Padeswood, near Mold, Flintshire, North Wales, United Kingdom
The Padeswood Poachers' Purple Ball
Welsh oral history recounts several colliers/poachers encountering a large purplish-red luminous ball low over a field near Padeswood in the 1880s and later finding a scorched circle. No contemporary document or named witness has been recovered.
Why This Case Matters
Interesting as pre-flying-saucer folklore, but evidentially it is an oral-history case transmitted across generations and first reliably captured long after the alleged event.
Chronology
- 1880s alleged encounter
- anonymous poachers reportedly flee luminous sphere
- later return and scorched grass ring is remembered
- story transmitted through descendants
- twentieth-century folklore collection
- 2003 regional press retelling
The Witnesses
Evidence
The following evidence types are documented for this case:
Conventional explanations: Ball lightning, meteor/fireball, marsh-gas/will-o'-the-wisp effects, human lantern/fire, or ordinary folklore development across generations.
What Remains Unresolved
- Witness names
- exact year/night/weather
- precise field
- first-generation written account
- original interview notes
- any contemporary local press or estate record.
Key Takeaways
- Preserve as folklore/history rather than physical-trace evidence. The lack of a 19th-century 'alien' template is culturally interesting but does not compensate for the century-long documentation gap.
Sources
Primary and secondary sources for this case file: