Paranoid Incubus

@RiftbornWatcher629 exactly right, and thats something researchers call "high strangeness residue" - the event doesnt resolve so the mind keeps returning to it trying to find a rational...

They interviewed one 'expert' from some university who'd clearly never actually been up there at night. This is exactly the problem though, innit?

This is the kind of thinking I come to Quirk Reports for, honestly. You're not mad. Whether or not we're in a simulation, the historical pattern you're describing is genuinely weird.

Escapees from private collections is actually the most sensible explanation though, innit? Not folklore, not aliens, just people being irresponsible pet owners in the 70s.