Hoping to catch a glimpse of alien life for yourself? These Massachusetts hot spots are good places to start.
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Wachusett Mountain photo via Getty/danlogan
The truth is out there. In fact, it may be right in your backyard.
For many years now, aliens and UFOs have had a prominent place in the American psyche, with a dedicated community of researchers, historians, everyday hobbyists, and even government employees watching the skies for signs of life from outer space. But now, as videos of unexplained aerial phenomena have been verified by the U.S. military, given serious consideration in venues like the New York Times and 60 Minutes, and a Congressional hearing on the matter set for June, the previously skeptical masses are giving the concept of alien visitors a second look.
So where might a curious ufologist in training get started around here if they were eager to spot an unidentified object in the skies for themselves? As it turns out, there may be ample opportunities in New England, as the region is crawling with alleged sightings of alien life. Just ask the Mutual UFO Network, which calls itself the “world’s oldest and largest civilian UFO investigation & research organization,” and which has added scores of Massachusetts-based incidents to its UFO Stalker tool, complete with descriptions, and sometimes purported photo and video evidence.
MUFON’s work has showed that reports of mysterious encounters can spring up just about anywhere, at any time, but seasoned experts have identified several hot spots.
Before you set off on a UFO hunt of your own, some tips: For one, says Susan McNeill Spuhler, organizer of the Greater New England UFO Conference, the same principles apply to UFO-spotting as stargazing. You’ll want to find a public area where light pollution is low, in order to have unobstructed views of the night sky. Low cloud cover is a plus, as is a new moon. Even if you don’t get a first-hand view of a UFO, you’ll at least enjoy a truly star-filled evening, an experience that’s all too hard to come by these days in light-polluted Greater Boston.
Additionally, she says, do not bring laser pointers on your journey in an effort to attract the attention of alien life, as doing so could put airline pilots in danger.
With that in mind, here are some areas of interest to get you started:
Hanscom Air Force Base
Considering the aliens’ apparent fascination with the American armed forces, Hanscom is as good a place as any to get started. In fact, if you turn your eyes skyward near the base and see something unusual, you wouldn’t be the first person to conclude you’d encountered otherworldly visitors. MUFON’s database includes multiple accounts of sightings in that area. One Boston reader wrote in a few years back to report “a glowing orb moving up and down in the sky.”
Monsterland
For many years, a chunk of the Leominster State Forest has been the stuff of legend, earning the nickname Monsterland for the high concentration of eerie incidents reported there. Strange encounters believed to have taken place in the roughly five-mile-wide expanse, many of them documented by local author and occasional TV star Ronny Le Blanc, run the gamut, from brushes with Bigfoot to, once again, orbs that glow. UFOs have always been included in that mysterious mix, particularly back in the late 1960s, when, as Le Blanc recently told the Telegram & Gazette, the region was hit with a “a huge UFO wave,” and that all throughout Central Massachusetts, “[p]eople were seeing UFOs over ponds and lakes and there was a lady in Fitchburg saying there are UFOs coming out of the reservoir.” If you do spot anything out there, be sure to let Le Blanc know, and you might just end up in his next book.
The truth is out there. In fact, it may be right in your backyard.
For many years now, aliens and UFOs have had a prominent place in the American psyche, with a dedicated community of researchers, historians, everyday hobbyists, and even government employees watching the skies for signs of life from outer space. But now, as videos of unexplained aerial phenomena have been verified by the U.S. military, given serious consideration in venues like the New York Times and 60 Minutes, and a Congressional hearing on the matter set for June, the previously skeptical masses are giving the concept of alien visitors a second look.
So where might a curious ufologist in training get started around here if they were eager to spot an unidentified object in the skies for themselves? As it turns out, there may be ample opportunities in New England, as the region is crawling with alleged sightings of alien life. Just ask the Mutual UFO Network, which calls itself the “world’s oldest and largest civilian UFO investigation & research organization,” and which has added scores of Massachusetts-based incidents to its UFO Stalker tool, complete with descriptions, and sometimes purported photo and video evidence.
MUFON’s work has showed that reports of mysterious encounters can spring up just about anywhere, at any time, but seasoned experts have identified several hot spots.
Before you set off on a UFO hunt of your own, some tips: For one, says Susan McNeill Spuhler, organizer of the Greater New England UFO Conference, the same principles apply to UFO-spotting as stargazing. You’ll want to find a public area where light pollution is low, in order to have unobstructed views of the night sky. Low cloud cover is a plus, as is a new moon. Even if you don’t get a first-hand view of a UFO, you’ll at least enjoy a truly star-filled evening, an experience that’s all too hard to come by these days in light-polluted Greater Boston.
Additionally, she says, do not bring laser pointers on your journey in an effort to attract the attention of alien life, as doing so could put airline pilots in danger.
With that in mind, here are some areas of interest to get you started:
Hanscom Air Force Base
Considering the aliens’ apparent fascination with the American armed forces, Hanscom is as good a place as any to get started. In fact, if you turn your eyes skyward near the base and see something unusual, you wouldn’t be the first person to conclude you’d encountered otherworldly visitors. MUFON’s database includes multiple accounts of sightings in that area. One Boston reader wrote in a few years back to report “a glowing orb moving up and down in the sky.”
Monsterland
For many years, a chunk of the Leominster State Forest has been the stuff of legend, earning the nickname Monsterland for the high concentration of eerie incidents reported there. Strange encounters believed to have taken place in the roughly five-mile-wide expanse, many of them documented by local author and occasional TV star Ronny Le Blanc, run the gamut, from brushes with Bigfoot to, once again, orbs that glow. UFOs have always been included in that mysterious mix, particularly back in the late 1960s, when, as Le Blanc recently told the Telegram & Gazette, the region was hit with a “a huge UFO wave,” and that all throughout Central Massachusetts, “[p]eople were seeing UFOs over ponds and lakes and there was a lady in Fitchburg saying there are UFOs coming out of the reservoir.” If you do spot anything out there, be sure to let Le Blanc know, and you might just end up in his next book.
Covered Bridge Ln., where Thom Reed and his family experienced their
encounter. Photo via Wikimedia Commons / Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Thanks to the controversy surrounding this particular monument, you may have heard this tale before. Sheffield’s Thomas Reed claims that, back in 1969 when he was 9 years old, he and his family were abducted in an alien spacecraft. Reed was not content to let this become simply a tale he told at parties, so as an adult in 2015 he decided to commemorate the incident with a large stone plaque. A dispute between Reed and the town about the monument’s placement on what officials say is public property sadly resulted in it being confiscated in 2019. Still, giant monument or no giant monument, Massachusetts UFO history went down at this site. It may be worth the trip regardless, as it’s also home to a delightful covered bridge.
Exeter, NH
Just over the border in New Hampshire, you’ll find the site of one of the most bedeviling purported alien encounters in history, a series of brushes with unidentified flying objects in 1965 that has come to be known simply as the “Incident at Exeter.” Police at the time said multiple witnesses came forward to say they’d seen, or been chased by, something unusual in the sky. Several police officers themselves claim to have seen it, and an official report authored by the Air Force indicates the government has never been able to offer an explanation for the events. As a result, the Incident has captivated true believers and skeptics alike for more than half a century. So maybe the aliens will visit these now-famous grounds once again. Or maybe they’ll make an appearance for the crowds gathered at the rescheduled Exeter UFO Festival, which had been set to mark the event’s 55th anniversary last year.
Spencer Buell
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