In April 2020, the Pentagon declassified three videos showing pilots running into unidentified flying objects (UFOs). These videos vindicated people who believe that extraterrestrials visit us. Former Senator Harry Reid tweeted that the videos only scratch the surface of research and materials available. Now think of crop circles. Not all of them may have been the work of pranksters trying to poke fun of the UFO crowd. Only, the Pentagon claims that it does not have evidence of UFOs being extraterrestrial.

A few months later, Netflix resuscitated the once-popular documentary series Unsolved Mysteries. Most of its episodes are not so mysterious, and many so-called mysteries cannot be dubbed unsolved. But one particular creepy story is keeping people awake at night. It is about the Berkshire UFO sightings that took place on 1 September 1969.

Four unrelated families are said to have been picked up by a UFO and moved by a ray of light on that fateful day. Apart from a few personal accounts, there is hardly any recorded evidence that this happened. Not even a local newspaper reported about it. The documentary compensates for the omission. Indeed, this is a mystery worthy of being labelled unsolved.

What might strike you about the stories of the people involved is that they appear credible. Thomas Reed, who was nine at the time, claimed that he and his family missed more than two hours of their lives while driving in their car. Reed said that his family saw an amber glow on both sides of the road. Then everything got calm. After that, they found themselves back inside the car, but his mother and grandmother had changed places.¹

Reed also noted that he saw the then-14-year-old Melanie Kirchdorfer aboard the UFO. She confirms his story. Tommy Warner, who was a child back then, also claimed he was abducted that evening. His babysitter Debbie confirms his account, saying that she saw him vanish into a bright ray of light. The people involved were not eager to tell their stories as that could make a laughing stock out of them. This Unsolved Mysteries episode has left many viewers feeling anxious.² There are other alien abduction accounts, but few are as convincing as this one.

There is no evidence of aliens visiting us. Unidentified flying objects can be anything. Another US government report claims that many UFO sightings are weather balloons, Chinese surveillance drones, airborne clutter, and optical illusions. Still, most sightings remain unexplained due to a lack of data.

The Berkshire UFO incident is particularly mysterious. UFOs and alien abduction stories are part of an array of mysteries, including evidence suggestive of reincarnation, ghosts, meaningful coincidences, and premonitions. This universe could be a simulation created by an advanced civilisation. That makes more sense because that may allow us to explain the other mysteries too. And this civilisation most likely is post-human, not alien.

Featured image: Declassified Pentagon UFO footage

1. 1969 Berkshire UFO Event Gains Recognition. Jim Levulis (2015). WAMC. [link]
2. Berkshire UFO sightings: Unsolved Mysteries episode is spooking viewers – but what happened next? Jacob Stol (2020). The Guardian. [link]