Aliens?
I think its much spookier if the children Aren't considered to be aliens. It separates it from the cliched sci-fi movies of the time.
shareThis possibility was raised by one of the experts in the movie--he suggested a genetic mutation might be responsible for the children's powers. However this doesn't explain the phenomenon that affected the village. Also, David says to his father that they were here to learn from the people, implying they were an outside group of some sort. Lastly, it seemed relatively certain that some of the women had not had sex (two virgins and a wife whose husband had been away for a year). I agree with you--it's spookier if they aren't aliens, but the most logical explanation is that the women were impregnated by aliens with an agenda.
Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever.
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MOVIE: Zellaby thinks a pulse or beam from space impregnated the women - note that one of his plants is flourishing out of season, implying that a "growth ray" of some kind was beamed at the village.
BOOK: The children are definitely alien. During the "Day Out" a high ariel photo shows a landed saucer in the village. The theory is impregnation by implantation via xenogenesis.