There's a great Readex post about airship stories that has been making it's way around the Internet recently. If you're unfamiliar, there was a national craze with at least hundreds of sightings of mysterious flying "airships" across the United States in late 1896 - early 1897. At a time when manned flight was broadly considered impossible (the first flight of the Wright Brothers wouldn't be until 1903), citizens were seeing flying boat-like vessels with wings, masts, lights, and strange sounds and music. Were these stories mass hysteria or an early predecessor of the modern UFO phenomenon?

I went digging through a directory of historical newspapers from the Library of Congress called Chronicling America and found a lot of interesting accounts of airships to add to the ones in the Readex post. You can see the full collection of stories I pulled and their original sources here:

A Collection of Airship Stories from 1896-1897.

At the time of the sightings, skeptics claimed the airships were Venus or balloons or other forms of misidentification. When the number of witnesses and their descriptions of the airship made this explanation impossible, others claimed it was an early innovation of some enterprising, mysterious entrepreneur. Yet no one ever came forward to take credit for this world-changing invention and the fortunes that would have come with it.

I've highlighted some of the more peculiar stories below:

Nov 17, 1896 - The San Francisco Call - Claim They Saw a Flying Airship

When the airship passed over the streetcar company's barn, a crowd of the employees came out, and they claim that they distinctly heard people's voices singing in a chorus, a rattling song, which gradually died away in the distance. The lights of this mysterious visitant were visible for upward of thirty minutes until they passed out of sight.

Nov 19, 1896 - The San Francisco Call - Strange Craft of the Sky

As far as can be learned from eyewitnesses, the body of the craft was oblong and egg-shaped, with fan-like wheels on either side, whose rapid revolutions, beating the air, served to propel the vessel directly against the wind, and in so doing caused the vessel to sway from side to side with a wavering motion, similar to that of a boat being forced against the rapid current of a stream.

Midway of the vessel and suspended directly beneath it was a brilliant searchlight about twice the size of an arc light, evidently so placed that the occupants could ascertain when the vessel approached too near the earth and was in danger of collision with lofty objects. Above the egg-shaped body towered a tail, indistinguishable mass, whose shape it was impossible to ascertain, owing to the fact that the onlooker's eyes were blurred by the brilliancy of the searchlight.

Startled citizens last night living at points of the city along a rough diagonal line, yet far distant from each other, declare that they not only saw the phenomenon but they also heard voices issuing from it in midair—not the whispering of angels, not the sepulchral mutterings of evil spirits, but the intelligible words and the merry laughter of humans. At those intervals where the glittering object, as if careless of its obligation to maintain a straightforward course, descended dangerously near the housetops, voices were heard in the sky saying: "Lift her up, quick; you are making directly for that steeple."

Nov 24, 1896 - The San Francisco Call - The Apparition of the Air

The ship resembles a huge bird in its outlines and seemed to rise and fall in its course. A light streamed from the head of the ship, throwing a white stream of light for several hundred yards. As the outlines of the airship were plainly discerned, the passengers in the car became greatly excited. The phenomenon had first been noted by a man who had been idly watching the heavens. As soon as he perceived the light, he attracted the attention of the other passengers, and all intensely interested watched the peculiar machine as it made its way through the skies.

April 2, 1897 - Kansas City Journal - This Do Settle It

... it came back and sailed majestically over and around the town, while hundreds looked on and wondered.

The ship moved about so erratically that an accurate description of it could not be obtained. Those who had the best view of it, however, assert that the floating power seemed to be in a mammoth bag, supposedly filled with gas. To this were attached four light wings of triangular form, two on either side, and from the great bag was suspended a cage or car. This car was canoe-shaped and appeared to be from twenty-five to thirty feet long. A few declared that the ship had red lights hung over the edges of the car presumably as a precaution against collision with some one of the other numerous ships of similar character that have been observed in this vicinity recently by people who have a faculty for "seeing things."

April 9, 1897 - The Goodland Republic - Saw The Airship

According to the motorman's description, the ship was about 600 feet in the air and was almost directly over the car when he first discovered it. It appeared in the gloom to be about 90 feet in length and was elliptical in form. Forward and aft on the sides were large projections which seemed to be large wings, and upon the forward end, there was a bright light, which was evidently used as a headlight. Upon the rear, a red lantern was carried. The ship, for a few seconds, appeared to slow down and was almost stationary in the air and then, gathering speed, once more started off at a rapid gait.

April 9, 1897 - The Semi-weekly Messenger - Wilmington, NC - Was it an Airship?

At 9:50 tonight, the light appeared in the southwest so brilliant that it attracted attention almost immediately. As the airship came over the city, the full power of the wonderful lamps was turned on, and the city was flooded with light. The entire population was soon outdoors watching the aerial navigator as it neared the earth, or with the velocity of an eagle darted upward and again in an instant would sail away into space until the lights merely twinkled. Then reversing, it would sail back over the heads of the astonished spectators. For five minutes at one time, it seemed to skirt the lowest edge of a cloud that hung low in the heavens, and it was then that the powerful lights were reflected on the clouds and the outlines of a ship about thirty feet long apparently were clearly distinguished.

For one hour and twenty minutes, the airship was never out of sight, and while passing back and forth over the city, it made maneuvers, remaining stationary at different points. At one time, while the ship was motionless, immediately above the throng, with a clear sky for a background, the light disappeared and nothing was seen but a black mass for about ten seconds.

April 15, 1897 - Abilene Weekly Reflector - Chapman Saw It

E. T. Ellison, whose testimony is unimpeachable, says that late in the night he awoke and saw everything as light as day around the house. He did not go out of doors but heard the clock strike three. He went to bed and an hour later got up again and going out saw off in the west what appeared to be an immense ball of fire or searchlight with a projection on top. It was so far away and moving to the west so rapidly that he could not see it plainly. He regrets very much that he did not go out at first as the light was much stronger then, and he thinks the concern was directly over the town.

April 15, 1897 - Waterbury Evening Democrat - Pegasus Is Its Name

He says the machine is about 60 feet long, the balloon being about 60 feet long. It is cigar-shaped, the car hanging about 20 feet under the balloon. The car was entirely enclosed; it being impossible to see in it, but two men were visible in the lookout. One was apparently 50 years old, with a beard, and the other young. The oldest one wore a stiff hat and the younger a Cuban crush hat. The lights would occasionally be changed from one color to another and would sometimes be extinguished. Has a Great Speed.

The ship would make usually about ten miles an hour, but on disappearing the last time, it dashed off at the tremendous speed of fully 150 miles an hour. It went in a southwesterly direction. Newton Kennedy saw it out at the edge of the city and described it as did Professor Keeley.

April 22, 1897 - The Austin Weekly Statesman - The Heavenly Mystery

Mr. Walter L. Norwood, an undertaker at Galveston, had a professional call about 3 o'clock Saturday morning, and he says he and his driver, Bob Tevis, saw the airship. He said to a Galveston News reporter: "The moon was shining brightly, and we could see almost as plainly as in daylight. There was not a cloud in the sky. When we were out on the beach not far from our destination, I happened to look up and saw the thing. It moved to the eastward down the beach, following the line of the beach as closely as one would do in driving a buggy. We stopped and watched it. When down about the end of the island, it turned and followed the bay front until about Tremont Street when it turned and went south out over the gulf, disappearing in the distance." It was pointed at both ends, according to Mr. Norwood's description, and the headlight was directly in front. It looked like a great big bird, with wings flapping regularly, and it traveled swiftly.

April 24, 1897 - The Lafayette Advertiser (LA) - The Airship

Natchitoches, La., April 20. - Last night at about 2:30 o'clock, as a gay crowd were returning from a reception given by Company 1 at the Armory Hall, they were treated to a strange sight. Coming from the western heavens, that spectacle consisted of a massive airship, the first story being of balloon shape, and the latter part being conical or cigar-shaped. When first seen, it appeared as a faintly animated spark, which gradually grew brighter as it came nearer. After a few moments, its entire form was clearly perceptible, and it developed a semi-darkness. Its destination appeared to be northerly, and from its course, it seemed to be coming from Texas. It was evidently a machine of unique invention, as its movement was undulating and bore a striking resemblance to the movement of some huge bird. It remained visible, though about a thousand feet high, for nearly half an hour and was a rare curiosity to those who had the good fortune to witness the phenomenon. The remarkable fact in connection with its visitation was that as its course neared the city, the light that illuminated it suddenly became low and did not rise again until the city was left in darkness.