November 1992 ...

Eyewitness Accounts From a Recent Radio Appearance ...

Something strange is going on! During a recent radio appearance, I received a startling number of phone calls with unsolicited eyewitness accounts of phenomena which defied explanation, bizarre occurrences that left these ordinary citizens in a state of profound perplexity.

One caller described a late night automobile journey, during which he and his friends witnessed an extremely bright light in the sky. This light hovered for several minutes, projecting powerful spotlight beams, after which it moved out of sight at an extremely high velocity. Many have mistaken the bright landing lights of an oncoming jet for UFO's. However, the flight characteristics of the object sighted cannot be explained by known causes.

A 71 year old man described sighting a very bizarre object late one night twenty years ago over south Minneapolis. This man, a self-described rationalist, related that his wife noticed an odd lighted "kite" hovering overhead. When they stopped to observe, they saw "an upside-down canoe shape" which rocked back and forth, with a bright "chandelier" of lights stationary underneath. He attempted to contact a skeptical press, as well as the authorities, to report this sighting, eventually reaching Project Blue Book. They asked whether he had pictures or "a piece of it," and were not interested when told he did not. Interestingly, not more than two days after I spoke to this man, I encountered someone who told of engaging in a prank involving using dry-cleaning bags and candles as hot air balloons to make "UFO's" that matched the above description, twenty years ago, in that precise location. Is this what that man and his wife saw?

A young man told of a strange trip through Colorado with friends. When they stopped along the road to pick sage, they were horrified to discover a grisly pile of animal skins and bones that perplexed them. Two "hicks" stopped by, behaving weirdly, and told them that 6000 head of cattle had been found standing with their hearts missing and their blood drained. The young man and his friends felt as though the two men were trying unsuccessfully to hypnotize them, and were shown a "hologram of Jesus." When the young people drove away, a passing camper bus attempted to wave them off the road.

A seventeen year old girl called to tell of seeing a bright light type UFO that shot off into the sky at high velocity. When asked how this sighting had affected her personally, she revealingly stated that the incident had made her feel afraid, but she also felt "more sense of being in my life ... I'm more connected to my life now." Several callers told of frightening experiences of "paralysis" after waking up, being unable to move, with the distinct sensation of a "presence" in the room.

Clearly, this is but the tip of the iceberg. Most paranormal incidents go unreported, or even unrelated to anyone else, and sympathetic, trained persons to listen to these stories without an "axe to grind" are few.

In the past few months, I have received letters from a number of readers of this column. The amazing case of "Deter Cooch," and his contact with "alien spirits" in New Mexico, came to my attention in this way. If you have experiences of your own to share, I would like to hear them. Contact me – let's get to the bottom of this mystery together!!!