lodge's Probe for its stance that UFOs were an
unlikely cause. She quotes Smuerziglod from the March nineteen eighty
two volume two, number four Probe report. Even to suggest
(06:43):
that the flattened circles were UFO nests is wildly speculative,
wishful thinking without any foundation. There was a lull in
press reports in nineteen eighty two, and it was announced
in the October nineteen eighty two volume three, number two
proport It is now time that the mystery be dropped
(07:03):
from the circle's definition, as they are seasonal as Christmas
and regular as clockwork. However, Probe's efforts to demystify the
phenomenon were in vain, as in nineteen eighty three, eight
sets of mostly fivring formations, A large circle with four
smaller circles on a compass point grouping around it appeared,
(07:26):
and the press presented not only UFO theories, but the
idea that the mating habits of deer in hedgehogs were
a causal factor. That year, the circles received nationwide coverage
via the July eleventh, nineteen eighty three Daily Express, and
Randalls describes that morning as one of the busiest in
my life. According to Randalls, every newspaper in Fleet Street
(07:51):
called her as she was before his director of investigations,
asking if she had heard about the UFO landing. She
says her obvious lack of interest in speculating about giant
spacecraft was met with varying degrees of incredulity by those
she spoke with. With the circles now receiving national attention,
(08:11):
Randalls says it was felt it before that this would
result in more people looking for them and more reports
coming in, and would also embolden those with intentions of
hoaxing them. Next week, hoaxes and confusion caused researchers to
pack it in. Charles Lear is the author of The
Flying Saucer Investigators, available in its second edition at Amazon
(08:36):
dot Com,
The Rise and Fall of Interest in the British Crop
Circle Mystery by Charles Lear. Within euphology, there are several
areas of specialization, such as abductions, landing traces, humanoids, contactees,
military encounters, et cetera. They often have their own specialized
literature put out by individual researchers or organizations, and many
(00:35):
have come and gone in terms of popular fascination and
press coverage. One aspect that has fallen by the wayside
is crop circle research, also known as seriology. Its early
history and the reasons for its falling out of favor
with the press and even among euthologists is summed up
neatly in the nineteen eighty six report Mystery of the Circles,
(00:58):
compiled by Paul Fuller than Jenny Randalls. Randalls is the
writer for the British UFO Research Association. Of course, the
report didn't put an immediate end to the phenomenon where
the activity of researcher investigators who were focused on it,
but it did presage the eventual waning of interest to
where very few in the UFO community continue to consider
(01:21):
it seriously as having anything to do with the UFOs.
According to Randall's mystery circles in the British West Country
first started getting media attention in August of nineteen eighty,
but persistent local rumors of them appearing in oak, barley
and wheat fields throughout Wiltshire and Hampshire goes back to
(01:41):
at least forty years before that. As of the release
of the report, mysterious circles had shown up in fields
between May and August for six successive years. Randalls points
out that the reason before it became involved was because
of the appearance of circles in the area of Warminster,
which was notorious for UFO flap in the nineteen sixties,
(02:02):
involving an object known as the Warminster Thing. She explains
that this created a definite height which sees these marks
regarded as ground traces left by a landing or hovering spacecraft.
While this is very likely a valid argument for crop
circles in England becoming associated with UFOs, mysterious circles that
(02:24):
started appearing in the area of Tully, Australia in nineteen
sixty six were called Tully nests and notably Saucer nests
in the press. So the association of mysterious circles with
UFOs goes back far earlier than nineteen eighty. However, the
Tully nests consisted of sworled reeds and swamp grass, so
(02:46):
they can't be called crop circles. There is an article
covering the Tully nests headlined nineteen sixty six Tully, posted
under the related Cases Australasia section on the Old Crop
Circle's website run by Terry Wilson. According to Wilson, we
assume he as the rider. They actually occurred closer to
(03:07):
the town of Uramo, south of Tully, which is known
informally as Horseshoe Lagoon. The first incident there involved a witness,
George Pedley, who reported that while driving a tractor in
the area at around nine a m. On January nineteenth,
nineteen sixty six, he heard a hissing sound and then
saw a flying saucer rise up out of a swamp
(03:29):
and fly away. When he went over to investigate, he
found a circle of flattened reeds swirled clockwise in a
thirty foot diameter circle. He later brought the landowner, Albert
Pinissi to see it, and when Pinissie waded out into
the circle, he found that the reeds had all been
uprooted and were floating as a mat on the surface
(03:49):
of the water. Five more nests appeared, all in swamp grass,
including one with a scorched center. That same year, Also
in Australia, circles in the grass were said to have
been seen, where around two hundred school children and a
teacher reported seeing at least one saucer land in the
field on April sixth. This was near Westall High School
(04:12):
in Melbourne. According to Randalls, what seems to have been
the first West Country crop circle. Newspaper report appeared in
the August fifteenth, nineteen eighty Wiltshire Times. It told the
story of two circles being found by John Skull in
his oat field just below the famous Westbury Whitehorse Hill.
(04:33):
A UFO group from Bristol that had recently formed newfora
soon to be renamed probe investigated. Ian Mertziglode and Mike
Seeger interviewed Skull, and with the help of doctor Terrence Meaden,
a meteorologist, took measurements. The circles were sixty four point
five and fifty eight point five feet in diameter and
(04:55):
had an eighty per cent and a ninety three per
cent eccentricity, respectively and sam And learned that there had
originally been three circles, but the first one was destroyed
when Skull harvested that section of his field before the
other two appeared. Merziglod published an account in the volume one,
number two, August nineteen eighty pro Report and told his
(05:17):
readers that UFOs are not ruled out, but neither are
they readily accepted as an easy answer. He noted that
natural explanations were possible. According to Randalls, the story fizzled
out like all Nine Day wonders, until three circles, all
in a line, were discovered a year later at cheese
(05:38):
Foot Head near Winchester in Hampshire. Quickly on the scene
was Ken Rogers of Buphos, who promoted the idea that
the nineteen eighty circles were created by a UFO and
held up the latest circles as evidence to support this
as local farmers became concerned about their fields getting vandalized.
The August twenty sixth, nineteen eighty one, the other An
(06:00):
Evening Echo reported that one landowner, Giles Roussel, claimed that
the circles were caused by the downwash of a twin
rotor helicopter. An mod spokesman said that an American Chinook
helicopter may have been involved mean an advised probe. It
is emphasized that he was not a member. That the
(06:20):
new circles were similar to the ones from the year before,
and that they were eccentric and swirled clockwise. His theory
was that they were caused by a weather based phenomenon.
Randall Lodge's Probe for its stance that UFOs were an
unlikely cause. She quotes Smuerziglod from the March nineteen eighty
two volume two, number four Probe report. Even to suggest
(06:43):
that the flattened circles were UFO nests is wildly speculative,
wishful thinking without any foundation. There was a lull in
press reports in nineteen eighty two, and it was announced
in the October nineteen eighty two volume three, number two
proport It is now time that the mystery be dropped
(07:03):
from the circle's definition, as they are seasonal as Christmas
and regular as clockwork. However, Probe's efforts to demystify the
phenomenon were in vain, as in nineteen eighty three, eight
sets of mostly fivring formations, A large circle with four
smaller circles on a compass point grouping around it appeared,
(07:26):
and the press presented not only UFO theories, but the
idea that the mating habits of deer in hedgehogs were
a causal factor. That year, the circles received nationwide coverage
via the July eleventh, nineteen eighty three Daily Express, and
Randalls describes that morning as one of the busiest in
my life. According to Randalls, every newspaper in Fleet Street
(07:51):
called her as she was before his director of investigations,
asking if she had heard about the UFO landing. She
says her obvious lack of interest in speculating about giant
spacecraft was met with varying degrees of incredulity by those
she spoke with. With the circles now receiving national attention,
(08:11):
Randalls says it was felt it before that this would
result in more people looking for them and more reports
coming in, and would also embolden those with intentions of
hoaxing them. Next week, hoaxes and confusion caused researchers to
pack it in. Charles Lear is the author of The
Flying Saucer Investigators, available in its second edition at Amazon
(08:36):
dot Com,
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