On February 6, several motorists on Bethlehem's Main Street stopped their cars to watch an object in the sky:
While driving home around dusk we observed odd white lights hovering in the sky at a low altitude maybe 500- 1000 feet. Several other drivers noticed and pulled over/slammed on their breaks, we continued driving however to try to get to a better spot. Upon getting closer to the object, you could see three distinct white lights forming a triangle shape, with a faint triangular outline that blended in with the sky but you could tell there was something there. (from the MUFON report)If you've ever been to the White Mountains in the winter you know that it's really, really dark up there. Even though Bethlehem is relatively lively it's still pretty dark and quiet.
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| A photo of a triangular UFO seen in Belgium from the UFO Casebook. |
People have been seeing weird things in New England's skies for centuries. In 1638 some Boston men saw what is probably North America's first documented UFO. While rowing on the Muddy River, James Everell and two companions saw a strange light in the sky. It first took the shape of a pig, then an arrow. The men watched the light fly back and forth between Charlestown and Boston for a while before it disappeared. After the light vanished the men realized they were now several miles up the river from where they started, a location that would have required them to row hard against the current, which they hadn't done.
In the early 1900s, thousands of people across New England saw a mysterious airship, similar to a zeppelin, flying through the night skies. One of the biggest sightings happened on the evening of December 23, 1909 when an estimated two thousand people gathered on Worcester's Main Street to watch a mysterious lighted object fly across the city and circle city hall before disappearing. The public believed it was an airship created by a local inventor named Wallace Tillinghast, but no hard evidence ever was found to support this theory.
There are lots of theories about what UFOs really are: alien visitors, pranksters from another dimension, secret government spy missions, etc. UFO stands for "Unidentified Flying Object," and I think the key word there is "unidentified." By their very nature UFOs can't ever really be known. They will always remain ambiguous and open to different interpretations dictated by culture and history.
Carl Jung was captivated by the round shape of the flying saucers which were seen in the twentieth century. For Jung the vehicles' circular shape was reminiscent of a mandala, a symbol of completion and wholeness. Perhaps, he suggested, they were images emerging from mankind's collective unconscious in a time of crisis.
It's an interesting theory, but UFOs are now seen in a variety of shapes, including the triangular one seen in Bethlehem. Another triangular UFO was seen in Amherst, Massachusetts on February 3, 2013, almost exactly one year ago to the date that this most recent triangular UFO was seen. What do triangular UFOs in early February signify to New England? Maybe the message will become clearer if one appears in 2015.
Firstly, wonderful work on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI've been in Vermont for most of my 26 years and have always been fascinated with the paranormal, the occult, the generally mysterious.
I saw a UFO over Woodstock once one winter probably when I was 9 years old, and other strange things as well.
One thing of note- here in Rutland we have a rather odd location in the forest near our home where you can, on occasion, feel hot wind even in winter- I mean Texas hot, not just warm breeze- in that area you almost never hear animals make any sound, and there's a small patch of land maybe 10 feet wide where a stream converges in that spot, where it's green almost all year; it always gives me the willies although I suppose it could have a geological cause.
Styxhexenhammer666,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the praise and I'm glad you like the blog. I've lived in New England my whole life and really like exploring all the strange/paranormal/mythic things that happen(ed) here.
That's very interesting about the place in the woods near Rutland. In my own ramblings I've sometimes come across certain spots that seem a little strange. Nothing grows, too much grows, people have left a lot of really weird graffiti, etc. I think sometimes if you look into the local folklore and history you might find something that supports your impression, but sometimes you won't. As you note there are probably scientific reasons for these little anomalies, but our emotional reactions (good or bad)to these places are important too.
Email me offline if you want to talk more! My address is on the home page of the blog.