Vanished! Orion Williamson Disappeared into Air
Hoaxes Exist About People Disappearing; this is the Real “Thing”
Oct 22, 2009
Orion Williamson, also spelled Williamsom by some sources, was sitting on the front porch of his Selma, Alabama farmhouse with his wife and child in July 1854. He told his wife he was going to move his pastured horses into the barn’s shade. As he walked to the field, Williamson picked up a stick and waved it back and forth. Suddenly, he disappeared. Mr. Wren and his son, riding in their horse drawn carriage, also saw him vanish. They rushed to the site where Williamson disappeared and noticed most of the grass was missing from the site.
Initial Search for Orion Williamson
After Orion Williamson vanished, the Wrens ran to the field where Mrs. Williamson and her child were located. They searched the area for two hours and found nothing. Mrs. Williamson collapsed in shock when the reality of what happened struck her. She was taken to a hospital for treatment. When news spread about the incredible incident, three hundred townsmen formed a search party.
Extensive Search for Williamson is Futile
The men formed three rows, holding each others’ hands, and moved across the field slowly, inch by inch, stopping every several feet to search for holes. They scoured the field many times and continued into the night, using torches and lanterns. Bloodhounds joined the search. Nothing was found.
The following morning, more volunteers and a team of geologists arrived. They started digging at the spot where Orion Williamson disappeared, but found solid rock a few feet beneath the ground. There were no cave-ins, openings or crevices or holes to explain the mystery.
Strange Occurrences Surrounded Orion’s Disappearance
A bizarre circle, with dead grass inside, appeared the following spring where Orion vanished. Mrs. Williamson was still traumatized by her husband’s disappearance and reluctant to talk about him and what had happened.
After the incident, she and her child heard Williamson’s voice calling for help. They rushed to the site every time they heard him, but nothing was there. The voice continued for several weeks, becoming weaker and weaker. One night, they heard whispers, then heard his voice no more.
Orion Williamson - Court Case
Wren testified in the case about Williamson’s estate. He saw the planter vanish and Mrs. Williamson run down the walkway, screaming that her husband was gone. James Wren corroborated his father’s testimony.
None of the workers in the field saw Williamson. An extensive search failed to find the man or give a clue about what happened. The judge declared him dead.
Theories - Orion’s Disappearance
Scientist Dr. Maximilian Hern wrote Disappearance and Theory Thereof. He theorized that Williamson walked into an empty spot of ether. These places lasted for a few seconds and could destroy all matter within them.
Another scientist said he believed Williamson walked into a magnetic field that disintegrated his atomic structure, sending him into another dimension.
Orion and David Lang’s Disappearance
Orion Williamson's incident provided the basis for people writing stories about vanishing men. McHatten, a traveling salesman, was stranded by a snowstorm in Gallatin, Tennessee. He was bored and decided to rewrite the Williamson account and sell it as a true report.
In McHatten's story, the missing man's name was changed to David Lang, the place to Gallatin and the date to 1880. Although McHatten’s story, except for the basic facts, is fiction, it has appeared in reputable journals and books by authors who didn’t do their research. It’s ironic that the Lang tale is better known than the genuine case it was based on.
Related Articles – Strange Disappearances
Readers who were intrigued by this article might like:
- Cardinal John Newman's Body Missing discusses the strange disappearance of the Saint’s body and theories.
- David Lang's Disappearance a Hoax is thought to be based on the Williamson case.
- Philadelphia Project Most Likely a Hoax discusses how the USS Eldridge disappearing from her Philadelphia port, reappearing in Norfolk, then vanishing and re-materializing in her home base.
Sources:
- Stranger than Science, Frank Edwards, (Bantam Books, 1959).
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