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By Charles Lear

What makes a good UFO sighting report?  First and foremost, it’s good to a have a credible witness who is respected within his or her community.  Having other witnesses to corroborate the sighting is even better.  How about a sighting that lasts more than a minute or two?  What about a report that has multiple UFOs showing up on three successive nights?  On June 27, 1959, there was an extraordinary sighting by Father William Gill, an Anglican missionary, and 38 of his mission’s staff and students in Papua, New Guinea that had all of this and humanoids to boot.

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By Charles Lear

In many ways, the history of UFOs in Canada parallels that of the United States.  There are early historical sightings recorded in the 1600’s and 1700’s, mysterious airships in the late 1800’s and a modern era from the 1940’s on.  The two countries, concerned about a possible Soviet missile attack, worked closely with each other during the Cold War, monitoring the northern areas, including the Arctic Circle, with extensive radar facilities.  Official Canadian UFO policy was then influenced by the U.S. policy, which was to down play reports to the public while quietly investigating them.  In later years, the Canadian government became more open about the subject and two of Canada’s most famous cases, Falcon Lake and Shag Harbour, were recently celebrated with the release of commemorative coins from the Canadian Mint.  This week’s guest, Chris Rutkowski, is Canada’s foremost UFO researcher and archivist and much of the information for this blog comes from his 2006 book, co-authored with Geoff Dittman, “The Canadian UFO Report.”

In his book, Rutkowski presents what he considers is Canada’s first UFO report.  In 1663, Jesuit Missionaries living among the Algonquins in what was then New France, wrote reports of numerous aerial phenomena.  They reported seeing fiery serpents and balls of fire on different occasions and unusual lights during an earthquake which they described as, “pikes and lances of fire” and “burning brands” that “darted down on our houses… without, however, doing further injury than to spread alarm wherever they were seen.”

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By Charles Lear

Throughout the history of UFO sightings, police involvement has been fairly common as they are often the first to be called by concerned citizens.  Sometimes the officers sent to investigate end up becoming witnesses themselves and there are cases where they have given chase and involved other officers providing researchers with multiple, exceptionally qualified witnesses.  Then there are cases where the officers have been the primary witnesses and some were so moved by their encounters that they ended up becoming highly active UFO researchers and investigators themselves.  As would be expected, these investigators treat their cases as if they were doing a criminal investigation and when it comes to UFOs, this is an excellent approach.

Perhaps the most renowned officer turned UFOlogist was Tony Dodd, a British policeman who had an extraordinary sighting along with another officer in 1978.  Dodd was a sergeant at the time and was driving as part of his duties as supervisor for the night patrol in North and West Yorkshire with a beat patrol officer in the passenger seat.  They were on a country road along Cononley Moor around 4:30 AM on December 12, when they came upon what Dodd described as a huge, 100 foot disk with a dome on top, portals, flashing blue, red, green and white lights and three hemispheres protruding from the bottom.  The object moved away from them towards a wooded area at around 40 miles per hour, descended into the trees until just a glow of light was visible and then that was gone.  At this point, another officer drove up to them in a separate car asking if they had seen the object and this made for a total of three officer witnesses.

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By Charles Lear

The CIA and FBI were interested in UFOs.  It’s on the record and you, the public, can see for yourselves in documents released by both organizations.  What’s not entirely evident is the interest those agencies had in civilian research organizations.  Did the CIA and FBI plant undercover agents among members of certain groups that had achieved a certain level of popular recognition?  Were there operations to discredit prominent researchers and witnesses?  Were wiretaps or surveillance devices utilized to monitor researchers and those who provided them with sensitive information?  If it can be determined that individuals or groups looking into the subject of UFOs were considered a threat to national security then the answer is, “most likely.”

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By Charles Lear

Throughout the 20^th century it was believed by most researchers that UFOs were physical craft driven by extraterrestrials, ghosts were the spirits of dead people and Bigfoot was a large hominid as yet unclassified by primatologists.  In the later part of that era, John Keel, author of “The Mothman Prophecies”, began to consider that all of these might come from a single cause and he began looking for a unifying theory.  Now, in the 21^st century, more and more researchers are beginning to think this way and some have focused on what have been called “paranormal hotspots” where there is a concentration of reports with many different varieties of strange activity.  Investigators have included the father and son team of Paul and Ben Eno looking at areas of New England and Pennsylvania, a team from Robert Bigelow’s organization, the National Institute for Discovery Science (using our tax dollars under a contract with the D.O.D.), working for an extended period of time at an area in Utah known as “Skinwalker Ranch” and Ted Phillips looking at an area he calls, “Marley Woods.”

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by Charles Lear

I am a fan of John Keel.  For those of you who don’t know, he is best known as the author of, “The Mothman Prophecies”, a book that centers around strange events that occurred in Point Pleasant, West Virginia during a thirteen month period between 1966 and 1967.  These included sightings of UFOs, Men in Black and a humanoid with wings that was dubbed “The Mothman” by the press.  These events have a similarity, in terms of what is now called, “high strangeness” by modern Ufologists, to more recent events reported at a ranch in Nevada known as, “The Skinwalker Ranch.”

Keel called himself a Fortean, which meant that he was a collector of strange stories reported in the press and historical documents.  The title comes from one Charles Fort, one of the earliest investigators of the odd and paranormal, who’s 1919 book, “The Book of the Damned” inspired a large and still enduring following.  Though Keel spent a great deal of effort investigating the UFO question and trying to make sense of it, he was interested in all things strange and distanced himself from those solely involved in UFO research. Read more →

By Charles Lear

The Rendlesham Forest Incident is a British UFO case from 1980 that is comfortably familiar to those who are interested in the subject and is known, affectionately as, “The British Roswell.”  It’s good, clean, UFO fun with an official memo and unofficial tape from a USAF Lt. Colonel, multiple military witnesses and an exuberant former Ministry of Defense employee, Nick Pope, championing the case as if he were the official British spokesperson.  Nod and smile and on to the next case, right?

Well, I’m sorry to disillusion some of you but things are much darker than that.  Research into this case reveals a possible violation of the Geneva Convention, mental and physical trauma, possible abuse during interrogation, and a group of witnesses with conflicting stories that can’t all be in the same room together.

The case involves a series of sightings and encounters that occurred over three nights in 1980 from December 25^th through the 28^th in Rendlesham Forest, which separates the twin airbases, RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters, then under control of the USAF.  The timeline is difficult to establish due to the variations in the witness’ accounts but a simplified version is as follows: Read more →

By Charles Lear

In listings of top UFO hot spots around the world, the small town of Bonnybridge, Scotland is frequently included.  Bonnybridge lies within an area known as “The Falkirk Triangle” which is described variously from being a large area defined by lines drawn between Edinbugh in the east, Glasgow in the west and Stirling in the north to a smaller triangle formed by three roads: the M8, the M9 and the M80.  The area has a history of many sightings and episodes that were exceedingly strange and the citizenry of the town of Bonnybridge has petitioned a succession of British Prime Ministers for an explanation.

Notoriety first came to the area in 1979 with the November 9, encounter in Dechmont Woods in Livingston, West Lothian by Robert Taylor.  Taylor was a forester and was on his rounds at 10:30 AM in the company truck with Lara, his Irish Setter.  According to him, he went into a section just south of the M8, got out of his truck and walked down a path with the dog for about 700 yards.  In a clearing, he came upon an object hovering around 50 feet in the air that was dome-shaped with a flange around its base that had cross-shaped objects projecting from it.  As he watched it, with his dog barking excitedly, different sections would fade out, revealing the trees behind them, and then fade back in.  Then, two objects that looked like WWII sea mines with about six spikes sticking out of them fell from the bottom of the craft and hit the ground with a thud.  They then rolled towards Taylor and each object used a projectile to grab him at the hips and pulled him.  Taylor described an acrid smell and then losing consciousness.  When he came to, the objects were gone but there were indentations in the ground and marks similar to caterpillar tracks.  He had a grazed forehead and chin and his heavy-duty work pants were ripped at each hip.  He went to his truck to radio back to the office but found he couldn’t speak.  Taylor then started the truck and ended up backing into a ditch, which forced him to walk the quarter mile to his house in the town of Deans. His wife was alarmed by his muddy and disheveled appearance and he told her he was “attacked by a spaceship” which she, naturally, didn’t believe.  Mrs. Taylor phoned a doctor who examined Mr. Taylor and found nothing wrong with him as far as any kind of brain or sensory issues.  The doctor suggested he go to a hospital for further tests and Taylor did so but left after becoming impatient while waiting to be seen.  Mrs. Taylor had also called Robert’s boss, Malcolm Drummond, who came to the house and listened to Taylor’s story.  Drummond knew Taylor to be an honest man and making up such a strange tale would have been quite out of character for him.  The case was reported to the police who investigated it as an assault case.  The “crime-scene” was cordoned off and evidence was recorded.  Significantly, the tracks that looked like caterpillar tracks showed no signs of an entrance or an exit.  There were also drag marks that supported the story of Taylor being grabbed and pulled. Taylor’s pants were subjected to forensic analysis in Edinburgh and the examiner determined that they were torn by something mechanical.  The dog, meanwhile, would never leave the house, even to relieve itself, for months afterwards.  In 2018, the West Lothian Council created a UFO trail in the woods to commemorate the event.

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By Charles Lear

The history of UFO sightings and alien encounters as portrayed in the popular media is, mostly, separated into distinct periods: modern, from the late 1890’s airship flap followed by World War II “foo fighters” into post-1947 after the Kenneth Arnold report, and ancient interaction pieced together using “evidence” from the time of cave dwelling humans up to the time of the builders of cities and megalithic structures.  UFOs depicted in Byzantine paintings (misinterpreted conventional symbols) the 1561 report from Nuremburg, Germany and the 1566 report from Basel, Switzerland are often thrown in during reviews of UFO history but what about the time in between then and the 1890’s?  It turns out that there are quite a few reports from the period in question and they read like modern reports although they were written before the modern context of alien visitation.

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By Charles Lear

When people in the UFO community refer to To The Stars Academy founder, Tom DeLonge, more often than not, the words, “rock star” precede his name.  This seems to serve the purpose of distinguishing him from “normal” UFOlogists but the truth is that he is but one of many rock musicians who have had or have a serious interest in the subject.  What’s unusual about DeLonge is that he has managed to gather the highly credentialed people he has staffing TTSA and that his group has stormed to the forefront of the field overshadowing other long existing research organizations.  For a “rock star” to manage this he has to overcome the big issue all UFOlogists are concerned with and that is credibility.  If a witness was drunk or on drugs during a sighting, a case will most likely be dismissed by an investigator.  As many rockers throughout history have been notorious for their often, extreme indulgence, well, you get the idea of what DeLonge is up against. Read more →

By Charles Lear

 Remember that UFO sighting by all those school children some years back?  That was in Australia, right?  No, it was Florida… or was it Wales?  Perhaps it was in Africa?  The answer is that there were incidents of significance in all four locations. All were similar enough to cause confusion but the reactions by school and public officials involved were strikingly different.

The first occurrence was April 6, 1966 at Westall High School in Clayton South, a suburb of Melbourne, capital of Victoria, Australia.  Around 11:00 am a student ran in from the school sports field (the oval) shouting that there was a flying saucer outside.  The teacher whose class had been interrupted demanded his students remain seated until the recess bell, at which time, students and teachers flooded the oval and over 200 people were witness to a silvery disk.  At the time, 5 light airplanes were attempting to get near the craft and it displayed extraordinary flight characteristics in evading them, which were described by teacher, Andrew Greenwood, to a fellow teacher arriving late to the scene.  Another teacher, Barbara Robbins, was reported by student witness, Graham Simmonds, to have been taking photographs of the object.  The object then flew to a wooded area called, “The Grange” where it landed and the students followed it.  By the time most of them caught up with the object it had lifted off but one student, “Tanya”, possibly had arrived early enough to see it landed.  The object flew off and the spot where it had been was reportedly marked by a swirled patch of grass. Read more →

By Charles Lear

 Let’s imagine that you’re a young person with a passionate interest in UFOs. You’ve devoted a lot of time to study and research and have developed some expertise and maybe even a specialty.  Now it’s time to get out of your parents’ house and into your own apartment.  You need to find a job and you’re determined to follow your bliss so, where do you look?

Backing up a little to UFO study, you can actually get a PhD in UFOlogy online from The Institute of Metaphysical Humanistic Science for as low as $1325.  Will this help you?  Probably not, but being able to put “Dr.” in front of your name for that price is pretty cool.  IMHS suggests that a degree in UFOlogy “is excellent for students who desire to conduct paranormal and/or UFO investigations and research, start and lead a paranormal investigation team, write books on paranormal topics, present lectures and talks in the paranormal field, and more.”  Let’s take this statement, look at each suggestion separately and examine the individual income potential.

In order to make money conducting UFO investigations and research you need to be involved with an organization that will pay you.  MUFON, with a membership of over 4000 people paying yearly membership fees from a minimum of $59.88 to as much as $299.88, does not pay their investigators and neither do any of the other investigative organizations.  In fact, you can’t be a MUFON investigator without being a member, so you pay them.  You could get paid doing clerical work but not as an investigator.  The only guaranteed way to get paid as an investigator/researcher would be to join an Air Force with an active UFO program (four exist in South America) or find your way into a DoD black program. Read more →