The Mince pie Martians

Good Tidings we Bring

On January 4 1979, Rowley Regis housewife Jean Hingley was unexpectedly visited by a trio of bizarre elfin entities. They not only engaged her in lengthy conversation but also partook of some seasonal refreshments before departing. Rarely has high strangeness taken quite such a festive turn

The strange events began at 6am that morning. Mrs Hingley had just waved her husband off to work when she saw a bright orange sphere materialise above the garage. As she stood in the kitchen watching it, her Alsatian promptly fainted. Then three bizarre humanoids flew past her into the house with a buzzing "zee zee zee" sound.

The creatures were three-and-a-half feet tall and sported translucent butterfly-shaped wings covered in glittering spots. They had white faces with large dark eyes and tiny slit-like mouths. Each wore a silver tunic and a transparent helmet topped by a light.

Mrs Hingley found herself floating through the air into the lounge. She discovered the entities gathered around the Christmas tree, which they were shaking vigorously. "Nice? Nice?" they chorused at her. She yelled at them to stop, and they fluttered over to the couch and sat bouncing up and down like excited children.

Up From the Skies

The baffled housewife asked the creatures where they were from. "The sky," they replied, speaking in unison with gruff voices that seemed to originate from outside their bodies.

Thinking she might be entertaining angels unawares, Hingley (a devout Christian) pointed to a picture of Christ on the wall and asked her visitors if they had been sent by God. "We know all about Jesus," they answered. "We came down here to talk to people, but they don't seem to be interested!"

The entities began to fly around the room, picking up objects and examining them closely. "I think they had magnets in their hands, because they kept lifting things that they touched," Hingley told investigators. Both the radio and TV stopped working after the beings' visit, and some cassettes they had handled were found wiped blank.

Refreshments are Served

Not forgetting her manners, Hingley offered each of her guests a glass of water and a mince pie. They drank the water happily enough but seemed unable to fit the pies into their tiny mouths.

When she quizzed them further about their origins, they shot painful laser beams at her from their helmets. (She was left with a red scar on her forehead for months afterwards.)

The entities finally left after Hingley inadvertently frightened them by lighting a cigarette. They "glided themselves out" into the orange sphere, still clutching their mince pies, and were gone in a flash.

The Aftermath

Hingley phoned the local police station to report the bizarre incident. She felt completely drained of strength and experienced some temporary discomfort in her eyes and ears. A doctor who examined her ordered her to take two weeks off work to recover. Nevertheless, she reported that the encounter had left her feeling "warm and happy - as though I had been blessed".

Two days after the visitation, the Christmas tree that had so delighted the entities disappeared from the living room. It later reappeared - torn to pieces and minus its ornaments - on the lawn. The ornaments were gradually returned over the following days.

Sources

Jenny Randles: Alien Contact: The First 50 Years, p92.
Jerome Clark: Extraordinary Encounters, pp175-176.
Orbis Publishing: Marvels and Mysteries: Aliens, pp90-91.
Alan Baker: The Encyclopaedia of Alien Encounters, pp77-78.
Mike Dash: Borderlands, pp159-160.