I received the following reader submission today:
I am a subscriber to the Phantoms and Monsters blog and a loyal listener to BTE Radio. As such, a recent experience prompted me to write.
I am a 48 year old male who has experienced a few singular and apparently unrelated "paranormal" events over the course of my life. Two of them have involved seeing people whom I knew to be deceased. One was at a moment of high trauma in the life of my family and involved a relative... nothing new there. The other was passing someone at work in a hallway (I work at a large company) only to recall later that the person had been dead for two years. My wife has told me she believes I've undeveloped abilities but usually it's the furthest thing from my mind. I certainly make no claim to any special abilities.
I tell you all of this to set the stage for something that I experienced just this past Saturday afternoon. It was the darndest thing.
I was driving on a two lane road near my home in northwest North Carolina (I live about 20 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway). It is a drive I make every day. The weather was pleasant... warm but not the humid, high heat we often experience in the summer.
To my left, about 100 feet ahead and partially obscured by trees, I saw a large red ball rise very quickly from the ground up to near the middle branches of a large tree... I think it is an oak. Ground foliage prevented me from seeing where the ball came from. My first thought was that some kid was kicking a beach ball and that they had quite a leg, because the ball was moving pretty fast. I also thought the ball must have caught in the branches because it did not come down.
As I drew closer I slowed to see if my deductions were correct. Of course, there was no one there and there was no ball that I could see in the trees. The ground slopes down from roadside. (Exact location has been redacted since it is private property....Lon)
To the immediate right, across from the tree, is ... of course... the entrance to a cemetery.
As I said, I've experienced a few pretty blatant visions but this was something new. I thought it might have been ball lightning but there was nothing "electrical" looking to what I saw. I looked like a large, beach ball sized red ball... almost like a kick ball we used to play with at school...but larger. It moved at an arc as if it were launched from the ground... and then it was gone. I can't rule out fireworks or perhaps a balloon that popped, but there was no one around and from the time I saw it to the time I passed the site there was no time for anyone to depart my field of vision. If it was a balloon, it was larger than even the "punch bag" type and I would not expect that type to be very fragile. Also... there was no discernible wind.
I tried to research if this was a phenomena that others had experienced, but nothing seemed to match. Thus I thought that with your vast resources, you might be a good resource to ask about this. Again, it may be explainable but at the time I was impressed that I had just witnessed something very strange.
Thanks for taking the time to read my account. DR
NOTE: OK folks...I'm also interested in reading your thoughts on this phenomenon. I looked at the area on Google Map...there is nothing to suggest that this was a natural or man-made event. Any ideas? Lon
On the Edge of Reality: Hidden Technology, Powers of the Mind, Quantum Physics, Paranormal Phenomena, Orbs, UFOs, Harmonic Transmissions, and Crop Circles
Beyond Photography: Encounters with Orbs, Angels and Light-Forms
The Everything UFO Book: An investigation of sightings, cover-ups, and the quest for extraterrestial life
