Number 15. The Valentich Disappearance: On
October 21, 1978, civilian pilot Frederick
Valentich was flying his Cessna 182 over the
Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania.
Just after 7pm, Valentich contacted Melbourne
Flight Service stating a larger aircraft was
hovering above him in close pursuit. Melbourne
radioed back, confirming there was no known
aircrafts within the vicinity, but Vaelntich
continued to describe the larger aircraft
following him, saying it had four bright landing
lights and was flying at around 1000 feet.
He then stated the large aircraft was moving
closer towards him, and acting as if the pilot
was toying with him. Suddenly, communication
was lost to the Cessna after Valentich said
Officials have determined
Valentich was undergoing some sort of disorientation
and had actually collided with the ground,
and others have theorized he staged this as
either a suicide or attempt to start a new
life, creating the UFO story in order to keep
people talking. One popular theory is a UFO
had been following the Cessna and either accidentally
or purposefully collided with Valentich's
plane, or had abducted him. Whatever the explanation,
Valentich, or his crash site, were ever discovered
and it is assumed he fatally crashed into
the water.
Number 14. The Betty Andreasson Abduction:
Betty Andreasson was in her kitchen when her
home experienced an power outage. Thinking
the breakers just went, she was soon startled
by several Grey Men who entered her home by
seemingly travelling through the wall as if
it was only smoke or fog. The tallest of the
strange beings stayed with Andreasson as the
other creatures searched through her home
and placed her family members in a sort of
suspended animation. Afterwards, the beings
escorted Andreasson into their ship, where
they proceeded to conduct different medical
procedures on her. So far, her story connects
with other alleged encounters with extraterrestrials,
but after the proceedings were finished, things
took a sudden curve. Andreasson claims the
aliens explained how they too were Christians,
and assured her Jesus Christ would be soon
returning to Earth, then mentally showed her
the image of a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
She was unable to recall much of what happened
afterwards, but describes the ordeal as far
from traumatic. She believes the beings were
attempting to convey a message of peace between
them and the human race, as well as develop
a connection based on the similar believe
systems the two had, using her as the medium
in order to spread that message to the rest
of the Earth.
Number 13. Rendlesham Forest Incident: Regarded
as the UK's most famous UFO case, a series
of unexplained lights were reportedly sighted
in and around the Rendlesharm Forest in Suffolk,
England in late December, 1980. The first
report came on Boxing Day, when a call came
in about a possible downed airplane spotted
falling into the woods; the Royal Air Force
quickly set out to investigate, and first
responders found a floating, metallic object
surrounded by a yellow mist hovering over
a clearing, with blue and red lights strobing.
As the men attempted to approach, it moved
away and vanished. They reported back saying
a UFO had touched down to Earth, and the next
morning, the site was checked and small, triangular
impressions were discovered on the ground.
Geiger counters showed ten times the normal
radiation lever at the site, and witnesses
recalled being threatened into signing documents
forcing their silence. The official report
of the incident was made available to the
public in 1983 under the U.S Freedom of Information
Act, which included a tape by Lt. Colonet
Halt and his patrol as they ventured through
the trees to search for the crash site. Neither
the U.S nor British government have offered
an alternative explanation to the even, except
it was simply a light house mistaken for a
UFO.
Number 12. The Kelly-Hopskinsville Goblin:
On the night of August 21, 1955, the Taylor
family was on a weekend vacation visiting
family friends named the Sutton's on the Sutton
farm in Kentucky. That night, the residents
and guests of the house heard strange noises
came from the forest. The men armed themselves
with guns and trekked out in search of an
explanation, when a strange creature emerged
from the tree-line. It was described as 3
and a half feet tall, had a large head, pointed
ears, glowing eyes and talon-like fingers,
whilst also emitting a strange glow. Panicked,
the men opened fire on the creature, and were
horrified when their bullets did not appear
to injure it; the creature was frightened
by the loud noises and fled back into the
forest and vanished. After returning to the
house to compose themselves, the families
reported similar creatures would occasionally
creep up to the house and peer in through
the windows; some even made it onto the roof
and would float down instead of fall. The
men eventually raced into town and gathered
a posse of police and civilians to search
the woods, but the creatures were nowhere
to be found. All members of the Taylor and
Sutton family were deeply traumatized by the
experience. Sketches of the beast were drawn
by the witnesses were later compared to a
creature accompanied by a UFO spotted by a
group of school children and teachers in Dyfed,
Wales in 1977, leading one to ponder if these
were the same beings who terrorized the Kentucky
farm 22 years before.
Number 11. The Cash-Landrum Encounter: Betty
Cash, and Vickie and Colby Landrum were driving
home from a night out on December 29, 1980
in Dayton, Texas. While travelling along an
isolated road, the trio spotted a bright light
above the trees, which they decided to investigate.
They found a large, diamond-shaped vessel
hovering over them, and it appeared to be
expelling flame towards the ground. The heat
was so intense, the metal of the car became
extremely hot, and Vickie's arm suffered burns
to her arm from the melting vinyl of the seats.
As the UFO ascended, two-dozen military helicopters
entered the airspace, causing the trio to
flee the scene. Vickie's burns were so severe,
her arm was scarred for the remainder of her
life. All witnesses suffered from nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, eye pain and
sunburn sensation on their skin immediately
following the encounter. A few days later,
Cash developed painful blisters on her arm
body, was unable to walk and lost patches
of skin and bits of hair. A physician discovered
the party was suffering damage from ionized
radiation. The group attempted to sue the
U.S government for damages and to pay off
their medical bills, but the case was dismissed
due to lack of evidence the U.S military was
involved, and the fact no large, diamond-shaped
aircraft existed in the fleet. Dayton Detective
Lamar Walker did claim he and his wife spotted
a dozen helicopters in the sky near the scene
the trio said the event took place. To date,
the U.S government has given no official statement
as to what possibly could have happened to
Betty, Vickie and Colby that night.
Number 10. The Hill Abduction: New Hampshire
couple Barney and Betty Hill were enjoying
a vacation to visit Niagara Falls and Montreal,
Canada. They were returning home on September
10, 1961, when an object rapidly descended
on their car. The couple pulled over and cautiously
exited to fully observe the UFO above them.
Barney observed several humanoid figures peering
out at them from the craft, with one somehow
communicating with him “stay where you are,
and keep looking.” Barney realized the creatures
were about to abduct them, and panicked. He
ran back to the car and immediately sped off,
the UFO still in pursuit. Barney and Betty
said they then experienced a dulled mind sensation,
before stopping at a roadblock. Upon returning
home, they discovered their watches were not
working, and both had strange compulsions
to examine their bodies for any discrepancies,
though they found nothing. Betty contacted
the US Air Force to report the encounter,
though the officials dismissed it as a case
of misidentification. Betty later suffered
nightmares, where she and Barney were taken
into the craft and examined, before being
allowed to return to their car. Due to fear
of public scrutiny, the Hills kept their encounter
a secret until 1963, when they finally told
a church group of the experience, and later
to a wider view after both underwent hypnotherapy
and newspapers picked up the story. Barney
passed away in 1965, and Betty passed away
in 2004.
Number 9. The Mothman: In 1966 and 1967, the
town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia was
terrorized by a winged creature dubbed The
Mothman due to eyewitnesses describing its
appearance as a moth-like humanoid. The creature
was best known for it's large, glowing-red
eyes, which seemed to reflect light off of
them like bicycle reflectors. Many of the
sightings were around the TNT area, a former
Second World War munitions factory, and was
usually accompanied by strange lights in the
sky. Many ufologists believe The Mothman was
a form of extraterrestrial visiting us with
malicious intent, due to the agressive way
it would pursue motorists and people walking
in the area surrounding Point Pleasant. On
December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge connecting
West Virginia with Ohio collapsed, killing
46 people. Many reported spotting the Mothman
around the bridge the night before the tragic
event, leading many to believe it had something
to do with the bridge's destruction. Since
that day, The Mothman has never been seen
in Point Pleasant again, but many claim to
still see the beast around the world to this
day.
Number 8. The Battle of Los Angeles: In the
early stages of America's entrance to the
Second World War, Americans were on edge due
to the recent attack on Pearl Harbor. Only
two months following the attack, air raid
sirens blared in the Los Angeles area after
objects were spotted in the skies over the
city. The Los Angeles Area was placed on blackout
and searchlights illuminated the sky, as anti-aircraft
fired on what was believed to be Japanese
aircraft planning to bomb key targets in the
city. The blackout was lifted at 7am the next
morning, and then-Secretary of the Navy Frank
Knox declared the incident as a false alarm.
The famous photograph of the incident shows
strange balls of light floating above L.A
between the searchlight beams. Many ufologists
believe these strange lights to be illuminated
by UFOs, and the military was firing on extraterrestrial
crafts, not Japanese. Whether or not these
beings were visiting on hostile intent is
a subject of debate in the field, but regardless,
the official explanation of war nerves is
thought to be a conspiracy meant to keep the
true nature of that night a secret. The event
was the main inspiration to the 2011 film
Battle: Los Angeles, which depicts a modern
alien invasion of Earth.
Number 7. The Canary Islands Case: Spanish
naval shit Atrevida [A-Tray-vita] was sailing
near the Canary Islands on June 22, 1976 when
the crew observed a yellow light moving towards
them from the shore. At first, it appeared
to be an airplane with the landing lights
on, but as it moved closer, witnesses noticed
it was cylindrical and rotating in a clockwise
fashion. The crew continued to watch the object
for forty-minutes, until it emitted a bright
light and vanished. The Captain immediately
radioed the nearest base and reported the
incident to superiors, which the 100+ man
crew of the ship all backed up. Not only that,
but a local physician, Dr. Francisco Padron
[Paw-drone] also wrote an official statement
claiming he and several other residents of
his city Las Rosas attested to the accounts
of both Padron and the sailors. However, in
Padron's statement he described the object
as see-through and appeared to be made of
a crystal-like material, with the lower platform
having an aluminum looking metal spread across
the bottom. The files concerning the case
were declassified in 1994, with photographs
taken by residents and navy officials. A similar
incident occurred nearby, when two people
saw a UFO over the horizon and vanished three
minutes later. Both incidents remain unexplained.
Number 6. Communion: In 1987, a man named
Whitley Strieber wrote and published a book
called Communion: A True Story detailing his
experiences with strange visitors which he
has no idea who or what they were or what
they wanted, and said he wrote Communion as
a way of understanding his own experience.
The book garnered wide popularity and helped
boost the idea of abduction phenomenon in
popularity. Strieber claimed after the book's
publication, his experiences got stranger.
He claims to have taken a wrong turn while
in New Jersey, where he discovered a strange
town not represented on any maps he possessed.
It was his experiences in this town that led
him to conclude aliens are not only visiting
us, but beginning to live among us as a sort
of spy-network, constantly collecting information
on the day-to-day lives of humans. After telling
this story, his credibility began to drop
and many former admirers found them self disillusioned.
Believe or don't believe, Strieber's claims
do provoke thought of what if aliens really
are living among us in plain sight. The idea
of little green men or the popularized Grey
Men are well known, but for all we know aliens
could look no different from us, allowing
them to live life normally without ever being
found out.
Number 5. The Fargo Dogfight: Veteran pilot
George Gorman was flying over Fargo, North
Dakota on October 1, 1948 when he noticed
a strange object to the west of him. Gorman
radioed base and stated he was going after
the aircraft to see if he could identify its
model, but soon found it was going too fast
for his P-51 Mustang to catch up. Without
warning, the object flew within 500 feet of
Gorman's plane, after which it briefly disappeared
from sight. Upon regaining eye contact with
the vessel, it made a 180-degree turn and
sped straight towards the P-51, but turned
upwards into a vertical climb. Gorman did
his best to climb to the same altitude as
the UFO, but his plane stalled at 14,000 feet,
with the object still 2000 feet above him.
At this time, the two aircraft were over Fargo
Airport, and controllers in the tower were
able to observe the object through their binoculars,
which they all agreed the UFO had no distinguishable
shape or form. Gorman landed back at the airport
and was greeted by a colleague with a geiger
counter; it was discovered Gorman's plane
was now emitting levels of radiation. While
Air Force officials dismissed the incident
as a misidentified air balloon, Gorman and
the other witnesses were convinced it was
an unworldly vessel; several other people,
including another airplane, saw the object,
and it even appeared on radar back at the
control tower. However, Air Force officials
have stuck with their original findings, and
the true nature of the UFO remains unknown.
Number 4. The Brooklyn Bridge Abduction: A
rather strange and traumatic event unfolded
at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on
November 30, 1989 at around 3am. Several witnesses
were horrified when a UFO hovered over the
famed bridge, and two aliens were seen carrying
Linda Cortile out of her twelfth-floor apartment,
hovering up into the craft from a beam of
light. After the three entered the craft,
the UFO dove down into the East River and
vanished. She later awoke back in her apartment
to find her husband and son in a form of suspended
animation. Famous alien enthusiast and author
Budd Hopkins wrote the book Witness about
the abduction, and Linda Cortile's ordeal
afterwards. Critics have been quick to point
out the unlikelihood of such an even taking
place with only few witnesses in Manhattan,
but three of the people who saw the event
unfold was then Secretary General of the United
Nations Perez de Cueillar and his Secret Service
escorts. According to the officers, Cueillar
was visibly shaken and disturbed by what had
transpired. However, while Cueillar corresponded
with Hopkins and even verified he was a witness,
he declined to go public in order not to damage
his personal life with ridicule. In 1991,
Cortile had an x-ray done of her head, and
it was discovered an unnatural object lodged
in her nasal cavity resembling a shaft about
a quarter of an inch long. Witness has become
a huge hit with the UFO community, and Hopkins
and Cortile have agreed to equally split the
profits between each other.
Number 3. Foo Fighters: In November 1944,
Allied pilots were conducting a night flight
over Germany when they noticed fast-moving
objects in close pursuit of their aircraft.
The pilots described these UFOs as glowing
light orbs that appeared to resemble Christmas
lights of various colours, and would move
in rather erratic, but maneuvered as if controlled
by something and displayed no threatening
or otherwise hostile behaviour. Allied pilots
dubbed these anomalies Foo Fighters, and to
a lesser extent Kraut Fireballs. It was initially
thought to be a new German weapon, an idea
which was published in the New York Times
December of the same year. Pilots in the Pacific
Theatre of the conflict also reported strange
lights, though more resembling balls of fire
and mostly stationary, occasionally following
the allied planes. Ufologists today credit
the existence of Foo Fighters as extraterrestrial
creations, possible UFOs piloted by alien
life-forms. Other theories suggest these strange
sightings were occurrences of St. Elmo's Fire,
or ball lightning. Regardless, Foo Fighters
continue to be an unexplained phenomenon that
has brought people over to the side of believing
there is other intelligent life out there.
Number 2. Fire in the Sky: On November 5,
1974, contract logger Mike Rogers contacted
police in Herber, Arizona to report one of
his crewmen had gone missing after their shift.
When Sheriff's deputies arrived to speak with
the shaken men, it was revealed their colleague,
22 year old Travis Walton, was abducted by
a strange object in the sky. The UFO shot
a beam of light towards Walton, which appeared
to stun him, then toss him ten feet. The crew
drove off in terror and contacted authorities
immediately upon entering town. The crew became
vilified after news of the story broke out,
and it was widely believed the crew came up
with the elaborate story to cover up an accident
or homicide. Things changed five days later,
when Walton suddenly appeared, alive, but
deeply traumatized. Two family members who
picked him up recall Walton being confused
and almost hysterical, believing he had been
gone only a few hours. All members of the
crew were subjected to a polygraph test, and
all men were shown to be telling the truth,
except one test which was declared invalid,
and lead investigator Sheriff Marlin Gillespie,
accepted the UFO story as truthful. Walton
later had his experience developed into a
book and later a feature film, both titled
Fire in the Sky.
Number 1.The Belgian UFO Epidemic: UFOs appeared
over the Belgium sky in droves between November
1989 and April 1990, with as many as 2000
people reporting strange, triangular aircrafts
at night. On November 29, 1989 alone, thirty
different groups and three police officers
reported low-flying aircraft , triangular,
lights illuminating the bottom and no audible
sound coming from it. The sightings peaked
on the night between March 30th and 31st 1990,
with approximately 13,500 people spotting
the same aircraft, and 2600 issuing written
statements to investigators; after this night,
the Belgian Air Force launched a full investigation
into the sightings, and several fighters were
scrambled that night in order to search for
any foreign aircraft entering Belgian air
space, though none were ever found. A lucky
man from Wallonia was able to capture a photograph
of the UFO in June, 1990, which bore a striking
resemblance to photographs taken during the
wave, though it was later revealed to have
been a hoax. Skeptics have attempted to explain
the sightings as a form of stealth aircraft
that were flying over Belgium, though believers
are quick to point out the bright lights shining
down to the ground as a dead giveaway for
such technology. So far, no official explanation
has been released, and native Belgians and
tourists alike continue to search the skies
in hopes of the strange UFO returning.
