Update on the New Phoenix Lights and a New Devil's Hole

My last post was on a mysterious light over Phoenix in the background of a news report. Now it seems that a utility company is coming forward with an explanation.

Flash of light in Phoenix identified?

I think it's a convenient explanation but probably what actually happened.

On to something a little more interesting though, there may be a new Devil's Hole as made popular by Mel Waters. This one was discovered in Austria and despite the news story trying to downplay it or trivialize it I do find it interesting.

Buried UFO? Metallic Object Found In Hole By Franz Knoglinger In Austria

Only time will tell what's at the bottom of that hole.

The New Phoenix Lights

In 1997 there were strange lights over Phoenix, Arizona. Now there is another mystery lighting up the night sky.

Flashing Phoenix Lights A Mystery

This phenomenon, while different in appearance from the original Phoenix Lights, is no less mysterious or interesting. I cant wait to see if anyone figures this one out. Anyone have any ideas?

Here's more on the 1997 event above Phoenix: Phoenix Lights

UFO Alert in Missouri

The strange, glowing object that put Missouri on "UFO alert" this week

I'm not really much of a fan of the extraterrestrial hypothesis as an explanation for UFOs these days so I'm just going to get that out of the way before I continue. My impression of this is that it's some kind of secret aircraft being tested. Why populated highways would be chosen to test it I'm not really sure.

Thinking back on previous UFO tales I'm curious whether there were any radiation readings taken after these encounters. I wonder whether there were any radiation burns on the witnesses or any strange markings on the vehicles. I'm also curious if there are any military bases nearby that could support the secret test flight hypothesis. Maybe if this "UFO alert" continues we'll get some more interesting stories and pictures to scrutinize.

It may be pessimistic to say but I'm not confident that we'll ever really know what's going on with this case, much like most other UFO cases.

Scorpion-shaped UFO seen in the skies over Los Cristianos, Spain

Scorpion-shaped UFO seen in the skies over Los Cristianos, Spain [photos]

There's something that bugs me about the look of these photos but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I also think that it's a little suspicious that no one but this subscriber to the UFO Global Reporting Center saw this unique UFO. I know that I tend to be very skeptical of UFO photos and videos but that's because I just don't like hoaxes.

What do you guys think? Is this the real deal?

UPDATE: Crashed UFO found?

Following up on this post, it appears as if we may never find out what that strange object on the bottom of the ocean is.

UFO found on ocean floor?

The article says that the team that found the object have no plans to explore it further. If it is actually a crashed extraterrestrial craft it could have incalculable value but if it's just a natural formation then it would probably be a huge waste of time and resources.

It seems that what I was afraid of will be the case: This will be one of those very interesting things that falls by the wayside and that never has any definitive answers, essentially making it a permanent mystery. I'm sure this lack of further exploration will fuel the fires of conspiracy theory.

Crashed UFO found?

Explorers find bizarre, spaceship-like object at the bottom of the Baltic Sea

I really hope that this isn't one of those things that falls by the sidelines and we never find out what the object actually is. The fact that it's circular makes it really interesting as that shape wouldn't be expected to occur naturally. This doesn't mean that it's a crashed flying saucer but, in my opinion, it does make it interesting enough to take a look at up close.

It could even shine some light on the phenomenon of unidentified submerged objects (USOs). These are reported to be similar to UFOs except they are seen in the oceans, sometimes coming out of or going back into the water with seemingly no difficulty at all. USOs add a whole new dimension to the UFO phenomenon. Since this unknown object has tracks leading up to it there is the implication that it has moved at some point.

I really am excited to see what it turns out to be.

Lights Over Colorado and Radioactive Rain in Massachusetts

Triangular formations of light are really nothing new in the world of UFOs.  There's a recent case that seems to fit this pattern very well.

UFO Sighting North of Denver, Resident Films Mysterious Red Lights

My first impression is that this is another one of those videos that shows some strange lights against a black background and doesn't give a lot of points of reference.  Is it the real deal?  Maybe.  If it is then I think it fits more with the descriptions of the alleged TR-3B experimental craft.  I think that this will likely go down as yet another case that never has a satisfactory explanation.

In other news:  Radioactive rain in Massachusetts.  This isn't exactly paranormal, but I'm beginning to wonder if we're being told everything about the dangers of the nuclear disaster taking place in Japan.  The initial scare made potassium iodide a rare and valuable commodity and we were being told everything was fine.  I can't imagine what would happen if the authorities were to come out and say that things weren't okay.  As always, I'm an advocate for being prepared for any disaster whether it's natural or man-made.

Ready.gov - A website all about getting ready for disasters.
Are You Ready? - FEMA's in-depth guide to citizen preparedness.

Aliens or fairies? Depends on whom you ask.

It's interesting how phenomena can be seen or explained differently depending on the time period or culture they are observed in.  An example would be UFOs.

In times past, strange lights and mysterious disappearances were blamed on fairy folk.  The phenomenon of missing time that alien abductees report has similarities with the tales of the fairy realm having a different flow of time than the human realm.  If you look into the fairy lore there are a lot of similarities between fairy activity and UFOs and extraterrestrials.

So, is this the same phenomenon but seen through different eyes?  If it's the same phenomenon then which is it:  fairies or aliens?  Or none of the above?

Something that I find particularly interesting is that now we seem to be looking back over our legends and inserting UFOs and ETs in order to explain the strange occurrences told of in those tales.  This isn't confined to only legends either, but to history as a whole.  Ancient astronaut theorists have long pointed at the strange events of history and blamed extraterrestrial influences when in the past these events would have been blamed on fairies, angels, deities, or spirits.

I suppose what I'm getting at is this:  We view things through the lens of the time period.  How will we look back on such unexplained phenomena in a hundred years?

Merlin's prophecies reveal guidance from UFOs and aliens, state experts

UFOs over Utah? I don't think so.

Coast to Coast AM had an interesting Photo of the Day today.  The photo (which can be seen here) claims to be of an unidentified triangular craft in the sky above Box Elder County, Utah.  What sets this apart from most UFO photos is that this craft was visible in broad daylight (cloud cover aside).  This also isn't the only photo (you can see the rest on the blog created specifically for these photos).

Honestly, the only thing astonishing to me about these photos is how one of them managed to become Photo of the Day on Coast to Coast AM's website.  I'm no photo manipulation expert, but in every single one of these photos something stands out to me:  There are definite anomalies, either around the objects themselves or in other areas of the photo.  Others that I have shown these to have seen the same thing.

In the first photo (in chronological order as posted on the blog) you can see a vaguely triangular object in front of some clouds.  If you look closely above this object, you'll see what I can only describe as a distortion that is about the same shape as the object.  It almost looks like a picture of a pyramid was shrunken down and pasted over the cloud, then tools were uses to make it blend into the background.

The second photo could depict anything.  It is certainly an unidentified flying object by definition of the phrase, but there's no scale, nothing to compare it to, and it's just a black blur against some background sky.  There also appears to be some distortion around the edges (if you can call the whole object anything but a distortion).  It could be just about anything.

Photo three is the photo that was Photo of the Day.  Looking at the triangular craft (and you don't have to scrutinize it very closely), you can definitely see something strange around the edge of the craft.  That distortion seems to be the tell-tale sign of cutting and pasting, and then using tools to smooth and smudge the edges to make them blend with the background.  Again, I'm not a photo manipulation expert, but I spotted this on my first glance at the photo.  The manipulation is so obvious that it makes the thing look like it has an aura.

The fourth photo (the final one at the time of this posting) and its close-up show more unidentifiable objects in the sky.  These are little more than pixelated slivers against the background.  The low resolution of the objects makes it near impossible to determine what they are, but based on the previous examples I'm inclined to say that these are also meant to be a clever ruse.  I can say that they just don't seem to fit with the resolution of the rest of the picture (notice the cloud in the lower-left of the close up, which appears to be farther away than the objects yet better defined).

There are some more problems I have with this whole presentation as well.  If these objects are sighted so often that he has posted four separate photos over the course of that many days...  Why can't he shoot some video of these things?  My guess is that his manipulation skills aren't good enough to alter video convincingly.  On top of all of this I have to say that reading his story sets off my bullshit detector.  This isn't something that is quantifiable though, so take it as you will.

I'm open to the possibility of these types of craft existing whether they're owned by the government, extraterrestrials, or others.  I do not have a vendetta against UFO evidence or the UFO phenomenon.  What I do have a problem with is people that try to pass off fake UFO photos as legitimate UFO photos.  It's even worse when they manage to make their hoax work by getting attention from a popular radio show's website.  I reconsidered writing about this because I didn't want to funnel any more attention this guy's way, but then I decided that it didn't really matter since he was already on the front page of the Coast to Coast AM website.

As always, I encourage you to decide for yourselves.

Jerusalem UFO

The Internet has been buzzing about a UFO sighting in Jerusalem recently.  I normally don't take sightings like this very seriously and I grew increasingly skeptical when I finally watched video of it.  The video that I saw looked to be highly suspicious because the UFO looked like it could be faked by a trick of perspective and a small light rig.  No video tampering would be necessary in this scenario.

It then came to my attention that there were multiple videos from multiple angles, but others have done a good job of pointing out the flaws in each of those videos so I opted not to scrutinize them myself.  The whole thing just seems entirely too good to be true and the various anomalies that have been pointed out seem to suggest tampering with the footage.  I know that there are a lot of people out there that want to believe this is proof of alien visitation but I just don't buy it.  Aliens may be visiting Earth, but I don't think this is them.

Are aliens here? Shining white 'UFO' spotted over Jerusalem shrine
Jerusalem UFO 'Almost Certainly a Hoax'

I've stated my position but only you can decide for yourself.

The dead bird situation keeps getting strange.

UFO strikes. A military death ray. Or the coming of Armageddon. Why ARE thousands of birds falling from the sky?

I think that this article gives a pretty good summary of the situation as it stands currently.  I really don't have anything more to say about it right now except that I hope we get some definitive answers soon.  The thought did occur to me that the shifting of the magnetic north pole might have something to do with all of this.  More on that here.

My ambiguous stance regarding some paranormal topics.

I've been told that when it comes to some paranormal topics that I'm very ambiguous about where I stand.  There is a reason for this and it is mostly because I'm not sure where I stand on a lot of things.  I believe that the UFO phenomenon is a reality.  However, I do not know what is causing it.  I believe that Bigfoot may exist but we won't know for sure until we find one.

There are some topics that I'm less ambiguous about because I have more knowledge or experience with them.  ESP and PK are two things that I am a strong believer in as I've seen the research that supports both and I've had personal experiences with both.  Magic(k) is another thing that I believe in (to some extent) as I have some experience with it.  In all of these cases, I don't claim to have the absolute answers of how they work; I just know that they do.

Another reason that I hold to some ambiguity is that I don't want to shove my opinions down other peoples' throats.  I'd rather just give my readers the information and let them decide for themselves (which I hope they do anyway, regardless of how I feel about a topic).

I guess the point of all of this is that if you see that I'm not taking a solid stance on some topic or other that it's not because I don't care about it or don't know anything about the topic; it's because I'm trying to remain as impartial as possible for the reader or because I simply can't say for certain.  Who can really say much for certain about the paranormal anyway?

Ancient Astronauts

Ancient astronaut theory brings to the forefront archaeological mysteries and posits an extraterrestrial explanation for them.  These mysteries include the pyramids in Egypt (and elsewhere), the Nazca lines, Stone Henge, as well as ancient devices and artifacts that don't seem to fit with what we think we know about ancient civilization.

Of course, all of this ancient astronaut stuff is controversial because it goes against much of what mainstream archaeology has to say while using archaeology to back up its claims.  There are some pretty convincing arguments in either direction but I haven't been convinced one way or the other.

I think that the primary issue is that we perhaps don't give our ancestors enough credit.  They were just as intelligent as we are; they just didn't have the benefit of thousands of years of knowledge.  Is it really that impossible that they could have built immense pyramids on their own?  Then again, maybe they had some help (in the form of technology, knowledge, or both).  Our ancestors most likely had the same strength of imagination as us; could they not have just dreamed up these strange creatures and objects we see in paintings and carvings?

I do think that it's a possibility that we have been visited by extraterrestrials in the past (so does Carl Sagan), but, while there are a lot of mysteries, I don't think any of them point directly to alien visitors or spacecraft.  Plenty of examples can be interpreted in such a way, but, as with most areas of the paranormal, there is little concrete evidence to be found (or at least any that is widely-known).

I think that ancient astronaut theory asks the right questions and provokes discussion of some of the very weird things that we have discovered through archaeology.  However, I'm not sure that it presents absolute proof that we are an alien experiment, that aliens gave us technology or knowledge, or that there are aliens at all.  I think that only time will tell us the truth about that.

Ancient astronauts on Wikipedia.

Alien abduction or sleep paralysis?

There has been a big push in recent years to explain away cases of alien abduction as instances of sleep paralysis.  I am not opposed to this explanation in the cases to which it applies.  No doubt some people do experience sleep paralysis and it can seem to mimic the popular imagery of the alien abduction.  However, some people manage to bring back souvenirs from their "hallucinations."

Most prominently you have people that come back with strange markings and scars on their bodies.  These alone are perhaps not that convincing as someone could scratch themselves in their sleep or notice a scar they hadn't noticed before.  Still, this can qualify as physical evidence of an abduction despite it's ambiguity.  It's hard to convince others of this though.

The most convincing evidence, for me, is when a person actually has an implant.  There is a Dr. Roger Leir that specializes in removing these strange objects from people.  Appearing outwardly to be lumps of metal, some of these implants possess truly strange properties and behaviors such as emitting electromagnetic radiation or even moving away from the instrument when an attempt is made to extract them.  This is no doubt the best evidence for the phenomenon short of actually catching ET in the act of kidnapping someone.

And then one has to wonder if the sleep paralysis explanation isn't something put out in an attempt to discredit those that are genuine abductees.  Disinformation and debunking are common practices you encounter in the study of UFOs and extraterrestrials.  Which is a more convincing explanation for abduction to the average person:  sleep paralysis or aliens?  Most people would pick sleep paralysis, I think.

Here is a link to Dr. Leir's website, Alien Scalpel.
Here is a survey to help you determine if you have ever been abducted.

Why couldn't extraterrestrials be visiting Earth?

While few people seem to doubt the possibility of extraterrestrial life in some form, a far more contentious topic is that of extraterrestrials actually visiting Earth.  The primary argument against extraterrestrial visitation seems to stem from what we know about the vastness of the universe and the limitations imposed by physics.  What I'll present here are a few ideas that may have you thinking again about whether or not ET could visit us.

If we assume that every star in the sky has a planet just brimming with life, some of it intelligent, then those beings are going to have to travel for hundreds or even thousands of years if their technology is equivalent to ours.  Even moving at the speed of light it would take them quite a while, depending on which star they were coming from.  There are a few counters to this though.  If the civilization is older than ours (and it need not be drastically older) then it may have discovered the secrets of faster-than-light travel or perhaps even instantaneous travel between two points in space.  We tend to fall into the trap of thinking we know everything about the universe and how it works when we're actually just scratching the surface.

These beings may also not be biological at all; they may have advanced to a point that they have merged with machines.  This would make time of travel less of an issue for them.  Even cryogenics could make it less of an issue, depending on distances.  Take into account the time dilation present when traveling near the speed of light and they buy themselves even more time so they could actually make the journey (and possibly the journey back) within their lifetimes.  Or these beings could live and die on an entirely different time scale than we do.  They could have lifespans on the scale of thousands or tens of thousands of years (or more).

We tend to think of our solar system as being pretty barren with the exception of Earth.  What if ETs are coming from other planets in our solar system though?  Then the technology doesn't have to be nearly as advanced.  There could be civilizations hiding out on the Moon, Mars, Venus, and possibly the moons of the outer planets, potentially in those underground bases we hear so much about.  Their origins aside, if they are coming from some place close then it doesn't seem that improbable anymore.

With all of these ideas thrown out there, some people might ask "Why would they come here at all?"  Why wouldn't they come here?  If they're anything like us then they're probably very curious.  We can't really pretend to know the motives of extraterrestrials though as they are most likely very different from us.  The question of "Why?" might have to remain unanswered until we can ask them ourselves.

Nazi UFOs

There has always been talk of the Nazis developing flying saucers toward the end of World War II and there is even some evidence that shows they were interested in this type of craft.  While there are pictures and stories to support the idea, the Nazis were defeated before their wonder weapon could be utilized.

After the war the United States and the Soviet Union began a grab for Nazi scientists and technology which ultimately resulted in the Cold War.  We know that the Nazi scientists contributed a lot to the science of rocketry so it makes you wonder what else they had breakthroughs in.  Could it be that UFOs are just top secret military craft derived from Nazi research?

If the Nazis were so close to having actual flying saucers then at what point would that technology be at after sixty years of development and refinement?  Would it have the capabilities of the UFOs reported that possess abilities considered beyond human engineering and technical know-how?  I think that there's a possibility that unexplained UFOs could be top secret military craft being tested or used for operations.  When you think about it, what better cover for that could there be other than extraterrestrials and spacecraft from another solar system?  There's no need to lie about it when everyone already assumes that it's little green men.

Here's an article that discusses Nazi flying saucers in more detail:  Nazi spaceship film sparks UFO debate.

Possible human mutilations by extraterrestrials?

I've wanted to write about cattle mutilation for a little while but several people have done a better job than I think I could do.  Instead I'd like to bring your attention to a lesser-known but more disturbing phenomenon.  Cattle aren't the only animals being mutilated by the military or extraterrestrials or whoever is doing these things.  Among the other animals are horses, sheep, buffalo, deer, dogs, and cats.  The most disturbing revelation perhaps is that these mutilations may be happening to human beings.

I became aware of a specific case a few years ago but it seems that still not that many people know about this phenomenon.  That's possibly for the best considering the implications this particular case could have.  The popular theory is that extraterrestrials are doing these mutilations as it is not believed that humanity has the technology.  If this is the case then we should seriously rethink how we view the UFO and abduction phenomenons.  The mundane explanation for this particular case is murder by a drug cartel.  I struggle to believe that the peculiar characteristics could be replicated by human technology.

The summary is that this body was discovered in Brazil in the Guarapiranga Reservoir.  The body bears many similarities to cattle mutilations including removal of organs through peculiar holes, evidence of high heat or laser cutting instruments, the operation appears to have been done with speed, and it appears as if the subject was alive for all of this.  The articles below tell the story better than I can.

WARNING:  The links below have their own warning notices but both contain graphic images of a mutilated human being.  If you are squeamish then I do not recommend viewing the images and probably not the second link at all, just to be safe.  The first link has all of the images at the bottom of the page so you can read the information without viewing the images if you prefer.  The second link has the images interspersed with the text.  View at your own risk.  You have been warned.

This page tells of three human mutilation cases that include the specific case I have talked about above.  There is ample warning before you see any graphic content.

This link focuses on the specific case I've mentioned and asks more questions.  However, the graphic images are interspersed with the text.  View at your own risk.

Hoaxing

If you spend enough time researching the paranormal then you come across a lot of hoaxing.  Some of it is very high quality and continues to fool people even after it has been exposed as a hoax.  Other hoaxes are easily identifiable as such.

People that present hoaxes as reality are a huge problem to this field, in my opinion.  This is perhaps the biggest problem in the realm of UFO research.  From my experience, I have to say that I've seen more UFO/alien hoaxes than I have seen hoaxes of anything else in relation to the paranormal, perhaps with the exception of ghosts.  The problem of hoaxing is twofold and it really does do the field an enormous injustice.

The first problem with hoaxing is that it takes time and resources to investigate a hoax.  If someone were to file a false police report then they would be held accountable for the expenses of that investigation.  There are no such laws or rules concerning UFOs or the paranormal, but the fact remains that someone is spending time and resources on looking into this case that was intentionally fabricated to fool people.  It takes resources away from looking at actual anomalies.

The second problem with hoaxing is that it hurts the credibility of the field.  All it takes is for a few well-made hoaxes to be passed off as real to credulous people and then they get incorporated into the public mind.  When eventually exposed as hoaxes they have the effect of making people think that all similar occurrences must be hoaxes.  Even with the existence of legitimately anomalous cases, people will often look at the exposed hoaxes as being a nail in the coffin for the field.

I've focused on the example of UFOs, but ghosts might be a very good example as well.  There are so many hoaxed ghost videos that it has the same effect of people pushing aside even the legitimate cases.  No doubt there is a certain amount of skill and artistry in making videos like that, but the honest thing to do would be to label them for entertainment purposes only.

Perhaps putting a disclaimer at the end wouldn't be enough though.  I come across people to this day that still think Paranormal Activity was the real deal.  The same thing happened with The Blair Witch Project when it was first released.  These were both major movie releases designed to look so real that people actually believed they were recovered footage from real events.

In a perfect world people wouldn't be so dishonest as to pass off a fake as the genuine article.  This isn't a perfect world though, so we have to be vigilant and discerning when it comes to evidence that is "too good to be true," especially when we have people intentionally trying to deceive others for profit.  Let it be noted that deception isn't confined to just UFOs and ghosts.

Creating fake evidence and passing it off as real is dishonest and really does a disservice to those of us that are looking for genuine answers.  Hoaxing evidence is bad enough, but then profiting from deception makes it even worse.  I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.  Remember to keep a healthy amount of skepticism in your search for the truth.

Is the Moon inhabited?

Our moon has been an object of fascination for millennia.  Many beliefs developed about it through time and it was a largely mysterious presence in the sky for the majority of our history.  Even though we eventually got to the Moon (or so we're told) there are still a number of mysteries for us to uncover.

Strange lights, clouds, and mists on the surface of the moon have been observed for hundreds of years with no real explanation behind them.  NASA itself has acknowledged these mysteries and has recorded many reports of strange activity on the moon from the age before spacecraft.  Strange lunar phenomena visible from Earth continue to the present.  Strange tracks and objects have also been photographed on the Moon since we've been sending probes there.  There are also the rumors of an extraterrestrial base on the far side of the moon to contend with as well.

Most people are aware of the big fuss that was made over the "Face on Mars" several years ago, but fewer people seem to be aware of the very strange things happening much closer to home.  Perhaps the strangest thing about the Moon is that there is a theory that it is actually artificial and functions as a very large spacecraft.  This theory, called The Spaceship Moon Theory, was developed by two Russians in 1970.  This theory draws together the more interesting lunar anomalies into one theory that makes a scary amount of sense when looked at.  Some of the anomalies that the theory addresses are the bizarre density and mineral composition of the moon as well as how it got into Earth's orbit in the first place.

So, what is up with the Moon?  Is it a giant spaceship?  If so, where is it from?  More importantly, who was operating it and are they still there?  It just doesn't seem like the Moon should remain so mysterious in our day and age when we've actually sent people to its surface.  Are these mysteries largely ignored by science or does someone have the answers and just isn't sharing them?

Here is some additional reading about the mysteries of our moon.

Strange Things on the Moon
The original Spaceship Moon proposal.
Some Say Moon Photos Show Signs of Alien Life

No aliens, just terrorists.

So, the Pleiadians didn't show up but it seems that the mail-bombs almost did.  I will admit that I had a "Holy crap," moment when I saw the President addressing the nation on the TV today.  Then I learned that it was about potential terrorist threats.

Maybe this is a sign that the terrorists are actually aliens or the aliens are actually terrorists?  Maybe the aliens actually tipped us off to the terrorists?  I think it's far more likely that it's just a coincidence and this was another prediction that just didn't pan out.  Meeting some aliens would have been neat too.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, please see my previous post and also the link below.

Terror plot thwarted as US-bound explosives seized