Paranormal Encounters at Skinwalker Ranch
The world of paranormal investigations is oftentimes dominated by searches and encounters with ghosts or demons. However, it can also include alleged alien encounters and cryptozoology. In the case of Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, all of these facets meet. As we delve into the fascinating (and disturbing) story of Skinwalker Ranch, we will see the complete spectrum of paranormal activity and, as always, end up with more questions than answers.
What Is a Skinwalker?
According to traditions of several Native American tribes, a skinwalker is a shapeshifting being. It can be a sorcerer, a witch, or a trickster. In addition to transforming into an animal, skinwalkers are said to be able to disguise themselves as an animal. Perhaps more frightening, they are also said to be able to occupy other beings, such as animals or humans.
Early History of the Area
The land that is now home to what some call "UFO Alley" was at one time the home of the Ute Tribe, after which the state of Utah is named. It is important to note that the skinwalker is not an aspect of the Ute's own folklore. It is, however, a very significant aspect of the Navajo Tribe, with whom the Ute had land disputes. The Navajo were more aggressive than the Ute, sometimes taking some Ute as slaves. According to Ute tradition, the Navajo placed a curse on the land that is now Skinwalker Ranch after one of their land disputes.
Since that time, the Ute and other peoples that inhabited the Uinta Basin recorded paranormal activity on the land and in the sky. These earliest sightings of UFO's are among the first recorded histories by the peoples of the area. In 1776, Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary, wrote about strange fireballs popping over his campfire. In addition, many European explorations of the area detailed strange sightings of glowing objects flying across the sky.
Of significant note, especially given later events, stories of a large wolf, three times the size of a normal wolf, were spread across the region. This wolf, it was said, was impervious to man-made weapons. In other words, it was impossible to kill. Again, this is an important detail given more recent events.
Sherman Ranch
In 1994, Terry and Gwen Sherman bought 512 acres of land in order to grow Terry's cattle business. Immediately things seemed... strange. When they arrived on the ranch, they found that all the doors had locks and deadbolts on them. In addition, doors in the main ranch house were locked off by large chains, as if holding something back. The previous owners offered no explanation.
Unsettling? Without a doubt. However, the Sherman's continued with their move which included bringing their cattle to the ranch. They experienced their first paranormal encounter on their very first night at the ranch. Terry and his son were locking the cattle in a pen when a giant wolf-like creature walked towards them. The animal, unperturbed by their presence, walked right past them, and promptly bit a calf. Accounts vary on what part of the calf the animal bit. Some sources say in the leg, others say it bit off the calf's head.
Whatever the case, Terry first fired a handgun at the animal. The bullets did not harm it all. He then fired a rifle, point blank, into the animal's torso. No effect. The wolf-like being just stared at Terry, then turned and trotted off, leaving a trail of the calf's blood in its wake. Upon reaching a nearby field, the being vanished.
Somehow, the Sherman's were able to put up with living on the ranch for another two years. During that time, they experienced a wide spectrum of paranormal encounters. Terry reported being able to hear a voice talking to him in another language. Gwen detailed a night that a bright flying object followed her car home from work. In addition, groceries that were unpacked would pack themselves back into the bags in which they came.
The family started experiencing dreams, too. Nightmares of shadows haunting them, talking to them, torturing them. For comfort, the entire family took to sleeping in the main room of the house.
The activity was not limited to the family, though. Cattle continued to be the prey of the mysterious beast that Terry saw on their first night on the ranch. One time, Terry found two bulls that he had locked in a pen inside of an abandoned trailer. They were alive, but their eyes were wide open in an almost hypnotic state. On another occasion, Terry found one of his cows dead in the middle of a field. It had a single hole in its eye; no other wounds and no blood around the body. Countless times, the family found several cows almost surgically mutilated. By the time they sold the ranch in 1996, they had lost 20% of their herd.
Secretive Government Funded Research
The Sherman's had kept their encounters mostly to themselves for two years. In 1996, though, they started to speak out to the media. Soon after hearing about the land, billionaire Robert Bigelow paid the Sherman's $200,000 for their ranch. Part of the deal, though, was that they had to stop talking about their experiences. Glad to be rid of the land, the family gladly accepted the offer.
Bigelow, the founder of the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), moved a team of PhD-level scientists to the ranch to study the plethora of UFO sightings. Bigelow and his team ran hundreds of investigations on the property, though not much is known of what exactly happened.
What we do know is that Bigelow, who was friends with Senator Harry Reid, was able to secure funding for his experience from the Department of Defense. By the time the funding ended in 2012, Bigelow's corporations had received $22 million from the government to investigate UFO's and other paranormal activities on Skinwalker Ranch.
Present-Day
In 2005, one of the scientists who worked on the ranch, Colm Kelleher, co-wrote a book called Hunt for the Skinwalker, in which he details some of the things he witnessed in the mid-to-late 90s. In one story, he tells of how he witnessed a large creature watching him from a tree. The creature had large yellow eyes that never blinked. He fired a gun at the creature, which caused it to run away. Like the wolf-like creature that Terry Sherman shot, it was not wounded and it seemingly vanished into thin air.
In 2016, Bigelow sold the land for a reported $4.5 million to Adamantium Holdings. Since then, Adamantium Holdings, citing excessive trespassing on the property, has had the road leading to the ranch gated off. This year, 2020, History has released a show called The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.
For More Information
- https://www.history.com/news/skinwalker-ranch-paranormal-ufos-mutilation
- https://www.abc27.com/news/skinwalker-ranch-possibly-the-spookiest-place-on-earth/
- https://www.history.co.uk/shows/curse-of-skinwalker-ranch/articles/the-bizarre-history-of-skinwalker-ranch
- https://rivercityghosts.com/the-terror-of-the-skinwalker-the-native-american-boogeyman/
- https://www.extraordinarybeliefs.com/news-2/2017/8/29/preternatural-transmissions-from-skinwalker-ranch
- https://www.ksl.com/article/50022431/supernatural-is-normal-at-utahs-infamous-haunted-skinwalker-ranch-6-essential-facts-to-know
- https://austinghosts.com/skinwalker-ranch-a-paranormal-hotbed-few-know-about/
- https://the-line-up.com/skinwalker-ranch
- https://scienceviews.com/indian/segocanyon.html
- https://www.timbercreektalon.com/2019/10/horror-hotspot-skinwalker-ranch/
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/skinwalker-ranch/
- https://www.history.com/shows/the-secret-of-skinwalker-ranch
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