Completely made up out of whole cloth by the early church. A medieval fantasy. No evidence for it whatsoever. As attractive as the Catholic Church is to me, at times, this is why I remain a Protestant.
Revelation chapter 12.
Not made up by the early Church. Remember that the Blessed Virgin Mary lived long after the death of Jesus on the Cross. Whether it was in Epesus or in Jerusalem, John was with her, as Christ asked him to be her son, and Mary our Mother as well as John’s mother.
So John definitely knew what happened. And he told others. No making up stories at all, but oral tradition passed down from person to person.