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<v Speaker 1>The Blue Creature of Elkton, Michigan by UFO history buff

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<v Speaker 1>and author Charles Lear. In nineteen fifty eight, motorists in Elkton,

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<v Speaker 1>Michigan were alarmed by the sight of a blue creature,

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<v Speaker 1>blinking lights and what looked to be a space helmet.

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<v Speaker 1>Estimates of its size ranged from two feet to ten

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<v Speaker 1>feet tall, and mothers who spotted it while looking out

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<v Speaker 1>the windows of their homes were reportedly worried about letting

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<v Speaker 1>their children go out at night. The police got involved

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<v Speaker 1>after a bust of junior high school students spotted it,

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<v Speaker 1>and it wasn't long before the mystery was solved. In

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<v Speaker 1>the October thirty first, two thousand and eight. Here on

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<v Speaker 1>Daily Tribune, there was an article by Tracy Weisbach headlined

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<v Speaker 1>quote fifty years ago, little Blue Man shook up Elkton.

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<v Speaker 1>After the introduction, in which the reader is asked to

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<v Speaker 1>imagine driving down a country road and spotting an illuminated

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<v Speaker 1>bluish figure moving very quickly, perhaps even dancing, Weisbach reveals

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<v Speaker 1>that the creature was actually a young man dressed in

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<v Speaker 1>a costume. He and two of his friends had come

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<v Speaker 1>up with the idea and with him in costume hidden

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<v Speaker 1>in a trunk of a car. The other two would

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<v Speaker 1>drive around and let him out in various locations. According

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<v Speaker 1>to Weisenbach, the three men involved were Jerry Sprague, Leroy Scheltz,

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<v Speaker 1>and Don Weiss, who had just returned after sir irving

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<v Speaker 1>in the military. Don Weiss was interviewed and said, we

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<v Speaker 1>were twenty two or twenty three years old and we

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<v Speaker 1>were looking for work. He added, we had a little

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<v Speaker 1>extra time on our hands. According to Weiss, they got

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<v Speaker 1>the idea from flying saucer stories going around at the time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thinking it would be fun to have one of them

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<v Speaker 1>dress up like an alien and bamboozle the public, they

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<v Speaker 1>went about putting together a costume. It consisted of long underwear,

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<v Speaker 1>Weiss's football helmet with styrofoam and blinking lights, attached gloves

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<v Speaker 1>and metal sold German combat boots, and a sheet with

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<v Speaker 1>two eye holes cut out and a button sewn in

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<v Speaker 1>for a mouth. They spray painted everything blue, inspired by

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<v Speaker 1>a song on the radio at the time by Betty

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<v Speaker 1>Johnson called Little Blue Man. Weiss said the paint glowed

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<v Speaker 1>a bit in the light, which added to the effect.

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<v Speaker 1>As for the lights, Weiss explained they didn't have blinking

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<v Speaker 1>lights back then, so we had to make the lights

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<v Speaker 1>blink ourselves. He said. We had a battery pack attached

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<v Speaker 1>to the costume. Sprague ended up wearing the costume because

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<v Speaker 1>he was the only one who fit in the long underwear,

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<v Speaker 1>which worth is. Scheltz drove and Weiss helped Sprague in

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<v Speaker 1>and out of the trunk. They decided to go only

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<v Speaker 1>on Thursday nights to avoid getting caught too easily. Scheltz

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<v Speaker 1>would drive out to the county road and Weiss would

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<v Speaker 1>let Sprague out, and Sprague would run along the fence

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<v Speaker 1>line or along a bank or a ditch so people

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<v Speaker 1>could see him, and then jump back in the trunk

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<v Speaker 1>of the car. Weiss said, we wanted to let people

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<v Speaker 1>see Jerry, and then we'd sit back to wait to

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<v Speaker 1>see if people talked about it. He said that after

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<v Speaker 1>three or four Thursday night excursions, people's imaginations started taking over.

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<v Speaker 1>Weiss said that people talked of seeing a creature ten

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<v Speaker 1>feet tall two feet tall, and one report had him

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<v Speaker 1>sitting on top of a telephone pole. He said, my

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<v Speaker 1>favorite was an account that said I was running faster

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<v Speaker 1>than any human could. After eight or ten nights, the

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<v Speaker 1>three still hadn't been caught. There were no reports to

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<v Speaker 1>the police until one night, while the three were sitting

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<v Speaker 1>in a restaurant, they saw a school bus full of

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<v Speaker 1>junior high school kids drive by, returning from a roller

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<v Speaker 1>skating party. The costume was in the trunk, and they

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<v Speaker 1>decided to drive out ahead of the bus so Sprague

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<v Speaker 1>could get into his bit in front of the kids.

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<v Speaker 1>Weis said that's when all heck broke loose. Someone had

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<v Speaker 1>called the police, and the three saw six police cars

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<v Speaker 1>parked in front of the Elkton school. Weis said there

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<v Speaker 1>was a little panic. He explained, I guess the school

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<v Speaker 1>kids were genuinely scared and the parents were concerned. According

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<v Speaker 1>to Weisenbeck, Sprague told a friend what they had been

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<v Speaker 1>doing and the word got out. Thinking was just a

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<v Speaker 1>matter of time before the police came for them, the

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<v Speaker 1>three went to Michigan State Trooper William Collins and said

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<v Speaker 1>they heard the police were looking for them. Collins then

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<v Speaker 1>took the three to the county Sheriff's office, where they

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<v Speaker 1>were interrogated by Sheriff Merritt McBride and prosecuting attorney James Humphrey.

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<v Speaker 1>Weiss said they thought it was quite hilarious. According to him,

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<v Speaker 1>they wanted to have Sprague walk around the radio station,

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<v Speaker 1>but the three refused. They were warned then never to

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<v Speaker 1>do it again. Weiss said. We were told to take

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<v Speaker 1>our underwear and go home. According to Weisenbach, all that

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<v Speaker 1>remained of the costume was a football helmet, which was

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<v Speaker 1>on display in Weiss's barbershop in downtown Elkton. The hoax

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<v Speaker 1>became an enduring legend, and there was even a website

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<v Speaker 1>devoted to it with this introduction quote. In nineteen fifty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>a blue alien and terrorized Urin County, and the three

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<v Speaker 1>young men who concocted the prank had no idea that

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<v Speaker 1>the tale of the hoax would endure over fifty years later.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad, Jerry Sprague, wore the suit because it was

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<v Speaker 1>his long underwear. Please enjoy the digital collection about the

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<v Speaker 1>Little Blue Man of Huron County unquote. The site includes

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<v Speaker 1>a digital scrap book with articles about the case from

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<v Speaker 1>the period. One of those appeared in the May nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty eight issue Life magazine, with a picture of a

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<v Speaker 1>police officer who is about the same size as Sprague

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<v Speaker 1>wearing the costume. As Sprague refused to wear it for

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<v Speaker 1>any pictures. According to the article by Stacy Henson headlined

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<v Speaker 1>quote a prank inine Hearne County, a prank and Huron

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<v Speaker 1>County that got out of hand made national headlines fifty

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<v Speaker 1>years ago, published on the m Live website site on

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<v Speaker 1>October two, two thousand and two. Sprague wished to remain anonymous,

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<v Speaker 1>and it wasn't revealed that there was one of the

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<v Speaker 1>costumes until after his death. You can see the link

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<v Speaker 1>to that website below. Charles Lear is the author of

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<v Speaker 1>The Flying Saucer Investigators, available in its second edition on

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<v Speaker 1>Amazon dot com. Thank you