 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Not only did a UFO sighting in Columbia, Missouri take place during one of the most active UFO waves in history during the summer of 1973, including many humanoid occupant encounters, as well as there being multiple witnesses to the strange event, but the incident is one that would offer up trace evidence of this otherworldly object's presence. Investigated, at least initially, by J. Allen Heineck and Ted and Ginger Phillips, the case remains one of the most intriguing on record. Not only in the state of Missouri or even the entire United States, but around the world. What's more, although the sightings came in the middle of one of the busiest years in UFO history, the state of Missouri was undergoing a mini-wave of its own during the summer months of 1973, right when the mobile home incident unfolded. While there is no direct evidence of humanoid occupants in the following incident that would last around 90 minutes, there was most definitely evidence of intelligent control and purpose. Of course, what that purpose might be, both in relation to the incident we're about to examine and the UFO and alien question in general, remains out of our reach. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. This is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. Coming up in this episode, a Missouri mobile home at the end of a dead-end path finds itself a part of a worldwide UFO frenzy in the summer of 1973, with sightings of spacecraft, strange anomalies, hairy beasts, unexplainable imprints in the ground, and even encounters with extraterrestrial creatures. If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, to visit sponsors you hear about during the show, sign up for my newsletter and our contests. Connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness. The mobile home of James Richards sat on the absolute outskirts of the city of Columbia in the state of Missouri. Not only that, but the home itself was at the end of a dead-end footpath around a thousand feet from the nearest main road. All around this quiet and extremely humble abode were scattered trees aside from a small front yard. To say that Richards and his 16-year-old daughter, Vannea, as well as Janie, her three-year-old son, were cut off from the vast majority of the community was an understatement. Incidentally, the nearest property to Mr. Richards' mobile home was a small house lived in by an elderly lady. She was, however, asleep at the time of the observation. On this particular evening, at a little past midnight on June 28, 1973, Vannea was making her way to the north side of the mobile home, to the fridge, so that she could place a baby bottle there. Although there was music filling the home from the record player, which was spinning the vinyl disc around and around on its turntable, the open window allowed the sudden noise from outside to be heard easily. Vannea would later describe the noise as a thrashing sound and it appeared to emanate from the trees around the side of the mobile home. The more she listened, now all but blocking out the record player, she could make out what appeared to be the sound of something moving a large tree outside. She would remain where she was for a few more moments, listening intently to the mysterious and unnerving activity taking place outside. Then, as loudly as she could without alerting whoever or whatever was outside, she would call out to her father. Richards could hear his daughter call from the kitchen area of the mobile home as he sat in the living room with Janie. Because of the hour, and the fact that he himself was feeling sluggish and tired, he was rather slow in getting in and out of the living room chair and up to the window where Vannea was calling him from. By the time he had arrived at where his daughter was, she was moving with great pace from the outside screen door to the front door, locking both of them as quickly as she could. He would make his way to the kitchen window, now with a little more urgency than before. His daughter joined him a moment or two later, now satisfied that the doors were as secure as they could be. As they both stared out into the darkness of the summer's night, two beams of light suddenly became visible. They appeared to be between the trees and the nearby fence. Richards would guess they were approximately 50 feet from the kitchen window they were viewing them from and had a tapered look to them with the wider section at the top. He would further estimate the beams were around 5 feet apart and remained this distance, suggesting they emanated from the same solid source overhead. Furthermore, they had a bright silver-white color to them. However, try as he did, he could see no solid form above or behind the beams. Then they just disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared. It was then that both Richards and his daughter could see the bright oval form in their place. The father and daughter remained where they were at the kitchen window, both fascinated and alarmed at the scene and scenario unfolding before them. They would later estimate that the glowing form was around 15 feet across and appeared to be only mere feet from the ground. So bright was the object that the pair had difficulty in keeping their sight on it, with Richards even having to look away at one point. Such was the brightness that other than the silver glow, no other details of the exterior could be seen. Furthermore, because of this brightness, the area immediately outside the mobile home was lit up, bright as day. In this artificial daylight, the pair could see the trees moving as if a sudden strong wind had come out of nowhere unleashing its carnage on the area. However, more than that, it appeared that some trees were being manipulated in different ways than others, with Vinaya even witnessing one tree being pulled toward the ground. All the while, however, the only sound that reached them was that which initially caught Vinaya's attention, the strange thrashing noise. No other sounds or noises whatsoever came from the active scene outside, which must have given the scene an even more surreal feel. Then the thrashing sound stopped, although the trees continued to move. A moment later, a loud cracking sound rang out quickly, followed by the bizarre movement of the trees also stopping. Although they didn't know it at the time, or at least were not certain of it, investigation of the area the following day would show a large, heavy branch had been snapped off at a height of almost 20 feet. Following this burst of activity, a deafening silence would suddenly envelop the mobile home, even seeming to leak into the building itself, making the father and daughter feel more than uneasy. It was during these unsettling moments that Richards realized their dogs, who would normally bark at anything that moved outside the house, were completely still and silent. As he went from window to window of the mobile home, surveying the area outside, he noticed them almost hiding away from whatever had been taking place only moments ago. It was then that he went to his bedroom to retrieve his guns. He quickly returned into the kitchen area the weapons and ammunition in his arms. He would load the guns and then place them on top of the freezer unit and out of reach of anyone other than he and his daughter. When he returned to the kitchen window where his daughter remained, watching the scene outside, he could see that the glowing craft remained hovering in a distance of around 50 feet from their home, although the brightness lit up a radius of around double that. Although they could still make out no real detail of the craft, other than it was oval-shaped, and a silver-white or aluminum color, Richards would recall that the middle of it was real, real bright, while the edges were decidedly duller. Vanilla, similarly, would recall that the edges of the object were somewhat fuzzy. The pair remained at the kitchen window, nervous about what might happen next but not wishing to take their eyes from the situation for even a moment. After several more moments, however, Richards made the decision it was time to call for help. Whether by coincidence or not, almost in sympathy with his actions, the object suddenly moved and changed its position. It would now take up temporary residents in the sky over a nearby field, approximately 200 feet from the mobile home. Because there was not more distance between the craft and their location, the pair could now make out a lot more detail than they could previously. For example, the craft was a bright silver-white in the middle, while at the edge was a blue band of light. Furthermore, an orange glow extended around the outer edge. Richards and his daughter watched the craft return to its original position, describing the movement of it as smooth and slow. Shortly after this, he would reach for the phone and dial 113 for directory assistance. The lady who took the call, identified as Mrs. A.B., would claim that Richards was very excited and seemed to be frightened, although he was clear in describing the event. He would also request that she contact the police, the FBI, or anyone who could help him. She would manage to calm him somewhat, and assure him that she would contact an operator who would call him back. Several moments later, A. Mrs. P. called back and spoke with Richards for several minutes. During this exchange, the lights in the mobile home dimmed several times. This, of course, is a detail that often surfaces in close encounter experiences. Usually, however, these types of encounters occur while people are in their vehicles and experience their cars cutting out without warning. On Mrs. P.'s instructions, he would hang the phone up, return to the window, and await the return call. While this was taking place, Mrs. P. would contact Mrs. L., who would in turn attempt to call Richards. However, when she did, she would hear nothing other than a dead line. She would try the number five times, even calling Mrs. P. back in between, to check that the number she had was correct. During this time, Richards himself began to worry that no one had contacted him back, so much so that he picked up the receiver. Bizarrely and adding even more to the strangeness of the situation, after the line appeared dead, he suddenly heard Mrs. M. He would then relay the evening's happenings to the operator, stating at this stage that he was decidedly frightened for his children. For her part, Mrs. M. would recall that Richards would repeat his story again and again. He would occasionally pause and shout out to his daughter, asking if the strange object was still outside. Before long, Richards was transferred to Mrs. S. at the flight service station at Columbia Regional Airport. Mrs. S. would ultimately assure Richards that she would contact the police and report the sighting for him. She would also inform him that she had knowledge of another sighting on the 24th of June, only two weeks earlier. We'll examine that incident later. Shortly after the phone exchange, the pair would hang up. A moment or two later, the object began to approach the mobile home once again. More of the Missouri trailer home Alien Encounter when Weird Darkness returns. Every October, we take the month and raise funds for organizations that help people who struggle with depression. It's called Overcoming the Darkness. AZ wrote in a few years ago talking about our Overcoming the Darkness campaign. I can tell everyone that no matter what you think, there is a way out of depression, and I'm living proof. I spent 30-plus years in a funk so deep there are large chunks of my life I simply don't remember. At times it was just a feeling of sadness and impending doom. I thought of ways out, many times. I finally got tired of barely being alive. I talked to a doctor and began taking antidepressants. Now I rarely get depressed or stressed, and I no longer find myself dreading tomorrow. This is why our Overcoming the Darkness campaign is so important. It supports organizations that help people who struggle with depression so that they too can start looking forward to tomorrow instead of dreading today. Please donate today. Right now, if you can, go to WeirdDarkness.com slash Overcoming. After Mr. Richards hung up with Mrs. M, who assured him, she would call the police, the strange floating object returned. Richards and Vanilla watched the object approach, watching with a rising sense of fear intoxicating each of them. Richards would later describe a cold feeling overtaking him and the feeling of something imminent and dire about to take place. He would state that he just froze and had no idea what to do. Even more, the distinct feeling that he, his daughter and grandson were on their own in their out-of-the-way mobile home wouldn't leave him, nor would the insistence that all three of them would not for any reason step outside. As each of them remained at the window, the object moved again, seemingly negotiating the trees as it did so. It would eventually settle into a position around 50 feet from their location. Both Richards and his daughter all the while remained where they were at the window, watching the strange, hovering, glowing object not daring to take their eyes from it. This visual standoff continued for several minutes, although neither witness was completely sure just how long this was for. Then the craft went into motion yet again. Once more, it went through the trees with a smooth, slow motion. Although Richards recalls that during this particular burst of movement, the surrounding trees appeared undisturbed. The craft once more would stop at a distance of around 200 feet from the Richards mobile home. As before, from this distance, the blue-orange glow of the outer edges of the vehicle were visible, while the solid silver glow of the center section was now more defined. The object then appeared to fade away, although not into the distance. No trees appeared disturbed, for example, but as though it was literally fading from view. Within several minutes the object was no longer visible. This last detail is of interest to UFO researchers, as there appears to be many cases where what appears to be a solid craft disappears. However, not shooting off into the distance at great speed, but by seemingly fading away from existence, as if someone turned down a dimmer switch or flicked off a light bulb, what might this tell us about the nature of UFOs and perhaps more specifically how they traverse the universe around us? Might it be that rather than somehow achieving actual speeds required to make space travel over such vast, vast distances even remotely possible, that these crafts somehow manipulate space itself? Perhaps creating some kind of wormhole or portal that it can then move into and so bringing it instantly into another part of the universe? Or might we be contemplating a technological device not unlike teleportation devices in science fiction that can dematerialize an object including organic living beings from one place and then have it appear in another in an instant? Or perhaps we might consider that such encounters have more in line with paranormal incidents, such as ghostly appearances and apparitions. Perhaps these strange apparitions simply fade from sight in the same way that many of us would expect or understand a ghostly presence to? While such questions are outlandish too many, if we accept the Richard's version of events and as we shall see, the following investigations would indeed uncover apparent evidence to corroborate their claims, then they are questions that we must ask. It was around 1.45 am when police officers arrived at the Richard's mobile home, around two hours after the incident began and an undetermined amount of time after the object faded from their sight. The officer concerned would quickly inspect the immediate area around the mobile home. He would state to Richard's that he found nothing of interest except some tracks that were probably made by rabbits. It was at this point that Richard's told the officer to forget the whole thing and swiftly made his way back inside his home. The officer would follow, however. Richard's would insist that the officer should simply forget the incident if he thought they were rabbit tracks. Ultimately the police would do as Richard's requested and ceased any further investigation of the report. A little short of two weeks later though, UFO investigators J. Allen Heineck and Ted Phillips would arrive to investigate the scene for themselves, as well as to speak with the witnesses. And as we might expect, their findings were substantially different and more in-depth than those of the local police. The two UFO investigators, along with Philip's wife, Ginger, would arrive at Richard's home on July 9th on their way to a pre-planned meeting in Chicago, Illinois. They'd immediately embark on a strategic photographing mission of the entire area around the Richard's home, as well as taking and recording measurements of the damage to the surrounding trees and vegetation. These measurements would corroborate the report and rough distances given by Richard's of the incident on the night itself. They would also discover the general damage to the trees themselves, in particular the tree that the pair had seen tugged and twisted as if by an invisible force. The UFO investigators' findings would again corroborate the initial report of the witnesses, as they discovered evidence of a branch just short of 17 feet from the ground that had been twisted and pulled toward the ground. Around the broken branch was substantial and obviously freshly inflicted, if cosmetic, damage to the rest of the tree, as well as to several other trees in the immediate vicinity. Perhaps even stranger was the fact that many of the leaves that had drifted off during the disturbance and lay seemingly directly underneath the spot where the strange oval glow hovered were substantially more aged than the ones outside this rough circle, with some of them completely withered and dead. They would also discover substantial signs of heating on several of the trees in the nearby area of the one with the broken branch. And what's more, these signs of rather intense heat were found at levels of between 25 and 35 feet above the ground. The pair would also discover a complex series of imprints, ones they suspected were not the work of rabbits. As Phillips would state in his report, it was difficult to determine a pattern as to the timeline of the movement of the object as it moved through the area at least four times. They would take molds and pictures of the imprints, as well as testing the area for signs of increased radiation, of which there were none. What's more, Phillips would speak to Bob Gasaway, a local reporter from the Columbia Tribune, who had ventured over to the scene the following day. He had claimed to have also witnessed the strange imprints around the area Richards claimed the incident took place. He also noticed how specifically deep they were in the ground. When he attempted to replicate this depth with a heel of his shoe, considering he was over 300 pounds, by comparison to the imprints, he could barely break the ground's surface. Just to bring back into focus the police officer's insistence that the imprints were the work of rabbits, this would mean each of the rabbits would have to weigh in excess of 300 pounds, or at the very least be able to assert an equivalent amount of pressure to create such an imprint. When the UFO investigators returned five days later on their return journey from the windy city, they would discover that the leaves, vegetation and the trees themselves were all in significant decline and drastically worse than they had been only days earlier when they had first inspected the area. Whatever was in the woodland around the mobile home that evening remains a mystery. There are however a plethora of possibilities as to what happened that evening in the summer of 1973. What for example was the purpose of such an event? Was the Richards presence merely coincidental to the incident? Was the encounter an attempt to lure out Richards or his daughter and if so again for what purpose? Was this for example an attempt at alien abduction? As much as a possibility as it is, going from the wealth of other such encounters on record, whether it be a mobile home or stone building, such surroundings are most often of little consequence to those who are seemingly behind such abductions. And as always, should we consider a military connection to these strange events? As we will examine in a moment, there is seemingly a long history of aerial anomalies in the state of Missouri with one particular event involving an apparent recovered alien craft in the early 1940s. Might the events of the later decades of the 20th century have a connection to these alleged events of decades before? And if so, for what purpose might this potential department of the military have for performing such missions over the United States? 1973 was a year of significantly increased UFO activity and the Show Me state seemingly played host to a mini wave of its own during the summer of 1973. One significant encounter was in early 1973 when returning home from a high school basketball game several members of the Piedmont High School team along with their coach would witness an up-close UFO sighting. They wouldn't be the only ones as other corroborating witnesses would come forward also. The sighting would prove to be one of several in the Missouri region during this time and they themselves ultimately part of a nationwide wave of sightings in the United States throughout much of 1973. While the majority of the sightings during the 73 wave occurred in the latter months of the year, the Piedmont incident took place in February and was perhaps a precursor of things to come. Between late February and April 1973, Piedmont police would receive in excess of 500 UFO reports. Perhaps even more bizarre as we will look at a little later, they seem to occur on a line of latitude that is synonymous with paranormal incidents and unusual activity. Later in the evening of February 21, 1973, coach of the Piedmont High School basketball team Reggie Bone along with two of his staff and three of his players would board the school bus following a playoff defeat to the underdog Richmond by seven points. The mood on the journey home would be a somber one, at least to begin with. Once he had everyone on board, they would proceed to Highway 60 in southern Missouri on their way home. The road was lined with heavy forest and would twist and snake in places. Aside from the soft glow of their bus, much of the journey was along the typical dark country roads of the region. They were around 20 miles outside of Piedmont when Bone first noticed a bright shaft of light beaming down out of the sky. Whatever it was, Bone knew it wasn't a helicopter or an airplane. He asked aloud what the strange glow was, sparking the passengers to turn their attention to the sky. It appeared to be descending, slightly to their left over a field. They continued toward the Bushey Creek area. As they passed through, one of the players, Randall Holmes, would alert everyone to the object's presence once again. This time, Bone would pull the bus to the side of the road. Then he, his two staff and the players would exit the vehicle to get a closer look. As they all looked on in awe at the fascinating scene unfolding before them, they could see the object was only 200 yards away. Although they couldn't determine an actual shape due to the otherwise pitch black that engulfed them, they were able to clearly see the lights. Coach Bone would claim to see four lights that looked like portholes, red, green, amber, and white. They would estimate these lights to be around three to four feet apart from each other. Furthermore, they appeared to be in a perfect line, perhaps suggesting a cigar or disc shape to the craft. It was still in the air, just hovering around 400 feet above the ground. The players and their coaches remained silent and motionless, watching this other worldly light show. The object remained motionless for about 10 minutes. Then, without warning, it would shoot directly upwards and out of sight. All would report it made no noise whatsoever. Although they didn't know it at the time, around 12 miles away in middle spring, Edith Boatwright was just preparing to go to bed when she noticed the strange lights of a low-flying object outside her home. It was a little after 10 p.m. when Edith recalled noticing a flash outside the bedroom window. As their home was next to the highway, she believed the flash might have been the result of a traffic accident. She left her bed and went over to the window. She could see a strange craft outside, moving almost silently. She would report a whoosh sound. Edith would further state, I think there were people in it. I could see objects moving, but could not make out any form of a person. She watched it for several moments before it vanished from her sight. The following evening, on February 22, came another sighting in the same region as the Piedmont High School Team incident. While driving in the Bushey Creek area of Piedmont, Roy and Beth Birch and Kathy Keith would report strange green, white, amber and red lights. They would even attempt to catch up with the strange object, at one point traveling over 70 miles per hour, but were unable to keep up. Many other people in the creek area would also report the sighting. On the 26th of February, Pat Tony and Will Freeman would report a luminous object moving near the tip-top mountains. They would report it was solid with prongs on it and that it had a red light. On March 1, Earl Turnbow was driving along Highway 49 a little after 9 p.m. He would report he had just driven over a hill with an object lit up like a circus hovered ahead of his vehicle. In what was only a second, the object vanished out of sight. Turnbow would witness another strange craft on March 14th, driving through the same area. As the thunderstorm sent rain crashing onto all below, he would notice an amber light in a field running along the roadside. He would bring his car to a halt and watched the object for around 10 minutes. He would later recall, when the lightning flashed, I could see a dome shape with a sort of an antenna at the top. Turnbow believes the amber light was the tip of this antenna. He would also note how it wasn't making any noise at all. The following week, Turnbow would witness lights of yellow, green and red moving over the Brushy Creek region as he tended to his cattle. On the 14th of March, professional photographer Maud Jeffress managed to capture a small reddish ball that she believed was very high up. Jeffress, who also taught photography at Clearwater High School, claimed to have spotted the object at around 11 p.m. and would state, I cannot explain the object, however, it is not a lens flare or light reflection. Carl Laxton would also report an object on the same evening as Jeffress captured her picture. He would state it was like a barrel with protrusions like arms sticking out of it. He would further state that when the craft would tilt, a white light became visible, which in turn gave him a great view of the object. On March 21st, Kathy Leach and Gene Coleman were driving over the Clearwater Dam when they witnessed something raise out of the lake. It was a little after 9 p.m. when they saw a red flash on the water. They saw an object rise out of the water with red blinking lights as well as constant yellow and white lights. The object made no sound and was visible for around five minutes. Their story was corroborated by Ken Johnson, the owner of the boat docks at Piedmont. Before the object burst through the surface of the water, he and the campers at the docks would report a bright light moving right under the surface of the lake. During the afternoon of March 22nd, at around 4.30 p.m., two Southeast Missouri State University students, Joe King and Ron Miller, were driving along Highway 34. They were around eight miles outside of Piedmont when each saw an oval-shaped craft in the sky just above the trees. They could clearly see the craft to be of a metallic material. It contained a flat underside and a dome on top. On the same day, at 7.30 p.m., KPWB radio newsman Dennis Kenney would claim to see a big orange light glowing from white to orange. His work colleague Gary Sutton managed to capture several pictures of the object. They were very similar to pictures taken by the aforementioned Maude Jeffress. The sightings continued through March and into April. On April 3rd, however, Mrs. Stucker would witness one of the strange craft land. It was just after noon, and Mrs. Stucker was traveling down Highway 60. As she glided along, her sight caught something shiny in the sky. She would later describe it as round, with the exception of a dome on top that was split into three pyramiding domes. On the bottom of the craft, there seemed to be tripod-like landing legs. It would vanish into the trees before emerging again shortly after. She would later recall the object was hovering just above the treetop level to the right of the road. The craft was shining, as if they were made of aluminum and didn't make a sound. Several days later, Mrs. Stucker would take investigators to the spot of the incident. They would find broken trees in a 30-foot circle, twisted counterclockwise. Although there was no radiation count, there was a strange ash discovered in the apparent landing area. Although the sightings of Oscar Willis took place in Grand Tower, Illinois, around 60 miles from Piedmont on the Illinois-Missouri border, it shares many details with the sightings in its neighboring state. Willis, an operating engineer, received a call from a fellow employee stating that something strange was above the yard. He would go outside to investigate, and about 200 yards in front of him was a saucer-shaped craft. He estimated it to be around 30 feet wide. Willis also noticed a high-intensity red light, with a lot of lights coming out of what seemed to be portholes. The lights would flash in such a way as to cause a spinning effect. Willis continued to walk slowly towards it. As he got to within 100 yards, the object disappeared behind the power plant, almost like a blur. He would locate it again, briefly, as it hovered over a water pump at the plant. He would take his eye off it for a moment, and when he looked back, it was gone. According to Willis, the object was seen heading toward the Missouri Hills. Even more bizarre were the four jet planes that made repeated passes over the area in the minutes following the object's disappearance. Willis would further state the object moved at a pace he had never seen before, and furthermore, it was completely silent, much like the sightings in Piedmont. Whether it is coincidence or not, is open to debate, but Piedmont sits on the 37th parallel, the 37th degree of latitude. Some people refer to this latitude as a paranormal highway, including alien investigator Chuck Zuckowski. He claims to have undertaken investigations in over a thousand paranormal cases, of which over 200 sit along this line. And he might have a point. Area 51 and the alleged Dulse Underground Base both sit on this line of latitude, as do several cattle mutilation cases in various spots through Colorado. In Taos in New Mexico, Zuckowski would investigate a mysterious humming sound a resident's claim has been audible since the early 1990s. Although not everyone can hear the anomaly, those that can claim it causes sleep disturbance, dizziness and even intense headaches. Rumors apparently exist that the hums are the result of the construction of an underground facility of human alien intelligence. As well as the Piedmont UFO sightings, there are several other UFO incidents on record along this 37th parallel. The apparent UFO crash and retrieval of Cape Girardeau in 1941, for example, or the Thomas Mantell incident, whose some claim crashed his plane due to pursuing a UFO in 1948. More recent sightings have taken place along the 37th parallel also. In May 2011, in Wichita, Kansas, an anonymous witness would report a strange light different from a star as he smoked a cigarette in his yard. He would make small, rapid movements and was visible for around 10 minutes. Less than six months earlier, in December 2010 in Roanoke, Virginia came another report, this time of a disc-shaped orb moving at a great pace through the clouds. The craft was silent and would glow blue as it changed altitude. Coming up yet another incident in the area, just a couple of weeks after the mobile home incident. As you already know, Built Bar is a sponsor of Weird Darkness. Don't tell them I said this, but I would continue to let them be a sponsor without them paying me at all, so long as they continue to send me these free samples. Today, I received their new Cookies and Cream Chunk. It's like having actual Cookies and Cream Chunks in the candy bar. These are protein bars, these aren't candy bars, so they're low calorie. This has 18 grams of carbs. That's fewer carbs than an average size banana or a honeycrisp apple. This is my lunch, and it feels like I just had dessert. This Cookies and Cream Chunk is just insanely good. You can save 10% off of anything you buy from Built. Just go to WeirdDarkness.com slash Built and use the promo code WeirdDarkness. All one word, you can get 10% off your entire order, including the Cookies and Cream Chunk. Now the hard part is this actually tastes like dessert, but I want to eat another one. Yet another incident occurred a little over two weeks after the mobile home encounter in the early hours of 3.30 am on July 13 in Emden. The witness was alerted to the sounds of their dogs barking, which was out of character for them. When the witness went to see what the matter was, they would see an oblong or egg-shaped object hovering in the sky. The witness would state the object was around the size of an average car. Furthermore, the object had a three-dimensional appearance to it, continuing that you could look through it or right into it. Furthermore, and of interest to us in relation to the mobile home encounter, the outer edge had an orange glow while the center part of the craft was considerably brighter. There were several other lesser known incidents on record that would unfold during the same window of time that shared similar details as the ones we have already examined. For example, in early June 1973, in St. Ives in the United Kingdom, at an American Air Force Base at RAF Alkenbury, a five-year-old would witness what they thought was a merry-go-round sitting in a field near their military housing. The young child would call out to their mother asking if they could go outside and ride the merry-go-round. When she entered the room, the child would point to the glowing circular object in the field. However, she would become visibly frightened and told the youngster to go to bed. The following day, the incident still in their mind, the witness would head out to the field. They would find a round, compressed area of corn in the area where the merry-go-round had been the previous evening. In later years, the witness also learned that several UFO sightings were reported in the region during that same time. While it is not certain that what the witness saw that evening was the UFO reported by several others in the area, it is certainly more than a coincidence that they witnessed such a glowing craft. And what's more, as we'll examine briefly in our next incident, might the close proximity to a military base, an American one at that, have more to do with this incident and our next incident than we might perhaps suspect? A similar incident would unfold around a month later on the other side of the Atlantic in Oak Cliff, Texas. The witness, a young boy at the time of the sighting, was in his backyard one July morning at around 8 a.m., playing on the swing that resided there. As he did so, his attention suddenly zeroed in on a disc-shaped craft that was covered with green moss heading across the skies overhead. A strange object would then come to a stop and hover directly over the witness. He would later estimate it was no more than 30 feet above him. The young boy noticed a low, discreet, humming sound that seemed to be coming from the craft, while also making out several rivets and portholes on the underside. Then the incident took an even more bizarre twist when a strange voice suddenly sounded inside his head. Even stranger was the message from this strange voice, which would state that they were from the government, and that he was not to move or tell his parents. Such statements made the assurance that he should, quote, not be afraid, unquote, have less impact. Then the object began to move away, slowly at first, but then advocated the area at a blistering pace, leaving a straight line of white light behind it. This is an interesting account, to say the least. Does it again offer evidence that at least some UFO incidents are government aircraft, part of a clandestine and seemingly continuing operation? Might we suggest that such sightings with low humming sounds that accompany them are more likely to be these discreet black-budget projects? Or might such incidents be part of disinformation entering the domain, but one coming from an extraterrestrial source? Another bizarre incident, according to Mufon, Indiana, took place in Little York in the Hoosier state in mid-June. At around 9.30 p.m. on the evening in question, four friends were driving their vehicle near to Weston Lake. Suddenly a bright, flood-light type light appeared out of nowhere behind their car. Not sure if the glowing object was in pursuit or not, they would pull their vehicle to the side of the road, stepping outside so as to get an unobstructed view of the aerial anomaly. They would later describe the craft as a flat-bottomed catfish-shaped object. They would further recall that it was around 100 feet above them and was moving at a pace of around 70 mph. They would also recall hearing an airflow-like whistle sound as it made its way through the sky above them. Around the same time, this time across the border to the north in Ontario, Canada, two witnesses were stood in the backyard at one of their homes during the day when they noticed what they at first believed to be an airplane flying overhead and in front of them. However, they would soon realize that the plane was headed in their direction, and once more, it wasn't making a sound. One of the witnesses would run back inside and reach for their camera. They would manage to fire off seven shots of the object. Back across the border in the United States, this time in San Benito, once again in Texas, 19-year-old Guadalupe Cantu noticed a luminous orange object in the skies at around 2 a.m. on the night in question through the kitchen window of his family home. According to the report by respected UFO researcher Jerome Clark, the more he watched the object, the more certain he was that the object was a glowing but transparent disc shape. Even stranger, Cantu would recall seeing a hairy, ape-like being seemingly controlling the futuristic craft. Before he could make out any further details, however, the craft was out of sight and disappeared. The witness recalled that throughout the sighting they could not hear a single sound. This is a particularly interesting sighting. Not only were there several sightings of such hairy, beast-like creatures in various parts of the United States, there are also several others that place these creatures at the controls of these otherworldly crafts. The correlation between UFO waves and hotspots and increased Bigfoot sightings is certainly intriguing in view of such UFO reports. Back over the Atlantic, this time near Barcelona in Spain, an anonymous 60-year-old rancher was moving his cattle across one of his fields at around 6 a.m. 1 June morning when he suddenly noticed a large, silvery, bluish dome-shaped craft in front and ahead of him. Even more bizarre, several humanoid figures emerged from the craft and began examining the ground around him. They would then get back in the craft which, in turn, vanished into the early morning sky. This time of incident was certainly more typical of the 1973 humanoid wave. In the early hours of June 14, in the town of Princeton, Illinois, at around 3.30 a.m., three teenage girls were driving along Interstate 80 when they witnessed what they would later report as a silver, gray, and black flying object emitting a green mellow light. They would report the sighting to state troopers who would take details of their report. The girls would state that this mysterious object would perform several strange maneuvers in the sky overhead before being joined by two other objects, all three would then disappear at great speed into the distance. A report in volume 27 of Flying Saucer Review by Richard Hayden would tell of an incident that occurred the previous evening on June 15, near West Bend in Wisconsin. An anonymous man and his daughter were driving along the highway when they noticed a hovering disc-shaped craft near the road. Even more, each could make out several transparent windows with humanoid figures clearly visible behind what they presumed were glass. Several weeks later, an oval, flat, football-shaped object was witnessed over Fairfield, once more in Illinois by several different people. What's more, the craft would also show white and red glowing lights as it passed overhead. South of the American border, on the morning of June 1, 1973, in the Ciudad Pemex in Mexico, four students and a radio operator would witness a large, luminous object land on the airport runway in the glorious sunlight of the early morning. What's more, a humanoid figure would emerge from the strange object a short time later. The entity, which appeared metallic and possibly robotic, would examine its surroundings very briefly before entering the craft, which then took off and disappeared at high speed. Only several hours later, in Diverne, Illinois, another sighting of a glowing craft was reported. According to a report in the local Courier newspaper, at around 2.30 am in the early hours of June 2, an unnamed witness and their passenger noticed a strange object with a series of bright, running lights moving overhead. Then, just as he was contemplating whether the object was nothing more than a conventional aircraft, a large, orange-red light emanated from the underside of the object, bathing the entire landscape in its glow. It was at this stage that the witness pulled their vehicle to the side of the road and exited the car in order to see events unfold more clearly. As he did so, he was acutely aware of how silent the night was, all except for a lone plane that he could see was flying much higher than the strange craft that was all but 500 feet above him. The witnesses remained where they were, watching the bizarre object until it disappeared from sight. Another intriguing encounter that is very much worth examining here took place to the east of Missouri in Port Jervis, New York and comes to us from the files of John C. Thompson. During the late afternoon of July 5, two friends had been enjoying a day fishing and were driving home. However, they would spot an area that looked appealing and decided to pull their vehicle to the side of the road and spend another half an hour on the water's edge attempting to make a catch. It was as they were concentrating on their fishing rods that they witnessed an oval-shaped craft heading in their direction, only slightly above the surface of the water. As the object approached them, they could see it had a matte to purple finish and an otherwise rusty brownish color. They could also see several portholes along the edge of the object, each of which housed a green fluorescent light. Then the already bizarre situation took another strange twist when two purple pinkish beams of light suddenly emerged from the craft and began to sweep over the ground below. The witnesses would recall how the beams had a solid substance to them, even giving the appearance that they were sucking up water from the lake below. What's interesting here is the idea of solid light, something which comes up from time to time in such close contact encounters. Furthermore, the idea that the strange craft was using these equally strange beams to extract water is also interesting, given the numerous connections between UFO activity and large bodies of water. The pair remained where they were watching the craft. Eventually, it was so close to them that they could see a strange figure with a leathery, wrinkled face and large pointed ears inside. An incident from Chantereyne in France from the evening of June 7th would produce a picture of these apparently glowing oval craft witnessed across the world in the summer of 1973. Between 9.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the night in question, 16-year-old Jean-Marc Besson was stood at the window of his family home when he witnessed several strange gleams in the sky. He would quickly grab a camera and return to the window in time to snap a picture of the glowing objects. The picture is intriguing at the very least and appears to show a disc shaped craft with a definite domed middle section. The fact that they also have a white-silver appearance is another that resonates with the mobile home incident in Missouri several weeks later. Another incident from France, only weeks later in early July in the rocasserie Haute-Garonne, a Mr. B would hear a sudden humming sound followed by strange, bright lights outside his property at around 11 p.m. on the night in question. He would immediately go outside to his garden and witnessed a bell-shaped craft with a milky white exterior. It was hovering only a meter or so above the ground. Interestingly, and similar to the incident over the mobile home in Missouri, a sudden wind appeared out of nowhere. The witness would later state that he believed this wind somehow came from the craft itself. Even more bizarre, inside the object, Mr. B could see two or three moving shadows resembling humans. He would remain watching the object, although he would begin to notice an intense ache in his eyes. An extremely similar incident occurred around the same time in Soeyonoke in Finland. At around 2 a.m. on July 1st, the witness, Jermo Nakhainen, was asleep at his lakeside abode when a strange buzzing sound woke him. A strong blue glow was pushing its way in from outside through the windows of the cabin. He would venture outside and was confronted by a huge, glowing blue light twice as big as a rowboat, and what's more, it was heading in his direction. It would ultimately stop a short distance away and hover over the water of the lake. Even stranger, Nakhainen would recall he could see a strange being apparently moving around inside the glowing craft. Perhaps more ominously on this occasion, the next thing he would recall was waking up on the porch of the cabin. What's more, the time was now 6 a.m., and he had no memory of laying down or going to sleep. A little over a week later, near Buenos Aires, on the other side of the world in Argentina, at around 6 p.m. on the evening of July 9th, Mabel Gorshtevernen would witness a bright green light around 100 meters above her. When she focused on the bright glow, she could see it came from a circular object, which appeared to have a bluish luminosity to its exterior upon closer inspection. However, of more interest, she could clearly make out some strange figures looking out of the craft toward her location. The object would remain where it was, hovering for several moments before it would make its way out toward the sea, eventually disappearing into the distance. There were also several other corroborating sightings of a similar object throughout the region on the same night. Whatever it was that was haunting the skies in Missouri during the summer of 1973, that same presence was showing up all over the planet. When Weird Darkness returns, we make our way back to Missouri to yet another incident in the area that took place several years prior. Central Massachusetts is a land of oddities and apparitions. Stories of the strange and paranormal have been passed down from generation to generation, and only the local populace has any idea of just how vast and deep their superstitions run. The world around you is much more than you can touch, taste, smell, see, and hear. Some of the stories are funny, some are sad, but all of them give you a taste of what it's like to be from the oddest part of the United States. You can't have a region of the country that has been settled for centuries without getting a few odd tales out of it. Open up a whole new world of fact and fiction that'll leave you with a deep appreciation for the strange and bizarre ghosts and heroes await, and the only thing they need to live on is you. Slightly Odd Fitchburg by Ed Sweeney, now available on Kindle, paperback and audiobook versions on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com An extremely similar incident and very much back in Missouri occurred seven years earlier along the Roaring River near Cassville. The account can be found in the files of V.J. Booth and was also investigated by the previously mentioned Ted Phillips. It wouldn't come to light until 1975, possibly following the national attention given to the Travis Walton case. It is, however, one of the most intriguing encounters on record. What's more, the evidence left behind by the strange visitation was seemingly a consequence of the use of strange futuristic laser beams, and even more, surely making the case one of the most credible on record, the witness would manage to capture several photographs of the strange craft. On the day in question, two hunters were looking for deer along the woodlands of the Roaring River just outside the town of Cassville. It was as they were doing so that one of them would notice smoke rising into the air in the distance. It didn't take him long to realize that smoke was rising from the area that housed their camp. He would quickly make his way to the area to find the burnt-out remains of their tent as well as various items of their possessions strewn about the immediate vicinity. What he immediately found odd was that the tent was placed directly under two large trees. However, neither of these trees seemingly had suffered any damage whatsoever. This last detail, according to Booth's notes, was due to a narrow beam. Around this time, the witness noticed a low humming sound, as well as noticing several smaller trees that had seemingly not managed to escape the damage inflicted by whatever force was responsible for the destruction of the tent. As he was taking in the scene, he witnessed an unusual object rising above the trees a short distance away from the destroyed campsite. He quickly reached for his camera and managed to snap two quick pictures. The object would quickly rise into the sky. As it did so, the humming sound grew louder, seemingly in sympathy with the object's speed. He would estimate that within 20 seconds the object was no longer visible. As it did move out of sight, though, and again perhaps something that was in sympathy with its speed, the witness would notice a band of color around the center of the object. Once the object was out of sight, the witness would document the carnage left behind at the campsite area. He would later estimate that the object was approximately 25 feet wide and appeared over the trees at an approximate distance of around 300 feet. We've highlighted on several occasions how various parts of the United States and indeed the world are hotspots for UFO activity. Both the east and west coasts of America, for example, appear to have increased UFO activity in comparison to many other areas of the country, as do many of the Midwestern states and the Southern states as far west and south as Texas. But chances are we, like any other UFO researchers, could likely make an argument, and correctly so, that many regions around the planet experience a surge in UFO activity at one point in time or another. Might this suggest then, as we'll touch upon again briefly in a moment, that UFO activity is relatively constant and, in fact, merely a case of what is witnessed and, more specifically, what is reported, which then dictates such hotspots? Might it be for various reasons that at certain times in history we become more aware of such bizarre anomalies taking place above and around us? This is an idea that will sit well with those who already suspect that a connection between UFO sightings and paranormal incidents already exists. Might it prove to be the case, for example, that powers and energies currently beyond our understanding come together to create the circumstances needed for humanity to witness these strange crafts and entities? Perhaps unlocking some kind of invisible barrier or gateway to another realm or reality, if only temporarily? It is certainly an intriguing notion, if highly speculative and with desperate need of fleshing out through studying such admittedly bizarre ideas further. The Columbia Mobile Home Encounter, if we return to our main incident for a moment, is yet another, that if it were not for the Internet and the resurgence of interest in such matters it has created, would most likely be confined to a select few in UFO circles and almost certainly forgotten about in the wider public domain. This is particularly surprising in light of the physical evidence left behind at the scene. We should also consider the fact that, had fear not caused Richards to contact the operator, which in turn set off a string of events that would result in the police attending his home, the entire encounter may very well have gone under-reported. We have expressed such a concern before, as have many other UFO researchers, that the sheer number of UFO incidents, whether strange lights in the sky from afar or much more close contact encounters that go unreported, are very likely much higher than we already suspect. There could be quite literally hundreds if not thousands of strange incidents that will never be investigated nor contemplated by the wider collective due to the simple fact that people fear making such reports. It is a strange and intriguing world in which we exist, but a world that we really don't have anything more than a basic grasp of its inner workings, history, and place in the wider universe of which we know even less. It should perhaps not surprise us then that our collective existence faces a constant barrage of unsolved incidents that then tumble through the sands of time, like pieces of a jigsaw that, unless recovered, will not allow us to see the full picture of our reality. Thanks for listening and be sure to stick around for the bloopers at the end. If you liked the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at Darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find information on any of the sponsors you heard about during the show. Find all of my social media. Listen to audiobooks I've narrated. Sign up for the email newsletter. Find other podcasts that I host, including Church of the Undead. Visit the store for Weird Darkness merchandise and more. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find the Hope in the Darkness page, if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. All stories on Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find links to the stories or the authors in the show notes. Information in this episode is provided by Marcus Louth at ufoinsight.com, and many of the photos that are referred to can be found by following the links to those original articles. WeirdDarkness is a registered trademark. Copyright Weird Darkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Hebrews 12 verse 14. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy without holiness no one will see the Lord. And a final thought. I don't speak because I have the power to speak. I speak because I don't have the power to remain silent. Rabbi A. Y. Cook. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. The more she listened, now all but blocking out Richard's around the broken branch was substantial and obviously freshly inflected, including alien investigator Chuck Zuckowski. Zuckowski, Zuckowski, Zuckowski, Zuckowski, including, including, including, including, including, including alien investigator south of the American border on the morning of June 1, 1973, in the Ciudad, Ciudad, Pemex. June 1, 1973, in the Ciudad, Pemex, in Mexico, forced another incident from France only weeks later in early July in the, holy in the, in the, in the, in extremely similar incident occurred around the same time in Saudi, Saudi, Saudi, Swannock, Shrek, holy cow. You know what I really ought to do is just start doing stories that are only from America because some of these, and I can't find pronunciations for some of these no matter how many different websites I go to. Lots of different websites that have different, they say find a name, find proper nouns. So I do. I look for these names and proper nouns and nothing. So I just got to take a wild guess and of course my wild guesses are horrid because they're foreign words and I don't know how to pronounce foreign words. So on a yoke. So sounds Japanese, not Finnish, but okay. An extremely similar incident occurred around the same time in Soa Yanoke in Finland. A strong blue. You can hear the snarls right behind you. The faster you run, the closer the creatures seem to get. How can the undead run this fast, you think to yourself. Now you're drenched in sweat, but your mouth is dry. You need to find somewhere to stop and think about how to survive the next few minutes of your life. Then you see it and run towards the water station. The zombie fun run will have to wait until you quench your thirst, but bottled water is expensive and you don't even want to know what might be in tap water or much less fresh water. Fortunately, the horde of horror fanatics at this water station planned in advance and brought Patriot pure outdoor filtration water cooler system. It gives you clean cold water wherever you go. Its five gallon tank keeps water cold, keeps ice for days on end, reduces the levels of over 200 contaminants with a two-step filtration technology which you can use with tap water, well water, river water or any water source you find. It's UV resistant so it works just as well at any time of day. And you're avoiding the cost of bottled water while also avoiding the unnecessary use of plastic. All in one system. It might be the only non-terrifying thing at your Halloween or fall themed activity. Get the Patriot pure outdoor filtration water cooler system at 4Patriots.com. That's the number 4 Patriots.com and use the promo code WEIRD to get 10% off everything you order. That's 4Patriots.com promo code WEIRD. Uh oh, zombies are back. Hey weirdos, be sure to click the like button and subscribe to this channel and click the notification bell so you don't miss future videos. I post videos 7 days a week and while you're at it, spread the darkness by sharing this video with someone you know who loves all things strange and macabre. If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it at WeirdDarkness.com slash listen.