Our Strange Skies: UFOs Throughout History

Latest Episodes:

41: Welcome to the Adirondacks: Abair Road Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

When most people think of Bigfoot, they think of the Pacific Northwest, of vast forested land untouched and uncharted by man. It is the west coast where the legend of large hairy humanoids took shape and entered the American Zeitgeist.
The Legend of Bigfoot began in northern California on August 27, 1958. A tractor driver named Jerry Crew drove out to a worksite where a large road was being built in the wilderness. When Crew fired up his tractor, he noticed a number of large footprints leading to and from the tractor. It startled the crewman, because these were abnormally large, larger than a human, and they appeared to be made by a naked foot.
Since that day, the world has known that a large bipedal hairy humanoid stalks the Pacific Northwest, but there is an area in northern New York where the Bigfoot are also said to roam. Whitehall, New York is the standard definition of a small town, but it gained prominence in the mid 1970s for a series of bigfoot sightings that brought the town national attention.
On this week’s episode, we look at the Abair Road Incident.
Sources:

Bigfoot Encounters in New York & New England by Robert E. Bartholomew & Paul B. Bartholomew
The Beast of Whitehall, a film by Small Town Monsters

Skene Valley Country Club Website

Abair Road: The True Story by Brian Gosselin and Sue Gosselin

Music:

“Coal Baron Blue” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)
“Between the Stones” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)
“Zither Sprak” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)
“Cover Letter” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)
“An Unknown Visitor” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)
“OneEightFour” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)
Theme song by Big Cats Logo and Web Design by the Great Desdymona

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42: Welcome to the Adirondacks: The Mayor of Cold River City, Population 1 Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

In 2013, a man by the name of Christopher Knight was arrested while he was trying to burgle the Pine Tree Camp in Rome, Maine. He had done it many times before over the years, and had broken into a number of camps, earning the nickname the North Pond Hermit. Knight had committed at least a thousand break-ins, but he always felt searing guilt about it.

Knight had taken to the woods when he turned 20. The only thing he really felt affection for was a mushroom that grew near his hermitage; he hunkered down with books and other basic activities to occupy his time in the woods. It was all routine, for 27 years before his capture.

There are a number of motivations that make men and women run to the woods to slough off society. For Christopher Knight, it was an admiration for solitude, but for Noah John Rondeau, the Mayor of Cold River City, Population 1, it was freedom. On this episode of the Our Strange Skies podcast, we examine the life of the Adirondacks’ most famous hermit, Noah John Rondeau.

Special thanks to Doug Irving for the use of his song “Noah John Rondeau” in this episode.

Sources:

A Not Too Greatly Changed Eden: The Story of the Philosophers’ Camp in the Adirondacks by James Schlett

The Philosophers’ Camp at Follensby Pond, The Adirondack Experience at Blue Mountain Lake

“The Adirondacs” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You Can Camp Where A Famous Hermit Lived For 30 Years” by Ryan Wichelns

Noah John Rondeau’s obituary from The New York Times, August 26, 1967

Noah John Rondeau’s Adirondack Wilderness Days: A Year with the Hermit of Cold River Flow by William J. O’Hern

The Hermit and Us: Our Adventures with Noah John Rondeau by William J. O’Hern

Adirondack Wilds: Exploring the Haunts of Noah John Rondeau: An Adirondack Adventure by William J. O’Hern

Life With Noah: Stories and Adventures of Richard Smith With Noah John Rondeau by William J. O’Hern

Music:

“Careless Morning” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Basketliner” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Idle Ways” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Gaddy” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Our Digital Compass” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Simple Vale” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Morning Bells” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“OneEightFour” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

Theme song by Big Cats Log and web design by the Great Desdymona

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39: OSS Addendum #1: The Buff Ledge Incident Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

A few stray bits from the Buff Ledge episode that didn't make it in!
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40: OSS Addendum #2: 10 - The Allagash Abductions with Rich Hatem Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Eyes as bright as a starless night. That is how Jack Weiner described the eyes of the beings that would appear in his dreams.

On this edition of the OSS Addendum, I take a look at a handful of experiences from Jim and Jack’s childhood, including their experiences with “Harry the ghost,” an abduction involving Jim while he was sledding, and an abduction event that Jack and Mary experienced in their Vermont home, years after the Allagash abduction.

Sources:

Casebook of a UFO Investigator: A Personal Memoir by Raymond E. Fowler

The Allagash Abductions: Undeniable Evidence of Alien Intervention by Raymond E. Fowler

Music:

“Snowcrop” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Where It All Happened (Darkstar Version) by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“The Snowglobe” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Cold and Hard” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

Theme song by Big Cats Logo and web design by the Great Desdymona

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38: The Allagash Abductions with Rich Hatem Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

To reach the remote parts of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, you need to be flown in by plane, and paddle by canoe. There are few roads in this remote wilderness area, and many of them are former logging roads that have long since been abandoned.
In 1976, four men, Jim and Jack Weiner, Charlie Foltz, and Chuck Rak embarked on a week-long camping trip in the Allagash. During the trip, the men were witness to two remarkable UFO sightings, one of which occurred during a spot of night fishing on Eagle Lake.
Years later, two of the men sought out an abduction researcher to explore what they believed to be a genuine UFO abduction experience. I’m joined by Rich Hatem, one of the writers behind DC’s Titans, to discuss the case and some of the finer aspects of alien abduction experiences.
Sources:

The Allagash Abductions: Undeniable Evidence of Alien Intervention by Raymond Fowler

“Subject of 1976 UFO incident casts doubt on ‘Allagash Abductions’” by Jessica Potila

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37: Unsolved Mysteries Roundtable 1 - Bobby Stacks F*cks Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

WARNING: THIS EPISODE IS NSFW:

For the month of October, we here at the Our Strange Skies podcast are paying tribute to Unsolved Mysteries. This week, I'm joined by Brian Hastie of the Double Density Podcast and Spencer Wirth-Davis, AKA Big Cats of the What If? Podcast to reminisce about growing up with Robert Stack in our young lives. We discuss the more memorable cases featured on the show, including the infamous "Boner Episode." Tune in to be terrified by criminals that lack a motive, the chupacabras, and a haunted bunk bed that has haunted viewers for decades.

Theme song by Big Cats Logo and Web Design by the great Desdymona Disclaimer by Brian Hastie

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36: The Buff Ledge Incident Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Every year, a handful of cars take a stroll down a dirt road just off of Clay Point Road in Colchester, Vermont. They’re often lured their by the nostalgia of a former all-girls camp known as Buff Ledge. For 25 years, the camp produced many undefeated swim teams, as well as state and regional champions.

In 1968 the camp earned a reputation as a place where an alien abduction had taken place. It was preserved in the graffiti on camp walls as crude caricatures of UFOs shooting beams of light. Walter N Webb, a UFO investigator, saw the art for himself as a walked among the skeletal remains of the camp in the early 80s

Today, the camp is a “co-op community is for people who want to live in the country ‘but don’t want to be lonely.’” The camp, like the memories of an alien abduction decades old, exists in secret, but if you find the right person, they might just talk about the night two young adults were taken on board a UFO on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Special thanks to Mark Rodeghier of CUFOS for tracking down a copy of Walter Webb’s book. If you can donate to their cause, please visit their website!

Sources:

Encounter at Buff Ledge: A UFO Case History by Walter N. Webb

Transcript of Walter N. Webb’s presentation of the case at a MUFON conference

Music:

“An Accumulation” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Setting Pace” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Shadow Play” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Stillness” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Mogul” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Feather on the Crest” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Snowcrop” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“OneEightFour” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

Theme Song by Big Cats Art and Web Design by the Great Desdymona

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35: Brazil's Roswell: The Varginha Incident Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

As we conclude our brief series on a few key UFO incidents from Brazil, we end on what may be it’s most well known incident. Varginha sits in the same state that saw the Villas Boas incident occur, Minas Gerais. Varginha is one of the major producers of coffee in Brazil, and exports its products all over the world.

In 1996, a story would coagulate and form into a narrative involving a crashed UFO, alien bodies, a government cover-up, and the death of a Brazilian military official. The red eyes of the alien being, and the three bony protrusions atop its head, have come to represent one of the strangest incidents in Brazilian ufology.

Join us as we try to unpack just what happened on the streets of Varginha.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal. “Tale of Stinky Extraterrestrials Stirs Up UFO Crowd in Brazil” June 28, 1996. Matt Moffett.

“Is This 10-Million Year Old Sculpture Connected To The Varginha UFO Incident?” Sid Goldberg. April 26, 2016.

“The Varginha UFO Incident and The UFO Sightings in Brazil” March 25, 2017.

“Varginha Case: New Revelations” A.J. Gevaerd. August 2004.

“Nave Espacial de Varginha”

“The 1996 Varginha Episode – A Hoax? Hysterics? Or a Cover-Up?” Marcus Lowth. July 27, 2018.

“Three Sisters Found an Injured Alien in Brazil. The Varginha Incident.” February 9, 2017.

“1996: The Varginha, Brazil Entity” Brazilian UFO Magazine. June 2004.

“Dr. Roger Leir / The Varginha Case / Kevin Smith Show” January 23, 2013.

“UFO Files – The Brazilian UFO Crash: The Varginha Incident” SyFy Channel Documentary.

Music:

“Lights Out” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Zither Sprak” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Ask the Sisters” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Evidence Room” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Rough Hewn” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“OneEightFour” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

Theme Song by Big Cats Art and Web Design by the Great Desdymona

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34: Bookwrecked Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Every so often I'm asked to recommend books to those new to the UFO topic. Here’s a bonus episode devoted to book recommendations. Prepare to get book wrecked!

Beginners:

The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs by Mark O’Connell

UFOs for the 21st Century Mind: A Fresh Guide to an Ancient Mystery by Richard Dolan

Somewhere in the Skies: A Human Approach to an Alien Phenomenon by Ryan Sprague

Only Weirdos See UFOs: An Introduction to the Public's Misperception of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and Extraterrestrial Life by Jason McClellan

Flying Saucer Occupants by Coral and Jim Lorenzen

Communion by Whitley Strieber

Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers by Jacques Vallee

Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens by John Mack

They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers by Gray Barker

Intermediate:

UFOs and the National Security State: Chronology of a Coverup, 1941-1973 by Richard Dolan

UFOs and the National Security State: The Cover-Up Exposed, 1973-1991 by Richard Dolan

Operation Trojan Horse: The Classic Breakthrough Study of UFOs by John Keel

UFOs: Reframing the Debate edited by Robbie Graham

The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry by J Allen Hynek

The Hynek UFO Report by J Allen Hynek

The Messengers: Owls, Synchronicity and the UFO Abductee by Mike Clelland

Stories from the Messengers: Owls, UFOs and a Deeper Reality by Mike Clelland

The UFO People: A Curious Culture by MJ Banias

Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz, National Security, and the Creation of a Modern UFO Myth by Greg Bishop

The Truth About Flying Saucers by Aimé Michel

Hardcore All-In Books:

The Eighth Tower: On Ultraterrestrials and the Superspectrum by John Keel

Forbidden Science 1: A Passion for Discovery, The Journals of Jacques Vallee 1957-1969 by Jacques Vallee

Forbidden Science 2: California Hermetica, The Journals of Jacques Vallee 1970-1979 by Jacques Vallee

Forbidden Science 3: On the Trail of Hidden Truths, The Journals of Jacques Vallee 1980-1989 by Jacques Vallee

Forbidden Science 4: The Spring Hill Chronicles, The Journals of Jacques Vallee 1990-1999 by Jacques Vallee

The Edge of Reality: A Progress Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by J Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallee

Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs by Mark Pilkington

The UFO Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed. by Jerome Clark

UFO-Dynamics: Psychiatric and Psychic Dimensions of the UFO Syndrome by Berthold E. Schwartz

Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact (Alien Contact Trilogy 1) by Jacques Vallee

Confrontations: A Scientist's Search for Alien Contact (Alien Contact Trilogy Book 2) by Jacques Vallee

Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception (Alien Contact Trilogy Book 3) by Jacques Vallee

The Super Natural: A New Vision of the Unexplained by Whitley Strieber & Jeffrey J. Kripal

A Trojan Feast: The Food and Drink Offerings of Aliens, Faeries, and Sasquatch by Joshua Cutchin

Singular Subjects:

The Mothman Prophecies: A True Story by John Keel

The Utah UFO Display: A Scientist's Report by Frank B. Salisbury

Charlie Red Star: True Reports of One of North America's Biggest UFO Sightings by Grant Cameron

Intruders: The Incredible Visitations at Copley Woods by Budd Hopkins

Abducted! The Story of the Intruders Continues… by Debbie Jordan & Kathy Mitchell

Encounter at Buff Ledge: A UFO Case History by Walter N. Webb

Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident by Nick Pope, John Burroughs, and Jim Penniston

UFO Danger Zone: Terror & Death in Brazil by Bob Pratt

The Zanfretta Case: Chronicle of an Incredible True Story by Rino Di Stefano

The Real Men In Black: Evidence, Famous Cases, and True Stories of These Mysterious Men and their Connection to UFO Phenomena by Nick Redfern

The Interrupted Journey by John G. Fuller

Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World's First Documented Alien Abduction by Stanton T. Friedman & Kathleen Marden

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33: Harm From Above: The Deadly Colares Flap of Brazil, Part 2 Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Toward the tail end of the flap in Colares, Brazilian ufology would undergo a transformation into something supremely darker. Reports of Brazilian residents would continue to come in during the flap, which lasted into 1978. Dr. Carvalho would treat over 35 patients during the year long flap, and would have a few sightings of her own. Operação Prato team members would have sightings of their own, ruling out the possibility of mass hysteria.

Just what happened in the small town of Colares in 1977 and 78? Join us for the final part of our series on the Colares flap, and try to unravel the mystery of just what happened.

Resources:

Operação Prato Documents

Music:

“Dawn Line Approaching” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Cold and Hard” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Stillness” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Barge” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Chase and We Follow” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Emmit Sprak” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“An Unknown Visitor” by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

“Twitch FS” by by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue)

Art and Web Design by the Great Desdymona