Day 1 – The Riddle of Ripperston Farm
Every mystery has a beginning…
Welcome to a brand-new feature where I’ll be sharing a different paranormal mystery every day (well… hopefully! 
) for the next year.
I’m kicking things off with the story that first sparked my lifelong fascination with UFOs and the unexplained: The Riddle of Ripperston Farm.
Picture the scene. It’s 1983, and an eight-year-old Richard is obsessed with science fiction. If you grew up in Britain during the 1970s and early 80s, you’ll probably remember classics like Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Sapphire & Steel, The Tomorrow People, Gerry Anderson’s UFO and, of course, Star Trek on BBC Two. I watched every episode I could.
It was only natural that I’d become fascinated by aliens when my favourite television hero was a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Then my gran told me about her own UFO sighting, a friend from school lent me a UFO magazine, and suddenly I found myself immersed in a world of alien visitors, Men in Black, close encounters and abductions. From that moment on I was equally fascinated and terrified by anything extraterrestrial.
Then I discovered The Uninvited by Clive Harold.
The aforementioned magazine and the book by Clive Harold
The book tells the extraordinary story of the events surrounding Ripperston Farm in Pembrokeshire, Wales. To be honest, it frightened me so much that I couldn’t finish it at the time. (Thankfully I have managed to read it since!)
Nearly fifty years later, it remains one of Britain’s strangest and most debated UFO cases.
The Riddle of Ripperston Farm:
While the nearby Broad Haven Triangle (also known as the Dyfed Enigma) became famous for the schoolchildren who reported seeing a UFO in 1977, the Coombs family—Billy, Pauline and their children—claimed to have experienced something even stranger at their isolated farmhouse.
Their reported experiences were later documented in the previously mentioned Clive Harold’s now-classic book The Uninvited.
Among the incidents they described were:
A terrifying car chase
While driving home one January evening in 1977, Pauline Coombs reported seeing a huge glowing object descend from the sky and follow her family’s car. As it hovered overhead, the engine stopped and the headlights failed before the object suddenly shot away towards the coast.
AI reconstruction of UFO chasing car near Ripperston Farm in Wales
Electrical chaos
Following the sighting, the family reported persistent electrical problems. Televisions, household appliances and vehicles repeatedly failed, with wiring allegedly burning out for no obvious reason.
The seven-foot visitor
On the night of 23 April 1977, Billy and Pauline Coombs reported seeing an imposing figure, around seven to eight feet tall, standing outside their living room window. They described it as wearing a seamless silver suit with what appeared to be a black visor where its face should have been.
The figure allegedly pressed against the window before disappearing into the darkness.
When police arrived, they reportedly found no footprints, but a rose bush beneath the window was said to have been scorched by intense heat. The family also claimed their television had suffered severe electrical damage.
AI reconstruction of 7ft Silver Space Man
The Disappearing Cattle
One of the strangest claims involved the family’s herd. The Coombs family reported that cattle repeatedly disappeared from securely fenced fields before later being discovered elsewhere, despite there being no obvious signs of escape. It remains one of the most unusual aspects of the case.
The Mysterious Silver Car
In June 1977, the Coombs’ eldest son was reportedly home alone when a large silver car silently pulled into the farmyard. Two unusually tall men with striking blue eyes and prominent foreheads got out and knocked on the door.
Receiving no answer, they visited a neighbouring cottage and reportedly asked, in perfect English, where Mrs Coombs could be found before quietly driving away.
The Coombs Family and Ripperston Farm House as it is now.
The Mystery of Stack Rocks
The family and several local witnesses also claimed to have seen strange objects entering and leaving the sea near Stack Rocks in St Bride’s Bay. Some even reported seeing what appeared to be a doorway opening within the rocks themselves.
So… what was really happening?
As with many famous UFO cases, opinions remain divided.
Some believe the strange visitors were simply workers from the nearby Amoco oil refinery wearing reflective silver protective suits as part of a series of elaborate pranks.
Others suggest that military activity from nearby RAF Brawdy, including Harrier jump jet testing, may explain at least some of the strange lights and sightings.
Then there are those who argue that these explanations simply don’t account for everything reported by the witnesses.
Nearly fifty years later, no one can say with certainty what happened at Ripperston Farm. Was it an elaborate hoax? A military misunderstanding? Or one of Britain’s most compelling UFO mysteries?
I’d love to hear what you think.
Coming tomorrow… Day 2 – The Mysteries of Clapham Woods.
And remember The truth may be stranger than the stories…
#FavouriteHaunts#365DaysOfTheParanormal#RipperstonFarm#TheUninvited#UFO#UFOSightings#AlienEncounters#BritishMysteries#WelshMysteries#Paranormal#HighStrangeness#Folklore#Unexplained#Mystery#ClaphamWoods#GhostStories#Cryptids#TheTruthMayBeStrangerThanTheStories
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