Fiery Serpents in the Sky

There have been many amazing stories and accounts of this type of phenomena occurring throughout the middle ages. Reports of Fiery Serpents and Dragons being seen flying in the air. They were said to appear with unbelievable flashes of lightning in the stories of old.

In old tales around 774 A.D. it was said these bizarre creatures would appear in the sky which would bring a devastating famine that would follow. Again in 1388 a flying dragon was spotted in many different places, also described as a twisting serpent that lit up the sky.

Modern Day Accounts

Even though these tales seem fascinating, they were pretty common and quite expected for medieval times. But spotting such things in a more modern setting is a different story entirely.

During the mid-1800s Nebraska settlers were said to be witness to something quite similar to this. Stories of a flying serpent hovering over the Missouri River steamboat that appeared to be coming in for a landing. They said during the evening sunset it could be seen weaving in and out of the clouds and was breathing fire. They also reported it to have lighted streaks running down it’s sides.

Some accounts described this phenomena as a flying engine lacking wings or wheels. This thing came roaring through the sky covered in lights wearing a suit of scales like a serpent, they said.

Now I know what you’re thinking. When we hear of something referenced as an engine of sorts, you’re probably thinking UFO, and you can read more about this in my post Alien Life and UFOs, are They Out There?  Of course it does indeed sound like some sort of unearthly machine instead of a living creature. Although this seems like the more likely explanation, there are other stories that would suggest otherwise.

More Documented Sightings

In June 1873 some farmers near Bonham, Texas said they saw an enormous serpent in the clouds. Of course they were very scared. This is what was said:

“It seemed to be as large and as long as a telegraph pole, was of a yellow striped color, and seemed to float along without any effort. They could see it coil itself up, turn over, and thrust forward its huge head as if striking at something, displaying the maneuvers of a genuine snake. The cloud and serpent moved in an easterly direction, and were seen by persons a few miles this side of Honey Grove.”

This may sound unbelievable, and the New York Times concluded this to be the worst case of delirium tremens ever on record. But little did they know, there was an earlier case that occurred in Kansas on June 27. Here’s an excerpt of the incident:

“A strange and remarkable phenomenon was observed at sunrise yesterday morning…When the disc of the sun was about halfway above the horizon, the form of a huge serpent, apparently perfect in form, was plainly seen encircling it and was visible for some moments.”

The newspaper `Frederick News` of Maryland, USA is home to another story about an amazing serpent in the sky. This was released on November 29, 1883. Which I find especially interesting because Nov. 29 in my birthday. 🙂 But according to him, he was standing at the top of a hill around 6:30am when he saw a:

“Monstrous dragon with glaring eye-balls, and mouth wide open displaying a tongue, which hung like a flame of fire from its jaws, reared and plunged.”

We must keep in mind that some of the publications that these quotes were taken from were famous for jokes and stretches of the imagination much like the Enquirer of today’s time. But we have no way of knowing how much truth there is to these accounts.

Is it possible that this could be one of the Strange Phenomenons of Fire and Light that I discussed in an earlier post? Maybe these are UFO encounters that lacked a better way of describing them due to the times. Or they could be just tall tales and folk lore designed to frighten children and heighten the imagination. We may never know the truth, but things like this sure make for interesting conversation. Let me know what you think in the comments below.