SOURCE: "The Mississippi Saucer" (Weird Tales, March 1951) by Frank Belknap Long

DESCRIPTION: "'We are the Shining Ones, Jimmy! For wide wastes of years we have cruised Earth's skies, almost unnoticed by the Earth people. When darkness wraps the Earth in a great, spinning shroud we hide our ships close to the cities, and glide through the silent streets in search of our young. You see, Jimmy, we must watch and protect the young of our race until sturdiness comes upon them, and they are ready for the Great Change.'" ("The Mississippi Saucer" by Frank Belknap Long)

NOTES: The Shining Ones are an extraterrestrial race who watch Earth from above in flying saucers. The Shining Ones also use the Earth like a cuckoo's nest, leaving their offspring to mature disguised as humans. The Shining Ones may look very much like humans but they are highly advanced both spiritually and scientifically.

HISTORY: Long does a great job of portraying the fishermen of the Mississippi in his setting which is a quaint place to tell a UFO story. The buzz on Flying saucers in the late 40s-early 50s obviously was the inspiration for this tale. Long may have been reacting to Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories, who was a UFO nut. The fact that the story appeared in Weird Tales is interesting.