In the middle of nowhere, about a hundred miles east of Salt Lake City, lies a parcel of property with a long history of strange and terrifying occurrences. The property is called Skinwalker Ranch, after the legends of the local Ute tribe, which holds that the property is the stomping grounds of the skinwalker.
The skinwalker is a Native American shapeshifting deity, attributed largely to the Navajo people. The skinwalker is a malicious witch or warlock who can change shape by wrapping the skin of an animal around themselves. Much like the werewolf of Western myth, the skinwalker's primary hobby is terrifying and attacking others.
Skinwalkers may attack passing cars, or fling themselves at the doors and windows of a house in a furious attempt to get at the people inside. The skinwalker can also emulate the call of any animal or person, and uses this power to lure people outdoors at night so that the skinwalker can attack them.
The local Ute tribe believes that this parcel of land was cursed by the Navajo hundreds of years ago, who doomed it to be plagued by skinwalkers. Tribal members refuse to set foot on the land, and according to this article on the AlteredDimensions.net site have dubbed it the "path of the skinwalker."
From the 1950s to the 1970s, this particular area of Utah experienced a remarkable number of UFO sightings. "More than any other place in the world," according to local science teacher Junior Hicks. Reports of cattle mutilations are also commonplace, as they are throughout the cattle ranching areas of the West.
The ranch is also called the Sherman Ranch, after the family that brought the strange events to national attention. The Shermans purchased the ranch in the early 1990s, after it had essentially been abandoned by its previous owners. Presumably the Shermans knew little of the ranch's history when they began investigating their new home, and noticed deadbolts on both sides of all the windows and doors in the home, including the kitchen cabinets.
The skinwalker is a Native American shapeshifting deity, attributed largely to the Navajo people. The skinwalker is a malicious witch or warlock who can change shape by wrapping the skin of an animal around themselves. Much like the werewolf of Western myth, the skinwalker's primary hobby is terrifying and attacking others.
Skinwalkers may attack passing cars, or fling themselves at the doors and windows of a house in a furious attempt to get at the people inside. The skinwalker can also emulate the call of any animal or person, and uses this power to lure people outdoors at night so that the skinwalker can attack them.
The local Ute tribe believes that this parcel of land was cursed by the Navajo hundreds of years ago, who doomed it to be plagued by skinwalkers. Tribal members refuse to set foot on the land, and according to this article on the AlteredDimensions.net site have dubbed it the "path of the skinwalker."
From the 1950s to the 1970s, this particular area of Utah experienced a remarkable number of UFO sightings. "More than any other place in the world," according to local science teacher Junior Hicks. Reports of cattle mutilations are also commonplace, as they are throughout the cattle ranching areas of the West.
The ranch is also called the Sherman Ranch, after the family that brought the strange events to national attention. The Shermans purchased the ranch in the early 1990s, after it had essentially been abandoned by its previous owners. Presumably the Shermans knew little of the ranch's history when they began investigating their new home, and noticed deadbolts on both sides of all the windows and doors in the home, including the kitchen cabinets.
The strange phenomena recorded at Skinwalker Ranch include:
- Unusual, brightly-colored birds.
- A semi-humanoid creature that climbed a tree to escape pursuers, and left raptor-like tracks in the dirt.
- Several extremely large wolves which behave oddly, and seem to be resistant to bullets. The wolves have often been sighted in conjunction with a light that researchers have dubbed "flash drones." The flash drones "have been seen transforming into other animal shapes."
- Cattle mutilations, and cattle which mysteriously vanish - sometimes right in their tracks.
- One day Mr. Sherman remarked that he would be in big trouble if his four bulls were killed. A few hours later, he discovered that the bulls had gone missing. They were later located, dead and stuffed "like sardines" into a padlocked, unused trailer.
- Conversations between two male voices, which seem to come from the sky, which can be heard while out in the fields.
- Many strange lights, in various configurations (orbs, beams, and more), spotted at all hours of the day and night.
The property is currently owned by a private party, billionaire Robert Bigelow who has long been fascinated by the paranormal.
Photo credit: Flickr/T. Larson