Our Strange Skies

For the final Unsolved Mysteries roundtable, I’m joined by Scott Philbrook (https://twitter.com/AstonshngLegnds) and Forrest Burgess (https://twitter.com/Forrest_Burgess) of the Astonishing Legends (https://www.astonishinglegends.com/) podcast to relive some of our favorite moments from the show. We discuss how UM influenced their own show, and how much Scott really loves “Lost Loves” segments. Like, a lot, you guys. We discuss some of the why Dennis Farina failed to capture an audience, and pay a little tribute to In Search Of… We also make our choices for who should host the reboot. All this and more on the final Unsolved Mysteries roundtable! Show notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/unsolved-mysteries-murder-roundtable-id-like-to-speak-to-the-manager-of-the-swamp-1)

On this edition of the Unsolved Mysteries round-table, I'm joined by Samantha and Liz from the Perhaps It's You (https://perhapsitsyou.wordpress.com/) podcast to discuss a trio of murders. That's right, for the first time on the Our Strange Skies podcast, we're talking about murder. Liz talks about the murder of Audrey Moate (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIHEI1el6ss&feature=youtu.be) , who disappeared in the Bayou of Louisiana. Did she run afoul of the manager of the swamp? Samantha discusses the murder of Kathy Hobbs (https://youtu.be/JlIeGGEtzFI) , who was abducted while returning from a local grocery store to purchase a paperback book. Is this a crime against avid readers? And finally, Rob tells the story of Angela Hammond (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2jhrLbLKGI) , who was abducted and disappeared in a rather dramatic, and cinematic fashion, prompting us to ask, is there a hall of fame for guys named Rob? We explore other off topic mysteries, like, whether Mothman is a man-sized moth or half moth/h

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

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 (http://www.bigfootencounters.com/articles/true1959.htm) drove out to a work site 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 Bigfo

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. Show notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/oss-addendum-2-10-the-allagash-abductions-with-rich-hatem)

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 (https://twitter.com/RichardHatem) , one of the writers behind DC’s Titans (https://www.dcuniverse.com/titans/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=acq_br_titans_dcu_exact&utm_content=dc%20universe_evergreen_cpc&keyword=dc%27s%20titans&gclid=CjwKCAjw_uDsBRAMEiwAaFiHa3wX420J_-1yLY8y0BLuvmGkp6Uhh645qzOwgrG9lplGxe7CMLAs8xoCr0QQAvD_BwE) , to dis

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 (https://twitter.com/BrianHastie) of the Double Density Podcast (https://www.doubledensity.net/) and Spencer Wirth-Davis (https://twitter.com/BigCatsBeats) , AKA Big Cats (http://www.bigcatsbeats.com/) of the What If? Podcast (http://whatifpodcast.com/) 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.

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.’” (https://www.colchestersun.com/shores-buff-ledge/)   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. Sp

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. Show notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/08-brazils-roswell)

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. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/07-harm-from-above-part-2)

Every so often I'm asked to recommend books to those who would like to explore the UFO topic. Here is a bonus episode devoted to book recommendations. Prepare to get book wrecked! List of Books (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/bookwrecked)

In the December 1967 issue of Flying Saucer Review, there appeared an article written by Jerome Clark titled “Why UFOs Are Hostile.” In it, he presents a few cases and a load of speculation as to why UFOs are hostile. One of the stories presented is that of James Flynn, a Florida resident who had been sleeping in a swamp when he was awoken by his dogs barking. He witnessed a craft, and claimed that it rendered him unconscious for 24 hours. The article is largely supported by heavy speculation, and had little to actually back it. By and large, in the United States, UFOs were relatively tame. They seemed more curious than harmful. Thomas Mantell’s death couldn’t be exclusively proven to have been at the hands of a UFO, and the disappearance of Felix Moncla was mysterious, but still remained unknown. In Brazil, however, they started to earn the reputation of a country that suffered from its UFO sightings. In the late 70s, a flap of UFO activity occurred that resulted in serious injury, and even the deaths of Bra

The 1950s saw the rise of the contactees, a group of ordinary people that had been chosen by aliens from Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn to deliver a message to the citizens of earth: save the planet from atomic fallout. The message was always the same, and their cultures were strikingly similar.  In 1957, a UFO event would change all that. In October, a young Brazilian farmer was forced on board a UFO, stripped of his clothes, mated with an alien woman, and had blood taken from his chin, before being taken on a tour of the craft and deposited back on earth.  The events of the Antônio Villas Boas abduction occurred four years before what many believe to be the first abduction case, Betty and Barney Hill. But in many ways the Antônio Villas Boas story sets itself apart from the rest as the analog abduction, an event devoid of high strangeness in many ways. Special thanks to Fabi for providing research assistance, and Ryan Sprague (https://twitter.com/SomewhereSkies) , for offering his vocal talents. Check out

There are certain areas across the United States that seem to draw UFOs. Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, is a place where you can see UFOs coming in and out of the water, and where, in 2014 it was rumored that one Google Earth image showed an underwater alien base under the water. Well, that claim turned out to be bunk, but the area is still known as UFO hot spot. On September 20th, 2011 Chuck Zukowski introduced the world to a new theory called the 37th Degree Theory. Chuck noted how a number of UFO sightings and cattle mutilations were concentrated all along the 37th parallel. There are other infamous hot spots around the United States, such as the Pine Bush area of upstate New York, the American Southwest, and Pacific Northwest to name a few. One ordinary town has seen a fair share of UFO sightings since 1975. North Bergen, a town of 60,000 residents, can be found just across the Hudson river, opposite Manhattan. On January 12, 1975, a dramatic landing took place in North Hudson Park

Brazil always seemed to be a step ahead of all other countries when it came to UFO sightings. While the U.S. was seeing objects in the sky, Brazilians were encountering humanoids of various types. Within a matter of years, the country garnered a reputation for having some of the most violent UFO encounters on record. This story, though, is a bit different. The UFO miracle sits in stark contrast to most of Brazil's UFO encounters. This is the story of a girl who was healed by those that do not dwell here. This episode is dedicated to the memories of Barb Kristoffersen and Patrick Whitney. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/new-page-2)

Terry Lovelace (https://www.terrylovelace.com/) lived an average life until 2012. He had put most of the strange incidents during his life out of his mind until the day he went in for an x-ray. Looking at the image, he was forced to confront the notion that he had had contact with alien beings all his life. From the age of 8 all the way up to his 60s, they took on various forms. When he was young, they were the monkey men, but they continually evolved until a traumatic abduction took place inside the Devil's Den State Park in northwest Arkansas. Join us as we explore the story of Terry Lovelace. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/02-inside-the-devils-den)

John E.L. Tenney (https://twitter.com/JohnELTenney) has been investigating the anomalous for nearly 30 years.  He returns to the Our Strange Skies podcast to talk UFOs and other various topics, including a spate of humanoid sightings that he has been investigating, his thoughts on TTSA, and the state of ufology, the value of looking into the past for UFO data, and he answers a bunch of listener questions. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/bonus-interview-with-john-el-tenney)

In 1973, the United States was experiencing a wave of humanoid reports. The creatures that were seen varied in size and appearance. Sometimes they were seen in the vicinity of UFOs, and sometimes they abducted eyewitnesses. Nearly 20 years before the "Year of the Humanoids" France was rocked by a wave of UFO activity, and sightings of short humanoid beings wearing what came to be known as "diving suits." The activity persisted for over a month before it ceased all together. During the UFO flap, one small French town took notice, and passed a unique law to deal with UFOs over their airspace. Special thanks to Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess from Astonishing Legends (https://www.astonishinglegends.com/) for lending their vocal talents to this episode. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/01-the-law-of-the-skies)

To most, a personal experience is nothing more than an anecdote that cannot be followed up on. On this episode, I share a myriad of my personal experiences with strange and anomalous phenomenon. You will hear about my spirit encounters, UFO sightings, an encounter with a strange creature, and much more. I don't claim to know what these experiences are or mean, but in some ways I hope that you will listen and share your own stories. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/my-personal-experiences)

In our final part of the Ed Walters saga, and that of the Gulf Breeze Sightings, Sam (https://twitter.com/BeerlordElfbane) and Jason (https://twitter.com/MightyMoit) of the Not Alone Podcast (https://twitter.com/NotAlonePod) and I reconvene to talk about Ed's hypnosis sessions and strange "in sleep you know memories." We also touch on all the other madness that was occurring in Gulf Breeze, Florida during the flap of sightings. Is Ed Walters the White Whale the aliens have been searching for? Can you go AWOL for Jesus? How would you go about hoaxing UFO photos with a Polaroid camera. Find out on the final episode of our series about Ed Walters and the Gulf Breeze Sightings. Show Notes (https://www.ourstrangeskies.com/ed-walters-and-the-gulf-breeze-sightings-part-three)