Almost as coveted as an X-File, the unexplained incidents involving UFO’s are complex and unbelievable in nature. But, there are a few cases that stand out, giving us a moment hesitation before we can so easily dismiss the existence of alien life. Many have laid claim to seeing these brightly lit objects hanging in the sky, colors such as bright red, blue, and even incandescent silver, have all been used to describe our visitors from afar, but since I am only introducing a few such events I will first start out with one of the most strangest of unsolved incidents to date.
FALCON LAKE INCIDENT:
It happened on May 20th’ 1967, well after the hype had died down from the more infamous event of the supposed Roswell Incident. The case was reported by an off-duty Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer, Stephen Michalak, during his short vacation in the seclusion of Whiteshell Provincial Park, which is located along the eastern border of Manitoba, near Ontario Canada. Stephen was a seasoned camper, and was quite familiar with the territory, and was on an excursion to find some precious minerals within the rocky peninsula known as the Canadian Shield.
Shortly after 12:00pm he was alerted to a strange noise, that he thought at first was nothing more than a flock of geese flying overhead. He searched the sky for the wayward birds, but instead was shocked to see two cigar shaped objects slowly approaching his location. He described the unidentified objects as being oval in shape, and a color of red that was more brilliant than fire. He noted that the objects were descending at a forty-five degree angle, and as they got closer to the ground, both objects were more prevalently round in shape.
The first object hovered silently for a few moments, but soon changed color to a dusky grayish hue. Bewildered, Michalak watched as the first object quickly changed direction, and disappeared in a cloud-bank deep in the western sky. The second object did not follow; in fact the second craft descended to the ground, landing just a short distance away from Stephen’s position. Michalak was a devote lawman, and did not at the time believe in such things as UFO’s, but on this particular afternoon his disposition quickly changed. The now fully landed and stationary object also changed from a brilliant red to a dark gray like its counterpart, but due to the close proximity, he also now noticed that the color was more silver than gray.
The most bizarre part of this case would have to be the appearance of the opening in the craft, which omitted a strange violet glow. Strangely enough, Michalak assumed the craft to be an experimental war machine of human origin, and he cautiously approached it, while calling out in several different languages. The object that had been grounded for almost half an hour with no change in its appearance was finally exposed for him to look inside, but all he could see was a panel of lights from the interior of the ship. He recalls hearing whispering or low audible voices, but after no sign of alien or humans appeared the door suddenly closed.
He described the surface of the ship to be glass-like, and smooth, but when he placed his gloved hand upon the surface it simply melted, burning the flesh beneath. Next a small metallic-like box full of holes appeared below the craft, and what seemed like a grid or exhaust, exploded and expelled a strange gas in his direction. He felt his clothing begin to burn, and his skin began to feel a singe of extreme heat. He barely noticed that the craft had taken off, due to his concern with extinguishing his now burning clothing.
Surely most would have considered his claim to be just another elaborate campfire tale, but what happened after is what really raised a few eyebrows. Even the Department of Defense (DOD) was called upon to investigate, after his incident was well documented both physically and medically. By late June of 1967 the RCMP had already taken a great interest, and with the DOD involved he was carefully monitored after he exhibited strange medical effects after the incident. First he claimed that he felt pain and sickness, and he could detect a strange metallic odor emanating from somewhere inside his own body. His burns were treated and he was released, but soon after he started to develop oval shaped lesions, and he began suffering from nausea, lack of appetite, energy depletion, and even hair loss.
Further investigation of the campsite were conducted where his personal belongings were left behind, concluded that radiation levels were found, but not high enough to cause medical health problems. This incident was both profound and accurately documented, and to this day it remains unsolved.
Another case of even more ample fame still to be considered one of the most conclusive pieces of evidence of a flying saucer would be the “Lubbock Lights.”
LUBBOCK LIGHTS:
The case of the Lubbock Lights was a series of incidents that occurred between August and September of 1951, over the city of Lubbock, Texas. The first documented and publicized incident, was reported on August 25, 1951, by three professors from the grounds of the Technological College (known now as Texas Tech University), all three highly educated individuals reported seeing a series of twenty to thirty lights flying overhead, the objects passed by at an extreme velocity, and were said to be only viewable for a short few seconds. All thee men not only saw the object, but they also continued to report the strange sighting to the local news forum: The Lubbock Avalanche. Following the article, three women reported observing “peculiar flashing lights” in the sky on the same night as the professor’s sighting. Even several other faculty members reported seeing some form of the same objects on the night in question.
Due to the unknown factor, all three professors were adamant to have a second encounter, so they could rule out any other phenomenon, and just eleven days later on they witnessed a similar event. The humid evening of September 5, 1951, all three men were out sky gazing on the front lawn of professor Dr. Robinson’s home, when they observed the lights flying overhead for the second time. This time approximately fifteen greenish-blue lights were visible; the objects appeared to be perfectly circular, and slightly fluorescent in illumination. Using crude calculations based on size, versus the moon and the placement on the horizon, they determined the objects could have been traveling over 600mph.
The most famous of the sightings, although hundreds of reports were claimed from various other residents, would be the Carl Hart Jr. incident. The young student was lying in his bed on the evening of August 30th, 1951, where he saw a group of eighteen-twenty white lights flying in a “V” formation. Hart luckily had his 35mm Kodak camera, and captured one of the most highly regarded photos of UFO phenomenon. In total he took five photos before the objects completely disappeared from his sight, but after he had them developed he took them to the local newspaper. Editor Jay Harris, carefully examined the shots, and could not discount or find any cause to find the film as fake. He told Hart, that he would print the photo, but that he would be “run out of town” if the shots turned out to be faked. Reluctantly he purchased the photos for ten dollars, which eventually were sent to newspapers across the nation, and even landed in a full page article in the April, 1952 edition of Life Magazine. The photos have been the most conclusive proof, since even the physics laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, could not find any evidence of tampering, or anomalies that could explain the images.
In late September of 1951, Lieutenant Edward Ruppelt, supervisor of the renowned Project Blue Book, read about the Lubbock Lights and immediately began an investigation. Ruppelt, interviewed several eye-witnesses, including Hart, and the three professors, after examining the evidence he concluded that all the incidents were linked to the migration of a type of bird called a plover. The city had installed new vapor streetlights in 1951, and Ruppelt believed the birds flying over the city were reflecting the newly installed lights at night. However most still disagree with this explanation, including the chief photographer for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, since he tried on many occasions to recreate the same photo, as taken by Hart. After thousands of rolls of film, he concluded that no reflection could have been bright enough to cause a prevalent enough exposure to be seen on film as found in the Hart photos.
One strange fact I would like to add, is that a few of the photo specialists that compared the shots, claimed that due to the angle, and position, and time lapse between shots, it was apparent that the objects were traveling in the excess of 1800 MPH, however if the objects distance was around, say 20,000 feet, this would mean the objects were moving at 18,000 MPH. Another oddity to stoke the fire if you will; is since the time of the Lubbock Lights event, there has barely ever been any further incidents regarding the strange lights to date. So, what this means to me is that the “Plover”, was not only a glowing flock of birds, but it also had cartoon like super-speed equal to my favorite character the Road RunnerBEEP BEEP!
Later Ruppelt himself retorted this statement in his best selling book “The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects”, which he claimed that: “They weren’t birds, but they weren’t spaceships. The lights have been positively identified as a very commonplace and easily explainable natural phenomenon. It is very unfortunate that I can’t divulgethe way the answer was found.” He also never explained the true nature either.
Whether we are discussing the Lubbock Lights or the Falcon Lake Incident, we all have to sit back and accept the realm of possibility of UFO existence. There are millions upon millions of cases of eyewitness reports, photos, and video, but who truly can sift through the hoaxes and the real deals? This controversy is the fuel for the engine of conspiracy, and although some can and have been explained there are still the unique few that even the government can’t sugar coat with a convenient theory of circumstance, instead they file it away form prying eyes and slap on a label “Unsolved!”
