THE PETER WILLIAMSON CASE: When Lightning Made a Man Vanish Into Another Reality

When lightning struck Peter Williamson’s backyard in 1974, 16witnesses watched him vanish completely—only to reappear 3days later wearing pants from a tailor shop that had burned down 20 years earlier

Jun 17, 2025

As heard in the Weird Darkness episode, “Modern Encounters With Prehistoric Monsters.”

The Disappearance

On a warm summer day in 1974, Peter Williamson stood in his backyard in Somerset, England, hosting a barbecue for his family and friends. Dark clouds gathered overhead as a thunderstorm approached. When the first drops of rain began to fall, his wife Mary and their children hurried to the covered patio with their guests. Peter remained outside for just a moment longer.

Then lightning struck.

Sixteen people watched from the safety of the patio as a brilliant flash of light engulfed Peter’s silhouette. When their vision cleared, he was gone. Not knocked down, not injured — completely vanished.

The Investigation Begins

Mary Williamson called the police immediately. Officers arrived and began searching the enclosed yard, but they found no trace of Peter anywhere. The backyard was surrounded by high walls on all sides. The only way out was through a gate that remained locked, and Mary had kept the key with her the entire time. There was nowhere Peter could have gone, yet he was nowhere to be found.

The police interviewed all sixteen witnesses. Each person told the same impossible story — they had seen Peter standing in the yard when lightning struck, and then he was simply not there anymore.

For three days, search teams combed the area. They found nothing.

The Mysterious Return

On the third day, Peter Williamson reappeared in his own backyard.

His family discovered him standing in the same spot where he had vanished, looking confused and lost. They rushed to embrace him, but quickly noticed something very strange. Despite two solid days of rain, Peter’s clothes were completely dry. Even stranger, he was wearing pants that no one recognized — green corduroy trousers that definitely did not belong to him.

Mary and the children took Peter to the hospital right away. Doctors examined him thoroughly and found that he was not hurt in any way. However, Peter could not remember anything about the barbecue, the lightning strike, or where he had been for the past 60 hours. The doctors said he had amnesia, likely caused by the lightning. The police accepted this explanation and closed their investigation, though they never explained the mysterious pants.

Recovering Memories and Strange Clues

A few days after returning home, Peter began having vivid dreams and strange visions while he was awake. Slowly, fragmented memories started coming back to him. He remembered being found unconscious on the side of a road by a kind doctor. He recalled staying in a hospital that he had never seen before. Most clearly, he remembered meeting another patient at this hospital who had given him the green corduroy pants because Peter’s own clothes had been torn and ruined.

Peter decided to examine the pants more closely. Inside, he found a label that read “Herbert Fox,” which appeared to be the name of a tailor shop. The initials “JB” were sewn into the fabric. In the pockets, Peter discovered a pack of Senior Service cigarettes with a logo that looked slightly different from any he had seen before. There was also a silk handkerchief with the same “JB” initials embroidered on it.

The Dead Tailor Shop

Convinced that these items held clues about his missing time, Peter traveled to the town where Herbert Fox’s tailor shop was supposed to be located. Local residents confirmed that Herbert Fox had indeed been a tailor in their town. However, they delivered shocking news — the shop had burned down more than 20 years earlier, in the early 1950s.

Peter returned home more confused than ever. How could he be wearing brand new pants from a shop that had been destroyed decades ago?

Enter Colin Parsons: The Investigator

Around this time, a writer and investigator named Colin Parsons became interested in Peter’s story. Parsons was fascinated by the possibility that Peter might have somehow slipped into an alternate reality. He interviewed Peter, Mary, and many of the witnesses who had seen the disappearance. Parsons also conducted his own research into the mysterious clues.

His investigation revealed remarkable information. The initials “JB” belonged to a man named John Blackwood, who had been a regular customer of Herbert Fox’s tailor shop. In Peter’s world, John Blackwood had died in a mining accident in 1953. Yet the pants Peter was wearing were clearly new, suggesting that somewhere, John Blackwood was still alive and Herbert Fox’s shop was still in business.

Expert Analysis of the Evidence

Parsons arranged for the pants to be examined by experts from the manufacturer. They confirmed that the zipper design dated to 1968 — 14 years after Herbert Fox’s shop had supposedly burned down. The stitching matched the techniques used by Herbert Fox’s workers. The material was definitely new, and the shade of green was unlike any the company had produced in Peter’s reality.

As the weeks passed, Peter’s memories of the alternate hospital became more detailed and vivid. He could describe the layout of the building, the sounds and smells, and even the names of nurses and doctors who had cared for him. He particularly remembered a doctor named Dr. Nent.

The Hospital That Shouldn’t Exist

One month after his return, Peter learned from a friend that there was indeed a Dr. Nent working at a small hospital less than a mile from Peter’s home. Peter had lived in the area for years but had never known this hospital existed. Excited and hopeful that he might finally get answers, Peter drove to the hospital.

Everything about the building felt familiar to him. The hallways, the rooms, even the smell — it all matched his memories perfectly. Peter asked to speak with Dr. Nent, explaining that he believed the doctor had treated him during his missing time.

Dr. Nent did not recognize Peter at all. The doctor stated that he had not treated any amnesia patients in over five years. Despite Peter’s detailed knowledge of the hospital layout and staff, Dr. Nent suggested that Peter’s mind had simply created false memories, perhaps from overhearing conversations or seeing the building in passing. When Peter asked to see admission records from the nights he claimed to have been there, the hospital found no record of him ever being a patient.

The Parallel Universe Theory

Colin Parsons remained convinced that Peter had indeed traveled to an alternate reality during his disappearance. For Parsons, the most compelling evidence was the pack of cigarettes. The Senior Service logo on the pack was slightly different from the standard design available in 1974. Creating such a detailed fake would have been extremely difficult at that time, suggesting that the cigarettes truly came from a parallel world where small details differed from Peter’s reality.

Modern Science and Multiple Universes

The story of Peter Williamson has become a frequent topic of discussion among scientists studying quantum physics and the concept of multiple universes. Modern scientific theories, including the Many-Worlds Interpretation and the Many-Interacting Worlds theory, suggest that parallel universes could exist and might even interact with each other under certain conditions.

While scientists have not found direct proof that multiple universes exist, these theories help explain some puzzling behaviors observed in quantum physics experiments. For example, particles can seem to influence each other instantly across vast distances, which some scientists believe might involve interactions between parallel realities.

Google’s advanced quantum computer called “Project Willow” has achieved calculations that would take regular computers an impossibly long time to complete. The company has suggested that such powerful quantum computing might only be possible if the calculations are somehow taking place across multiple parallel universes simultaneously.

The Verification Problem

However, the Peter Williamson story faces significant challenges when it comes to verification. While the tale has been widely discussed in paranormal and scientific circles, researchers have been unable to find primary sources to confirm the basic facts of the case.

No newspaper records from Somerset in 1974 mention Peter Williamson’s disappearance. Police departments have no reports of the incident on file. Census records do not show Peter or Mary Williamson living in the Somerset area during that time period. Claims that the story received national news coverage have not been substantiated with actual news reports or broadcasts.

Additionally, information about Colin Parsons himself is limited. While he appears to have written puzzle books, there is little documentation of his work as a journalist or paranormal investigator outside of this single case.

Science vs. Story: The Ongoing Mystery

The scientific concepts underlying the story — the Many-Worlds Interpretation, quantum physics, and the potential for lightning to affect quantum systems — are all legitimate areas of ongoing scientific research. Lightning does possess enough energy to disrupt quantum processes, and some scientists continue to explore whether such disruptions might theoretically allow for interactions between parallel realities.

Werner Heisenberg, one of the founders of quantum physics, once observed that the universe operates on principles that may be stranger than humans can currently understand or imagine. Whether Peter Williamson’s experience represents a genuine glimpse into the mysterious nature of reality, or simply an elaborate tale that captures our fascination with the unknown, remains an open question that continues to intrigue both scientists and storytellers alike.

SHARE this post with a friend!