The Aveley Encounter
Driving home on an autumn night, a family's car entered a strange green mist, and they reached home three hours late.
What was reported
Late on 27 October 1974, a couple and their three children were driving home to Aveley in Essex after visiting relatives when they noticed a blue light following the car. Turning a corner, they said, they drove into a bank of green mist, and the radio crackled and sparked.
When they reached home, it was about three hours later than it should have been. In 1977, under hypnosis, the parents described being taken aboard a craft and examined by tall figures and small, furry creatures. The family is known in reports by the pseudonym Avis.
Explanations offered
Sceptics point to the unreliability of memories recovered under hypnosis, which can draw on films and stories. Others suggest the family misjudged the time. The family maintained something happened that night that changed their lives.
- When
- 27 October 1974
- Where
- Aveley, Essex, England
- Witnesses
- A family of five
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.