The Warminster mystery is fifty years old. The mystery began as unusual sounds on the morning of Christmas 1964 and continued as a UFO flap until 1977. The locals called the unusual lights and sounds central to the mystery "the Thing." The memory of that mystery remained in the background of ufology throughout the years, even while other events took centre stage. This book reviews what happened during the crazy, exciting years of the Warminster mystery. It is not a long list of the sighting reports; it is a short history of the events - the lights, the sounds - the media reports, and the characters that shaped the Thing. It is a history of the mystery. 8/10: Snappy and even-handed review of whatever it was... -- Fortean Times

Includes proceedings of the annual general meetings of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society.

There has probably never been anything like it in UFO history, but the UFO fever that gripped the small British town of Warminster for about a decade is now largely forgotten. It was one of the largest UFO flaps ever to occur. Thousands of witnesses reported seeing the "Warminster Thing." The hilltops around the town attracted a loyal band of followers, all waiting for the magic sighting, the landing, the contact. The authors were themselves among the skywatchers and spent nights on Cradle Hill, the center of the phenomenon, watching and waiting for UFOs, but also watching and listening to the witnesses and ufologists. IN ALIEN HEAT introduces the Warminster phenomenon to a new generation of readers. It contains a short history of the phenomenon, places it in its social and historical context, and examines the possible mechanisms that initiated and sustained this remarkable UFO flap.