The Mowing Devil: A History of Flattened Fields & Wiltshire’s Enduring Mystery | Wyrd Wessex

The 2026 season has brought new formations to the Wiltshire landscape, but the mystery of the "crop circle" didn't start in the 1980s. Long before the modern era of drones and sophisticated land art, people were finding strange, circular depressions in their fields—and they were blaming everything from cyclonic winds to the Devil himself.In this episode, Craig explores the long, bizarre history of flattened grain. Tracing the lineage of the phenomenon, starting with the 1678 "Mowing Devil" pamphlet in Hertfordshire and moving through the "nest" sightings of the 1950s, all the way to the complex, mathematical formations that have come to define Wiltshire. Is there a hidden continuity to these reports, or are we just projecting our own modern anxieties onto the landscape?In This Episode:The Mowing Devil: Re-examining the 1678 account—was it folklore, an early report of a whirlwind, or the seed of a centuries-old legend?From "Nests" to Circles: How the 1950s UFO sightings in Australia and France turned "flattened vegetation" into a definitive link to the extraterrestrial.The 1976 Turning Point: How two friends at a Hampshire pub—Doug Bower and Dave Chorley—accidentally kicked off the modern "crop circle" era as a prank.The Mathematical Leap: Looking at the post-hoax era, where formations grew in complexity, leading to the massive 2001 Milk Hill anomaly.The "Wyrd" Persistence: Why these formations persist in our collective imagination, even when we have a clear, human explanation for their creation.A Wiltshire Perspective: Exploring why this specific corner of England remains the global epicenter for the phenomenon, regardless of origin.Stay Wyrd!Help keep the lights on, get ad free episodes and join our Discord here: buymeacoffee.com/wyrdwessexBuy our merch here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/saxonforageruk/shop?asc=uWritten and hosted by Craig Brooks Edited by Craig BrooksIntro music by Antipodean Writer: Full of Soul - Neon Waves Extended - Remix Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.