Fairies, Angels, Aliens?

As I mentioned in «The Rude Orb» both my great-grandmother and grandmother had experience with strange lights.

First is my great-grandmother's story. It happened in the first years of the 20th century, when my great-granny Katarina was a young girl. Her step-mother sent her to bring something irrelevant to the story from quite far neighbour and it was already getting dark when she walked home. Nowdays this area is a part of a town, with streets and numerous houses with tiny gardens, back then it was few houses scattered in the fields and orchards. At first, Katarina saw a light, bright light in the field. It was time with no electricity, only candles and petroleum lamps. She got scared and started to run towards her home, but the light changed, still bright white but no longer concentrated at one spot, more like it divided and spread across the field. Suddenly, few women were standing in front of her, women she didn't know, each in long white dress and with long flowing hair. That's the last thing she remembered clearly, the rest is only few nightmarish pictures of those women gathering around her, closer and closer.
Since a child didn't return home, family got the neighbours and started a search. With the above mentioned lamps, so I won't take as supernatural the fact they found her in the morning. Katarina was laying under the lonely oak tree in the field, seemed physically unharmed but not quite conscious. Later, at home, she managed to tell what happened but it took few days before she was back on her feet.
Naturally, everybody present concluded right away those were the fairies. People heard stories of fairies dancing in the fields and those caught by them usually either vanished or died. So Katarina's recovery was odd. Her family decided to spread a story that she was hit by lightning (despite it was clear sky on that night) in order to stop «fairies» being mentioned.
My grandmother told me this story, since Katarina died when I was a baby. I'm very sorry I had no time to spend with her, she had vast knowledge in traditional medicine and... hm... spells. Nothing vicious, just calling or repeling rain and stuff. The knowledge is lost because my granny went very Catholic and didn't want to have anything with this. But my great-granny still found a way to give me a memory of her, appearing for a few moments before me, enough to warmly smile and make me feel comforted when I think of her even today.

Now my granny's story, who's name was Katarina as well. It was during the WWII, she was young woman with one small child (my uncle) and a baby (my mother). The war was near end, our town was heavily bombarded by Allies because it had a railway junction, an important bridge and a machine factory, all held by Germans. People were fleeing, carrying only a bag or two and children. After bomb totaled the house and my family crawled out the improvised shelter, a hole in the ground covered with heavy wooden planks, it was time to join the flee.
They decided to go north, through the woods, and stay with relatives in a safe village. They joined a group of people with similar destination. And they walked, night started to fall. It was just a path beaten through woods by horse-pulled wagons but everybody knew the way. Until the night fell. Dark, moonless night. Somehow they lost orientation, men started to swear, women started to lament. They had no choice but to walk further, but it was war time and wandering around in wrong direction could be... the end of the trip. After few more «I have no idea where are we» crossings of the paths, the men were ready to start lamenting and women to swear. But my wise great-grandmother suggested a prayer. Well, it can't hurt, so everybody stopped blaming each other and started to pray.
First they saw bright light in the sky. Then, a wide beam of bluish-white light streamed from it down to earth. Luckily, they've been praying so conclusion was to go towards the light. Otherwise, they may have start running away from it. So they walked in the direction of the light and when it disappeared after few minutes they just stayed on that path. And yes, it was the right way, soon the forrest cleared and first village was in front of them.
My grandmother who, in her own words «was not much of a believer until that night», couldn't find any explanation, so she was half-ready to accept it was a sign from God, who sent an angel to light their way, quite literally.
When situation calmed they returned to the house, or the pile of bricks that once was house, and besides few pots and pans only three valuable things were dug out almost undamaged: old Singer sewing machine and two paintings, one of Jesus and one of Mary.
That cemented my grandmother's belief. To me, the light part sounds like UFO-sighting. What I would like to know is obviously the true nature of the light and whether this was a coincidence or that strange light guided them on purpose.
I loved my grandmother very much. She taught me how to sew on that ancient sewing machine saved from the rubble. And I still miss her. But she never appeared to me. Only once, when I was so sad I thought I'll fall apart, soft but distinct smell of roses lingered in the air for a minute or two. I lived in horrible apartment at that time and that scent was definitely strange. I was sure it's her way of contacting so I broke down, cried my eyes out and felt better. Thank you, grandma.