 When UFO researcher and investigator Richard Hall first received reports of a UFO sighting from the Symes family in the United Kingdom in 2011, he perhaps didn't expect that the encounters they would reveal would stretch back to the mid-1970s. Whether the Symes family are just simply in the right place at the right time, or whether their location plays a part in these multiple sightings, remains a question. Although there is not any evidence for it, perhaps the Symes have been targeted by the alleged extraterrestrial occupants of these seemingly alien vehicles. What's interesting, though, is that there are many sightings of these shiny or glowing spherical UFOs on record, both in the United Kingdom and around the world. And what's more, many of them share remarkably similar details in terms of their description and how they act. I'm Darren Morlar and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. This is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up with this episode, the many extraterrestrial experiences of the Symes family and numerous other UFO encounters by others too similar to ignore. 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, fold your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights and come with me into the Weird Darkness. Although the exact date isn't certain, during the summer of 1975, when husband and wife Martin and Julie Symes, along with Martin's friend Mark, were on a camping holiday just outside Stackpole Quay in Wales near the Pembroke Shire coastal path, this particular evening they had left their campsite and ventured to a local pub a short distance away, around half a mile for something to eat. The evening had been a pleasant one. However, as they were making their way back to where they were camped, it would take a very strange turn. There, over a nearby field, the three witnesses noticed a white orb of light that appeared to be hovering several feet above the ground. They would estimate it to be around the size of a football, and while it glowed bright enough for them to clearly see it, it wasn't so bright that it illuminated its surroundings. They watched it for several moments before deciding to head on to their tent. When they did, though, the strange orb began to move in the same direction also, as if following them. Intrigued by the light's apparent interest in them, the three witnesses stopped in their tracks for a moment, noticing that the light stopped also. They would start and stop several times, each time the light mimicking their actions. Even when they ran a little faster, the light moved at a faster pace as well. After a short while, they stopped for several minutes, intently staring in the orb's direction in an effort to figure out what exactly it was. After several more moments, the group suddenly decided they were better off in their tents and quickly ran to them the rest of the way without looking back to see what the strange orb was doing. Although the witnesses were uncertain of what exactly it was they had seen, they were all certain that it was something out of the ordinary and not something like a bright star or planet that just appeared to be moving with them. They also ruled out that it might have been a prankster with a torch due to the fact that the light cast no immediate shadow on the ground nearby. Incidentally, in the years that followed the encounter, Martin would do his own research on the sighting and discover that there had been several similar sightings in the area around the same time as their own. It would be another two decades before the Symes experienced another UFO incident. Almost exactly 20 years later, one evening in July 1995, the Symes family were on their way to their caravan after a day out at the Fun Park Alton Towers while on holiday. Martin and Julie were in the front while their children, Geraint and Julie, were in the back. It was as they were approaching the caravan park that they noticed something strange through the windows. There, in a sky above, was a metallic object that was hovering just behind the trees that were around the park. They would later estimate that the object was around 10-12 feet across and appeared to be rotating as it hovered. It is interesting to note that Julie and Geraint recalled the shape of the object a little differently. Whether this is simply down to one of them recalling it incorrectly or whether the shape of the object depended on their exact perspective is not known. Julie, for example, recalled that the object was a saucer shape and had a raised dome in the middle of it. Meanwhile, Geraint would state that it was a spherical shape and a distinct chrome color. Whatever the object was, it soon disappeared, leaving the Symes family more than perplexed as to what they had just witnessed. Around five years later, the Symes family would experience another intriguing encounter in July or August of 1999, 2000 or 2001. On the day in question, Julie was watching Geraint set off on his bike on a sunny day as he took off to see his friends. As he pedaled away, Julie called to him to watch for traffic, causing him to turn and look at her. As he did so, he saw something out of the ordinary hovering above their house. He immediately stopped and alerted Julie to the bizarre object overhead. They would estimate that object, a sphere-shaped silver ball around the size of a large football from their perspective, was approximately 100 feet above the ground. The more they watched, the more they realized that the object was in fact moving to the west, but did so very slowly. Julie would further recall how this movement appeared very controlled and that it was not wobbling or changing speed at all. What's more, despite its shape, they could see that it was clearly not a balloon due to the controlled way in which it moved against the relatively strong wind. Perhaps of most interest was the sudden feeling of annoyance that went through Julie that she and her family were being spied on by these apparent extraterrestrials. Also surprising even to Julie was that she felt no fear at all, despite the surreal nature of the incident. The pair continued to watch the object for several more minutes until it eventually disappeared from sight into the distance. Julie was certain that what she had witnessed was, once more, an alien vehicle. She would decide to contact the M.O.D. later that afternoon. However, when she rang them, she was forced to leave a message on the incident on their answering machine. Of even more interest, several days later, a military fighter jet flew directly over the home at extremely low altitude. Julie couldn't help that this one-off appearance that had never happened before or since was connected to the sighting and her report of it. Around a decade after this sighting, in December 2010, another UFO sighting involving the Simes family unfolded. By this time, Geraint was an adult, and on the day in question, at around 3 p.m., he was driving near Quaker's yard with his girlfriend. Although it was cold, the sun was shining brightly as they made their way down the road. During the course of their journey, both Geraint and his girlfriend noticed a strange, silver, spherical object in the sky overhead. So fascinated were they that Geraint would pull the car to the side of the road so they could exit the vehicle and view the aerial anomaly more clearly. They noticed that the object was clearly giving off its own light, something which the clouds overhead appeared to show with more clarity. The pair remained where they were for around 10 minutes, watching the strange object. After remaining stationary for the majority of this time, it suddenly began to move directly upwards, stopping before it broke through the clouds and then hovered once more. They watched it for several more minutes before finally returning to the warmth of the car and returning on their way. Whatever the object was remains open to debate. Considering the other sightings of members of the Simes family that we have already examined, we might assume the likeliness that it was something out of the ordinary. Once more, was it just a coincidence that a member of the Simes family happened to be in the right place in order to spot the strange object overhead? We will return our attention to the Simes family in a bit. First though, let's examine some very similar sightings of strange, spherical objects over the United Kingdom. And as we will see, there are many other sightings around the world. For example, on December 31, 2008, in Fraudjum in the United Kingdom, a local resident witnessed a yellow sphere moving across the sky just before midnight. Given that the fact it was New Year's Eve, the witness at first thought he was watching nothing more than a Chinese lantern, but quickly dismissed this due to the speed with which it traveled. The witness also recalled how the object appeared to be heading directly toward Liverpool John Lennon Airport as if being intelligently guided. It also remained completely silent throughout the duration of the sighting. Once more, the witness would state that three other people witnessed this particular sighting, with one of them claiming to have seen a similar object previously. The witness would add that he had lived near the airport for 30 years at the time of making his report, and that he was more than familiar with the aircraft that went overhead. UFO researcher Dave Hodrian, who examined the sightings of the Simes family, also highlighted a very similar incident that occurred in the town of Blackmill in Bridgend in Wales in the summer of 1991. The exact date is not known, but one evening in June 1991, at around 6.30 p.m., the witness, John, was driving to an Indian restaurant with his wife and two of their friends. However, as they made their way along the country road under the early evening sun, they noticed a bizarre, round object that shimmered, hovering over a farmer's field that ran alongside the road. The object glowed extremely brightly and was between 150-250 feet above the ground and approximately 650 feet in front of them. All four of the witnesses watched the object for several moments, noticing how it appeared to wobble back and forth. They also noted how it had an appearance similar to a ball of mercury. Although John kept the car in motion, he had slowed somewhat in order to view it more clearly. Then, without warning, the sphere suddenly sped into the distance and had disappeared within a second. All of the witnesses recalled how the way it moved off at such a rate of speed told them that it was very likely something out of this world and certainly not like anything any of them had previously seen. They would remain in a quiet, contemplative state of mind throughout their meal, truly perplexed at the events they had seen. Coming up, towards the end of the Simes Family Sightings, more recently in 2010, we see more similar sightings in Wordsley, England. That's up next on Weird Darkness. To what lengths will someone go in order to survive? Does the survival instinct override their conscience and allow them to commit not only murder but also the taboo act of cannibalism? What happens when a person crosses the line from dark fantasy to real-life acts of brutal rape, murder, and cannibalism? Are these people driven by a desire so insatiable that they're incapable of controlling it? Murderous Mind's Volume 3 Stories of Real-Life Murderers that Escape the Headlines is the latest offering in a series that takes you inside the lives of killers who committed cold-blooded murder for a glimpse at events that drove them to kill. 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That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Built and use the promo code WeirdDarkness. On the 27th of November, 2010, at around 6.30 am on Wordsley in the West Midlands, Julian Andriano, along with his girlfriend Michelle, had spent most of the night watching DVDs at Julian's home and were preparing to go to sleep for a few hours. Due to the time of year, it was still dark outside and Julian went to the bedroom window to take a look at the still quiet street outside. However, as he peered over the backyard and the bright moon that was still visible in the sky, he noticed something unexpected. From his left, a strange light appeared in his line of sight. He watched the light as it moved calmly across the dark sky, noting how it appeared to be distinctly sphere-shaped. He would later estimate that it was around 50 feet away from the house and around 40 feet above the ground. Certain he was seeing something truly strange, Julian told Michelle to come to the window so that she could see what he was looking at. She did so, although in no particular hurry. She did see the strange sphere though, right before it suddenly increased its speed to a blistering 500 miles per hour. In less than 10 seconds, the object had disappeared out of sight. This sudden acceleration ruled out to the witnesses that the object might have been a balloon or a Chinese lantern. Several months earlier, also in wordsly, on the 22nd of June, another very similar sighting unfolded. On the nighting question, just before 6 p.m., Martin Mitchell, along with his wife and eldest son, was eating dinner in the backyard of their house when Martin noticed two strange objects appear overhead. The sky was perfectly clear, meaning the objects stood out clearly. Martin would recall that the objects were in the shape of a sphere and of a bright, silver color which reflected the evening sun brilliantly. He would also estimate that they were at an altitude of 500 feet and were approximately 3 miles away. They were though seemingly headed in their direction. At this point, Martin drew his wife and son's attention to the mysterious objects, each of them turning their attention upwards. As they all watched in amazement, Martin went to grab his camera in order to capture the bizarre aerial vehicles on camera. By the time he returned, the objects were definitely closer to their home. He immediately raised the camera and snapped a picture of approaching craft before returning to watch them with his wife and son. Suddenly, the objects began to curve in a change of direction before beginning to ascend slowly, disappearing into the distance within around five minutes, at which point they could no longer be seen. Around a month before Geraint Symes and his girlfriend's sighting, a similar object was witnessed in Corris, Wales. At around 7.30 pm on the 6th of November, the two witnesses named Helen and Chris in the report were driving to Mashinlith, a nearby town in order to shop for groceries. The evening was particularly rainy and windy and looked set to be so the rest of the evening. As Chris negotiated a bend in the road, Helen happened to peer out the passenger window. As she did so, she noticed a large circle of light in the cloud-filled sky. She kept her focus on the light, not expecting it to be anything out of the ordinary at first, and continued to chat with Chris. The more she watched it, though, the more she began to think she was seeing something truly unusual. As they continued down the road, Helen noticed the light was the result of a huge glowing orange sphere that was hovering further up in the sky. She watched the object for around a minute before she alerted Chris to its presence. They each continued to watch it for several more seconds before Chris pulled the car over to the side of the road. They now each turned their full attention to the object and began to consider just what it might be. They discussed several possibilities, ranging from a natural body such as a planet or something like a Chinese lantern. However, they both knew that it was none of their suggestions, not least as the object was approximately twice the size as the moon would be if it were visible. What they were looking at was something neither of them had seen before. Then things turned even stranger. As the pair exited the vehicle, the object suddenly began to rise into the air at a considerable pace. After a short time, it descended once more, settling back momentarily to where it had been previously. After several moments, it disappeared instantly. Helen would state in her report that she believed what they had seen was either an alien craft or a top-secret experimental military vehicle. Another sighting worth examining here occurred one day in May or June of 2010 in Murther Tidfield, Wales. On the afternoon in question, a local resident named Jim in the report was sitting in his office which overlooked a good part of the town of Dallas. By chance, he happened to glance out the window when he noticed a strange object over the top of the local church. He would later describe the object as being a dull, gray, silver color and distinctly sphere-shaped. He would further remember that it was approximately 12 feet above the steeple of the church. He knew there was a relatively strong wind outside and the fact that the strange object was completely stationary meant he could disregard any notion that it might have been a balloon. He watched the object for around 30 seconds before it began to rise suddenly at a calm, steady pace. The way it moved made Jim even more certain that it was under some kind of intelligent control. He watched it as it continued upward, eventually disappearing into the clouds after around 30 seconds. Another similar sighting occurred two years earlier on the afternoon of December 28, 2008 in Oxford. The witness, Ben Emlin Jones, was walking through the town of Heddington just outside of Oxford at a little after 1 p.m. on this particularly cold, windy but bright day. As he walked, he was speaking on the phone with his girlfriend when he suddenly noticed a bizarre, sphere-shaped object hovering at a relatively high altitude over the nearby houses. He would recall that it was white or pale gray in color and appeared to be of a considerable size. He watched for several moments longer, noting how the object merely hovered in the same place. He continued to walk, describing what he was seeing to his girlfriend on the phone. The object remained in sight for several minutes as he walked until it suddenly became enshrouded by a strange cloud. Ben continued to watch and was more than shocked when the cloud itself moved away, seemingly with the spherical object still inside. Within several more moments, the cloud had disappeared. Another intriguing sighting for us to examine occurred on the 21st of June, 2011 in the Bartley Green area of Birmingham. On the day in question, Sinead was in her room with her friend looking out the bedroom window when their attention was suddenly drawn to three planes that were flying at a particularly low altitude. She would state that she had little knowledge or interest in aviation. She had no idea what type of planes they were, but they looked like military bomber-type aircraft. It was as they were watching the planes that they noticed a small, spherical object that appeared to come out of one of the clouds. As this strange round object moved, it appeared to the witnesses that it was white. However, it was clear that it was a magnificent silver color when it stopped and hovered in one place. Sinead recalled how the sun reflected brilliantly off its metallic exterior. The two girls watched the object for around 30 seconds. Then, without warning, it suddenly disappeared. Both witnesses recalled that at the same time they noticed two very bright flashes of light. They would further recall that the first flash of light was where the sphere had been hovering only a second earlier and the second came from somewhere quite distant in the sky. Both Sinead and her friend were more than a little perplexed by the sightings and while they were uncertain of exactly what they had seen, they knew it was something out of the ordinary. While there are indeed many sightings of these strange, spherical UFOs in the United Kingdom, they occur equally as frequently across the world. For example, according to the research files of Jacques Valais, six luminous spheres were witnessed moving across the sky in Eviron in France at around 11 p.m. on 6 January 1967. Even more remarkable, according to the report, a strange, luminous beam of light came from one of the spheres and reached the ground. In this light beam, the witness claimed to have seen a humanoid figure that appeared to communicate telepathically with him. In more recent times, on the afternoon of August 1, 2004, in Luxembourg, Belgium, a local resident witnessed a metallic sphere moving over the city while changing colors from white to red to orange. They reported it moved slowly for several moments before suddenly disappearing. The witness was uncertain if the object simply vanished or whether it took off with great speed. The following year, at around 8 p.m. on March 13, 2005, in Wurruna, Australia, a local resident witnessed a strange sphere-shaped object in the sky while taking pictures of the moon. Unfortunately, there is little other information about this sighting. Only 10 days later, just after midnight on March 23 in Clifton, Virginia, several luminous spheres were witnessed by a local woman during a thunderstorm. According to the report by Mufon investigator Norman Gagnon, these strange spheres were considerable in size and were hovering over the witness's house. The witness was awoken by the sound of her answering machine attempting to turn itself back on following a power outage. As the power struggled to return, the witness had looked out the window at the unsettling objects outside. She would state that they were bigger than the house and that they had evenly spaced lights around the side. They remained hovering for several moments before moving away from the property. The power returned to the property a short time later. Perhaps one of the most intriguing sightings, though, occurred several decades earlier in Alabama. At some time around 8 p.m. one evening in the spring of 1981, in the Georgetown region of the state, Linda Richardson and her son Anthony and his friend Tony were at the Richardson's home when the evening took a rather strange turn. As Linda cleaned her kitchen, she heard sudden sounds of agitation coming from the horse and calf that they owned as if they had been severely spooked. Also hearing the sounds was Anthony and Tony who ventured outside to see what might be causing the disturbance. They left the kitchen door open as they did so. Within moments Anthony was calling to his mother to come and look. She immediately stopped what she was doing and stepped outside to where Anthony and Tony were standing. She noticed immediately that they were looking up to the sky. She looked to where they were looking and was amazed to see a large glowing white sphere hovering right over the top of them. Linda would estimate that the object was at an altitude of approximately 500 feet and appeared to be of the same bright shiny exterior all over with no markings or connection plates of any kind. She also recalled how the object remained completely silent as it hung motionless overhead. The three of them watched the object for several minutes before it suddenly went into motion. As it moved away, it increased both its speed and its altitude. Within a few moments of it beginning to move, it had disappeared over the roof of the house and so was out of sight. All three of them rushed into the kitchen to the front porch door. As they spilled outside, they could see several red lights that they presumed were on the back of the strange aerial vehicle. She cautioned the two boys to stand closer to her just in case the object should return and prove to be a threat. However, rather than return, it suddenly zipped into the distance at unbelievable speed, disappearing from their sight in a matter of a second. The three of them remained on the porch, looking at that part of the sky that the object had been in only moments earlier for several minutes before returning inside. Linda took a few moments to gather her thoughts before picking up the phone and ringing her next door neighbor Betty. Amazingly, she too had seen the strange object from her house after the light had shown through her window and alerted her to its presence. Linda would further decide to make a report of the sighting and contacted the Coast Guard in order to obtain the relevant number. She rang, although she did not recall which base she had contacted, but the person at the other end, after first stating that she had likely seen a weather balloon, declined to offer an explanation and merely listened to Linda as she recalled the details. Whether he made a record of the report is not known. There were seemingly other witnesses to this most intriguing sighting. A local postman, for example, George, also claimed to have seen the same object as Linda while speaking to her the following morning as he delivered her mail. Once more, he would claim that several other people he had spoken with that morning on his route had also witnessed it. As UFO researcher Dave Hodrian pointed out, despite the apparent multiple witnesses, there appears to be no coverage of the incident in the local newspapers. There was also some further intriguing details of the encounter. For example, according to Hodrian's report, many of the witnesses would have trouble sleeping in the days and weeks after the sighting. Many, particularly Linda, it would seem, became increasingly paranoid and fearful of the night hours. Linda would even ensure that her husband had the guns they kept in their home fully loaded in case of a nocturnal return of the strange craft. She would also find herself staring up at the night sky, searching for the spherical object on several occasions. Even more alarming was an incident that occurred several months later in the Bay-Minette area. Linda, who voiced her belief that the officer at the Air Force Base knew very well what the object was and was under orders to stonewall her report, claimed there were signs of a cover-up in the Bay-Minette incident as well. According to Linda, there were reports of a blinding flash of light over the area with repeated rumors that an unknown craft had crashed to the ground. Many witnesses made reports to the local newspapers and radio stations, but no coverage of the incident occurred. Had the military intervened in order to silence any reports? The state of Alabama has more than its fair share of UFO sightings, one of which, again, involves a metallic sphere. We'll take a closer look up next on Weird Darkness. Are you a member of the Darkness Syndicate? The Darkness Syndicate is a private membership where you receive commercial-free episodes of the Weird Darkness podcast and radio show. Behind the scenes, video updates about future projects and events I'm working on. You can share your own opinions on ideas to help me decide upon Weird Darkness Contests and events. You can hear audiobooks I'm narrating before even the publishers or authors get to hear them. You also receive bonus audio of other projects I'm working on outside of Weird Darkness. You get all of these benefits and more, starting at only $5 per month. Join the Weird Darkness Syndicate at WeirdDarkness.com slash syndicate. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash syndicate. Here at Weird Darkness, I celebrate Halloween year-round, as I'm sure a lot of you weirdos do. So I'm not cutting off the festivities after October 31st. In fact, I'm heading to Halloween Central, Salem, Massachusetts, at Salem Pyrrocon, November 11th and 12th. They've invited me to be a special guest for the festivities, introducing some of the celebrities and guests, moderating Q&As, and, well, other things that they refuse to tell me until I arrive and then it's too late to back out. Apparently, they like to scare everybody, including me. At Salem Pyrrocon, you can meet numerous paranormal groups, see creepy art and the artists who create it, speak with cryptozoologists, meet horror and sci-fi authors and podcasters, grab spooky crafts, jewelry, clothing, costumes, and other merchandise, and meet the guest of honor, the one and only legendary, amazing Kreskin, the world's most famous mentalist. He'll showcase his mind-reading and psychic powers right before your eyes, and there are tons of other celebrities being announced as the day gets closer. Visit WeirdDarkness.com slash Salem to see other special guests, celebrities as they're announced, and to get your tickets. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Salem, and I'll see you in Salem, Massachusetts, November 11th and 12th for Salem Pyrrocon. Three decades after the Batemanette area sighting, just after midnight, on March 1st, 2011, according to MUFON case file 31948, as reported by Roger Marsh and the UFO Examiner, a similar sighting unfolded in Watumka. And what's more, according to the report, the witness had seen the same subcar-sized spherical object several times during the months leading to the sighting he reported. What's more, this object almost always acted in the same way. It would come darting in before hovering for several moments, lighting up the spot on the ground, as it did so, before flying away in the same direction from which it came. The object had an orange pale, luminous glow to it. One particular night, after having worked late, the witness was driving home when he noticed the strange object in the distance. However, on this occasion, it appeared to be on a very steady course heading toward his car. He continued driving, and the object did indeed approach his vehicle, trailing him from above the trees that lined the highway. After several moments, the strange object disappeared behind the trees, and the witness continued on with his journey. However, around a mile later, the glowing sphere darted out from the treeline and made its way across the highway in front of him at a distance of only several hundred feet, still at an altitude similar to treetop level. It continued on its way across a nearby field. The witness recalled that the object was much too fast and small for it to be a helicopter. What's more, as it moved across the field, it would stop suddenly and move around for several moments before continuing on and eventually returning in the direction it had come. The witness had experienced an even stranger encounter several years earlier at 3 am one night in 2007. On the night in question, he witnessed an identical sphere-shaped craft, although this one was flying at a much higher altitude. He watched the object move across the sky, eventually seeing it disappear into the distance. Although he wasn't sure what it was, he knew that it was something truly out of the ordinary. He kept his focus on the night sky, and much to his surprise, the orb returned, although this time much lower to the ground. Realizing he was carrying a flashlight, he began flashing the light in the direction of the object. The object began moving once more, but when he flashed it once more, it stopped. He became suddenly nervous that it was the flashing of the torch that caused it to stop, so he ceased doing so. After a few moments, the object moved on once more and eventually disappeared. Only weeks earlier in Manitoba, Canada, a glowing sphere was witnessed overhead at around 10.30 pm on January 27th by a local resident. On the night in question, during an intense blizzard, the witness was spending the night at their cabin near the lake in the Parkland region with several friends after carrying out some work on the property. After eating, the witness was sat on the couch after his two friends had retired for the evening. It was then that he noticed a bright, glowing sphere in the night sky through the cabin window. He would recall that it was the same size as the moon appears to us from the ground, but that it was nothing like the moon. He would further describe that it gave off bright, white, intense light that was brighter than anything he had ever seen before. He would estimate that it was at a relatively low altitude of around 30 feet, approximately the same height as the treetops, and was between 40 and 60 feet away. The glow from the object lit up the forest below, allowing the witness to see all the trees in the immediate area. He would further describe the light as being penetrating and like a normal light. After several seconds, the light and indeed the object disappeared. At this point, the witness jumped up from the couch and rushed to the window. He stared out into the snowy night sky but was unable to locate the spherical object. That was until around two minutes later when it suddenly appeared again, only this time it was a little further away from where it was previously. It was again hovering just above the trees, its light illuminating the area immediately below it. It remained visible for several seconds and vanished once more. The witness remained at the window in case the object returned, however it didn't, and he eventually called it a night and went to bed. Interestingly, the witness had seen a similar object around a year previously. Another intriguing incident involving a spherical UFO unfolded at around 1.30 am on May 19, 2012 in Joliet, Illinois, where a local resident, Gavin, was smoking a cigarette with his girlfriend, Sarah, on the front porch of his house. Suddenly they noticed a yellow amber-colored light appear in the night sky, seemingly headed in their direction. They would later estimate that the object was traveling at a speed of approximately 70 miles per hour and was at an altitude of between 1500 and 2000 feet. It was completely silent and moved in a particularly straight line and they noticed how it remained a constant light with no flickering. The object continued on its course, eventually passing over the top of the house and disappearing into the distance. As with other sightings, the witnesses recalled the shape of the object slightly differently. While Gavin recalled the object was most definitely sphere-shaped, Sarah claimed that the front of the object was slightly larger than the back and appeared very similar to a solid headlight. Although he was not certain of what he had seen, he was certain it was something out of the norm. The following year, in the early hours of August 15, 2013, at around 2.30 pm, a strange incident unfolded at White Bear Lake in Minnesota. A local resident was being driven to the mall where he worked by his mother in order to pick up his paycheck. As they were driving up a slope of the road, the witness noticed a shiny metallic object in the otherwise blue afternoon sky. At first, the witness believed they were looking at nothing more out of the ordinary than an airplane. He continued to watch it as his mother drove. When she pulled up at a stop sign, he drew her attention to the strange object. They sat in the car as the light remained on red and watched the strange sphere move around the sky, occasionally making sudden circular turns. Then suddenly, the object took off in a blur and disappeared. The witness also noticed that there were several other motorists who had clearly seen the strange craft while waiting in traffic. Around a decade earlier, during the afternoon of November 20, 2004, in the town of Topozlan in Mexico, Salvador Guerrero managed to capture footage of four translucent spheres overhead. The witness, who was with two friends, Amado Marquez and Eduardo Ortega, were regular sky watchers and were experienced with both conventional aircraft and unidentified ones. It was just before 5pm when the three men noticed the strange sphere at low altitude in the late afternoon sky. They immediately went about capturing footage of it until it headed toward nearby woodland, eventually rising higher into the sky before descending slightly again. Remarkably, the sphere then approached one of the witnesses, so close that he could reach out to touch it. When he did so, however, a strange fluid emerged from the exterior and the witness felt an intense burning in his hand. When he looked at it, there was a bright red mark on his skin. The object then disappeared. It particularly intriguing sighting unfolded in Salt Lake City several years previously on September 15. According to a MUFON report from January 2003, the witness worked at Westminster College when he stepped outside to take a break. While he stood outside, he took a laser pointer from his pocket and pointed it toward the sky as if he was highlighting Jupiter. Only moments after doing so, though, a grey sphere appeared in the sky and hovered in the sky at an altitude of approximately 40 feet. He would further estimate that the object was around 250 feet from where he stood. Unsure of whether his laser pointer had attracted the object or not, the witness quickly switched the laser beam off. He continued to watch the object as it hovered completely motionless, with the witness elaborating that it was as if it was locked in place. Then, without warning, the object moved in an instant and was over the top of a nearby building. A moment later, it moved again, this time to a position directly over the top of the witness. It stopped again for a short time before going from motionless to moving at an approximate pace of 60 miles per hour. It eventually disappeared at a sight behind some nearby trees. He went to locate the object on foot, but before he could come to a nearby clearing, he heard a loud bang. When he reached the clearing, the object had vanished completely. He would claim that he wasn't sure if the bang sound was related to the object or not. The witness would recall some intriguing details of the craft, though. He would claim that the underside of the object was crater-like and a reddish-pinkish color. Furthermore, he had the distinct feeling that it was aware of him, particularly as it passed directly overhead. Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing sightings of spherical UFOs unfolded decades earlier over a pory airport in Finland. Early in the morning of April 12, 1969, at just before 8 am, around 20 pilots witnessed seven separate yellow spheres that were hovering over the airport. Even more remarkable, several hours later at noon, FAF pilot Joko Koronen was piloting his aircraft with his co-pilot on a routine navigational flight at an altitude of around 10,000 feet. As they were in flight, they witnessed what would appear to be the same seven yellow spheres witnessed earlier that morning. He would report that it appeared the objects were observing the airfield, which served both civilian and military purposes. He received orders to investigate the objects closer and turned his plane toward them. He would describe them as being a pale yellow and generally round in shape and appearing somewhat blurry and indistinct in outline. As he approached them, however, the spheres arranged themselves into a tight formation and instantly sped off, the speed increasing as it moved. Realizing there was no way he would be able to catch them, Koronen received orders to return to base. The sighting remains unexplained today and is one of the most well-known and credible cases of such sighting. Were the Simes family merely in the right place at the right time on multiple occasions across the decades in terms of their UFO encounters? Or might there be a much deeper layered reason for their repeated sightings? In truth, without further information or revelations regarding their particular sightings and any others that may or may not come to light, we will never know. And what about the notion of alien abduction? Researcher Dave Hodrie in which state of evaluating the information that he did not feel the evidence currently points toward direct interaction from these objects. Regardless of the reasons for the sightings, that the Simes family witnessed something out of the ordinary is surely without a doubt. Were they alien vehicles or drones? Many appear much too small to accommodate occupants and so perhaps suggesting the latter. If that is the case, what is the purpose of their mission? Are they spying on citizens of the planet or merely observing in a more general capacity? Of course, there is always the possibility, at least in some cases, that these objects might not be extraterrestrial in nature at all, but futuristic reconnaissance vehicles of the military. Only further investigations and research of these strange encounters will begin to shine a light on these questions. Thanks for listening. If you like 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 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 Weirddarkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise and you can find links to the stories or the authors in the show notes. The many extraterrestrial experiences of the Symes family was written by Marcus Louth for UFO Insight. Weirddarkness is a registered trademark. Copyright Weirddarkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Romans 8, verses 38 and 39, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And a final thought. Love is never wasted, for its value does not rest upon reciprocity. C.S. Lewis. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. 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.