Moss circle photographed near Cheadle, Cheshire

Abduction would probably be impractical for so small a species, and their small spacecraft might be overlooked

It is well known that the so-called crop circles of England and continental Europe are the work of extraterrestrial aliens, commonly known as the “saucer people” on account of the form of their spaceships (they should not be confused with the “beaker folk” of southern England: a defunct tribe for which there is no firm evidence of extraterrestrial origin).

Crop circles are normally a few meters in diameter, and may therefore be said to be on the human scale, i.e. of such a size as we ourselves might easily construct. The important implication is that the aliens responsible may be expected to be comparable in size to human beings. The evidence from authenticated abduction reports suggests that this indeed is the case, as does the Roswell specimen (though of course our knowledge in this case is limited by the military/CIA cover-up).

In contrast, the Nazca lines of South America are on a vastly greater scale. We must conclude that these geoglyphs are unrelated to crop circles and have been constructed by a different species of alien, characterised by immense size: very much larger than humans or saucer people. They are much less well known than the saucer people; the form of their spaceships is unknown and there appear to be no definitive accounts of abduction or even sightings. This, however, is unsurprising: whereas crop circles are very common there is only one known site for Nazca-type petroglyphs. It therefore seems clear that the Nazca people visit us far less often than the saucer people and it is entirely reasonable that contacts should be much less frequent.

We wish to report evidence for a third alien species, much smaller than the saucer folk. We have observed clear circular constructions in patches of moss in the North of England, analogous in form to the well-known crop circles (see photograph) but much smaller: indeed, no larger than (say) the ferrule of a walking-stick. They are clearly not attributable to the saucer-people (much less the Nazca people) and therefore imply the presence of a third species which we shall call the moss people.

There are no confirmed reports of sightings of or abductions by these moss people. However, abduction would probably be impractical for so small a species, and their small spacecraft might be overlooked. Moreover, we must expect under-reporting of aliens generally, in view of the lamentable public skepticism and cover-ups by governments and military. It is useful, we believe, to examine historical records, from times when people were more open-minded and the authorities less paranoid and powerful. We should not, of course, expect sightings to be reported as aliens, since people’s mind-set in the distant past would be more attuned to the supernatural rather than the extraterrestrial.

It is therefore highly significant that there are ubiquitous pan-European stories and legends about “little people”, variously known as elves, gnomes etc. Invariably reported as somewhat smaller than humans, they can be plausibly identified with the saucer folk. “Giants”, presumably the Nazca folk, also figure in European folklore, though considerably less frequently, as may be expected in view of the scarcity of their geoglyphys. Seeking for traces of our very small-scale moss-folk we are immediately struck by frequent mention of tiny winged people, apparently no more than a few inches high, known in the legends as fairies. Thus, we suggest that our proposal of small-scale intergalactic aliens is confirmed by widespread European folk-tales and we identify our moss folk with the fairies of folklore. Many of our moss circles have been observed in remote neglected areas of suburban gardens, and it may well be, therefore, that there are fairies at the bottom of your garden.