Mysterious orbs confound NC county for decades

By TOM BREEN

Associated Press

 

Picture added by Mac

(Credit Google)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two orange orbs, just about 10 feet off the ground, floated past Steve Woody and his father as they hunted deer more than 50 years ago. The mysterious lights passed them, then dropped down the side of a gorge in the Blue Ridge foothills.

For at least a century, the Brown Mountain Lights have confounded residents and tourists in a rugged patch of Burke County, bobbing and weaving near a modest peak. Are they reflections from automobile headlights? Brush fires? A paranormal phenomenon, or something natural not yet explained by science?

"I didn't feel anything spooky or look around for Martians or anything like that," Woody said. "It was just a unique situation. It's just as vivid now as when I was 12 years old."

Whatever the explanation, tourism officials are hoping all those decades of unanswered questions add up to a boost in visitors making their way to scenic outlooks around Linville Gorge with the goal of spotting something mysterious.

Unexplained mysteries like the Brown Mountain Lights have been the subject of cable TV documentaries and have fueled vast online communities of amateur investigators. Ed Phillips, Burke County's tourism director, is hoping to capitalize on that.

Earlier this month, a sellout crowd of 120 paid $20 a head to attend a symposium on the lights at Morganton City Hall, and there was a crowd outside the door hoping to get in at the last minute.

"It's a good problem to have," Phillips said. "I could have sold 500 tickets."

Interest in the lights has waxed and waned since the first known printed reference to the phenomenon appeared in The Charlotte Observer in 1913. John Harden, a Raleigh-based radio personality, devoted an episode of his 1940s series "Tales of Tar Heelia" to the lights, saying they "not only have attracted the attention of the people of this state, but have aroused the curiosity of a nation as well." There was also a folk song, recorded by The Kingston Trio and others that posited the lights came from a slave wandering the hills with a lantern in search of his master.

The profile of the lights has dimmed in recent years, although the number of reports doesn't appear to be falling off. Making the area a destination for fans of the unexplained and anomalous helps give Burke County an edge, Phillips said.

"When you look at everything, you look at what people are really interested in, and the Brown Mountain Lights was something I really wanted to bring back to people's attention," he said.

There are plans for another symposium and a contest with a cash prize for the best photo or video of the lights. There are even T-shirts and refrigerator magnets for sale in the area now.

Also in the works is a regular event tentatively called the Brown Mountain Paranormal Expedition, where people will pay to hear a presentation on the lights at a dinner, then travel by bus to overlook sites where the lights have been reported. The events will be guided by Joshua P. Warren, an Asheville native and paranormal investigator who plans to allow attendees to use equipment like night vision goggles in hopes of spotting the lights.

"The folks who attend will have a true firsthand experience of what it's like to be out there trying to judge what's happening with this mountain," Brown said.

The Brown Mountain Lights have drawn serious scientific interest since the 1920s, when the U.S. Geological Survey issued a report concluding the lights were reflections from automobiles, trains and brush fires.

Daniel Caton, a professor in the physics and astronomy department at Appalachian State University, thinks that's part of the explanation for what people have reported seeing over the years. But Caton thinks there's more to the lights, at least in some cases.

Caton said that about seven years ago, he was ready to give up studying the lights when he began hearing from people who said they saw them from mere feet away, not miles across the Linville Gorge. Those accounts sounded to Caton a lot like firsthand reports of ball lightning, a little-understood but naturally occurring phenomenon involving luminous spheres often said to move or bounce about in the air.

Caton hopes to eventually set up cameras at viewing sites that will feed to his website, allowing anyone to watch for the lights at any time. While he's skeptical, guessing that 95 percent of reports of the lights are something like airplane lights, Caton still thinks there are eyewitness reports worth checking.

"The cool thing is, if ball lightning is preferentially made by nature in the Linville Gorge, at least we have a place to look for the conditions that might create it," he said. "Otherwise, it's hopeless to try and study ball lightning because it's just randomly made and you don't know where to look for it."

Joshua P. Warren's website: www.brownmountainlights.com

Daniel Caton's website: www.brownmountainlights.org

UFOTV: God, Man & ET Debate - The Question of Other Worlds In Science & Theology (Video)

The conclusions presented here will shock and amaze you! Boldly going where no scientists have gone before... The Debate! The Conclusions! The Wonder! Scholars, Theologians and Scientists came together at the University of Wisconsin for an all-day, mind-blowing discussion on the questions of "God, Man, and E.T." Captured in spectacular cinematic style, packed with stunning imagery, computer animation and a Symphonic music soundtrack, this program (the final debate in the series) is the result of this historic event and compelling, wide-ranging discussion. Hosted by former CNN Anchor, Cheryll Jones. Features: Richard C. Hoagland, David Flynn, Dr. Hugh Ross, Dr. Michael S. Heiser and Dr. Paul Nelson.



Group to probe UFO reported over Acton/Littleton line

By Margaret Smith

Wicked Local

Volunteer investigators hope to track down the source of this object, which they said a motorist passing through Acton last July saw and photographed in the Route 2 vicinity

Acton, Mass. —

Volunteer UFO investigators would like to learn more about a strange object they said a passing motorist reported and photographed at the Acton/Littleton line last July.
Steve Firmani, director of the New England Mutual UFO Network, confirmed the organization received a report and photograph depicting an object a motorist reported seeing over Route 2 near the Acton and Littleton town lines on July 31.
In the report, the unnamed motorist described seeing a “reflective, black tube-shaped object traveling in an easterly direction.” The driver, headed west on Route 2, stopped at the Newtown Road exit to take a picture.
The object is described as about 30 feet long and six feet in diameter and was perhaps 200 to 300 feet in the air when first spotted.
At this time, the motorist said the object was now about 1,000 to 1,500 feet high and still traveling east.
The photo attached to the report was taken with a 35-millimeter film camera, the report said.
The report describes the model of camera and speed and type of film used, as well as the zoom of the camera used to take the photo.
The Mutual UFO Network, commonly known as MUFON, is a multi-chapter organization of volunteers that fields reports of unidentified flying objects and other mysterious sightings.
Volunteer investigators interview those who report sightings and may call in expert help to examine evidence that is offered, such as photographs.
Firmani, of Leominster, said his MUFON chapter hopes to assign an investigator to the report soon.

Ruling out possibilities
Firmani said the majority of sightings received by his and other MUFON chapters turn out to be ordinary objects.
“Right now, you could say, this case is ‘up in the air, 'pending assigning an investigator and asking some questions,” Firmani said.
“The first thing we do is try and contact the witness and set up a phone interview.”
He said, “Eighty-five to 90 percent of UFO sightings can be explained as manmade or natural phenomena – such as stars, planets, even birds. We have had situations where a sunlight is reflecting off a bird.”
Firmani said satellites are another common source of so-called UFO sightings. In strictest terms, "UFO" simply means "unidentified flying object," with no implications as to its origin.
Firmani said in recent years, a commonly reported sighting is that of triangular lights; a tubular object such as the one described in the report is less common but not unheard of.

In UFO lore, one celebrated case describes a glittering, tubular-shaped object crashing into windmill in Aurora,Texas in 1897.
Firmani said regional differences in linguistics or descriptions can make it difficult to tell if viewers in different parts of New England or the country have seen the same or a similar object.
Acton police said no one called to report an object like the one the MUFON report describes.
As with most police departments, Acton police receives calls from time to time about unusual or erratic lights or objects, but generally receives these reports at night.
One such report concerned a gleaming light a caller saw early in the morning but that turned out to be light reflecting off a hot-air balloon.
In popular culture, the sightings of UFOs have been linked to a belief in extraterrestrial crafts or visitors.
Firmani said the investigators at MUFON strive to examine such reports objectively and without bias.
“Just because we can’t find an explanation for the sighting, it doesn’t mean it is some kind of alien space craft,” Firmani said.

Dr. John Mack on Oprah (Video)



UFO Hunters - Underwater Alien Bases (Video)



UFO Hunting as a Casual Hobby

By Chris Capps

Most UFO stories are events that catch the witness unaware. They're casually driving along a darkened stretch of road - often alone, but sometimes with friends - when something strange appears in the sky that they simply cannot explain. Sometimes it can be as simple as a distant light that defies explanation. But sometimes it's something a bit more dramatic. Some people have taken up the hobby of searching the skies for UFOs themselves, but what are some tips from those who have taken up UFO watching?

To see a UFO is simple, and accounts have ranged all over the world in both urban and rural environments describing objects everywhere from the middle of nowhere to right outside a witness' window. The primary component of the UFO hunt is the ability to see the sky, but a successful casual UFO hunt wouldn't be the same if it was just sitting at a window looking out into a day-lit sky. There needs to be another component to it, something that adds to the experience to make it ultimately successful. A casual ufo hunt is as much for the experience itself as the desire to see something unusual in the sky.

First, it's important to establish to those present what your intentions are while you're on the hunt. Different people will want different degrees of authenticity in their event. Some may wish to bring along cameras to spot objects in the sky while others are interested only in their own personal experience of watching to see if something will appear.
If your intention is to gather evidence, be sure to pick a spot with a wide view of the sky and "reference points" allowing you to chart the speed and relative size and distance of objects as they pass overhead. Make sure you have permission to be wherever you go - additionally be sure you have permission to film where you're going to ensure your hunt is fun and uninterrupted.

Safety, just as with ghost hunts, is equally important with UFO hunts. But unlike the more active ghost hunt, searching the skies for UFOs is less location oriented - meaning your own back yard can be as promising a spot as anywhere. A simple walk around the block is easy enough to set up, though you might want to leave the tripod home if that's the case. As always, it's important to exercise your better judgment.
Additionally, you may want to have a UFO hunt accompany another activity such as astronomy or story telling. Taking a telescope out and looking at the stars themselves may provide you with a fun learning experience and something to share even if the unidentified flying objects aren't present.
And finally, a note that many UFO hunters can say from experience. If you're going out to look for UFOs and you've found a perfect spot, be sure to dress comfortably for the weather. If rain seems possible, be sure to bring an umbrella. UFO hunting in a way can be similar to hiking or camping in what you need to bring along - depending on the environment you're in.

Finally, if you do see something, be sure to get some footage of it. Who knows? You may just capture something incredible.


Black Helicopter PSYOPs over ECETI Ranch on UFO Mountain (Video)

By Jon Kelly

Domestic military stalking and harassment operations such as this black helicopter over ECETI Ranch are no longer limited to targeting special interest groups. Credit: James Gilliland/ECETI Ranch

A black helicopter with no visible markings stalks peaceful civilians in repeated low-altitude passes over the ECETI Ranch in what UFO contactee James Gilliland describes as an “intimidation run” on this week’s episode of UFO Mountain. The latest installment of the weekly online series uses empirical instrumental evidence to show domestic Psychological warfare operational (PSYOP) threats to public safety in a media environment where the term “black helicopter” has been co-opted to mean “conspiracy theory”.

In his exclusive on-camera remarks, ECETI Ranch’s James Gilliland tells UFO Mountain how “We’ve had a lot of black helicopter activity here. One day they circled the ranch all day long. A while back they came down right behind me and almost landed in the field. Their skids were just right off the ground. I could actually see a mole on the pilot’s face.”
Black Helicopter Facts
One source describes how US law enforcement agencies including US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigations use black helicopters for surveillance, transportation, and patrol. Units of the Army National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security are also cited for deployment of such vehicles as well.
Why are these helicopters painted black (or marked in such a way as to render ground-based identification impossible)? According to the US Department of Defense, covert operations are defined as “Operations which are so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. They differ from clandestine operations in that emphasis is placed on concealment of identity of sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation.”
In terms of this definition, black helicopters with no visible markings effectively conceal the identity of the sponsoring agency while communicating that agency’s unlawful intentions (compare with masked agent provocateurs who infiltrate lawful public assemblies). Military black operations typically involve activities which are “highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law [emphasis added].”
Stalking is a Crime
A report by the National Center for Victims of Crime states that "Virtually any unwanted contact between two people that directly or indirectly communicates a threat or places the victim in fear can be considered stalking." In defining stalking as a criminal offense, Washington State law (RCW 9a.46.110) provides for situations where:
“(b) The person being harassed or followed is placed in fear that the stalker intends to injure the person, another person, or property of the person or of another person. The feeling of fear must be one that a reasonable person in the same situation would experience under all the circumstances; and
“(c) The stalker either:
“(i) Intends to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person; or
“(ii) Knows or reasonably should know that the person is afraid, intimidated, or harassed even if the stalker did not intend to place the person in fear or intimidate or harass the person.”
In classifying black helicopter contact at ECETI Ranch as “intimidation runs”, James Gilliland clarifies how these events represent illegal military black operations using language recognized by Washington State law, which describes stalking with intent to intimidate as a criminal offense.
Domestic PSYWARs
The US Department of Defence defines Psychological warfare as “The planned use of propaganda and other psyche logical [sic] actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives.” Does the presence of black helicopters over ECETI Ranch signify continuity of legacy repression against local indigenous nations, an undeclared secret war against the reported ET’s occupying Mt. Adams, or something else?

UFO Florida 24th Feb 2012 black gray like sphere (Video)

Uploaded by RealUFOs2009 on 25 Feb 2012

"Mufon Report:
we were at the 7mile bridge just before the sun set in the florida keys. We saw a jet fly over and we took a photo. As the sun neared being set i noticed a blak grayish spehere hovering to the right of the 7 mile bridge. i pointed it out to my husband. we waited and watched for 15 min or so to see if it was a blimp or helicopter but it never moved! after the sun had set ad there was still some light in the sky we walked back to the car, my husband decided to run behind a tree to relieve himself. when he returned he said the object was still in the sky. this was maybe 8 minutes or so after watching it for 15 minutes earlier. darkness fell as we began to drive and whe we looked for the object we could no longer see it. the bridge was full of people but no one seemed to notice. I stopped a jogger passig by and asked him what he thought it was...he shrugged his shoulders and said he didnt know either. well I did get a few seconds on video ad i will upload it along with the photo of the plane."

UFO Newspaper Clipping - Daily Express 16.8.1965.



Mapping the UFO Enigma: If Not Extraterrestrials, Then What?

By Micah Hanks

Feb 27th 2012

Most people who become drawn to the subject of UFOs will at some point begin to come across stories that are just really weird. Some of them are so weird that even the notion of advanced extraterrestrial technology doesn’t seem to quite fit as a logical explanation for their existence.
Many who are drawn in by the UFO enigma will initially also accept the general attitude that most come to the field having: that UFOs represent interplanetary visitors, something along the lines of a crew of scientists who are probing our world and its occupants for something… perhaps to enrich their understanding of life elsewhere in the cosmos, much as we might do… or perhaps something a little more sinister.
Then there are “those other theories” involving UFOs. These range from everything including bizarre roboids from other worlds, to the strange (and often campy or even outright ridiculous) claims involving Nazis and their secret space program. Even less popular notions, such as that of “meta-terrestrial” or interdimensional phenomenon, further complicate the matter. So what, at the end of the day, are we really dealing with? And, to wit, is there really much point in continuing to ask these sorts of questions, or are we merely continuing to exercise our futility?

I recently was enjoying a long, snowy drive to Winston Salem, North Carolina, while listening to an edition of Gene Steinberg’s The Paracast where UFO researchers Kevin Randle and Jim Mosely put forth their own ideas about various aspects of ufology, and how we’ve seen it coming together in different ways over the years. At one point early in the interview, Randle stated that he believed there were entirely terrestrial explanations for what we perceive as being “alien abduction.” I was equally amazed when Mosely stated that he felt there was no sufficient evidence that UFOs are in any way interplanetary! In other words, many of the finest researchers out there, as a result of their involvement of the serious study of strange UFO sightings and eyewitness encounters with landed craft, begin to shy away from the more “conventional” explanations for UFO origins.
As many readers of this blog know, I tend to gravitate toward the “less conventional” explanations myself; the time-tested models of UFOs that involve alien visitors don’t seem to balance this most-enigmatic of all equations, at least to my liking. Indeed, while perhaps even a majority of strange things seen in the skies are likely the result of technology that emanates from right here on Earth, there are also the high-strangeness reports which seem intimately connected in some way to human consciousness itself. While what we perceive as “alien abduction” may indeed seem physical, it could have far more to do with functions and processes taking place within our minds, and the ways human consciousness interprets the terrifying exchange of information with some sentient species that may be attempting to interact with us somehow… even if only on some non-physical level.
So what are we to make of UFOs then? While I can’t wholeheartedly “endorse” the following links, I include them nonetheless because of the variety of interpretations of UFO phenomenon that they represent. To different individuals from different backgrounds and world views, the UFO enigma will no doubt be interpreted quite differently from one instance to another… with any luck, the approaches outlined in the links that follow may assist in helping one come to their own unique conclusions as to what may really constitute the UFO phenomenon.

The many and varied degrees of different UFO phenomenon

The Jinn in relation to UFO phenomenon

A Cavalcade of Interdimensional Phenomenon at The Gralien Report

Ten Big Questions about Extraterrestrial Life

The ongoing SETI project, and ongoing attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence