The Bolton Humanoid Encounter

In November 1926, a young boy named Henry Thomas was playing hide-and-seek in the backstreets of Bolton, Lancashire, when he stumbled upon one of the strangest encounters of the decade. Investigating an open gate, he found himself face-to-face with three bizarre humanoid figures wearing unusual puffy clothing, transparent dome-like helmets with connecting tubes, and black backpacks. Their faces were particularly pale with heads that the witness later described as “shaped like lightbulbs.”

The Encounter

The Setting

How it began:

• November 1926, Bolton, Lancashire
• Young Henry Thomas playing hide-and-seek
• Backstreets of the town
• Noticed an open gate
• Curiosity led him to investigate

Initial Discovery

What he found:

• Three humanoid figures
• Standing beyond the gate
• Not hiding or moving
• Clearly visible
• Face-to-face encounter

The Beings

Physical Description

Henry described:

• Three figures present
• Humanoid form
• Approximately human height
• Strange proportions
• Clearly non-human

The Clothing

Unusual attire:

• Puffy, strange clothing
• Resembled Michelin Man character
• Bulky construction
• Black boots
• Not normal clothing

The Helmets

Most distinctive feature:

• “Transparent dome-like helmets”
• Covered entire head
• Tubes connecting to backpacks
• Black backpacks on backs
• Self-contained breathing apparatus?

Facial Features

Their appearance:

• Particularly pale faces
• “Heads shaped like lightbulbs”
• Elongated cranium suggested
• Visible through transparent domes
• Unsettling appearance

The Interaction

Strange Sound

One being’s response:

• Made a strange gurgling sound
• Not recognizable speech
• May have been communication
• Startled the witness
• Prompted his flight

Henry’s Response

The boy’s reaction:

• Terrified initially
• Fled from the scene
• Later reflected on encounter
• Believed beings weren’t hostile
• Thought they seemed “friendly”

No Pursuit

The beings’ behavior:

• Did not chase the boy
• Remained where they were
• No aggressive action
• Passive observation
• Allowed him to flee

Analysis

Suit Interpretation

The clothing suggests:

• Environmental protection
• Breathing apparatus
• Unsuitable for Earth atmosphere?
• Advanced technology
• Purpose-built equipment

The Backpacks

Life support implication:

• Tubes to helmet
• Self-contained system
• Air supply or cooling
• Essential equipment
• Space suit precursor

Pre-Space Age

Context matters:

• 1926 - no space suits existed
• No cultural reference
• Child couldn’t have imagined from media
• Original description
• Pre-science fiction tropes

Historical Significance

Early Entity Description

This case is notable for:

• Detailed physical description
• Technology-focused details
• “Space suit” type equipment
• Decades before space program
• Remarkably consistent with later reports

Child Witness

Considerations:

• Children can be unreliable
• But also less prone to embellishment
• No motive to fabricate
• Vivid memory retained
• Told story consistently

The Michelin Man Comparison

Familiar Reference

Henry’s description:

• Used contemporary reference
• Michelin Man character existed (1898)
• Puffy, segmented appearance
• Best available comparison
• Helped visualize description

What It Suggests

The comparison implies:

• Inflated or padded suit
• Segmented construction
• Restricted movement
• Pressurized interior
• Protective function

The Question

In November 1926, a boy played hide-and-seek in Bolton.

He found something that wasn’t playing.

Three figures. Humanoid but not human. Dressed in puffy suits like the Michelin Man. Wearing transparent domes over their heads - heads shaped like lightbulbs, with faces pale as paper.

Tubes ran from their helmets to black backpacks.

They were breathing something.

Or they needed something Earth air didn’t provide.

One made a gurgling sound. Henry ran.

But later, he thought about it. They hadn’t chased him. They hadn’t threatened him. They had just… been there. Doing whatever they were doing in that backstreet.

Maybe they were friendly, he thought later.

Maybe they were just surprised to see him.

In 1926, there was no word for what Henry Thomas saw. Space suits didn’t exist. Science fiction hadn’t imagined such detailed equipment. A boy in Lancashire had no template for this encounter.

He described what he saw as best he could.

Lightbulb heads. Michelin Man suits. Transparent helmets. Tubes and backpacks.

Beings who didn’t belong.

Beings who needed special equipment to be there.

Beings who made strange sounds and didn’t chase children who found them.

The Bolton Humanoid Encounter.

Three figures in a backstreet.

Dressed for somewhere else.

Breathing something other than air.

And gone by the time anyone thought to look again.

What were they doing in Bolton?

We don’t know.

Where did they go?

We don’t know.

What were they?

We still don’t know.

But Henry Thomas saw them.

In November 1926.

And he never forgot.