The Moon Hoax or, A Discovery that the Moon Has a Vast Population of Human Beings.

by Richard Adams Locke

An

"But whilst gazing upon them in a perspective of about half a mile, we were thrilled with astonishment to perceive four successive flocks of large winged creatures, wholly unlike any kind of birds, descend with a slow even motion from the cliffs on the western side, and alight upon the plain. They were first noticed by Dr. Herschel, who exclaimed, 'Now, gentlemen, my theories against your proofs, which you have often found a pretty even bet, we have here something worth looking I was confident that if ever we found beings in human shape, it would be in this longitude, and that they would be provided by their Creator with some extraordinary powers of first exchange for my number D.' This lens being soon introduced, gave us a fine half-mile distance, and we counted three parties of these creatures, of twelve, nine, and fifteen in each, walking erect towards a small wood near the base of the eastern precipices. Certainly they were like human beings, for their wings had now disappeared, and their attitude in walking was both erect and dignified. Having observed them at this distance for some minutes, we introduced lens H z which brought them to the apparent proximity of eighty yards; the highest clear magnitude we possessed until the latter end of March, when we effected an improvement in the gas-burners. About half of the first party had passed beyond our canvass; but of all the others we had a perfectly distinct and deliberate view. They averaged four feet in height, were covered, except on the face, with short and glossy copper-colored hair, and had wings composed of a thin membrane, without hair, lying snugly upon their backs, from the top of the shoulders to the calves of the legs. The face, which was of a yellowish flesh color, was a slight improvement upon that of the large orang outang, being more open and intelligent in its expression, and having a much greater expansion of forehead. The mouth, however, was very prominent, though somewhat relieved by a thick beard upon the lower jaw, and by lips far more human than those of any species of the simia genus. In general symmetry of body and limbs they were infinitely superior to the orang outang; so much so, that, but for their long wings, Lieut. Drummond said they would look as well on a parade ground as some of the old cockney militia! The hair on the head was a darker color than that of the body, closely curled, but apparently not woolly, and arranged in two curious semicircles over the temples of the forehead. Their feet could only be seen as they were alternately lifted in walking; but, from what we could see of them in so transient a view, they appeared thin, and very protuberant at the heel....

Genres: History

73 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2011

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las partes técnicas eran aburridísimas con el único fin de darle credibilidad al artículo, pero las partes fantásticas eran geniales y no podía dejar de pensar en esos paisajes oníricos.
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The technical parts were extremely boring only to give credibility to the article, but the fantastical parts were brilliant and I just couldn't stop thinking about those oneiric landscapes.

[Nostalgia Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's some fun sci-fi here, but like so much of the sci-fi of the 1800s, it just gets bogged down by minute scientific detail to try and make it seem more "legit."

While this is better than Poe's "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall", it's also almost just as dry, and the fleeting glimpses we get of the life on the Moon just doesn't satisfy my curiosity... I want MORE. Poe saying that this was plagiarized off of Pfaall isn't really that true... more like Locke took ideas that Poe may have had in mind for the second installment of Hans' adventure (where we were supposed to actually see/meet Moon life) and published them and Edgar, being Edgar, decided to cry plagiarism on ideas that he hadn't published.

[Frank van Puffelen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it important to read this mostly as a time-piece, as the initial half of the writing is rather dry and dated. Still… interesting to read 190 years later and realize what a stir this caused back in a time when it would've been impossible to quickly verify or disprove such claims.

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before science fiction, or UFOs, this is a classic of fake news. Bat-people of the Moon long before Edgar Rice Burroughs. And people believed it. Why not? It was published in a newspaper, and written like a news story. Wild imagination, and something to think about in the Disinformation Age . . .

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

not really much of a story here, but the dryness of the text reading more like a scientific report than poe lends believably, and you have to admire the audacity of using names of living scientists

[Batgrl (Book Data Kept Elsewhere)]

Found this on Google Books here. (Hopefully that link will work.) Otherwise try reading online at the Museum of Hoaxes, starting here at Day One, and the other five days linked on that page.