The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Oct-54-Dompaire.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The newspaper Le Républicain Lorrain of October 21, 1954, reported, via their correspondent in Dompaire, a prank that had taken place - according to the newspaper - in "B..., a small locality of the canton of Dompaire" (Boquegney? Bettegney?), a few hundred meters from the national road. The affair is described as follows.
Some "merry pranksters," among whom, "it is said," was a respectable and respected local notable, had decided to have a cheap laugh. They hollowed out beets, leaving "small skylights" to let through the light of candles lit inside, to which a piece of colored paper would give red and orange tones. An old sheet and four stakes were also put to use, set up 100 meters from the national road in a park clearly visible. From a distance, the effect was striking.
The pranksters hid behind a bush, except for one who remained in full view on the road and stopped a motorcyclist with his wife as passenger.
"Trembling," the prankster showed the bikers the supposed saucer and, with much passion, asked them to accompany him to "B..." where, by another path, they could rejoin the national road. He told them: "You understand, I have to pass within less than twenty meters of this saucer alone, and it seems to me that it is occupied."
At that moment, small shadows moved under the sheet and, with the help of imagination, the bikers believed themselves to be a hundred meters away from "Martians as tall as they were wide."
At first skeptical, the motorcyclist was seized with an "irrational fright"; he mounted his motorcycle and left without paying attention to his companion, who screamed in terror "while nearby, behind the bush, peals of laughter rang out more and more."
Brought back to reality, he returned to fetch his wife and understood the prank. Embarrassed, he laughed too, while his wife was able to see for herself the "courage" of her husband.
The story was also told in the newspaper L'Est Républicain the next day, October 22, 1954, but its "success" curiously stopped there, whereas other "stories" of the same sort had been published throughout almost all of the French press, and even the international press.
[Ref. lrl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE REPUBLICAIN LORRAIN":
|
DOMPAIRE, (from our correspondent). -- We are in B..., small locality of the canton of Dompaire (the Vosges), located at a few hundreds meters of the national road. Jolly fellows (among those, it is said, is a respectable and respected notability) decided to have a laugh with few expenses.
Beets are emptied and of small windows will let pass the wavering light of the candles which are lit inside, to the need a color paper will give red and orange tones. An old cloth, four stakes and here are our men ready with the experiment which they want to try.
At a hundred meters of the national road, in a park well in sight, the four stakes are planted, the old cloth placed above. From a distance, the effect is seizing and our accomplices hide behind a bush, except one. The latter remains well in sight on the main road and, at the end of a short while, has the luck to to stop a motorcyclist having his wife as passenger.
All trembling, our hero shows to the motorcyclists the so-called saucer and, with much passion, asks them if they would accompany him to B... where, by another way, they will be able to reach the main road again. "You see, he tells them, I am forced to pass at less than twenty meters of this saucer and it seems to me that it is occupied." At this time, indeed, small shades are moving under the cloth and imagination helping, our motorcyclists believe they are at a hundred meters of Martians as tall as they are broad.
An unreasoned fear seizes then the motorcyclist who, until this moment, had appeared skeptical. Suddenly, he climbs on his motor bike, starts and flees without taking care of his spouse which yells of terror while next to them, behind the bush, laughter burst more and more.
Recalled to reality, the motorcyclist returns to get his wife and understands...
Looking embarrassed, what can he do, if not to laugh? As of Madam, she had all the time to realize of the courage of her husband inasmuch as the latter had taken the time to tell her his 1939-1945 war exploits...
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
We are in B., small locality of the canton of Dompaire located a few hundred meters Of the national highway. Happy pranksters (among them, it seems, a respectable and respected notable) decided to laugh at little cost.
Beets are emptied and small holes will let out the flickering light of the candles that are lit inside, if necessary a colored paper will give a red orange hue. An old sheet, four pickets, and here are our men ready to try the experiences they wanted to make. At a hundred meters from the national road, in a prominent park, the four stakes are planted, the Old cloth placed on it. From a distance the effect is striking and our comrades hide behind a bush, except one. The latter remains in sight on the national road and after a short time he has the chance to stop a motorcyclist with his wife as a passenger.
All trembling our hero shows the biker the so-called saucer and, with lots of passion, asks them if they do not want to accompany him to B... where, by another way they can reach again the national road. "You understand," he told them, "I am obliged to go alone at less than twenty meters from this saucer and, it seems to me that it is occupied", at that moment indeed small shadows move under the sheet and imagination helping, our bikers figure to be one hundred meters from true Martians as tall as wide. An irrational shudder takes hold of the motorcyclist who until then had seemed skeptical. Suddenly he rides his bike, starts it without taking care of his spouse who screams in terror, while at the side, behind the bushes bursts of laughter starts so much more.
Recalled to reality the biker returns to look for his wife and understands... Embarrassed, what can he do but laugh?
[Ref. cnu1:] GROUPE D'UFOLOGIE "CNEGU":
| CNEGU sort order: | Place: | Possible or probable explanation: |
| ... other cases... | ||
| 25 F/98/88/54 10 00 (01) | Dompaire (88) | Hoax? |
| ... other cases... | ||
In October 1954 in a small locality of the canton of Dompaire (88), some merry pranksters decided to have a cheap laugh. Hollowed-out beets and small skylights would let through the flickering light of candles lit inside, with colored paper if needed to give red and orange tones. An old sheet, 4 stakes, and there were our men ready for the experiment they wanted to attempt. At 100 m from the national road, in a park well in view, the 4 stakes were planted, the old sheet placed on top. Underneath, the 5 beets in the shape of a star with the candles lit. From a distance, the effect was striking, and our companions hid behind a bush, except for one. This last one remained well in view on the road and after a short time, had the luck to stop a motorcyclist with his wife as passenger. All trembling, our hero showed the supposed saucer to the bikers with much passion, asking them if they would like to accompany him to the village where, by another path, they could rejoin the national road. At that moment, small shadows moved under the sheet and, with the help of imagination, our bikers imagined themselves to be 100 m from real Martians or Saturnians as tall as they were wide. An irrational fright then seized the motorcyclist. Suddenly, he mounted his motorcycle and fled, abandoning his other half, while nearby laughter rang out from behind the bushes.
Explanation: hoax staged by villagers.
Source: Press archives 1954 page 56 edited by the CVLDLN in 1987 citing the newspaper La Liberté de l'Est of October 22, 1954, Est Républicain of October 22, 1954 (page 4) CNEGU site Archives section.
[Ref. jat:] JEAN-MICHEL ABRASSART AND RAOUL ROBE:
Categories:
U: Humanoid sighting with a UFO
NU: Humanoid sighting without a UFO
RV: Religious visions (Virgin Mary, White Lady or similar)
| N° | Date | Place (Department number) | Category |
| ... other cases... | |||
| 25 | October 1954 | Dompaire (88) | U |
| ... other cases... | |||
|
Prank, or journalistic invention.
The story has some dubious sides, for example when the accomplices are hidden behind a bush "next to them" whereas they were supposed to be at a hundred meters. Thus it is either indeed a prank by the villagers, or it is a journalistic invention of the correspondent eager to offer his newspaper a picturesque and "edifying" story on the "Martians".
In the few kilometers around Dompaire, and not far from what seemed to have been the national road at the time, are two villages whose name starts with "B": Boquegney and Bettegney.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Dompaire, Vosges, negative case, hoax, prank, candles, beets, cloth
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 29, 2010 | First published, [lrl1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 2, 2016 | Addition [ler1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 2, 2025 | Additions [cnu1], [jat1], Summary. |
