Mysterious Creatures, UFOs, and Other Strange Incidents Reported Across Pennsylvania During 2014
Strange encounters reported from 51 counties across the Commonwealth
From Researcher: Stan Gordon
Daylight sightings of large cigar shaped objects, encounters with strange creatures such as Bigfoot, black panthers, mountain lions, and Thunderbirds (huge birds with massive wingspans) were among the odd incidents reported by Pennsylvania residents during 2014. Some people also reported strange footprints, fireballs moving across the sky, mysterious animal screams, mystery booms, and many types of UFO observations as well as other paranormal incidents. Numerous observers obtained photos and videos of various phenomena as well.
Crossing my desk were strange accounts from 51 counties of the commonwealth. I also received some reports from neighboring states as well. I have been taking calls from the public since 1969 on such unusual matters, and such reports continue to be called in or e-mailed to me on a regular basis. Witnesses also report their sightings to other researchers or research organizations. I maintain contact with many researchers and UFO and Bigfoot organizations. Some of these sources include the "PA Chapter of MUFON" www.mufonpa.com, Peter Davenport’s “National UFO Reporting Center,” www.nuforc.org, the "Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society," www.pabigfootsociety.com and Lon Strickler at “Phantoms & Monsters,” www.phantomsandmonsters.com/.
It was in 1959 as a ten year old, that I began to keep records of mysterious events that made the news. In 1965, after the Kecksburg, PA UFO-Crash landing I began to conduct in the field investigations of UFOs and unusual animal encounters. In 1969 I began to take calls from the public who wanted to report UFO sightings or other strange incidents. In 1970 I established the first of three volunteer research groups that would investigate these mysterious events across the state for many years. Since then I have investigated thousands of oddities which continue to be reported on a regular basis. After some many years of investigation into these incidents, it might be a surprise to many that I have never personally seen a UFO or Bigfoot.
Since the time I began my on the scene investigations, I learned that while many incidents reported may initially seem quite strange and unusual, when proper investigations are conducted, many UFO sightings, strange animal observations and other paranormal events are determined to have a natural or man-made explanation. Many UFO observations are determined to be misidentifications of meteors, bright stars and planets, re-entering space debris, searchlights, launches of Chinese lanterns, or a meteorological event such as sundog. In some cases Bigfoot has been determined to be large shaggy dogs or bear, and some Thunderbirds were just observations of turkey vultures or blue herons. However not all such yearly reports of strange incidents can be so easily dismissed.
The Chestnut Ridge, which extends through Westmoreland, Fayette and Indiana Counties, has a long history of UFO and Bigfoot sightings as well as a variety of other strange incidents that have taken place, and additional incidents were reported during 2014.
The following are some of the incidents that came to my attention during that year:
On the afternoon of January 29th, two people traveling near Madison observed a cigar shaped object hovering in the sky that “looked like a cruise missile sitting still.” The silent object had no windows, propellers, or markings. In April, during the afternoon, a large solid black rectangular shaped object was observed at tree top level near Donora.
In May, two people traveling at night on a rural road near West Newton saw a tall, dark fur covered man-like creature with glowing eyes step out in front of their car. The driver had to swerve to miss hitting the creature, which stood in the roadway as the car continued on. Bigfoot activity reportedly occurred in Westmoreland, Fayette, Allegheny, Butler, and Schuykill counties.
On a beautiful afternoon in September, a man walking in a rural area of Indiana County observed a cigar shaped object going in and out of a cloud. The object was black in color and was hazy and not sharply outlined. The man was able to photograph the object. Other cigar shaped objects were reported throughout the year across the state.
Researcher Jim Brown investigated a UFO sighting which took place on September 24th, low on the eastern horizon over the Chestnut Ridge near Fairchance in Fayette County. The object was described as a huge hazy, gold-orange colored cigar shaped object. The object was observed for about ten minutes as it hovered over the ridge and then suddenly vanished from sight.
A man taking a walk near Elizabeth Boro on the evening of September 20th, watched a bright spherical object high in altitude quickly zoom across the sky from north to south. The object suddenly dropped straight down from the sky and was lost from view. It was about 15 minutes later when the man heard a loud jet engine noise and went outside to see what he believed was a military jet aircraft moving toward the area where the object was last observed.
Numerous witnesses from different locations report observing huge birds with wingspans estimated to be twelve feet or more in width. The term “Thunderbird” has been used for years to describe these giant flying creatures. In late March near Jeanette, a man taking an afternoon walk observed what at first appeared to be a dark small aircraft in the sky, but it was gliding too fast and the wings were turned up at their ends. He realized that he was watching a huge bird with an estimated wingspan of fifteen feet. In July, a man who was an experienced bird watcher was taking a daylight drive through a rural area of Indiana County. He noticed what looked like a small airplane but when it began to flap its wings slowly, he realized it was the biggest bird he had ever seen, and estimated that the wingspan exceeded twelve feet.
In late September on the other side of Jeanette from where a huge bird sighting was reported in July by another observer, a man walking in his back yard that afternoon had a strange experience. He heard a strange rah-rah-rah animal sound coming from above. He looked up to see moving overhead at about 200 feet, a huge flying creature. The witness said that the creature was dark black and had leathery skin instead of feathers and looked more like a huge bat than a bird. The body of the creature from head to tail was about six feet or more in length, and the wingspan appeared to be at least twelve wide. The witness reluctantly mentioned that what he saw looked more prehistoric than a normal bird. Other similar reports came to my attention from other areas of the state.
In early November, a man was taking a walk in a rural area of Fayette County. He was looking down at a creek and noticed in the distance a very tall man-like figure. What he saw appeared to be all black and the arms slumped down to the side. The head of the figure was hitting the top of a tree branch which the witness estimated would have made it stand to be between 7 and 8 feet tall. The observation only lasted about 20 seconds. The man stated, “no way a man could be that tall.”
I have been investigating the Kecksburg, PA UFO crash-landing incident since the day it occurred in 1965. I received several new leads on the case during 2014. December 9, 2015, will mark the 50th anniversary of this UFO event.
To report a UFO or Bigfoot encounter or any strange event from Pennsylvania contact Stan at 724-838-7768 or via e-mail at paufo@comcast.net. Visit Stan’s website at: www.stangordon.info.
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Kecksburg - The Untold Story
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