Crop Circles

In the wee hours of morning, right after dawn begins its ascent, people living in widespread agricultural regions get the surprise of their lives as the fields of wheat and corn in the nearby cropland are mysteriously and inexplicably flattened to the ground in a circular formation. The stalks haven’t been uprooted, and it seems as though the crops have decided, on a whim, to lie down overnight after being vertical for a sustained period of time. What’s more surprising is, when viewed from above, the flattened crops form a complex geometric pattern that befuddles the mind and bewilders the senses. Is this truly the work of an outside force trying to deliver us messages from the beyond?

These phenomena, dubbed crop circles by paranormal researcher Colin Andrews, first became publicly known in 1678. Its cause was attributed by a figure known as the “Mowing-Devil”. The tale goes that a farmer wanted a laborer to mow his field. After the laborer demands an exorbitant fee, the farmer then swears he would rather let the devil mow the lawn than pay such an amount. Lo and behold, that night the field catches fire, and the next day the field is found to be mowed so perfectly that no human could have done it. This sinister story first appeared in an English woodcut pamphlet in 1678 entitled “The Mowing-Devil: or, Strange News out of Hartford-Shire” and is widely known as the first reported incident of a crop circle. Since then, dozens of others have appeared all over the globe, varying in design and complexity, winning over many to believe in the paranormal.

Skeptics stuck to their claim of there being a logical explanation for these occurrences and, in 1978, found their rational redeemers in the forms of Englishmen Doug Bower and Dave Chorley. Originally a well-conceived prank after an evening of inspiration based on the 1966 appearance of circles in Tully, Queensland, the duo decided to manufacture a crop circle of their own, proving that such occurrences can indeed be made without the need for astrological aid. Under the cover of darkness, the duo were able to make crop circles using only a 4-foot plank attached to rope which they used to flatten the crops, some wires, and a hat to focus on the lines and angles. The pair could make a 12-meter diameter circle in about 15 minutes. After the job was done, off they went and no one would be the wiser. When their exploits failed to attract media coverage, the twosome decided to take it up another notch by creating circles with much more complex designs, thereby refuting those who would argue that the circles could have been made by natural phenomenon such as a wind vortex, a tornado, or a ball if lightning. Bower’s late-night exploits did not go unnoticed by his wife, however, and, fearing that he be suspected of cheating on her, decided to go public.