WEBVTT 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:16.339 Hey folks, welcome to Seneca Lake Mysteries, 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:19.800 the podcast where we explore the unusual, strange, 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:23.960 and unexplained on New York's largest finger 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:26.579 lake. I'm so glad to have you here. Thanks for 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:29.059 listening and thanks for all the support. For 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:33.079 this episode, I've got three really great and 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:36.659 very different types of stories that I'm excited 00:00:36.659 --> 00:00:45.200 to share with you. lithographer and mountaineer 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.039 from Dresden, New York, who lived in the late 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:52.479 19th and early 20th century, who had a very offbeat 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:57.020 and curious connection with Seneca Lake. Next 00:00:57.020 --> 00:01:01.859 is the story of a 2011 UFO sighting that took 00:01:01.859 --> 00:01:05.560 place near Burnt Hill in Hector, near the Finger 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:09.079 Lakes National Forest. It is the most incredible 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:12.140 sighting I've ever heard from the Seneca Lake 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:15.870 area. involving an up -close encounter with an 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:19.730 orb, plenty of high strangeness aspects, five 00:01:19.730 --> 00:01:23.549 witnesses, and eventually an astonishing eight 00:01:23.549 --> 00:01:27.769 orbs at once. I've got detailed firsthand accounts, 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:30.709 including some parts I pulled from an interview 00:01:30.709 --> 00:01:32.930 I conducted with a witness a couple of years 00:01:32.930 --> 00:01:37.370 ago, and it's truly a breathtaking and wild ride. 00:01:37.569 --> 00:01:41.930 And finally, we'll hear the story of a rare Bigfoot 00:01:41.930 --> 00:01:45.209 sighting. in the Seneca Lake area along Catherine 00:01:45.209 --> 00:01:48.469 Creek south of Montour Falls that took place 00:01:48.469 --> 00:01:52.950 in 1962. As always, I want to thank everyone 00:01:52.950 --> 00:01:56.549 for listening, commenting, sharing, donating, 00:01:56.769 --> 00:02:00.370 and supporting the podcast in so many ways. And 00:02:00.370 --> 00:02:02.189 before we get to the stories, I want to tell 00:02:02.189 --> 00:02:06.040 you a quick rundown. about the last couple of 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:08.479 weeks that I've had. So I've been asking you 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.099 all for a while to be sure and go to SenecaLakeMysteries 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:14.840 .com and subscribe on the website so you don't 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.680 miss any updates or news. And I've also been 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:20.900 promising to post some added stuff on the site, 00:02:20.979 --> 00:02:24.099 not just the podcasts, for all my subscribers. 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:28.000 So last week, I finally made my way out to a 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:31.620 very special location. near Seneca Lake so I 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:34.120 could do a little video tour for my subscribers, 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:37.039 which I would then post on the website and only 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:41.080 the website. However, my first attempt at recording, 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:43.659 which was hampered a little bit by some rainy 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:46.500 weather, didn't work out because after I recorded 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:49.939 for about 30 to 40 minutes, the video file apparently 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.939 failed to save correctly or something and was 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:56.800 lost, a fact that I didn't discover until I had 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:00.319 gotten home. It was annoying and it was frustrating. 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:03.020 But I decided I'd go back the next day and record 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:06.259 again. So on the second day, it was perfect weather. 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:10.759 And I recorded first a short test video to make 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:12.860 sure everything was working correctly. The test 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.819 video came out perfect. So again, I recorded 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:19.780 a 30 to 40 minute narrated video. When I was 00:03:19.780 --> 00:03:22.599 done, I briefly checked the file, which looked 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.159 like it recorded properly, the proper length, 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.780 everything. So I was happy and satisfied. And 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:31.400 I headed home to review and edit the video. Then 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:33.520 on the drive home, one of my dashboard warning 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:36.939 lights popped on. So when I got back home, I 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:39.080 had to call my mechanic and set up an appointment. 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:42.259 And after the technical issues I had recording 00:03:42.259 --> 00:03:45.539 the interview with Rick for my last podcast, 00:03:45.939 --> 00:03:49.030 the interview that I recorded on July 17th, Then 00:03:49.030 --> 00:03:51.229 having the technical issues recording the video 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:53.770 tour on the previous day, and then the technical 00:03:53.770 --> 00:03:56.590 issues with my car, I was kind of feeling like 00:03:56.590 --> 00:03:59.009 the universe was messing with me a little bit. 00:03:59.150 --> 00:04:01.849 So anyway, I got home, I loaded the video onto 00:04:01.849 --> 00:04:05.250 my PC, and it turns out that for some unknown 00:04:05.250 --> 00:04:08.889 reason, it inexplicably recorded the entire video 00:04:08.889 --> 00:04:12.719 at a very low frame rate. I think like... 10 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.780 or 11 frames per second something like that so 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:19.720 the video was so choppy and jerky that it was 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:23.540 totally unusable then i double checked the short 00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:26.600 test video i had recorded just before i recorded 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.600 that video tour and it was perfect perfect frame 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:34.180 rate perfect audio everything so at this point 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:38.959 i'm chalking it up to some kind of cosmic energetic 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:43.500 disturbance that's been annoying me since july 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:46.379 17th i'm gonna wait a few more days until maybe 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:49.920 august 12th and i'll go and record the video 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:52.920 tour again and i trust that it will come out 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.439 just fine this time anyhow i just want to let 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:58.759 you know that i am working on getting you website 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:01.459 subscribers some entering interesting content 00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:06.220 to enjoy and it will be coming soon if the universe 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:09.740 is willing so Thanks again for listening. I'm 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:20.040 so glad you're here, and let's get to it. So 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.920 while much of the discussion on the Seneca Lake 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:26.259 Mysteries podcast relates to strange and unexplained 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:28.879 phenomena, I'm also intrigued by the unusual 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.579 history and people from around the lake. Specifically, 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:34.920 I wonder about the possibility that somehow... 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:38.319 The landscape has some sort of indescribable 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.800 energy that creates an environment or an atmosphere 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:46.160 that can inspire and impact the thoughts of the 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:48.680 people who live in the area. With this in mind, 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:51.560 I've spent time looking into the lives of well 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.920 -known and influential artists, scientists, and 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.420 others who've either come from the Seneca Lake 00:05:57.420 --> 00:06:00.220 area or spent a significant amount of time in 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:04.120 the area and pondering whether the land itself 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.920 has guided or affected the minds and souls of 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:11.920 these individuals in some way. One of the larger 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:15.019 -than -life figures of the Seneca Lake area is 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:18.160 an artist, painter, lithographer, and mountaineer 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:22.959 named Bolton Coit Brown. While Bolton Coit Brown's 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.639 life was deeply fascinating and he left a legacy 00:06:25.639 --> 00:06:29.120 that is felt in a variety of fields to this day, 00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:31.899 it's his very strange connection to the lake 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:35.990 itself that I find very thought -provoking. So 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:40.430 Bolton Brown was born in 1864 in Dresden, New 00:06:40.430 --> 00:06:43.230 York, on the western shore of Seneca Lake, where 00:06:43.230 --> 00:06:45.790 he lived throughout his childhood and into his 00:06:45.790 --> 00:06:49.449 teenage years. From his earliest days, Bolton 00:06:49.449 --> 00:06:53.189 was a free spirit and a hardcore anti -authoritarian. 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:56.509 As a youngster, Bolton came to the conclusion 00:06:56.509 --> 00:06:59.810 that Satan didn't exist and was an intellectual 00:06:59.810 --> 00:07:03.189 inconvenience, in his words. And when Bolton 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:06.009 began explaining these beliefs on Satan to his 00:07:06.009 --> 00:07:09.649 siblings, his father, the Reverend Edmund Woodward 00:07:09.649 --> 00:07:12.790 Brown, was not happy. The Reverend then tried 00:07:12.790 --> 00:07:15.930 and convicted his young son of heresy, telling 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:19.790 Bolton what he would and would not believe for 00:07:19.790 --> 00:07:22.589 the remainder of his life. Now, Bolton didn't 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:25.209 take kindly to anyone, including his own minister 00:07:25.209 --> 00:07:28.389 father, telling him what to think. And years 00:07:28.389 --> 00:07:31.620 later, he would remark, Authority might stop 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:35.000 my mouth, but not my brains. Young Bolton was 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.139 not only a deep, free -thinking boy, he also 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:41.240 enjoyed spending the hours wandering the woods 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.339 and exploring the creeks around Dresden with 00:07:44.339 --> 00:07:46.959 his friends. He also loved it when the weather 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:50.100 turned stormy and the wind would cause Seneca 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:52.779 Lake to become filled with large waves that would 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:56.120 crash to the shore. And Bolton even had his own 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:59.800 unique ritual when the lake turned restless. 00:08:00.430 --> 00:08:02.970 He would strip naked, walk into the water, and 00:08:02.970 --> 00:08:05.550 hook his toes to the lake bottom. He would then 00:08:05.550 --> 00:08:08.250 let the four -foot -tall waves crash over him, 00:08:08.350 --> 00:08:11.110 keeping his eyes open while holding his breath 00:08:11.110 --> 00:08:14.069 so he could watch the shimmering sheet of water 00:08:14.069 --> 00:08:17.670 behind the wave fall over his face. He would 00:08:17.670 --> 00:08:19.730 then take another breath and wait for the next 00:08:19.730 --> 00:08:24.819 wave, over and over and over again. At age 16, 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.040 Bolton began attending Syracuse University, one 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.500 of the few schools offering art instruction at 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:33.179 the time, eventually graduating with a bachelor's 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:35.480 degree in painting. He then took a job teaching 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:37.960 freehand drawing to architecture students at 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:41.159 Cornell University and began pushing Cornell 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.080 to create its own art curriculum. But Bolton 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.440 was known as being often arrogant and sensitive 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:50.019 to criticism, and he eventually left Cornell. 00:08:50.509 --> 00:08:52.470 and after working at a few other schools and 00:08:52.470 --> 00:08:55.870 traveling in Europe for a handful of years, Bolton 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:59.970 received an offer in 1891 to join the staff at 00:08:59.970 --> 00:09:03.190 the newly founded Stanford University in California, 00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:07.289 which he accepted. His job was to instruct students 00:09:07.289 --> 00:09:10.990 in painting and drawing. Upon arriving in California, 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:13.710 Bolton was drawn to the Sierra Nevada mountains, 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:17.250 where he spent years climbing and drawing the 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:19.509 surrounding wilderness. The mountains became 00:09:19.509 --> 00:09:23.230 his favorite subject for his art, using ink, 00:09:23.309 --> 00:09:26.149 pencils, and oils to capture the scenery. And 00:09:26.149 --> 00:09:28.929 in the following years, he met and married his 00:09:28.929 --> 00:09:32.669 wife, Lucy, and even named a mountain after his 00:09:32.669 --> 00:09:35.590 university, which he labeled Mount Stanford. 00:09:35.769 --> 00:09:39.529 He soon became one of the most accomplished and 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:43.629 storied mountaineers in California during his 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:46.899 era. Now, eventually, Bolton started battling 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:49.100 with the university's founder, Jane Stanford, 00:09:49.460 --> 00:09:53.139 over his use of nude models in his drawing classes. 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:57.980 And he referred to Jane Stanford's complaints 00:09:57.980 --> 00:10:03.120 as Mrs. Stanford's Victorian ideals. And in 1902, 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:07.600 he was fired from the university. However, 20 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:09.779 years later, he would have a mountain in California 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:13.679 named after him, Mount Bolton Brown, which stood... 00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:18.929 and stands 13 ,538 feet high in the southern 00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:23.070 palisades. Now Bolton, his wife, and two children 00:10:23.070 --> 00:10:26.990 moved back east, and Lucy, his wife, would divorce 00:10:26.990 --> 00:10:30.429 him a few years later, primarily due to his stubborn 00:10:30.429 --> 00:10:34.129 and argumentative nature. Their separation, however, 00:10:34.169 --> 00:10:37.070 was kept secret for years as they continued to 00:10:37.070 --> 00:10:39.750 live in the same house, but eventually Bolton 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:43.580 began living in what is called today Off the 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:46.600 Grid, in a house without electricity or running 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:50.620 water, heated by a wood stove, lit by lanterns, 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:53.480 and with a hand -pumped well. So for the next 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:57.120 20 years or so, Bolton dedicated his life to 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:00.259 lithography. He would cart 100 -pound blocks 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:03.840 of flat limestone in a wheelbarrow to his home 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.879 in the woods, where he would first sketch them 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.320 with grease crayons before washing the surface 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:13.340 with acid. to create the lithographs. He became 00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:16.000 known in the art world as one of the foremost 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.039 lithographers in America. And meanwhile, he also 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:23.580 became the co -founder of the Birdcliff Arts 00:11:23.580 --> 00:11:27.100 Colony near Woodstock, New York. And now Birdcliff 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:30.539 continues to be the longest operating arts and 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:34.039 crafts colony in America today. Eventually, though, 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:37.200 Bolton Brown once again had trouble maintaining 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.799 a working relationship with one of Birdcliff's 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:42.629 founders. who was also responsible for much of 00:11:42.629 --> 00:11:45.590 the funding of the endeavor, Ralph Radcliffe 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:49.289 Whitehead. And Whitehead fired Bolton Brown. 00:11:49.470 --> 00:11:51.549 Now, Bolton Brown spent the remainder of his 00:11:51.549 --> 00:11:54.190 life doing a remarkable amount of lithography, 00:11:54.409 --> 00:11:57.370 living in New York City and in England for some 00:11:57.370 --> 00:12:01.009 time. Then in 1936, he became sick with cancer 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:04.950 and was told by doctors it was fatal. So he hiked 00:12:04.950 --> 00:12:07.830 in the woods around Woodstock, eventually finding 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:12.409 a large boulder. in a dry stream bed. He hired 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:16.169 a crew to move the stone to his backyard, and 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:18.929 he engraved it with his name and the year of 00:12:18.929 --> 00:12:21.350 his birth and death, leaving the last number 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:24.730 blank to be carved after his passing. That boulder 00:12:24.730 --> 00:12:28.370 is still there today. Now, although he died with... 00:12:28.669 --> 00:12:31.990 Very little money and a humble home with no modern 00:12:31.990 --> 00:12:35.389 amenities. Bolton Brown left a remarkable legacy. 00:12:35.730 --> 00:12:38.149 He instructed numerous young artists at Cornell 00:12:38.149 --> 00:12:40.789 and Stanford University, had a mountain named 00:12:40.789 --> 00:12:43.970 after him, co -founded an arts community that 00:12:43.970 --> 00:12:47.210 still exists today, and created more than 400 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:50.789 lithography pieces along with countless other 00:12:50.789 --> 00:12:54.490 examples of his art. But did his youth on Seneca 00:12:54.490 --> 00:12:57.919 Lake help inspire and create his path? that would 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.899 impact so many people? When that young, free 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:03.480 -thinking, rebellious son of a minister would 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.759 stand naked as the storm -whipped waves of Seneca 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:09.700 Lake crashed over his face in a strange sort 00:13:09.700 --> 00:13:12.860 of ritualistic self -baptism, did that spark 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:15.799 something deep within him that would lead to 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:23.460 his extraordinary life of consequence? Among 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:26.440 the dozens of UFO reports I've reviewed while 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.100 researching the mysteries of Seneca Lake, there 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:32.580 is one I've found to be the most gripping, detailed, 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:35.720 and jaw -dropping of them all. I first learned 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:38.919 of Eileen and her family's story on the National 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.500 UFO Reporting Center website. Three different 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:44.120 witnesses, Eileen, her sister, and her niece, 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.980 each submitted their own report, which took place 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:54.039 one summer evening in 2011. and not far from 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:56.720 Burnt Hill, the highest elevation in the Seneca 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.320 Lake area, and ended near Ithaca. Eileen was 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.679 driving alone while her sister, niece, son, and 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.899 nephew were in a second vehicle a few miles behind, 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:10.019 bringing the total number of witnesses to five. 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:12.840 Eventually, I got in touch with Eileen, and she 00:14:12.840 --> 00:14:15.879 graciously agreed to tell me her story for my 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:19.279 upcoming book, also titled Seneca Lake Mysteries. 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:22.659 She also generously provided me with her own 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:25.179 minute -by -minute written account of the events 00:14:25.179 --> 00:14:31.539 of that night in 2011. So using the NUFORC report 00:14:31.539 --> 00:14:35.059 and interview from another podcast, her self 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:37.980 -written description, and her conversation with 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:41.659 me, I've pieced together a detailed telling of 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:45.860 the event entirely in Eileen's own words, as 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:49.269 well as the words of her sister and niece. In 00:14:49.269 --> 00:14:51.250 recent months, I've reached out to Eileen to 00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:54.350 have her on the podcast, but for reasons I won't 00:14:54.350 --> 00:14:56.889 disclose, she's been unable to be a guest, and 00:14:56.889 --> 00:15:00.049 I'm not sure if or when she'll be available in 00:15:00.049 --> 00:15:02.850 the future. So please keep in mind that Eileen 00:15:02.850 --> 00:15:05.090 has been nothing short of gracious and kind in 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:07.629 sharing her story, and I'm still hopeful that 00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:09.990 she will come on and tell the story herself. 00:15:10.169 --> 00:15:13.970 But in the meantime, I will retell her story, 00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:18.179 as I said, in her own words. On the evening of 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:23.039 July 13, 2011, Eileen left an annual family reunion 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:26.679 in Watkins Glen around 9 .30 p .m. She was traveling 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:30.120 alone for the hour -long drive east to her home 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:32.919 south of Cortland, New York. Eileen made her 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:36.299 way from Watkins Glen north on New York State 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:39.899 Route 414 before heading east on New York 79 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:43.200 towards the village of Burdette, located about 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.340 a mile from the southeast shore of Seneca Lake. 00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:49.299 Eileen drove on for a few more miles, remembering 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:51.500 to keep an eye out for the intersection with 00:15:51.500 --> 00:15:55.179 New York 277 near the top of a hill where she 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:57.600 would need to bear right and stay on New York 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:01.620 79 towards Ithaca. Quote, I got to the top of 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:04.659 the hill and I saw in the distance this big golden 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:08.440 ball in the sky. It just hung there and it was 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:12.220 glowing gold, yellow, and yellow -white. I thought, 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:14.679 what could that be? Is there a playing field 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:17.340 here? Is that one of those things that's hanging 00:16:17.340 --> 00:16:19.299 on a line that keeps the planes from hitting 00:16:19.299 --> 00:16:21.620 it? I'm trying to give it a category because 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:24.659 I had no frame of reference for it. But it was 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:28.539 so big, I didn't know what it was. I'm a retired 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:31.659 reporter, and I'm just a naturally curious person, 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:34.320 so I decided I would go check it out. Instead 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:36.860 of turning right like I normally would, I went 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:39.779 straight toward where the ball was. I wasn't 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:41.799 really paying attention, but I didn't feel like 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:44.200 there were a lot of houses around. I pulled off 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:46.500 to the side of the road. and got out of my car, 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:49.220 but left the engine running, and looked at it. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.320 It was just hanging there, about three telephone 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.340 poles high in the air. I'm not very good at measurements, 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:58.159 but it was maybe 25 feet away from where my car 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:00.600 was parked, if you just go straight along the 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:03.240 ground and then straight up. I wasn't far away 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:06.240 from it at all. It was about five feet in diameter, 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:09.680 maybe a little more, just motionless. It was 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:13.140 glowing, very subtly, kind of pulsing, this sort 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:16.920 of golden glow. like a disco ball. I was staring 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:19.660 at it for I don't know how long, and it stayed 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:22.079 there, and I thought, well, what the heck is 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.119 this? I thought maybe somebody had some sort 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:28.259 of strange aerial device. People have drones 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:30.819 and things like that. And then it started to 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:36.140 slowly move to the right towards Route 79, and 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:39.299 as it moved, it pulsed. And the faster that it 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:42.960 moved, the faster the pulsing would be. So I 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.259 thought, It's got to be some kind of propulsion 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:48.099 thing. Then I realized, oh my God, it's a UFO. 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:51.319 I got in my car and screeched out of there and 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:54.420 followed it. It was going quite quickly and I 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:57.059 was barreling down the road, following it and 00:17:57.059 --> 00:17:59.400 madly calling my son who was at the reunion. 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:02.059 I wanted to tell him what I was seeing and he 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:04.740 didn't answer. I finally reached my sister's 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:07.599 phone and she got him on the phone and I said, 00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:11.799 UFO, UFO, UFO. And he's like, oh my God, are 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:14.460 you okay? And I said, yeah, I'm fine. I'm following 00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:17.759 it. The object flickered as it moved. The faster 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:20.299 it moved, the more rapidly it flickered yellow, 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:24.480 white, and gold. Suddenly, it went up quickly, 00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:26.779 and I noticed that there were other orbs higher 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:29.440 up. It was joining these three or four other 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.079 orbs high up in the sky, and they were kind of 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:35.559 hanging out with each other, kind of twirling 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.420 around each other. Some of them had flares coming 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:41.950 out of them. like strange red flares or orange 00:18:41.950 --> 00:18:45.210 flares. I stopped my car, got out and was just 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:48.190 standing there. Lower down in the horizon, I 00:18:48.190 --> 00:18:51.849 saw a few more rising up and there was one that 00:18:51.849 --> 00:18:54.930 was coming right at me. The orb came right at 00:18:54.930 --> 00:18:59.289 me. Then it rose up to join the other ones and 00:18:59.289 --> 00:19:02.309 they were just kind of hanging out and careening 00:19:02.309 --> 00:19:05.789 across the sky. I counted eight of them. Then 00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:08.690 I got back in my car and followed them. As I 00:19:08.690 --> 00:19:11.029 was following them, I thought, is this going 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:13.470 to take me on board? But I didn't know if it 00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:16.009 was big enough. They seemed to be about five 00:19:16.009 --> 00:19:17.890 feet in diameter, maybe a little more, but they 00:19:17.890 --> 00:19:20.690 weren't that big. And I said, well, how's it 00:19:20.690 --> 00:19:22.730 going to get me on there? I hope it doesn't take 00:19:22.730 --> 00:19:27.369 me, you know, and it didn't. End quote. As she 00:19:27.369 --> 00:19:29.890 spoke on the phone with her family and followed 00:19:29.890 --> 00:19:33.089 the lights, Eileen suddenly had to swerve to 00:19:33.089 --> 00:19:36.109 miss a deer standing in the road. Moments later, 00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:39.279 A station wagon rapidly backed up to the end 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:42.140 of a driveway with tires squealing when it abruptly 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:45.140 stopped then sped straight back into the driveway. 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:49.619 Quote, It was so weird. First the deer, then 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:51.900 the station wagon backed up and then they went 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:55.700 right back in. It was really odd, like the landscape 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:58.559 had gone insane. It felt like the whole atmosphere 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:02.980 was almost electrified. Everything was just agitated. 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.960 As I got closer to the city of Ithaca, I could 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.339 still see them, but they were getting very high 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:11.359 up and the lights of the city were starting to 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.359 encroach my view. So when I finally got somewhere 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:17.480 to stop and told my family where I was, I was 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:19.799 looking up and I wasn't seeing anything anymore. 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:23.480 And I was, you know, a little disappointed. My 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:25.700 family showed up and we all stared at the sky 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:28.559 for a while, hoping to see something. And there 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:30.819 was nothing except, you know, planes with their 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:33.599 red, blue and white lights. But when they were 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.740 following me, they saw a few of the orbs. They 00:20:36.740 --> 00:20:39.079 didn't see all eight of them. They saw like three 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:42.359 of them. And my son said that he saw a big, like 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:45.859 a large, some kind of ship or a huge thing that 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:48.700 was blocking the stars. And the orbs were kind 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:51.559 of going into it. I did not see that, but he 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.759 said that he did see it. And I guess his cousin 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:58.500 saw it as well. End quote. After receiving the 00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:02.059 call from Eileen and leaving Watkins Glen, Eileen's 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:05.259 family first saw the orbs in the sky on Route 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:09.480 79. shortly after passing the Route 227 intersection. 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:14.259 Eileen's sister. Quote, Once we reached the top 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:16.500 of the ridge, my son who was driving and our 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:18.460 nephew who was in the front seat of the van started 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:21.200 yelling that they were seeing something, and 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.460 my sister's son joined them in the front and 00:21:23.460 --> 00:21:26.839 also started spotting these lights. I am older 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.359 and don't see as well at night as they do, but 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:33.200 I did move to the front of the van to see. I 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:35.619 could make out three lights moving much faster 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:38.099 and more erratically than any plane or helicopter 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:41.259 could, traveling first in the sky over Ithaca 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:44.519 ahead of us due east, and then whipping around 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:47.500 to swing in the sky to our left, which would 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:50.059 be northeast. Their movements were unpredictable, 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.940 very swift, and jerky. The lights I saw seemed 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:57.039 to have a reddish -amber cast alternating with 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.859 a yellow -white color. They were very far away 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:04.349 and very high in the sky. End quote. Eileen's 00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:08.250 niece, quote, As we crested the first hill, I 00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:10.890 saw two lights over the trees at a high altitude 00:22:10.890 --> 00:22:15.309 to my right, south, pulsing, and alerted my cousins 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:17.829 and my mother. We watched these lights for a 00:22:17.829 --> 00:22:20.250 few moments, debating on whether or not they 00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:23.009 were stars at first. Both lights were blinking 00:22:23.009 --> 00:22:26.210 and pulsing very rapidly, and then they moved 00:22:26.210 --> 00:22:28.849 across the highway to our north and joined with 00:22:28.849 --> 00:22:31.710 a third blinking light. During this transition, 00:22:32.009 --> 00:22:34.930 there were a few aircraft flying toward Ithaca 00:22:34.930 --> 00:22:38.029 and we were able to compare these lights to the 00:22:38.029 --> 00:22:40.430 light of a commercial aircraft and the two were 00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:43.730 definitely not the same. We observed these lights 00:22:43.730 --> 00:22:45.990 for nearly 10 minutes and our movement during 00:22:45.990 --> 00:22:49.269 this time resulted in the lights slowly shifting 00:22:49.269 --> 00:22:52.190 to the north of us so that I could no longer 00:22:52.190 --> 00:22:54.549 see them from my position in the driver's seat 00:22:54.549 --> 00:22:57.470 without completely ignoring the road. At this 00:22:57.470 --> 00:23:00.309 point, my cousins my mother was in the backseat 00:23:00.309 --> 00:23:03.009 talking with my aunt on the phone and no longer 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:06.349 actively observing, began to get very excited, 00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:09.910 saying there was a fourth object that joined 00:23:09.910 --> 00:23:12.589 the other three, which had maneuvered into a 00:23:12.589 --> 00:23:16.009 triangle formation at that point. My aunt's son 00:23:16.009 --> 00:23:19.029 said that if he observed the three lights that 00:23:19.029 --> 00:23:21.470 were in the triangle formation through the tinted 00:23:21.470 --> 00:23:24.309 rear windows of our van, that he could make out 00:23:24.309 --> 00:23:27.730 a huge, dark triangle shape with the lights at 00:23:27.730 --> 00:23:30.299 its corners. He also reported that the fourth 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:34.140 object flashed and disappeared. As we entered 00:23:34.140 --> 00:23:36.859 Ithaca, we lost sight of the objects and met 00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:39.740 up with my aunt and observed local air traffic 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:42.980 for nearly 20 minutes so that we could confirm 00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:46.200 none of us could see the objects we had previously 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:51.759 seen any longer." The next day, Eileen saw her 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:54.839 nephew, who lived in Odessa, New York, and told 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:57.940 him about her experience. Her nephew said that, 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:00.779 Sightings of the lights were common in the area, 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:04.099 including reports of the objects diving into 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:07.920 Seneca Lake, and that police and media were uninterested 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:12.519 in the phenomenon. Quote, he said, oh yeah, we 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:14.880 see them all the time. People see them disappear 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:17.680 into the lake all the time. I asked him, well, 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:21.220 does anyone have any curiosity about this? And 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:23.720 he said, we tried reporting it. Nobody wants 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:26.920 to know. Then I wanted to report what I had seen. 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:29.680 First, I called the police and they wanted nothing 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:32.140 to do with it. They said, we don't handle that 00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:35.140 stuff. Try the paper. I tried the local paper. 00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:37.799 The paper wanted nothing to do with it and said 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:39.460 they weren't interested in that kind of thing. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:43.200 End quote. Eileen and her family's experience 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:46.279 included a number of details that would be categorized 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:50.240 as high strangeness, a term coined by famed UFO 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:53.019 researcher J. Allen Hynek in the late 60s to 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:56.099 describe UFO sightings that include other anomalous 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:59.289 events. in conjunction with the appearance of 00:24:59.289 --> 00:25:02.650 the UFO. A low strangeness sighting would be 00:25:02.650 --> 00:25:04.710 someone witnessing unusual lights in the sky 00:25:04.710 --> 00:25:08.410 at a distance. Eileen's close proximity and detailed 00:25:08.410 --> 00:25:11.730 description of the orb, the number of orbs and 00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:13.930 their movement, the behavior of the deer in the 00:25:13.930 --> 00:25:16.769 station wagon, and the observation through a 00:25:16.769 --> 00:25:19.509 tinted glass window of a large triangular flying 00:25:19.509 --> 00:25:22.490 object interacting with the orbs all fall under 00:25:22.490 --> 00:25:25.910 the high strangeness umbrella. as does the following 00:25:25.910 --> 00:25:30.750 detail shared by Eileen. Quote, I know this is 00:25:30.750 --> 00:25:33.269 going to sound weird, but I sort of felt connected 00:25:33.269 --> 00:25:36.490 to it. It was like it had an intelligence, a 00:25:36.490 --> 00:25:39.670 consciousness of some kind. I felt some sort 00:25:39.670 --> 00:25:41.890 of connection, but at the same time, I was really 00:25:41.890 --> 00:25:45.210 scared. I thought, don't take me. I don't think 00:25:45.210 --> 00:25:48.430 I want to go anywhere with you. But I was intrigued 00:25:48.430 --> 00:25:51.329 because it didn't just feel like something else 00:25:51.329 --> 00:25:54.789 was piloting it. It felt like... The orb had 00:25:54.789 --> 00:25:57.609 intelligence and consciousness, which was weird. 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.410 It wasn't talking to me or anything, but I felt 00:26:01.410 --> 00:26:03.990 like somehow it was connecting with me. I felt 00:26:03.990 --> 00:26:07.289 close to it. It was hanging in the air like it 00:26:07.289 --> 00:26:10.049 was saying, yes, I'm going to let you see me. 00:26:10.089 --> 00:26:14.369 Here I am. And I'm just going to hang here. And 00:26:14.369 --> 00:26:16.490 now I'm going to go. But you can come along. 00:26:16.609 --> 00:26:19.369 I'm not just going to zip away. I'm going to 00:26:19.369 --> 00:26:23.190 flow. And it just started to move slowly away. 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.119 almost like it was drawing me with it, end quote. 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:29.059 I asked Eileen why she didn't take any photos 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:32.940 during the event. Quote, you know, I was just 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:35.380 in a complete state of awe. I was so excited 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:38.299 and in disbelief about what I was seeing. And 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:40.480 then when it started to pulse and move and I 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.500 jumped in my car and followed it, there really 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:46.740 wasn't any real time to take a photo. It was 00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:50.079 always moving. They rose up very quickly and 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:52.380 I was so busy chasing them and trying to keep 00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:55.529 up with them. I was so shocked and just in awe 00:26:55.529 --> 00:26:57.569 of what I was seeing, I didn't even think of 00:26:57.569 --> 00:27:00.789 it, and later I thought, oh God, why didn't I? 00:27:01.170 --> 00:27:05.930 End quote. The Burnt Hill encounter in 2011 was 00:27:05.930 --> 00:27:09.710 actually Eileen's second UFO sighting. The first 00:27:09.710 --> 00:27:13.369 was on Long Island in the early 1980s, which 00:27:13.369 --> 00:27:15.630 prompted a deeper interest in the subject for 00:27:15.630 --> 00:27:19.109 her. Quote, it wasn't very long after I saw it 00:27:19.109 --> 00:27:21.529 in the 80s that it really spurred me on to read 00:27:21.529 --> 00:27:24.619 up on UFOs, you know. Bud Hopkins and Whitley 00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:28.599 Streber and watched all these UFO programs and 00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:32.400 Project Blue Book and Hynek and all that because 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:35.819 I wanted to understand what it was that I might 00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:38.559 have seen. And I found that there were a lot 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:40.579 of people in the Hudson Valley that saw these 00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:43.839 giant things, so I felt somewhat vindicated but 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:46.680 very curious about what they could possibly be. 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:50.359 Something that's that big and makes no noise 00:27:50.359 --> 00:27:54.779 at all. So bizarre. End quote. Eileen said the 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:58.400 experience in 2011 had a profound effect on her 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:02.359 life. Quote, I'm a journalist, a writer. I got 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:05.079 into my research thing and discovered all of 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:07.680 these sightings all over the world. A lot of 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:10.180 orbs, a lot of different shaped things, big, 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:13.119 small, you name it. And just this lack of interest 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:16.799 from governments and police and newspapers. In 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:18.819 my research, I actually saw videos that were 00:28:18.819 --> 00:28:21.140 done of the orbs near Seneca Lake, you know. 00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:23.980 in the same basic area where I had seen them. 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:26.680 So they are quite common there, and I guess they're 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:29.799 fairly common in upstate New York. Yeah, I've 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:32.019 got to say it's still pretty fresh. I think about 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:34.660 it every day. I'm immersed in it since it happened 00:28:34.660 --> 00:28:37.960 to me. If somebody could just say, this is what 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:41.119 this is, this is where it's from, you know, this 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:43.359 is what it's made of, this is why it's here, 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:46.799 but no one can tell you. I have theories, but 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.890 you know, everybody's got a theory. That's the 00:28:48.890 --> 00:28:52.509 thing. I have no idea what they are. I mean, 00:28:52.630 --> 00:28:55.369 every day I think about it and I try to make 00:28:55.369 --> 00:28:58.789 sense of it. And it just kind of woke me up in 00:28:58.789 --> 00:29:01.390 a sense to like, whoa, there's some stuff out 00:29:01.390 --> 00:29:04.269 there that we cannot explain. And I think that's 00:29:04.269 --> 00:29:07.269 amazing. I'm sort of conditioned now that any 00:29:07.269 --> 00:29:10.069 time I look up and see something I can't identify, 00:29:10.289 --> 00:29:13.690 I'm like, is that one? You know, I'd like to 00:29:13.690 --> 00:29:16.670 see another one. I would. But you can look at 00:29:16.670 --> 00:29:19.470 the sky forever. It doesn't work that way. I 00:29:19.470 --> 00:29:22.029 gave up on seeing another one after seeing the 00:29:22.029 --> 00:29:25.230 first one in the 80s. I said, that's it for me. 00:29:25.589 --> 00:29:28.809 And then this showed up. And I'm hoping to see 00:29:28.809 --> 00:29:32.750 another. End quote. So that's Eileen's story. 00:29:32.849 --> 00:29:36.509 I'm hoping you guys can see why I find this sighting 00:29:36.509 --> 00:29:39.430 to be maybe the most incredible UFO or UAP story 00:29:39.430 --> 00:29:43.269 from the Seneca Lake area that I've ever come 00:29:43.269 --> 00:29:47.859 across. Eileen's description is so dense with 00:29:47.859 --> 00:29:51.740 details throughout the entire recounting, I found 00:29:51.740 --> 00:29:55.980 her to be open and authentic and very believable. 00:29:56.059 --> 00:29:59.420 I found many of the details, as strange as they 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:03.019 were, provided another layer of credibility. 00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:06.700 Her initial reaction to seeing the lighted area 00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:08.539 ahead of her on the road when she thought it 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:11.140 was some type of outdoor stadium lighting would 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:13.640 be something many of us would think in that moment. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.980 while trying to make sense of it. The way she 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:19.339 thought that the glowing ball might be a visibility 00:30:19.339 --> 00:30:22.039 marker on a power line to warn planes and helicopters. 00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:26.880 Again, a detail that sounds like a very human 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:29.779 response. The way she stood and looked at the 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:33.099 object while her mind went into overdrive, trying 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:35.920 to explain it away as a drone or some type of 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:39.779 hobbyist device. And then once her mind ran out 00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:42.359 of logical explanations for the... for the phenomenon, 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:45.339 and she realized it was a UFO, she began wondering 00:30:45.339 --> 00:30:48.960 if and how the craft might have occupants looking 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:53.099 to abduct her. I've heard or read Eileen telling 00:30:53.099 --> 00:30:56.900 the story several times, and aside from very 00:30:56.900 --> 00:31:01.500 minor details, all the main details remain consistent 00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:05.339 throughout each telling. And the fact that there 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:08.859 were multiple witnesses adds another layer of 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:12.089 credibility. Although Eileen had a longtime interest 00:31:12.089 --> 00:31:15.150 in UFOs, which might lead some people to believe 00:31:15.150 --> 00:31:18.869 she was exaggerating or misinterpreting a more 00:31:18.869 --> 00:31:23.349 explainable event, but she had four family members 00:31:23.349 --> 00:31:26.210 who also witnessed the orbs at the same time. 00:31:26.250 --> 00:31:29.430 And two of those family members were so impacted 00:31:29.430 --> 00:31:32.009 by the event that they also submitted reports 00:31:32.009 --> 00:31:36.069 to the National UFO Reporting Center. But for 00:31:36.069 --> 00:31:38.670 me, the elements of high strangeness make this... 00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:43.259 Story truly astonishing. It's not uncommon for 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:47.680 witnesses who see orbs to report that they believe 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:50.299 the orbs knew they were being watched or that 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:53.660 the orbs somehow had consciousness. And in recent 00:31:53.660 --> 00:31:57.319 months, purported government whistleblowers have 00:31:57.319 --> 00:32:00.759 described secret teams of people within the government 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:04.859 called psionics who interact telepathically with 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:08.069 unidentified aerial objects. which, when I heard 00:32:08.069 --> 00:32:10.529 that, it immediately reminded me of Eileen's 00:32:10.529 --> 00:32:13.309 story. Then the moment with the deer and the 00:32:13.309 --> 00:32:15.670 road and the truck and the driveway being driven 00:32:15.670 --> 00:32:19.009 erratically and the feeling of electricity in 00:32:19.009 --> 00:32:21.769 the air or that the landscape had gone insane 00:32:21.769 --> 00:32:25.069 also falls into the high strangeness category, 00:32:25.130 --> 00:32:29.430 with similar reports of unusual behavior by animals 00:32:29.430 --> 00:32:33.130 and people during a UFO sighting being fairly 00:32:33.130 --> 00:32:36.559 common around the world. I also find it very 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:39.420 interesting that the spot where the first orb 00:32:39.420 --> 00:32:43.000 was hovering was almost directly above a spot 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.700 where several branches of Hector Falls Creek 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:48.700 converge, not far from the high peak of Burnt 00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:51.019 Hill, which is part of the Finger Lakes National 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:54.859 Forest and a place where reports of unusual and 00:32:54.859 --> 00:32:57.640 strange and the paranormal have happened over 00:32:57.640 --> 00:33:00.559 the years. So could there be a connection between 00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:04.079 the landscape? and the appearance of these aerial 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:07.099 objects. Now personally, I believe Eileen and 00:33:07.099 --> 00:33:09.519 her family, and I believe that this event happened 00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:12.339 to them as they described. I just can't think 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.859 of any reasons all of them would fabricate or 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:19.000 exaggerate such a story. And then coincidentally, 00:33:19.059 --> 00:33:23.740 in early 2024, shortly after I had completed 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:27.279 writing about Eileen's experience near Burnt 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:30.710 Hill, I learned about a new sighting. on the 00:33:30.710 --> 00:33:34.329 National UFO Reporting Center website. And this 00:33:34.329 --> 00:33:37.890 sighting strongly echoed Eileen and her family's 00:33:37.890 --> 00:33:41.029 observations, except none of the three witnesses 00:33:41.029 --> 00:33:45.569 in this new sighting were on the ground. So on 00:33:45.569 --> 00:33:50.789 January 14th, 2024, around 9 .10 p .m., an aircraft 00:33:50.789 --> 00:33:54.990 was in flight over an area approximately nine 00:33:54.990 --> 00:33:58.289 miles southwest of Ithaca and headed northwest 00:33:58.289 --> 00:34:02.220 to Toronto. and over Seneca Lake when the pilot 00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:05.759 spotted something unusual. And here's what the 00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:08.360 pilot had to say. Quote, I was the pilot of a 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:12.159 flight over the area of Ithaca, New York at 28 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:15.139 ,000 feet. Another pilot was talking about strange 00:34:15.139 --> 00:34:18.440 lights on the radio. I began seeing a single 00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:22.340 white, pale yellow light at 12 o 'clock at around 00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:25.960 40 ,000 feet at very long range. The other aircraft 00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:28.400 who was behind us at a higher altitude on the 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:32.289 same route reported two lights, one estimated 00:34:32.289 --> 00:34:35.769 at 80 ,000 feet. The light tracked north at a 00:34:35.769 --> 00:34:38.230 high rate of speed before dimming, disappearing 00:34:38.230 --> 00:34:41.750 briefly, then reappearing, tracking south. This 00:34:41.750 --> 00:34:44.789 was reported to ATC, who asked further details 00:34:44.789 --> 00:34:47.949 and began requesting reports from other pilots 00:34:47.949 --> 00:34:51.469 in the area. Several other aircraft reported 00:34:51.469 --> 00:34:54.670 the lights. The aircraft behind us reported five 00:34:54.670 --> 00:34:57.699 lights. moving in varying patterns, including 00:34:57.699 --> 00:35:00.940 orbiting each other. He began reporting them 00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:04.639 as primarily white, but that he had also seen 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:08.039 it as red and purple. As we descended into Toronto, 00:35:08.340 --> 00:35:11.800 one of the lights appeared to be below us. I 00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:14.440 have seen these lights on other occasions, but 00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:17.800 never have seen one appear below us. It rapidly 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:21.440 climbed from approximately 20 ,000 feet to 40 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:25.980 ,000 feet in about five seconds. So it would 00:35:25.980 --> 00:35:30.039 seem that around Seneca Lake, the appearance 00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:34.739 of numerous orbs in the sky, orbs that seem to 00:35:34.739 --> 00:35:39.780 move and dance and interact, just might be more 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:49.460 common than we think. So the source for this 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:53.530 story is a bit unusual compared to others. I've 00:35:53.530 --> 00:35:56.110 covered on this podcast. A couple of years ago, 00:35:56.230 --> 00:35:59.449 I was searching online for Seneca Lake area cryptid 00:35:59.449 --> 00:36:02.670 sightings and came across an episode of a podcast 00:36:02.670 --> 00:36:06.369 in which a Bigfoot encounter near Watkins Glen 00:36:06.369 --> 00:36:10.610 was spotlighted. The podcast is called Bigfoot 00:36:10.610 --> 00:36:13.690 Terror in the Woods. It's a fantastic podcast 00:36:13.690 --> 00:36:17.050 that highlights Bigfoot sightings from all around 00:36:17.050 --> 00:36:19.929 the world with many firsthand accounts that were 00:36:19.929 --> 00:36:23.010 submitted. to the podcast by the witnesses themselves. 00:36:23.389 --> 00:36:26.030 If you're interested in Bigfoot stories, I strongly 00:36:26.030 --> 00:36:29.570 recommend this podcast. The hosts are William 00:36:29.570 --> 00:36:31.929 J. Sheehan, a longtime Bigfoot researcher and 00:36:31.929 --> 00:36:34.570 author of the book, Bigfoot Terror in the Woods, 00:36:34.630 --> 00:36:37.510 Sightings and Encounters, who has appeared on 00:36:37.510 --> 00:36:40.130 numerous podcasts and radio shows, along with 00:36:40.130 --> 00:36:44.949 his co -host, K .J. Sheehan. You can visit bigfootterrorinthewoods 00:36:44.949 --> 00:36:48.590 .com for more information on Bill, his podcast, 00:36:48.650 --> 00:36:52.550 and his other work. The story comes from episode 00:36:52.550 --> 00:36:56.070 number 155 of Bigfoot Terror in the Woods entitled 00:36:56.070 --> 00:37:00.150 Cool Cars in Watkins Glen and a Bigfoot Encounter. 00:37:00.210 --> 00:37:03.070 Does it get any better? Which was released on 00:37:03.070 --> 00:37:08.650 June 16th, 2022. Now the story was submitted 00:37:08.650 --> 00:37:12.909 to that podcast by an avid auto racing fan named 00:37:12.909 --> 00:37:16.550 Henry who had visited Watkins Glen in 1962 for 00:37:16.550 --> 00:37:19.530 a race and ended up seeing what he believed. 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:24.079 was Bigfoot at a fishing area on Catherine Creek, 00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:28.780 south of the village of Watkins Glen. I attempted 00:37:28.780 --> 00:37:30.940 to locate the witness, but was unsuccessful. 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.760 But the story is so compelling and so strange, 00:37:34.940 --> 00:37:37.519 and there have been so few Bigfoot reports from 00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:40.559 the Seneca Lake area over the years, I decided 00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:43.019 I would share it here. Now, the following is 00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:46.219 the emailed report from the eyewitness. I've 00:37:46.219 --> 00:37:48.619 edited out just some of the first portion of 00:37:48.619 --> 00:37:51.659 the... of the email from the witness, which has 00:37:51.659 --> 00:37:54.960 like background and his interest in auto racing. 00:37:55.340 --> 00:37:58.940 So I'm just going to read the section which describes 00:37:58.940 --> 00:38:02.699 the sighting in great detail. Quote, there was 00:38:02.699 --> 00:38:05.579 a time in my life when I wouldn't consider sharing 00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:07.960 what I saw that day with you or anyone else. 00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:10.320 But the older I get, the less and less I care 00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:13.619 about what anyone thinks. Anyway, it was June 00:38:13.619 --> 00:38:17.349 in 1962 when I went to the Glen. as it was then 00:38:17.349 --> 00:38:20.809 known to watch the Glenn Classic sports car road 00:38:20.809 --> 00:38:24.550 races. There is a spot just below a small waterfall 00:38:24.550 --> 00:38:28.230 in a place called Catherine Creek. Well, whenever 00:38:28.230 --> 00:38:31.269 I was there, I used to cast a fly. This little 00:38:31.269 --> 00:38:34.190 waterfall appeared like it was emerging from 00:38:34.190 --> 00:38:37.809 a stack of slate slabs and dropped into a beautiful 00:38:37.809 --> 00:38:40.949 little pool with a creek traveling away from 00:38:40.949 --> 00:38:44.300 it. Now, usually... There would be a line of 00:38:44.300 --> 00:38:47.539 men fishing along the creek, but on the day I 00:38:47.539 --> 00:38:50.679 was there, it was drizzling slightly and there 00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:53.679 was nobody around but me. I had been casting 00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:56.780 the fly, working this pool, when I decided to 00:38:56.780 --> 00:38:59.940 walk downstream a little bit in pursuit of some 00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:03.000 better fishing. It was then, as I was standing 00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:06.699 on one side of the creek, that I swore I saw 00:39:06.699 --> 00:39:09.219 something moving in the bushes on the other side. 00:39:09.769 --> 00:39:12.670 but it moved so quickly that I wasn't sure what 00:39:12.670 --> 00:39:15.889 I had seen. Just a few moments later, the upper 00:39:15.889 --> 00:39:20.309 half of an enormous black fur -covered body was 00:39:20.309 --> 00:39:23.269 standing diagonally to me on the other side, 00:39:23.409 --> 00:39:26.849 looking directly at me. I couldn't believe my 00:39:26.849 --> 00:39:29.789 eyes, yet there it was. If I didn't know any 00:39:29.789 --> 00:39:32.130 better, I would have told you it was a giant 00:39:32.130 --> 00:39:35.789 gorilla, though. The reality was that it didn't 00:39:35.789 --> 00:39:39.250 look like a gorilla. It was much too tall and 00:39:39.250 --> 00:39:42.849 stood very erect. It just stood there kind of 00:39:42.849 --> 00:39:46.329 swaying back and forth looking at me and was 00:39:46.329 --> 00:39:49.789 in no way trying to hide from my view. I remember 00:39:49.789 --> 00:39:52.570 that it kept playing with the leaves on a branch 00:39:52.570 --> 00:39:56.789 next to it as it was swaying. It appeared, as 00:39:56.789 --> 00:39:59.409 we used to say many years ago, that it had ants 00:39:59.409 --> 00:40:02.510 in its pants. In other words, it looked nervous. 00:40:03.090 --> 00:40:06.199 I would also add something that I hadn't... really 00:40:06.199 --> 00:40:08.780 thought much about until many years later, which 00:40:08.780 --> 00:40:11.800 is the creature which I now know was a Bigfoot 00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:14.699 had breasts. So I believe what I was seeing at 00:40:14.699 --> 00:40:18.260 the time was in fact a female. The other thing 00:40:18.260 --> 00:40:21.860 was this. I've heard others describing a weightlifter 00:40:21.860 --> 00:40:25.000 type of physique, but what I saw was nothing 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:28.179 of the sort at the waist. The Bigfoot was maybe 00:40:28.179 --> 00:40:31.619 three feet wide and maintained that width throughout 00:40:31.619 --> 00:40:35.489 the entire chest. Of course, the shoulders were 00:40:35.489 --> 00:40:39.829 marginally wider, which they would be. And although 00:40:39.829 --> 00:40:42.550 it didn't appear fat, it didn't look particularly 00:40:42.550 --> 00:40:46.710 virile either. Kind of like when you see a bear 00:40:46.710 --> 00:40:49.849 walking. Now, please don't get me wrong. The 00:40:49.849 --> 00:40:53.429 thing was maybe close to eight feet tall and 00:40:53.429 --> 00:40:57.070 had to have weighed a thousand pounds. I'm certain 00:40:57.070 --> 00:41:00.110 that such a beast has incredible strength and 00:41:00.110 --> 00:41:02.900 abilities. I'm just saying it didn't appear to 00:41:02.900 --> 00:41:06.519 be of superhero stature, if that makes any sense 00:41:06.519 --> 00:41:09.719 to you. I was face to face with it for almost 00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:12.079 five minutes when it simply turned and walked 00:41:12.079 --> 00:41:14.940 away. The face was also the giveaway that it 00:41:14.940 --> 00:41:17.420 wasn't a gorilla because yes, it was big and 00:41:17.420 --> 00:41:21.820 hairy, but that's it. If anything, the face actually 00:41:21.820 --> 00:41:26.260 looked more human than it did ape. End quote. 00:41:26.760 --> 00:41:30.460 So I'm not 100 % certain of the exact location 00:41:30.460 --> 00:41:33.420 of the sighting, but going off of the description 00:41:33.420 --> 00:41:36.860 by the witness, it sounds like it took place 00:41:36.860 --> 00:41:40.480 at maybe one of the two Catherine Creek fishing 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:45.139 access sites south of Montour Falls. And while 00:41:45.139 --> 00:41:49.139 Bigfoot sightings are relatively rare in this 00:41:49.139 --> 00:41:51.380 part of the country, there have been sightings 00:41:51.380 --> 00:41:56.110 over the years. in the Catskills and Allegheny 00:41:56.110 --> 00:41:59.570 Mountains in the southern tier and the south 00:41:59.570 --> 00:42:03.429 -southern part of New York State. And the location 00:42:03.429 --> 00:42:06.170 of this sighting is right on the border of those 00:42:06.170 --> 00:42:10.309 areas. Plus, it's flanked to the west and east 00:42:10.309 --> 00:42:15.630 by miles of forested land. And other sightings 00:42:15.630 --> 00:42:18.190 around the country have also described creatures 00:42:18.190 --> 00:42:21.349 that looked physically very similar to this one. 00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:25.360 And it's not uncommon for witnesses to describe 00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:30.480 being watched by the creature from afar. So what 00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:33.840 do you think? Did Henry see the legendary Sasquatch 00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:36.119 on the banks of Catherine Creek just south of 00:42:36.119 --> 00:42:39.360 Seneca Lake? Let me know what you think and be 00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:41.539 sure to subscribe to the podcast because I'll 00:42:41.539 --> 00:42:46.179 be covering another interesting Bigfoot sighting 00:42:46.179 --> 00:42:50.300 not too far from Catherine Creek in a future 00:42:50.300 --> 00:42:54.780 episode. Well, that's it for this time around. 00:42:54.940 --> 00:42:56.940 I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for listening. 00:42:57.059 --> 00:42:59.800 And if you have any thoughts on any of the topics 00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:02.420 in this episode, please let me know. And remember 00:43:02.420 --> 00:43:04.679 to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 00:43:04.679 --> 00:43:07.039 and get over to SenecaLakeMysteries .com and 00:43:07.039 --> 00:43:09.239 subscribe to the email list so you don't miss 00:43:09.239 --> 00:43:12.440 anything. A new podcast comes out every month 00:43:12.440 --> 00:43:14.340 on the sevens. I'll talk to you then.