Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology,
ufology, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, ghosts,
myths, strange facts or just plain weird, weird goings-on.
This week: Absolutely all of it
Skinwalker Ranch
is a piece of property located in Utah's Uinta mountains. The
Skinwalker is an evil force – a Shaman with supernatural shapeshifting
powers that uses the ranch as a path of sorts. Local Native
Americans warn to stay away. But that's not the only paranormal
activity in the area. There's UFO activity, ghosts, bigfoot
sightings, floating blue orbs, half human-half animal creatures,
portals of light opening for unknown animals to step through them – the
list goes on…
Skinwalker Ranch,
from all reports, is a paranormal enthusiast's dream come true.
Almost any kind of unearthly experience you can imagine has happened
there. The Skinwalker the ranch is named for is a Shaman with a
supernatural power to shapeshift. These Shaman are
said to be given these powers only after killing a loved one or
relative. Natives Americans in the area warn to stay away,
because the ranch is somehow in the skinwalker's path. The
ranch's spine-shivering history started (or at least was first
publicised) in 1995, when the family who owned it put it on the
market.
They'd just moved in the year before,
and during their 20 month tenancy, they had several horrific
experiences that motivated a move out. Those experiences included
shadowy figures, objects moving on their own, and ghastly voices from
who-knows where.
Lucky for the family, when they wanted out, NIDS (National
Institute for Discovery Science) wanted in. NIDS is a Las Vegas
based, non-government owned X-Files research team of sorts. Part
of their mission statement is as follows:
"The National Institute for
Discovery Science (NIDS) is a privately funded science institute
engaged in research of aerial phenomena, animal mutilations, and other
related anomalous phenomena."
It's easy to see why a group like that would want to move into
Skinwalker Ranch. When they did acquire it, they went to work
fast. Video cameras were installed throughout the property,
observation posts were built, and it was staffed with scientists and
former lawmen around the clock. It is one of the biggest
paranormal research endeavors in man's short history, and not without
merit. Dr. Colm Kelleher, who is in the know on the ranch project,
said:
"We probably have, if you count all the pre-NIDS and post-NIDS
incidents, close to 100 different incidents. If you look at all of
them, the one thing that jumps out is how unreproducible they are."
Some of the sightings that have been reported include UFO
sightings (by about half the locals have seen them), cattle mutilation,
bigfoot sightings, poltergeists, teleportation of unspecified objects
or beings, 'sea' serpents in a nearby lake, blurry stealth creatures
(like in the predator movies), a large hyena, glowing blue orbs (that
disintegrated three attacking dogs into a grey sludge), masonic symbols
carved in unreachable places, and of course – skinwalkers. This
list is only partial.
The story was broke by George Knapp, a
reporter for the Las Vegas Mercury. He was allowed access to the
ranch for a two part article he wrote on the subject. For a more
in-depth look at the happenings on the ranch, you can get the book he
wrote on the matter. It was co-authored with NIDS investigator
Colm Kelleher, and is entitled Hunt For The Skinwalker.
And if you're just now scheduling your first vacation there,
forget it. Visitors are not allowed. Plus, everything has
gone quiet. Some say it's because the phenomena grew tired of
being hunted, and that's a shame.
Read more:
Investigators Study "Skinwalker Ranch" – Paranormal magazine
[story by Shawn Lindseth]