The Mowing Devil

Author: * Amalie Iceni - 1 Post on this thread out of 96 Posts sitewide.
Date: Nov 25, 2006 - 00:19

Think that crop circles are a fairly modern phenomenen? Well in 1678, a strange event occurred in Hartfordshire, England, which some believe is the first reported incidence of a crop circle.

A farmer was angry at the price that he was being charged to have his oats mowed, so in disgust, he proclaimed that he'd rather have the Devil mow it. Perhaps the man got his wish, for that night, the field was lit with an eerie crimson glow, and when the sun rose, the field was found to be perfectly mowed - supernaturally perfect, in fact. Rumors circulated of a black clad figure moving among the stalks, said to be Satan himself mowing the crops. News of this frightening farmhand was recorded in a woodcut pamphlet, which survives to this day. The text is as follows:

Being a True Relation of a Farmer, who Bargaining with a Poor Mower, about the Cutting down Three Half Acres of Oats: upon the Mower's asking too much, the Farmer swore That the Devil should Mow it rather than He. And so it fell out, that very Night, the Crop of Oat shew'd as if it had been all of a flame: but next Morning appear'd so neatly mow'd by the Devil or some Infernal Spirit, that no Mortal Man was able to do the like. Also, How the said Oats ly now in the Field, and the Owner has not Power to fetch them away

Crop circle enthusiasts, or cereologists, as they like to call themselves, point to this as the first recorded case of a strange circle in a field of grain. The phenomenon itself entered the public consciousness in its current form after a rash of circles breaking out in fields in England in the late 1970s. Various explanations from aliens, to plasma vortices to secret government experiments were put forward to explain the phenomenon, which soon spread around the world. To date, thousands of circles have appeared at sites across the world, from disparate locations such as the former Soviet Union, the UK and Japan, as well as the U.S. and Canada. Some skeptics note a strong inverse correlation between crop circles and the presence of fencing and/or anti-trespassing legislation, as well as a great increase in the number of crop circles after media coverage.

Crop Circle Faithful got a nasty surprise in 1991, when two men, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, revealed that they had been making crop circles in England since 1978 using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools. Evidence of circles predating Doug and Dave was sought, and thus the story of the Mowing Devil was put forward as proof that some circles were genuine and not created by human hands.