Fran Ridge:
Jan. 19, 1965; Brand's Flats, VA.

Humanoid beings emerged from landed object at archery range, approached witness, who froze, apparently paralyzed (Section XII).

Jan. 19, 1965; Brand's Flats, Virginia

5:40 p.m. William Blackburn, a resident of Waynesboro, Virginia, was working at the Augusta County Archery Club off Route 250, near Brand's Flats, and saw two objects in the sky. One of these UFOs, the smaller of the two, descended to the ground and landed approximately 18 yards from the witness. From it emerged three beings of extraordinary appearance, each about three feet high. They were dressed in clothes of the same shiny, peculiar color as the object. One had an extremely long finger on one hand. The beings' eyes were particularly penetrating: according to the witness, "they seemed to look through you." As the creatures approached the witness, to within 12 yards, he froze in fright, a double-edged axe in his hand. After uttering some unintelligible sounds, the beings turned and reentered the object through a door that appeared to "mold itself into the ship." The object then ascended and disappeared. Following the appearance of Blackburn's account in the local press, the witness told of being visited by members of a government agency whom he would not identify, although he said he was told not to say anything further about his sighting. In an investigation conducted by Richard Hall and several NICAP staff members, strong evidence was found to support the witness' report of being silenced. In spite of this, the investigators were able to secure some additional details on the sighting. The area of the reported sighting is close to Fishersville, Va., the site of another landing (but with no reported occupants) which had occurred less than a month before.