Felixstowe Fire Demon
On an autumn evening in 1965, a group of British youths were cruising the town when one of them had a terrifying encounter with a fiery fiend that would leave him scarred for life. Felixstowe is a port town nestled on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The bustling hub offers a plethora of fascinating sights, but none so strange as the one seen by a trio of friends who were joy riding through the town on their way toward Essex at approximately 10:30 p.m. on the evening of September 20, 1965.The group consisted of the driver, 25 year old Geoffrey Maskey, and his passengers, Mavis Fordyce and Michael Johnson. In what must have been an effort to preserve gas (or perhaps indulge in an ill advised mid drive libation break) Maskey pulled over to the curb next to a hedgerow on the isolated, tree lined Walton Avenue. The youngsters were engaged in lively conversation when Johnson abruptly opened the car door and walked out into the murky night. Fordyce and Maskey exchanged perplexed glances as their cohort vanished into the Stygian blackness, but simply assumed that he must be answering nature’s call.
Just moments after Johnson disappeared behind the shrubbery skirting the woods, Maskey and Fordyce heard what they described as a high pitched humming sound…and that’s when things started to get weird. Fordyce grew anxious as the disconcerting sound began overwhelming them and Maskey leaned out the window to try and ascertain the origin of the annoying noise.
It was then that he spied an oval shaped, orange object suspended in the sky over 90' above his car. He estimated that the UFO was about 6' wide and both he and Fordyce claimed that it was glowing so brightly that it bathed the surrounding countryside in its eerie orange glow. Without warning, the humming object shot away from the vehicle and vanished beyond the trees. The pair stared at each other in silent astonishment, when it suddenly dawned on them that Johnson was still in the woods…and that he might no longer be alone.
The apprehensive duo, both of whom were reticent to leave the car and wander into the forest wherein the UFO and their friend were lurking, began shouting their Johnson’s name to no avail. Maskey threw his vehicle in reverse and he and Fordyce continued to bellow in vain for their missing comrade.
The apprehensive duo, neither one excited about the prospect of entering the shadow shrouded forest wherein the UFO and their friend were lurking, remained in the car and began shouting for Johnson to no avail. Maskey threw his vehicle in reverse and he and Fordyce continued to bellow in vain for their missing comrade. Suddenly, Johnson emerged from the wooded area and staggered into the road with a dazed expression adorning his face. Maskey hoped that he was just having a go at them, but as soon as Johnson collapsed in the middle of the street he knew that this was no laughing matter.
Although still frightened, Fordyce and Maskey wasted time in exiting the vehicle and running to their friend’s aid. They found Johnson laying motionless on the asphalt, totally unconscious. When they realized that they could not wake their friend, Fordyce and Maskey hefted the inert Johnson and dragged him back to the car. Fordyce did her best to make Johnson comfortable as Maskey hopped behind the wheel and sped away from the forbidding forest and the strange orange light toward the nearby Felixstowe hospital.
Once at the hospital Johnson regained consciousness, but he was suffering from amnesia and could not recognize the friends who had rescued him, much to their dismay. The doctors on duty at the relatively small hospital diagnosed Johnson as having succumbed to a serious shock. They also noted that he had unusual burn marks on the back of his neck and a contusion above his right ear. The doctors then decided that it would be prudent to transfer Johnson to the hospital of Ipswich, which was far better equipped to deal with Johnson’s injuries and psychological condition.
The following day Johnson recovered his senses and when his friends came to visit them he told them of his harrowing encounter with an ostensibly alien entity in the woods next to Walton Avenue. Johnson claimed that when he abruptly got out of the car the night before he was compelled to do so by an unknown force, which insisted that he go into the woods. Johnson told his friends and doctors that he was forced to walk into the dark forest, although he was unable to recall exactly how far, where he encountered what he described as a humanoid being with the large sloping eyes that were glowing in the darkness.
He also claimed that the odd creature was engulfed by orange flames. It was at that point that he blacked out. Johnson swore that he had no memories of what transpired next, until he woke up the following morning in a hospital bed. It goes without saying that the doctors who heard this young man’s bizarre tale were skeptical to say the least and the newspaper reporters from the Ipswich Evening Star who published the strange account, were equally incredulous.
Nevertheless, Johnson’s friends, who had bore witness to the fiery, egg-shaped UFO with their own eyes, believed their buddy and knew all too well that something strange and terrifying had transpired in the woods near Walton Avenue that dark night.
Whether or not this creature was a UFO pilot from OUT OF THIS WORLD or a demonic entity hailing from the supernatural landscape that dwells BEYOND MYTHOLOGY, the burn scars on Johnson’s neck serve as a testament to this truly bizarre event.