Bladenboro unidentified light report — December 17, 1981

At approximately 2:40 a.m. on 17 December 1981, Daniel Edwards reportedly awoke at Bladenboro, North Carolina, because his dog was barking furiously toward the pine woods behind his house. Outside, he saw a large, firelike light illuminating trees several hundred yards away. Believing there might be a forest fire, he alerted his family and went toward the illuminated area. The fuller catalogue continues beyond the imported abstract. In an opening among the trees, Edwards said he saw a large black disc, slightly larger than a bus, with many small red lights rotating around its middle. Several dark, shadowy figures were moving beside it. Frightened, he retreated. He then reportedly watched the object rise slowly before leaving at high speed. The account does not describe the figures’ faces, clothing or proportions closely enough to identify them anatomically. NICAP traces this entry through the humanoid catalogue to UFO Journal, May 1982. A subsequent newspaper-clipping reference also discusses Edwards, but its original page could not be recovered for comparison here. The dog’s reaction and apparent firelight are the opening of a longer reported sequence, not by themselves proof of a fire, an extraterrestrial vehicle, or a measured effect on the animal.