Are Crop Circles Real?

Are crop circles real? That’s a question that makes as much sense as saying Are UFOs real? Both phenomena exist so yes of course they are real in that sense but what the questioner is really asking is whether or not there is a non-human intelligence behind the phenomena or can they all be dismissed as hoaxes and misidentification of natural or man-made phenomena.

Crop circles, or more accurately crop formations, have been the subject of interest, research, and rididule since the 1970s. During the 1970s and 1980s some amazing formations appeared (mostly in Wessex) and it was these genuine formations that lead to most of the research that laid the foundations for others to build upon.

However, the subject was treated with the usuall skepticism, scorn, and ridicule by the media, and when it was found that it was possible to create similar formations by hand the hoaxers and later the artists, went to work.

This gave the media what they wanted – an explanation that would justify their scorn and ridicule, thus deflating any theories put forward by the crop circle researchers.

Crop Circle Researchers

There have been genuine crop circles and formations that that have been thoroughly investigated by researchers like Freddy Silva, Colin Andrews, and others.

The researchers have proved using a variety of techniques including soil samples, electromagnetic and other readings, the condition of the crop’s stalks etc that it would be impossible for these to be created by people using string, planks etc.  

These formations were also the subject of a lot of interest by persons unknown flying black helicopters over them. These aircraft appeared over the formations and were sometimes flown in an intimidating manner, seemingly to deter anyone curious enough to visit the site.

It has been said that the formations attracted interest from all kinds of people including the UK’s secret services, government, and the Royal Family. If, as many believe, the genuine formations are evidence of a non-human intelligence then of course it would initiate a huge amount of concern among those who govern the country.

Crop Circle Hoaxers

There have also been designs made by hoaxers like the Westbury Boys in Wiltshire, and Doug & Dave who used to meet at the Percy Hobbs pub outside Winchester.  When challenged by a TV crew to recreate a design on camera, Doug & Dave could only produce a very crude formation. 

Crop Circle Artists

There have also been formations created by humans inspired by intuition, meditations, muses etc.  They may take delight in the reactions of those who see them, and yet the irony is that they themselves may be merely the conduit for the formations’ actual designers.  For more on this subject I highly recomend Colin Andrew’s “Edge of Reality” book.

The idea that this phenomenon can be dismissed because some of the formations were hoaxes designed to fool a few gullible people is not only scientifically wrong but an insult to those who have spent years doing meticulous, dedicated,  and often unpaid research.

On the subject of the interaction of human circle makers I leave you with this quote:

“Crop circle research was hijacked for profit by a small group in the early 1990s….There is no need to invent a mystery when I’ve seen, since the ’80s, that a tremendous interactive process is at work and now admitted by the people who make circles.”.

Colin Andrews on Circlemakers TV, June 15, 2011