The 1964 UFO Wave

All of the UFO waves of the modern UFO era had their own certain angle of uniqueness to them. And 1964 was no different. For example, although there are several accounts on record previously, the 1964 UFO wave appeared to lean heavily to encounters that featured strange aerial vehicles landing on the ground close to the respective witnesses as opposed to sightings of strange lights in the distance.

What is perhaps also worth noting is how the UFO wave of 1964 appeared to have a “flick of the switch” feel to it, with very few sightings (by comparison) in the first three months of the year, before a sudden and absolute explosion of activity thereafter.

It is perhaps also interesting that there was, at the time, a perceived “quietening down” of UFO activity following the UFO wave of 1957, particularly the frantic end to it in November of that year. However, in reality, and certainly proven since as accounts and reports have entered the public arena, it appeared that this quietening down was really more in line with a lack of publicity and, in turn, reports.

We have examined before that there appeared at various points in the timeline of UFO history an effort to not only suppress evidence and potential proof of such encounters but also to strongarm publications and media platforms into limiting or even stopping their coverage of such accounts. Of course, with the rise of the Internet such grips on information have loosened considerably allowing a truer picture to emerge.

Now, with a wealth of information available to the point of overwhelming one individual, it is our collective duty to assemble what we can in order to refine and clarify the true timeline of extraterrestrial activity on our planet.

A Sudden Renewed “Interest” In UFO Sightings, April 1964

In fact, we have examined one of the first of these 1964 UFO encounters to gain such publicity and recognition in the eyes of the public in a previous case study.

Although we will examine some of the lesser reported UFO cases of early-1964 shortly, the Socorro landing incident of 24^th April 1964 arguably kick-started the 1964 UFO wave. And was certainly responsible in capturing the public’s imagination with strange and apparent visitors from outer space. Perhaps not least as the main witness that day was a serving, and respected police officer, Lonnie Zamora.

On that day alone there were several similar UFO incidents across the United States. Perhaps one of the most intriguing of that 24-hour period in April 1964 took place in Newark Valley, New York when farmer, Gary Wilcox would witness a bizarrely shaped object hovering over one of his fields one morning. What’s more, the craft was decisively egg or oval-shaped, very similar to the description of the craft in Socorro, New Mexico.

What’s more, and remarkably similar to an alleged account from the Le Bourget region of Paris (which we will examine a little more later), Wilcox would witness two strange humanoids in “shiny white metallic suits” seeming collecting samples of vegetation and such. The strange figures would even communicate with Wilcox, claiming they had “spoken with people before” and stating they were interested in “organic substances”.

Interestingly enough, although there is no proof of such an incident (which considering the circumstances is surely not surprising) it is the belief of many researchers that a prearranged landing of an extraterrestrial craft took place at Holloman Air Force Base on the evening of 24^th April 1964.

Early 1964 Sightings

One of the first sightings officially on record in 1964 occurred on the evening of 26^th January in Moultrie in Georgia. On that particular evening at around 7:30 pm, a physics student witnessed a “two dull red spheres” suddenly appeared from behind the trees at the side of the highway they were driving on. Even more bizarre, and unnerving, the two orbs then appeared to change direction and follow the witness’s vehicle for several moments before finally slowing up and heading away.

Almost exactly a month later, at 8:30 pm on 25^th February over Liberty in New York, two extremely similar red-white orbs would approach and keep pace with an aircraft. They would remain in the plane’s immediate vicinity for almost 10 minutes.

One of the most controversial sightings occurred, at least according to the claim, occurred in Oberwesel in Germany on the afternoon of the 8^th March. According to the claims made by Harry Hauxler, he witnessed a strange disc suddenly begin to rise into the air as his train passed through the region. He quickly managed to capture a picture which would show a blurred cone-shaped object. You can view that picture below.

We should note, however, that many in the UFO community remain unconvinced by Hauxler’s claims. Not least due to the “pure chance” of seeing and capturing on film such an object while passing through on a train. However, we should also note that other similar “cone-shaped” objects would be reported over the coming years.

The “Le Bourget” UFO Incident

One of the most intriguing UFO incidents of early 1964 actually occurred a week prior to the Oberwesel case, in the Le Bourget region of Paris in France in the early hours of the 1^st March. The French Air Force pilot was returning back to base at around 2:30 am following a routine night patrol mission when he witnessed a strange “weak gleam of short duration” ahead and below him.

As the pilot looked at the scene more closely, he could make out five silhouettes moving about below, seemingly coming back and forth from a landed “machine” on the ground below. The object appeared to be round, at least the part that was lit up and was visible to the pilot above. The silhouettes, who the pilot surmised were the occupants of the craft, appeared to concentrate on the area around the craft.

As he continued to watch, the glowing light suddenly went out. A few moments later, the object began to rise off the ground, hovering in the air for several moments. The pilot could see the underside was flatter than the oval-shaped topside of the craft that until a few seconds ago had been glowing warmly.

Then, without making a sound or displaying any form of obvious propulsion, the object shot directly upward into the air at, speed and disappeared into the black sky.

Upon examining the area where he had first seen the object the following morning, the pilot discovered discolored parts of grass and vegetation. Despite this, though, the pilot would keep the incident to himself.

We should note, in fact, this account arrives in the public arena via one of the many “report a UFO” websites available, and was reported anonymously in this manner, to a French website in 2007.

The 1964 Wave Begins

The encounter at Le Bourget, much like the alleged UFO photograph from Germany a week later, contains details remarkably similar to many of the claims that would surface in the following months. In particular, the notion that the occupants of the crafts were seemingly gathering samples for further study.

With this in mind, they certainly fit the pattern of a great many of the UFO sightings that were about to explode around the world, in particular across the United States, following the events in Socorro, New Mexico on 24th April.

Sightings continued in abundance in the days and then weeks following the Socorro case. For example, on the evening of 26^th April in Las Vegas, Nevada, an engineer witnessed between 12 to 15 silver disc-shaped objects flying overhead. What’s more, they appeared to be flying in formation.

Two days later on the afternoon of the 28^th April, siblings Sharon and Robin Stull, 10 and 8 years old respectively, would witness an “egg-shaped object” hovering over their school (Lowell Elementary). The object was in the air and visible to the children for around 10 minutes.

Robin, however, would run from the spot shortly after the strange objects appeared. Sharon, on the other hand, remained and watched the bizarre craft until it disappeared. She would, though, suffer strange “infra-red burns” to her face which required significant medical attention.

On the evening of 30^th April over Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana, an entire family would witness an “egg-shaped” object land on the ground before suddenly taking off and disappearing into the night sky.

Many Sightings With Very Similar Details

As the sightings and reports continued to flood in, it was beginning to look apparent that many of the sightings were of oval or egg-shaped crafts. And, unlike in previous years, many of them were multiple objects, often flying in some kind of purposeful formation. In short, they were most definitely under intelligent control.

Perhaps an incident on the evening of 9^th May over Chicago, Illinois is indicative of many of the incidents unfolding at the time. A reporter with the United States District Court, J.R. Betz, witnessed “3 light green crescent-shaped objects” moving in tight formation across the night sky. They remained visible for several seconds, before disappearing into the distance.

On the 17^th May at a little after 10 pm in Tipton, Indiana, multiple witnesses, including several police officers, witnessed a “reddish object” hovering overhead. As the onlookers watched in awe, the object set off a breakneck speed across the sky. Intriguingly, when it did so, it appeared to many of the witnesses as if it changed and “flattened” its shape.

Once more, while not something that comes up repeatedly, there are more accounts than we might think of shape-changing, morphing UFOs. An apparent nuts-and-bolts craft that changes their appearance within seconds. Are these sightings perhaps a trick of the human eye due to the speeds these futuristic crafts can reach? Or might such descriptions be of some high-tech, advanced smart-type technology that can alter a craft’s molecular structure to better suit flying conditions or even for disguise?

If such technology existed today, and scientists are indeed investigating and experimenting with solids that “change their shape”, it is a safe bet that various fields of interest would employ such technology for various reasons. With this in mind, then, why wouldn’t extraterrestrials do the same?

The Hubbard Landing Case

Two days after the landing case in Tipton, at around 7:30 am on the morning of 19^th May in Hubbard, Oregon, Michael Bizon, only a young boy a the time of the sighting, had gone outside to the farm where he lived with his family to “put the cow out in the field”. ^[1] However, straight away he realized that something was wrong. Whereas she was normally eager to be out of the barn and outside, on this morning she was positively “bucking all the way”.

It wasn’t long before Michael saw the reason for the sudden anxiety. In the middle of the field opposite was a shiny silver-colored UFO, stood on “four shiny legs”. Then, as he watched with the cow still under his control, a “soft beep” suddenly sounded and the craft began to rise up, slowly. However, when it was past the telegraph poles, “it shot up just like a rocket” and disappeared.

By the time the young boy had returned to the house to inform his mother of what had just transpired, he was almost in tears due to the bizarre nature of the incident and the delayed fright now welling up inside. Certainly not the behavior of a child pulling a prank.

Furthermore, when the family would examine the field shortly afterward, they would discover an area where “the wheat (was) pushed out in a flower-shaped pattern”. When the police visited the property later that day, Officer Davidson would write in his report that “the grain appeared to have been pushed down by some object”.

The case remains unexplained.

The Faceless “Moral” Entity Of Lancashire, England

Although the date isn’t absolutely certain, an incident roughly from the end of May or the start of June 1964 is quite possibly one of the most unnerving. We should perhaps also note, however, that there appears to be little to back up the sighting so we should also treat it with a pinch of salt.

The account came to light in 1976 and found its way into the public arena courtesy of a UFO fanzine publication. According to the report, in the summer of 1964, an elderly woman witnessed a strange bright orange sphere “silently explode” outside her home in Little Lever in Lancashire.

A short time later, after having retired to bed for the evening, a strange “almost faceless” entity appeared in the bedroom. She would estimate it to be around 5 feet tall and rather bizarrely wore clothing “composed of small rings”.

Then, directly into her mind, a telepathic message assured her of her safety. Furthermore, the entity, along with several others claimed to be a “group of entities temporarily stranded on Earth”.

Perhaps even more bizarre, three beings similar to the first one, appeared on another occasion shortly after the first incident. They claimed to be leaving soon and thanked her “not being afraid”.

If we accept for a moment the account to be true, what exactly did the entities need to be thankful for? What did they require from the elderly lady, possibly without her knowledge, in order to leave Earth? And perhaps the very notion of appearing to offer assurance and then offer thanks suggest, at least on this occasion, a demonstration of the quality we would recognize in ourselves as “having morals”.

A Very Active Summer

As May gave way to June and the summer at least in Europe and the United States took charge, UFO sightings would continue to occur. And perhaps most importantly, witnesses would continue to report their sightings allowing the many UFO groups and organizations, if not the chance to directly investigate, to catalog and build up a true picture of the state of affairs in terms of UFO activity and encounters.

Strange Sightings Over Gateshead, England

Possibly one of the strangest encounters, at least according to the article concerning it in the UFO magazine Flying Saucers, took place in Gateshead in England at roughly the same time as the sighting in Lancashire above.

According to the report, the Bell family would witness “three luminous flashes”, distinctly egg-shaped, moving overhead at a little after midnight. At the same time, a strange humming that one witness likened to a “swarm of bees but 20 times louder” accompanied the strange objects.

Even stranger, several days later on the afternoon of the 2^nd June, another sighting took place at virtually the same location, this time at Leam Lane Farm. The witness, 14-year-old David Wilson, was walking by the farm at around 5:30 am that morning. As he did so, though, he noticed what he thought was a group of children stood on one of the piles of haystacks.

Intrigued, he walked over to the scene. As he came closer he realized the “children” were, in fact, several 8-foot humanoids, each wearing tight, green costumes. They were riffling through the hay, much like someone might do as if looking for something particular.

It would turn out he wasn’t the only witness to the events, with several other children in the area, presumably on their way to school, also claiming to have seen similar “people”. One witness, a young girl, also claimed to have seen a “circular silver object the size of a car” spinning as it lifted into the air. As it took off into the sky, a warm, orange glow briefly illuminated the area.

The McKinley Avenue Sighting, California

On the evening of 2^nd June, at around 10:30 pm, Mrs. Holmes was driving home along McKinley Avenue in Sunnyvale, California. ^[2] As she did so, however, she would suddenly notice a glowing object seemingly hovering motionless in the skies overhead. She would estimate it was around a block or two away from her location at an approximate altitude of 150 feet. It had a distinct “cigar-shape” to it, although she would admit it could have been a disc shape that appeared like a cigar because of her perspective.

Although she could make out the basic shape, she could only do so due to a bright rectangle of light on the underside. Interestingly, she would claim the light was shining downward while also appearing to come from inside the box itself. On several close encounter cases, the witness will suggest that they witness lighting with no definitive or obvious source. It is just “there”.

The strange object was still visible in the skies by the time she was pulling her car up outside of her home. She would quickly rush inside to alert her husband to the bizarre events. By the time the couple returned outside, although it was still visible, the object was now quite some distance away.

However, before vanishing out of sight they would witness the object moving to one side of the sky in a surge of speed. It would then repeat this before settling at a specific spot and being joined by two other glowing crafts. They would then move away at a steady pace, eventually disappearing into the distance. The entire episode would last approximately 10 minutes.

Hovering Saucer-Shaped Craft Over Lynn, Massachusetts

On the evening of 15^th June, at around 11 pm, a 20-year-old student, William Angelos was watching television at home when a sudden loud noise disturbed the otherwise quiet summer’s night. He would later describe the sounds as being “similar to a rough-running piston engine”. And what’s more, it sounded as though it was right outside the family’s ground floor apartment.

William rushed to the front door and ran outside into the street to view events up close. He stopped completely in his tracks when he noticed, right in front of him, hovering just above the ground in the courtyard of the apartment complex, a disc-shaped object with a flashing red light on its underside, which was distinctly flat by comparison to the domed top.

After several moments the strange object began to rise into the air. It did so at a slight angle and relatively slowly. The object would eventually disappear into the night sky.

It would come to light in the subsequent investigation that several people in the apartment block had experienced substantial television interference at just after 11 pm (the time of the sighting) on the night in question. Several others would also report hearing an extremely loud, thumping noise at the same time. And while William was seemingly the only person to actually witness the craft itself, one resident of the apartment block would claim to have seen a “strange red light” outside their window on the night in question.

The Broome County Humanoid Encounter

One of the strangest incidents of the summer of 1964 ^[3] during that year’s UFO wave took place in Conklin in Broome County, New York on the afternoon of 16^th July. Five friends, 10-year-old Floyd Moore, 7-year-old Billy Dunlap, 5-year-old Gary Dunlap, and brothers Edmund and Randy Travis 9 and 7 respectively, were playing near (and in) an apple tree they regularly congregated around.

On this particular afternoon, however, as they peered out over the fields from the sturdy branches of the tree, they noticed a strange “dome-like” object seemingly landed in one of the pastures. Although it was sat within the tall weeds and so slightly covered, they could still make out the shiny exterior of the craft, “like a car’s chromium bumper”. As they watched the object – which remained still – a sudden bizarre piercing sound rang out.

Then, as the scanned the area around the landed ship, they spotted a strange humanoid creature. Like them, it was sat within a tree near to the shining, metallic craft. The sound, they believed, appeared to be emanating from its direction.

They would later state this strange and unnerving creature was a similar size to them (around 3 feet tall), dressed in black, and with a “humanlike appearance”. On its head, it had on a black helmet with a transparent visor over the face. Two “antenna-like wires” were set on the top of this headpiece.

The boys, whether through fright or merely mischievousness began to throw apples and small stones at the creature. However, they were much too far away to reach their target. However, after several moments, the creature seemingly fell out of the tree landing on the ground below.

The boys would immediately run over to the humanoid figure.

A “Spaceman” That “Needs Water!”

Although some of the details are murky at this stage, it appears that some of the boys would run to the Travis home in order to obtain a jug of water for their seemingly injured guest. As they left the house, they would shout back that they had “met a spaceman” and that he “needed water”. A little uncertain the grandfather of the Travis boys would follow them.

He would eventually reach them as they were walking back from the field toward their home. They would originally claim that they had not seen anything untoward for fear of punishment. However, when they were separated and questioned by the Travis’ mother, each recalled the exact same story.

Perhaps even stranger, when the boys led Mrs. Travis to the spot in the field where they had witnessed the strange craft and creature, although both were now gone, they discovered a perfect circle where the vegetation and weeds had seemingly been flattened by something heavy. Furthermore, the soil and moss underneath this circular area were decisively dry as if “intense heat had withered it”.

Several other depressions and markings were also discovered in the ground upon further inspection. The incident remains unexplained.

The Giant Spinning Top Case, Georgia

Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing incidents to unfold during the summer of 1964 took place on the evening of 29^th June in Lavonia, Georgia. The witness, businessman, Beauford Parham was returning home and was just outside Lavonia when he:

…spotted a very bright light in the sky. (It was) coming directly toward my car. The next instance, it was directly in front of my headlights spinning like a giant top! ^[4]

He would state that a strange “hissing sound like a million snakes” while in the vicinity of the strange object. Furthermore, the object was clearly in two parts with the “top part of the object moving in a clockwise direction” while the bottom half moved “counterclockwise”.

It had an amber color to it and had small portholes at the bottom in which he could see something akin to flames. He would estimate it was “big enough to hold a man”.

It would suddenly disappear “in a flash” for a moment before reappearing once more. Again, directly in front of his moving vehicle. Parham would recall:

It stayed directly in front of my headlights for at least a mile, never touching the car but spinning just in front of my light!

He would estimate he was traveling around 65 miles per hour at the time, with the strange craft maintaining a five-foot cushion between them throughout. Of more concern to the witness, however, was that he appeared to fall into a trance-like state while the object was in front of his car.

After several minutes, the object would disappear over the top of his car and vanishing into the night as it did so. Only moments later, “a strong odor…like embalming fluid and a very gaseous vapor left an oily substance” on the vehicle.

An “Intelligent, Sincere, And Sober” Witness!

He would begin to feel an intense burning on his arms several minutes later. By which time, the strange object had reappeared and disappeared a third time. He would recall:

My only thought was to get somewhere and let someone know what I had seen!

Shortly after he would arrive in Lavonia where he would stop momentarily so he could wash the oily residue from his arms and his car. However, despite several attempts, the burning sensation in his arms persisted. And the oily markings on the car’s exterior was clear for all to see.

Nevertheless, he would jump back in the car and drive to Anderson Air Force in South Carolina. Once there, he would report the incident to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) as well as the press and media. One reporter would describe him as “intelligent, sincere, and sober”. When NICAP investigators spoke to him they would very much agree.

What’s more, further investigation of his car would discover “bubbled up paint” as if it had been subjected to something corrosive of intense heat. Parham would also disclose that the entire radiator was also suddenly “eaten away”.

Despite the seemingly overwhelming amount of evidence that something truly remarkable had taken place to the businessman that summer’s evening, the Air Force would conclude that the incident was nothing more than “ball lightning”.

Needless to say, Parham or the majority of independent investigators would accept this explanation. Not least, as Parham stated “ball lightning could not have followed my car for two miles”.

The Kallavesi Lake Fragment Case

Perhaps one of the strangest cases of the 1964 UFO wave is not actually a sighting per se but a discovery made near the Kallavesi Lake in Finland in late August. ^[5]

The incident would unfold when 30-year-old Raimo Blomqvist ventured to his parents’ summer cottage for several days. One evening at around 7 pm, Raimo would notice a “colorful light ball” in the sky overhead. What’s more, it was coming out from the clouds and seemingly descending down to the ground.

As it came closer, he could see it was clearly an oval-shaped object which glowed brilliantly as it moved. Then, the glowing oval object came to a stop and hovered several feet above the water’s surface. As he continued to watch, himself only meters away from the strange aerial anomaly, he witnessed something “falling from the object” into the water below making a typical hissing sound that you would expect to hear when placing hot metal in water.

Several moments after, the already bright object began to glow even brighter. Then, it took off directly into the sky and vanished into the cloud above. Raimo immediately went over the waters, which were shallow, and located the object. It was like a “piece of stone” approximately 4 centimeters long. As he reached for it and examined it, he would recall how “you could see 5 layers in it”.

It would be a further decade before he would report the incident or submit the strange stone for analysis. When he did so, despite no unknown or surprising discoveries made, it did come to light that Raimo developed certain psychic abilities shortly after the incident. He would even claim to have met alien who “looked like normal people”.

The case is as intriguing as it is mysterious.

The Winddown

As the last part of 1964 came into view sighting did begin to slow a little. However, the notion of UFOs was firmly re-entrenched in the public’s mind. And, in turn, regular reports would continue throughout the rest of the year, and beyond.

We have examined some of these incidents previously also. For example, on the evening of 4^th September in Cisco Grove, California, three friends witnessed strange lights in the woods while on a hunting trip before encountering both “humanoids and robotic creatures”. What’s more, they would seemingly encounter a “stand-off” of sorts with these strange creatures, who were seemingly aggressive, to say the least

Perhaps strangest of all, not to mention ominous, was the fact that despite their not reporting the sighting, a military spokesperson would “arrange a meeting” at a neutral but out-of-the-way location, during which he was interrogated and “encouraged” to change his version of events.

Several weeks later on the morning of 22^nd September, an incident later known as the Big Sur UFO Film incident would unfold in Santa Barbara County, California. On that particular morning, an apparent UFO of unearthly origin seemingly attacked and disabled a nuclear missile during a test mission. One researcher to the incident would claim this was a “purposeful demonstration” of their technological superiority. Others, however, took it as a further threat from such cosmic visitors regarding humanity’s apparent obsession with such weapons.

You can view a recreation of that incident below.

Strange Glowing Object Terrorizes Cattle, Somerset, England, 30^th October

During a night fishing trip in Somerset in England at around midnight on the 30^th of October, four businessmen would witness a “brilliant red light” overhead. So bright was the glow from the object that several of the fields and a large portion of the riverbank was awash in it.

The object was moving slowly overhead and began approaching a herd of cattle in one of the fields. The witnesses would estimate there were approximately 50 cows in this particular field. And what’s more, as the strange object approached closer, they became increasingly agitated and anxious. In fact, as it came lower, the cows began to run away in panic.

The men would take makeshift shelter near their car to avoid getting unintentionally caught up in a stampede of frightened cows. The aerial menace would continue to dive at the herd for several more minutes before suddenly losing interest in them and speeding away into the distance. Almost as soon as it had disappeared the cattle became immediately quieter and calmer.

It is interesting that the object appeared interested in the cattle, almost provoking them to see what their response was to their presence. If, as we have mentioned above, part of the reason for the 1964 UFO wave was to collect samples and study humans and other lifeforms close-up, this behavior would fit into such an assertion.

Perhaps one of the most bizarre, and still unexplained sightings of the 1964 wave, though, occurred just short of a week later in November back in America. This time, on the east coast of the United States.

The Berlin, New York Landings

On the evening of 5^th November in Berlin, New York, an incident would see not one but two strange UFO crafts land amid an apparent repair mission.

The witness in question, local resident Kathy Hatzenbuhler, was watching the night sky from her porch. Suddenly, what she thought was a shooting star caught her attention, followed by another descending light. This second light, however, doesn’t fall to the ground in the usual manner of a shooting star. Instead, it descends in a directly vertical way eventually coming to a stop just above the ground before moving in a horizontal fashion toward the apparent landing spot of the first strange light, which the witness now no longer believed was a shooting star.

Even more unnerving, the second light then begins in her direction. As it does so, a “low humming noise” becomes audible to the witness. Furthermore, the object itself begins to glow intensely. By the time she had called out to her mother-in-law to also watch the bizarre events unfolding, the light was coming directly toward where she stood.

Although she moved back toward the door of her property, Kathy remained outside, almost “transfixed” with the approaching object. In the distance, Kathy could see a car coming up the road which slows somewhat, telling her the driver had obviously seen the strange object. However, when it sped up again, the glowing craft would begin to follow it and would do so for some time.

It would eventually give up the chase, though, and ultimately land in a nearby field opposite the Hatzenbuhler home. At this point, Kathy returned inside with her mother-in-law and watched events unfold from there using a pair of binoculars, high-powered ones at that, to view events further.

Humanoid Figures Carrying Out Emergency Repairs?

As Kathy continued to view the bizarre scene with the visual aids, she could see the bright craft was a “round structure” which was brightly lit on the underside. Even more bizarre, though, were the “five or six figures carrying boxes and strange tools” from the object.

As she continued to watch the surreal scene, Kathy would recall how these strange figures were using the “strange handheld tools to extract a large contraption” out of the side of the craft.

She would describe their attire as something akin to a “skin diver’s wetsuit”. It appeared the suit didn’t cover their hands, however, as these were clearly lighter than the dark material of the suit. They were, Kathy would later recall, very much “like men”. However, they were between 6 and a half feet to 8 feet tall, obviously much taller than the average human male. This is obviously different from the “gray alien” that many close encounter reports were beginning to reflect at the time.

It was as she was watching these bizarre events unfold that she suddenly heard her mother-in-law cry out in shock.

When Kathy looked to see what she was disturbed by, she turned her attention slightly to the right to see another strange light descending from above and coming to a stop just behind the first craft. As both women continue to watch events unfold, more of the strange humanoid creatures emerge from this newly landed craft and make their way immediately to the first craft where the humanoids are already busy working.

To Kathy, it appeared as though this first craft has run into some kind of difficulty with the second craft and the figures that emerged from it providing repair work. The work would continue for several hours.

A Decision Against Informing The Authorities

As the two women watched, neither feeling at any point threatened or even scared, they contemplated whether they should inform the police. They would ultimately decide against such action. Firstly, there appeared to be no threatening behavior from the group and secondly, they feared the police would “harass the alien men” should they be made aware of their presence. And besides, they each had the distinct feeling that the figures, as busy as they might be, were aware of their presence and of their watching them.

This is an interesting notion. And while it is perhaps easy to dismiss such statements as being from a mind attempting to make sense of a bizarre situation, the fact is such statements come up repeatedly in close encounter accounts. Almost as if such “feelings” are some kind of spiritual communication that we simply don’t understand but are still subconsciously receptive to.

Of further interest, and a digressing though admittedly, many legends and folklore of angels and divine entities of the spirit world (a guardian angel even) speak of similar invisible subconscious communication. We have mentioned before, as flippant a point as might be to make, that there surely is a similarity between the so-called “Nordic” aliens – around 8 feet tall, very human-like with light skin that has a glow to it – and the Grays, who with their larger than normal head and insect-like eyes could very much be considered demonical.

Intriguing Discoveries The Following Day

After working non-stop for several hours, at just before 5 am everything came to a sudden conclusion. Whatever the figures were repairing was seemingly fixed and the group split into two as they rushed back to one of the two waiting crafts.

Then, as Kathy would describe several years later:

It (the first ship) went straight up…almost like an instantaneous disappearance in the direction it had come from! A minute later the other vehicle rose straight up, went to the crest of the hill, rose a little further again and shot off in the same direction!

However, the following day she would venture out to the scene of the incident with her husband. Not only would they find several sets of evenly spaced out triangular depressions in the ground. They would also discover, apparently simply laying on the ground “in full sight”, was a “piece of cable”. However, it was far from a cable that you might imagination came from Earth. Kathy would state:

The outer part of it looked like wrapping, something like a brown paper towel, only it wasn’t like OUR paper towels. It was dark brown in color. It seemed to be (some sort of) tubular cable wrapping. And in the center of it…you could see…something that looked like finely shredded aluminum strips!

She would continue how this aluminum “had the color and feel” of the material but it most definitely wasn’t aluminum. At least how we know it. She would continue:

It didn’t behave like aluminum. Aluminum will crumple and this wouldn’t crumple. You couldn’t crease it!

Due to the lateral cut in the tube, Kathy was able to remove parts of this aluminum-like substance.

A Credible Witness And An Unexplained Encounter

Kathy and her husband, as well as her mother-in-law,  would decide against reporting the incident, even after the fact. However, following their attempts to discreetly ask other members of the community if they too had seen anything strange on the night in question, residents began to put two and two together and would ultimately draw the case to the attention of several UFO organizations of the time, including NICAP and APRO, who would each investigate many such cases over the decades.

On this occasion, NICAP and APRO’s investigations were further corroborated by those of the Civilian Saucer Watch (CSW). Interestingly, their investigation, completely separate from NICAP’s and APRO’s, who were also separate from each other, would bring back the same conclusions and accounts. That the incident, as well as the witnesses, appeared more than genuine and credible.

Over the years, several medical professionals and psychiatrists have reexamined the case, with some even conducting their own interviews with Kathy. Not once has she ever differed from her version of events. Furthermore, almost universally, she is considered one of the most credible witnesses in such a bizarre case.

What really happened that November evening in 1964 in rural New York, however, is likely to remain a mystery for the foreseeable future. At least until such time when our collective understanding of the UFO and alien question allows us to make educated cases as to the nature of such bizarre, unexplained incidents.

The Virginia Cone-Shaped Encounter

Possibly one of the last sightings of the 1964 UFO wave, if only by date, ^[6] took place in the early evening of 21^st December near Staunton in Virginia. At around 5 pm, Horace Burns was driving home when he witnessed “an immense cone-shaped object” making its way across the highway. What’s more, it was moving at an impossible (for its size) 15 miles per hour.

He would further notice that the tip of the cone appeared as though pointed forward, as acting as the “front” of the strange aerial vehicle.

At the moment it crossed his path, it was barely 200 feet from his now slowing car. After it cleared the highway, Burns would bring his car to a complete stop and watch as the bizarre object landed in a field at the side of the road. Despite its behemoth-like size and the obvious machine-like exterior, it appeared “like a bubble” as it descended.

As he examined it, now hampered by the rapidly fading light and the rapid onset of night, he could make out a dome shape to the top of the cone and noted a “dull metallic finish” to the exterior.

He remained in place, approximately 150 yards away and kept his focus on the landing site. After no more than 90 seconds, the object suddenly shot directly upward. It would settle at a height of between 200 and 300 feet, a “whooshing” noise sounding out as it did so. It then cut through the sky horizontally and at great speed. In several seconds, he could no longer see the object.

Although no explanation was ever reached, when investigators went out to the site they would find extremely high rates of radiation. Certainly high enough to indicate something truly strange had taken place.

What Would We Do In “Aliens’” Shoes?

Although we have only touched on a mere fraction of the incidents that took place throughout 1964, that UFO activity suddenly increased is without question. And while a lack of reporting and/or media interest most certainly does explain the apparent decrease in sightings following the last notable surge of 1957, it would still appear that something out of the ordinary, even in UFO circles was taking place.

And while many of the incidents were close encounters, an even finer detail is that many of these encounters appeared to revolve around an apparent collection of items for study. If we were to place ourselves in the “aliens’ shoes” for a moment, if it was a human team exploring another world somewhere, one of the first things we would do after conducting reconnaissance missions (which we just might have seen in previous UFO waves) would be to collect samples of soil, vegetation, and “organic materials” so we might study and analyze them.

Of course, as a rather disturbing thought, we might then progress to studying the wildlife in this new world. The cattle mutilations that would seemingly come out of nowhere in the 1970s might be considered to be the next part of such an exploratory and investigative program.

Where, though, might such comparative thinking place the notion of alien abduction? Indeed, might we need to reconsider where we ourselves sit in the grand scheme of things. If there are other lifeforms and entire races of civilizations all over the universe, then it is true that our potential friends in the cosmos could be vast. So could, however, are the amount of aggressive and highly-advanced enemies, and even predators we might have.

A Need To Consider All Alien Perspectives And Agendas!

Are we nothing more than a primitive animal to such visitors? Why, for example, would these visitors simply not make contact with our own scientists to gain such information and, most likely, assisted access to locations of interest to them?

While such a question could be an article in its own right, it appears the answer essentially comes down to one of two things. Either such contact has taken place and we don’t know about it. Or we as a species are not considered worthy for such contact and inclusion. Both conclusions should frighten us immensely.

Of course, this last point is merely speculation. But quite possibly necessary speculation. After all, without such speculation, nothing would ever be discovered or achieved. Nor would any real or significant change ever really occur, whether real physical change or a change in perception.

If the cause behind even a small amount of the unexplained UFO encounters on record, even from the modern UFO era only since the late 1940s, turns out to be extraterrestrial in nature, then not only would it force us to reevaluate and rewrite our own history, but we would need to redefine and reassess or own collective future. And more specifically, the possible dangers it might face.

Perhaps one thing we can take away from examining the UFO waves of the fifties and sixties is the underlying notion that there are indeed different alien species visiting our planet. And with them come different agendas, ideologies, and essentially, morals. Like in all aspects of life, we might think about not only the people that might represent us with these alien races. And, perhaps more crucially, which ones they might choose to make alliances with.

Check out the video below. It looks at possible reasons for UFO waves.