Something Strange in the Sky
Long before people started pointing at flying saucers (or what they thought were saucers), history was filled with mysterious objects of its own. Some even date back centuries, while others involve entire communities who banded together in seeing something extraordinary. Either way, UFO sightings are hardly unheard of, no matter how far back you go, and these 20 head-scratchers have raised questions for generations.
Антон Леонардович Варфоломеев on Pexels
1. The Flying Pearl of China
In his 1088 book Dream Pool Essays, Chinese scholar Shen Kuo detailed a mysterious flying object he reportedly saw zipping around Yangzhou. Witnesses saw it too, describing something like a large pearl that opened to reveal a bright light before disappearing at inhuman speeds. Historians don’t know what inspired the original reports, and the account has become a favorite among researchers.
2. The Sacramento Mystery Airship
Way back in 1896, Sacramento residents reported seeing a strange object traveling across the night sky. Newspapers hopped on the story, describing what appeared to be a flying machine decked out in lights—even though practical powered aircraft were still years away. The sighting helped launch a nationwide wave of mysterious reports, but the original incident still doesn’t have a satisfying answer.
3. The Phantom Airships of Britain
During the spring of 1909, people across Britain began reporting enormous airships above towns and disappearing into the darkness. If that wasn’t strange enough, things only got weirder with news from Peterborough, where police constable Kettle described an unusual craft during his nighttime patrol. Fears about secret German aircraft scared people even more, but investigators never established an explanation for the sightings.
4. The Foo Fighters of World War II
When you’re in the skies all day, you’re bound to see something, and so was the case with Allied pilots flying over Europe during WWII. They’d occasionally report mysterious glowing objects following them during nighttime missions. American airmen even nicknamed these lights "foo fighters." Some thought they were experimental German weapons, but the reality is, no one knows what they were.
5. Kenneth Arnold's Flying Objects
In 1947, American pilot Kenneth Arnold claimed he saw nine objects moving near Washington State. He guessed that they were traveling at intense speeds, and his description of the unknown crafts actually popularized the expression "flying saucer." Critics blame it on optical illusions or a misidentified aircraft, but Arnold never budged on what he really thought he saw.
6. The Gorman Dogfight
North Dakota Air National Guard pilot George Gorman was flying near Fargo in 1948 when he saw a bright light around his aircraft. According to him, he pursued it for nearly half an hour as it tried to evade him. Air Force investigators eventually dismissed it as a lighted weather balloon, but Gorman disputed that.
7. The McMinnville Farmhouse Photographs
In 1950, Oregon farmers Paul and Evelyn Trent claimed they saw a strange metallic-looking object hovering near their property outside McMinnville. Paul was wise enough to snap photos of it, producing images that would become some of the most frequently examined UFO pictures of the 20th century. Investigators obviously picked it apart, but even under such scrutiny, the images have never produced a universally accepted conclusion.
George Stock
derivative work: thumperward (talk) on Wikimedia
8. The Lubbock Lights
If you know anything about UFO sightings, you’ve undoubtedly heard of this one. In case you haven’t, the story is that in 1951, several Texas Tech professors reported seeing illuminated objects. It wasn’t until local teen Carl Hart Jr. photographed the lights that national attention started to spread. Some people blamed it on birds, but no one really knows for sure.
9. The Bentwaters-Lakenheath Encounter
On the night of August 13, 1956, American military personnel stationed at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Lakenheath in England started complaining of unusual radar contacts and unexplained lights. British fighter aircraft were dispatched during the incident, and one radar operator later said that an unidentified target maneuvered behind an interceptor. Subsequent investigations dug into the theatrics, but no one conclusively knew what it was.
10. The Levelland Engine Failures
Police see crazy things all the time, but a series of unusual reports reached a department in Texas during 1957. It wasn’t just glowing objects, either, though those also appeared—vehicles supposedly stopped working, too. Farmworker Pedro Saucedo also said that a bright object approached his truck, causing its engine to fail. Investigators suspected electrical storms, but the precise circumstances remain disputed.
11. The Trindade Island Photographs
Brazilian photographer Almiro Baraúna was aboard a naval vessel near Trindade Island in 1958 when he claimed to photograph an unidentified object approaching the island. Several people reportedly saw it, too, and the images made the rounds with Brazilian authorities and newspapers. Questions did pop up about the pictures’ authenticity, and historians don’t really have any proof of what Baraúna photographed.
12. The Figures Above a Mission Station
In 1959, Anglican missionary William Gill reported an extraordinary encounter near Papua New Guinea, describing a bright object with what appeared to be humanlike figures standing above it. Other witnesses claimed the figures responded when they waved their arms. Written reports and witness signatures survive, although the details have never been independently confirmed.
13. The Socorro Landing Incident
Police officer Lonnie Zamora was looking into what he thought might be an explosion in 1964—only to spot a weird object on the ground. He then said that two small figures were hanging around before the craft rose into the air and left, leaving scorch marks at the location. The incident received tons of attention from Project Blue Book, but investigators couldn't establish a convincing cause for the reported object.
14. The Exeter Lights
On September 3, 1965, poor Norman Muscarello was in for the fright of his life after seeing several red lights above a field in New Hampshire. Police officers showed up, and one of them also reported the unusual lights. No one knew what was going on, though. The only possible explanations we have are potential military aircraft or astronomical objects.
15. The Westall School Sighting
Students and staff alike reported seeing an unusual object near their school in 1966, with some witnesses claiming that it descended toward a nearby area before departing. Others spotted even more objects moving through the sky. The trouble is that accounts gathered decades afterward differ, but the number of people who remembered what happened has kept the mystery alive.
16. The Shag Harbour Mystery
Residents near Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, witnessed bizarre lights descending toward the water in 1967. At first, people panicked, thinking that an aircraft crashed, but when Canadian police and rescue crews investigated the area, they couldn’t find any signs of one. Either way, the incident remains a hotly debated topic, especially since the emergency response and initial reports are documented, even though no wreckage was found.
17. The Falcon Lake Encounter
In 1967, Stefan Michalak was just trying to prospect when he encountered two unusual objects—or so he said. He also reported being bold enough to approach the craft before a blast struck him, allegedly leaving burns on him. Canadian authorities investigated, but neither the source of his injuries nor the complete circumstances were conclusively established.
Jon Eben Field from Vancouver, BC, Canada on Wikimedia
18. The Tehran Fighter Jet Encounter
On September 19, 1976, Iranian military pilots were dispatched to investigate reports of an unidentified object above Tehran. According to military reports, one F-4 Phantom crew experienced equipment problems while trying to get close, namely alleged interference with communications and weapons systems. The whole thing was documented…even if that didn’t convince people it was aliens.
19. The Terrifying Lights of Colares
During 1977, residents of Colares in northern Brazil reported mysterious lights that allegedly approached people and caused burns. Though it’s easy to dismiss that as a few panicked people, the complaints actually got serious enough for the Brazilian Air Force to organize Operation Prato, sending military personnel to investigate. The investigation produced records and photographs without establishing a cause.
20. The Rendlesham Forest Incident
American servicemen stationed near RAF Woodbridge in England reported lights in 1980. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt documented an investigation involving the odd encounter and alleged radiation readings, while other witnesses described what they believed was a landed craft. Skeptics just think it was the Orford Ness lighthouse, but that hasn’t exactly satisfied everyone.
