I've had several strange encounters
I'm not saying there's not a reasonable explanation for these things, but they were very creepy when I experienced them and I still don't know what could have caused them.

First, I was about 10 when my Grandad died, in my house as it happens. Died right in the chair opposite me, which obviously hit me quite hard. But anyway.

A week or two later, we were all sitting in the same room he died (the living room) watching TV. Now, it was quite late so there were no windows open, the front door was locked for the night and there was no capacity for a gust to blow through the house.

While we were all sitting there, the living room door blew wide open. I have no idea what could have caused it, but for a long time afterwards I thought it was my Grandad's soul leaving the house. Logic dictates that there must be a reasonable explanation for it, but to this day I don't know how it could have happened.

Second, this only happened a few months ago. If you live in London you may have seen it too, but it was eerie nonetheless.

It was New Years Eve, and me and the girlfriend couldn't be arsed to go to the Thames for the fireworks so we just stayed in for once. So, come midnight we rushed outside to watch any fireworks that people might have been setting off.

A few minutes passed, and we were happily watching the fireworks above us. But then, we saw a flaming ball in the sky. I immediately dismissed it as a firework, but after 30 seconds of it just floating there in the sky I began to think maybe it wasn't a firework.

It was quite far away, but it was still a reasonable size, and would have been many times bigger than a normal firework. It was bathed in flames, and was slowly travelling across the nightsky.

Even if it was a balloon or something that someone had set off from the ground, it would have either burnt out or disintegrated and fallen to the ground by now. This was about 3 minutes after seeing it.

No, instead it was still hanging there in the sky. Then, it started moving across the sky; quite fast really. For a brief second, I thought it was a meteorite. However, after going one way, it began to go back on itself.

It was at this point that I grabbed a pair of binoculars to get a closer look. Upon closer inspection, it was definitely quite large; and a reasonable distance away. I couldn't see any details, apart from a big ball of flames. I could also make out smoke floating up from it, however it was not a plume of black smoke; rather just light smoke from intense heat. Like the smoke you get when you overheat a cooking pan. (Bad analogy, I know)

Anyway, after about 5 minutes of this ball travelling around the sky, it began to travel away from us in the opposite direction until we couldn't see it anymore. However, mere seconds after the first one disappeared, a second one appeared in the same spot where the first one appeared. (I hope you're following this)

This second flaming ball hung in the air as well, and didn't travel around the sky as much as the previous one. This happened for about 2 minutes, after which time the first ball actually came back. What scared me is that the two flaming balls actually then travelled towards each other. Eventually, they both came to the same spot, and then travelled back in the opposite direction of us.

We waited around for about half an hour talking about it, and seeing if anymore would appear; but none did. We saw those flaming balls from about midnight until half 12, and I still have no idea what they could have been.
(Dazzorifik is bored of b3ta, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 10:39, 12 replies)

Interesting
You didn't get anal probed by strange, short, grey men did you?
( Kroney, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 10:42, closed)

Sorry cant resist:
"Goodness gracious! GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!"

Awesome story though, did your neighbours see them also?
(Miggyman, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 10:43, closed)

I didn't get anal probed, but I passed out! And when I came to, I was covered in a sticky, translucent goo! Explain that! *Gargle* (May not be true)

And my neighbours were out at the time, either down the Thames or at a party like popular people. I asked a few people about it a day or two afterwards, and they said they were too busy wishing in the New Year to notice anything.
(Dazzorifik is bored of b3ta, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 10:47, closed)

That wasn't the chinese lanterns that
were launched over North London a while back was it? There were a load of UFO sightings in Archway that turned out to be big (very big) paper lanterns...
( chthonic, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 11:10, closed)

No
They were definitely on fire, and I only saw two of them; not the sighting of 10-15 like the lanterns.
(Dazzorifik is bored of b3ta, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 12:29, closed)

Door.
The windows were closed and the front door locked. That makes it even MORE likely for the door to have blown open. All it would take is someone shutting a door somewhere else in the house for the air pressure to blow open that one, as there's nowhere else for it to go.

The ball in the sky: how can you tell it was quite large and some distance away? It was in the SKY. You've got no frame of reference to judge the size. It could have been small and nearby. You have no idea what they could have been? No idea at ALL? Helicopters?! A nutter in a microlite with a catherine's wheel strapped to his arse? A firework strapped to a box kite?
(Musuko, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 18:35, closed)

Did they look something like
this?

If so, those flaming balls you saw might have been a phenomenon known as "Ball Lightning"

...and not "Balls Lightening" which is what I do by myself when Mrs chart cat isn't in the mood.
( chart cat has an itch, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 19:15, closed)

Re Musuko: That would be a reasonable explanation, but everyone was in the same room as me. We were all sitting down watching TV, there was no-one else in the house at the time so that explanation doesn't hold.

Also, regarding the balls in the sky, I could tell they were some distance away because they were relatively low in the skyline. I.e. They weren't right above me, they were low enough that I didn't have to crane my neck upwards to look at them. Also, why the attitude?

Re chart cat: It's possible, but there was no trail left by them; and it was a perfectly clear night as well.
(Dazzorifik is bored of b3ta, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 21:08, closed)

Doors.
It needn't only be someone opening a door in the house. If all the windows were sealed in the house, then something like a gust of wind getting into the loft space through a gap in the flashing, and getting down into the house, would be enough.

I don't like it when people jump straight to a supernatural explanation just because they can't think of a more mundane explanation. Just because you, or I, or anyone can't think of one, doesn't mean there isn't one.

So what if the lights were near the horizon? You STILL have no frame of reference. You don't know if it's above the near terrain, or distant terrain. If it is not below the horizon and if it is not casting a shadow/light pool that you can see, and if it is not obscured by terrain/buildings/trees, then the ONLY clues you have to distance are seeing details on the object itself (windows, rotors, etc) or how fuzzy it is from atmospheric haze. Neither of these are possible if you're just seeing a featureless light. It could EASILY have been small and nearby, and your mind, lacking other information, interprets it as convincingly large and far away.
(Musuko, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 21:47, closed)

May
I point your attention to the sentence:
"Logic dictates that there must be a reasonable explanation for it".
Therefore, I'm not saying it is supernatural, I just think it was eerie. Perhaps you should read things more carefully before spouting off. :)

Also, the 'lights' as you put it, were not featureless. They were clearly on fire, and I could see the form of the object. Regardless, why are you focusing on an insignificant detail like that? I saw what I saw, whether it was large in size or small, I don't think that matters.

Obviously you feel the need to be overly pedantic.

Additionally, if people talking about supposedly 'supernatural' things bothers you because they 'don't have any explanation of their own'; then maybe you shouldn't be reading this QOTW. As that's going to happen. A LOT.
(Dazzorifik is bored of b3ta, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 22:04, closed)

If I didn't read them...
...I wouldn't have fun thinking up possible explanations. :P

And "there must be a reasonble explanation," then expending no thought as to what it might be, does seem like you're moments away from jumping into magical alternatives.
(Musuko, Sat 5 Jul 2008, 19:35, closed)

You
really shouldn't assume things. Just because I have no idea what they were, doesn't mean I think they were 'UFOs full of scary alien men!!!11!'. I just don't know what they were, and didn't want to grab at straws to try and explain what they were; when I had no idea.
(Dazzorifik is bored of b3ta, Sun 6 Jul 2008, 13:49, closed)