by Charles Lear
Reports of UFO sightings and alien encounters come from all over the world, from Australia to Zimbabwe. Place a finger at random on a globe and chances are some sort of UFO history from that area has been recorded. This week, the finger has landed on Finland, and Finland not only has a UFO history but also has active UFO researchers as well.
The history of UFO reports in Finland is much like that of other countries except that it starts earlier than most, dating back to the early 20th century. As was the case for much of Scandinavia, Finland had reports in the 1930s and 1940s of mystery lights, aircraft and rockets.
During the winter between 1933 and 1934, many people in Sweden reported seeing mysterious aircraft, some with bright lights (unusual for the period) that were able to fly in harsh weather conditions, day or night. The Swedish Air Force sent out planes to look for the aircraft, and ski patrols were sent to man mountaintop searchlights. The Finnish Army sent up their own planes, and the first report of “a shining bright light, just like a blowtorch” came from Kemi, a town just east of the Swedish border. The report received a good deal of press coverage and Finnish authorities declared without proof that the light was from something of Russian origin. At a 1937 press conference, spokesmen for the Finnish military declared that all the sightings could be explained by weather formations and inaccurate observations. Read more
An April Fools’ joke that ended up embedded in the UFO mythos as evidence for the existence of aliens involved a photo depicting what has become known as the “Silverman.” Isaac Koi (real name withheld to protect his profession as a barrister) discusses this photo at length on his 
The 1959 sightings of Father William Gill in New Guinea, then an Australian territory, were well known and much discussed in the 1960s and 1970s. Given the multiple witnesses over two nights, observation of occupants and the credibility of the reporting witness, an Anglican missionary, it made for a sensational encounter. Even more incredible, the craft and occupants sighted seemed to respond to the witnesses throughout the encounter. The story was featured in Dr. J. Allen Hynek’s The UFO Experience: A Scientific Enquiry and The Hynek UFO Report, the double album UFO Encounters (which features Father Gill telling his story and Hynek’s commentary) and in the 4th issue of Gold Key’s UFO Flying Saucers comic book.
“You could describe it, I suppose, as a circular ship with a kind of deck and bridge on the top,” Father William Gill stated on the UFO Encounters LP. Further saying that it was “dull yellow, a bright orangey color. It wasn’t as though the thing was itself lit up all around. It was more as though some other light was lighting it up…. All around the whole object was a sparkling effect.” It was silent and as large, he estimated as a five inch object held at arm’s length. Up to four humanoids were seen on the top deck of the craft, as if they were working on something and an “electric blue spotlight” seemed to shoot into the air. Clouds moved in and obscured the object for some time but they eventually cleared allowing the craft to be seen again. Smaller objects, perhaps as many as three, were seen moving in and out of the clouds as well. Shortly before 11:00 PM heavy clouds moved in, obscuring the objects and rain began to fall.
A common element of UFO reports is that cars or other vehicles cease functioning during the sighting and often restart on their own after the UFO’s departure. Many researchers have speculated that this is an effect of electromagnetism, possibly related to an advanced system of propulsion. This seems to be a reasonable hypothesis and one that could be tested. All one would need would be a car and a source of electromagnetism. So, the question is, have there been any experiments done in laboratories, and have the results been published in a peer reviewed format?
One commonly reported characteristic of UFOs is that they are often seen near nuclear weapons facilities. One would think that this would get the attention of government authorities, and it seems it has. Robert Hastings is a researcher who looked into this aspect of the UFO mystery, and his work caused many people, including those in the media, to take a serious look at it. Then, at the risk of casting doubt on his credibility, Hastings came forward with the claim that he had had an abduction experience. While this upset some of the people who had been encouraged by Hastings to come forward with their stories of UFOs at nuclear facilities, one man told Hastings of abductions reported by men stationed at such facilities.
According to Robert Lee “Bob” White, in 1985 (the specific date doesn’t seem to appear anywhere) he was riding in the passenger seat of a car being driven by his female traveling companion. White wouldn’t reveal her name, as she was married, but later gave her first name as “Jan.” They had left Denver, Colorado, and were headed for Las Vegas, Nevada. Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., near the Colorado-Utah border, his friend woke him and pointed out a light up ahead. White went back to sleep until his friend woke him again. According to White, the light was extremely bright at this point. He described seeing a lighted object about 100 yards away that was “absolutely huge.” His friend turned on the high beams, and the object shot up. It moved between two, blue lights that looked like horizontal fluorescent tubes. All the lights sped off, and as they did so, White saw a flash, and a small, glowing object fell to earth.