A poll asking contributors at High Strangeness and its sister publication Planet Flipside to rank the 'Top Ten UFO mysteries'  produced surprising results. We asked them to rank UFO incidents on the basis of the evidence available, credibility of the witnesses involved and to rate them in order of 'most believable'. Ordinarily in such instances Roswell tops the charts time and again - this time Roswell found itself in second position. To find out how those who research such events regularly rated them, and to find a brief summary as well as links to further reading on each individual case, simply click on the link below titled 'Read More'.

Here's the break down on how our researchers view the 'Top Ten UFO mysteries'.

Maury Island10 - The Maury Island Incident June 21, 1947.

Location - Maury Island in Puget Sound near Tacoma, Washington, United States

Main Character(s) - Harold A. Dahl, Fred Crisman, Ray Palmer

Maury Island has all the ingredients of a classic 'conspiracy thriller'.  Although 'Hoax' has been ascribed to this event many times and not least of all by the initiator of the account itself, it keeps coming back as 'There's more to this than meets the eye'.  Dahl spotted six flying 'donuts' one of which exploded or 'ejected' molten material which killed his dog, injured his son and damaged part of the boat he was sailing on in Puget Sound. After reporting the incident, subsequent events involved visits from 'Men in Black', the deaths in mysterious circumstances of Military personnel involved in investigating the claims, the disappearance of the photographs and evidence Dahl claimed to have taken, and even a citation for one of those involved (Crisman) to appear before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the 95th Congress as he was implicated in the murder of President John F Kennedy. It's a mind bending story which could take years to unravel but contrary to it being dismissed as a hoax - we at High Strangenes think this one is still very real, still very much alive, it's simply obscured by disinformation and secrecy.

Further reading - Maury Island - Wikipedia entry

Further reading - Maury Island UFO Evidence

 

 

Nuremberg Ufos Woodcut9) - UFO 'Battle' over Nuremberg Germany 1561.

Location Nuremberg Germany 1561

Main Characters - The Entire Population of Nuremberg Germany

Recorded for posterity in the documents and art work of the period, the citizens of Nuremberg were astonished to watch a 'battle' take place in the skies above them in 1561. All manner of shapes of craft were seen to emit 'beams of light and fire' at one another before exploding in balls of 'steam'. Given that there were no flying machines in that period of time and that the event was witnessed by thousands, this remains one of the enduring big mysteries of Ufology. A woodcut of the event made during the period can be seen above.

Further Reading - Nuremberg

 

JAL and the Alaska Incident8) The JAL - Alaskan Mothership - Nov. 17, 1986

Location Alaska

Main Character(s) Kenju Terauchi

Whilst flying over Alaska Japanese Airlines pilot Kenju Terauchi, observed a set of lights in front of his plane. Initially he and his crew thought that the lights were coming from a military aircraft, however they soon realized that the glowing objects were two spaceships hovering directly in front of them. The spaceships shone lights into the cockpit of the JAL plane before circling in formation a few times then disappeared from view. The event left Terauchi and his crew in some considerable shock. Incredibly, the crew then spotted a giant "mothership" to the rear of their plane, which Terauchi later described as the size of two aircraft carriers. It remained in formation with the JAL plane despite maneuvers to veer away from it. Fearing for their safety, the crew decided to land (which is no small decision for a commercial airliner). As they descended, the mothership disappeared.

Further reading - JAL and the Alaskan Mothership

 

 

Betty and Barney Hill7) The Hill Abduction - September 1961.

Location - New Hampshire

Main Character(s) Betty and Barney Hill

If you haven't heard of this one - where have you been? Betty and Barney Hill, a married couple, are driving through a rural road in New Hampshire and become the first known victims of Alien abduction. The rest is history and whether you believe it or not, will depend on how much weight you give to their personal testimony.

Further reading - Betty and Barney Hill

 

 

Battle of LA6) The Battle of Los Angeles - Feb 24th and 25th 1942

Location - Downtown Los Angeles and the surroundng area.

Main Character(s) - General George C Marshall

Mysterious craft appear in the sky over Los Angeles and ground based forces already on a war footing after Pearl Harbor open fire. Over 1400 shells plus assorted small arms fire are let loose into the night sky, some scoring direct hits, and yet the craft never waivers. At least one craft flies around for hours on end being repeatedy shot at before disappearing completely.

Good video of the original event - Planet Flipside Productions

Further reading - The Battle of LA

 

 

Travis Walton - Fire in the Sky5) The Travis Walton Abduction - Wednesday, November 5, 1975.

Location - Turkey Springs Arizona.

Main Character(s) Travis Walton, Ken Peterson, John Goulette, Steve Pierce, Allen Dallis and Dwayne Smith.

Another classic encounter made famous by Holywood with the movie 'Fire in the Sky' - although Travis Walton insists the resemblance between the movie and what happened in reality is very fragile indeed. Nevertheless we are left with a UFO event witnessed by 6 people and ending in the abduction of one. 

Further reading - Travis Walton

Further reading - Travis Walton's own site

 

 

Rendlesham4) Rendelsham Forest, England - Dec. 26, 1980.

Location - Rendlesham Forest, England.

Main Character(s) - Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt

Rendlesham is actually  series of UFO sightings Rendlesham Forest, a wooded area situated between two U.S. Air Force bases along England's east coast. After midnight on Dec. 26, 1980, (you have to be wary of dates in this case as the main character Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt recorded the dates wrongly in the official log book) a UFO passed through the sky and landed in the forest. Patrolmen immediately entered the forest to investigate the landing and found a conical metallic object resting on three legs. As they approached, the object began to hover above the ground before sharply breaking toward the sky and shining bright lights down on them. Later that morning, patrolmen returned to the site of the landing and found three distinct impressions on the ground in a triangle pattern as well as broken tree branches. The following evening, patrol groups were sent to investigate the Rendlesham UFO. During the search, one group reported seeing darting lights among the forest trees, while the other saw a glowing cone-shaped object with figures moving about inside of it. There were also reports of townspeople who claimed to have personal encounters with extraterrestrial beings from inside the UFO that night. The truth about the Rendlesham Forest incident may never be fully revealed however it is still described as Britain's 'Roswell' and will no doubt endure the test of time as the most prominent British UFO mystery.

Further reading - The Rendlesham Forest Incident

 

 

The Kecksburg UFO3) Kecksburg - December 9, 1965

Location - Kecksburg, Pennsylvania

Main Character(s) - Local residents of Kecksburg

A brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six U.S. states and Ontario, Canada. It streaked over the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario area, reportedly dropped hot metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio, starting some grass fires and caused sonic booms in Western Pennsylvania. It was generally assumed and reported by the press to be a meteor.

However, eyewitnesses in the small village of Kecksburg, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, claimed something crashed in the woods. A boy said he saw the object land; his mother saw a wisp of blue smoke arising from the woods and alerted authorities. Others from Kecksburg, including local volunteer fire department members, reported finding an object in the shape of an acorn and about as large as a Volkswagen Beetle. Writing resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics was also said to be in a band around the base of the object. Witnesses further reported that intense military presence, most notably the United States Army, secured the area, ordered civilians out, and then removed the object on a flatbed truck. At the time, however, the military claimed they searched the woods and found "absolutely nothing" (well at least they didn't say it was a 'Weather Balloon'). The Tribune-Review from nearby Greensburg had a reporter at the scene; the headline in the newspaper the next day was "Unidentified Flying Object Falls near Kecksburg — Army Ropes off Area".

Further reading - Kecksburg

 

 

Roswell2) Roswell - July 8th 1947

Location - Roswell, New Mexico

Main Character(s) Maj. Jesse Marcel, Glenn Dennis

The Roswell UFO incident centers on the recovery of a flying disc and metallic debris on a hillside by Roswell Army Air Field personnel on July 8, 1947. The finding immediately caught the attention of the national media, but was soon forgotten when it was announced later that day that the material was the remains of a downed weather balloon. But Roswell was back in the news as the subject of a highly publicized investigation three decades later, after a 1978 interview with Maj. Jesse Marcel, who was involved in the recovery of the debris at Roswell. He stated that he believed that the debris recovered at Roswell was unearthly in nature and that the U.S. military had covered up the landing of an extraterrestrial spacecraft.

Further Reading - Roswell

 

Fred Valentich1) The disappearance of Fred Valentich - 21 October 1978.

Location - Bass Strait, Australia.

Main Character(s) Fred Valentich, Flight Service Officer Steve Robey.

Frederick Valentich disappeared in 1978 while piloting a Cessna 182L light aircraft over Bass Strait to King Island, Australia. In his last radio contact Valentich reported an unusual aircraft was following his, and his last words were "It is hovering and it's not an aircraft". No trace of Valentich or his aircraft was ever found, and an Australian Department of Transport investigation concluded that the reason for the disappearance could not be determined. It remains a distressing audio to listen to - a distressing transcript to read, it also remains as one of the most powerful pieces of evidence ever gathered for the proof of visitations from extraterrestrial craft.

Further reading - The Valentich Disappearance