Happy World UFO Day!

World UFO Day

The Battle of Los Angeles

On February 25, 1942, Los Angeles went dark. Air raid sirens screamed and anti-aircraft guns opened fire on an unidentified object in the sky. For hours, searchlights tracked something above the city, while batteries launched over 15,000 rounds. No wreckage was found. No enemy planes were downed. Official reports later blamed weather balloons and war nerves, but the photographic evidence suggests otherwise. The event happened just weeks after Pearl Harbor, so nerves were already frayed, but many believed they’d witnessed something not of this world. The military never offered a satisfying explanation. Today, it remains one of the most dramatic mass UFO sightings in U.S. history. From the Hollywood Hills to Griffith Park, this incident reminds us that sometimes the strangest things in LA don’t walk among us... they fly overhead.

The Mystery Airship over Milwaukee

Before the term UFO existed, residents of Milwaukee looked skyward and saw something incredible. On April 11, 1897, witnesses described a glowing “airship” flying erratically through the sky. It flashed red, white, and green lights, looked like a cluster of stars, and dipped and bobbed as if under intelligent control. Police officers, reporters, and ordinary citizens all gave accounts. One theory was that pranksters were flying a lighted kite, but that fell apart when the object was seen in Sheboygan later that night, far beyond the reach of any kite string. This was part of a larger nationwide flap of mysterious airship sightings that took place from 1896 to 1897. Skeptics tried to pin it on experimental aircraft or misidentified celestial objects, but those who saw it knew they were witnessing something out of the ordinary. Milwaukee’s skies haven’t been the same since.

The Thunderbirds of the Midwest

In 1948, reports began pouring in across the Midwest about a massive birdlike creature with a wingspan larger than any known species. It was described as black or dark gray, with wings wider than a small aircraft. The sightings came from Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Indiana, and witnesses included farmers, laborers, and even a retired Air Force base commander. In 1977, the sightings returned. A 10-year-old Illinois boy named Marlon Lowe was nearly carried away by one of the creatures, only to be dropped after struggling. The incident was witnessed by his parents and neighbors, and police took the report seriously. Days later, the same beast was seen flying over Lincoln, Illinois. Although many chalk these tales up to folklore or misidentified animals, the credibility of the witnesses and consistency of the stories keep the legend of the Thunderbird alive in the heartland.

The Mysterious Orange Object in Woodstock, Illinois

On the night of January 9, 1969, multiple witnesses in the Algonquin, Illinois area reported seeing a strange glowing object in the sky. It was described as orange, pulsating, and moving in ways that did not match any known aircraft. Algonquin Police Sgt. Russell Hickman responded to calls near Edgewood and Hanson Roads and saw the object himself. He watched as it hovered, moved, then changed direction and flew toward Barrington and Huntley.



Investigators from the National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena arrived at the scene, and police in Barrington and Fox River Grove also confirmed receiving similar reports. One woman saw the object from her car, while another man clearing snow said it hovered over a field and moved in a way that ruled out planes or helicopters.

Chief Ned Sanfilippo said the number and sincerity of witnesses made the event hard to ignore. Reports of the object also came from Woodstock, Harvard, Cary, and Huntley.

The Sheriff Believes The Children of Bayfield

Three children in Bayfield, Wisconsin—ages 8, 10, and 12—reported seeing a “flying saucer” near the Ondassagon school one Thursday afternoon. The kids came home terrified, according to their mother, who said they locked the door and refused to go back outside. Sheriff Al Embretson investigated the report and said he believed the children. They described the craft as silvery, silent, and shaped like a saucer. It was seen hovering above a field before rising roughly 100 feet into the air and flying northwest over Lake Superior. Embretson had each child separately draw what they saw, and the drawings were nearly identical. He also showed them images of conventional aircraft, but they all said the object they witnessed was different. The sheriff noted that their stories were consistent under questioning. Though the family remained anonymous, the sheriff seemed convinced the kids had seen something extraordinary in the skies over Bayfield.

The General Mills Incident in St. Paul, Minnesota

In November 1953, three research engineers from General Mills Aeronautical Laboratories in Minneapolis reported a striking UFO encounter while tracking a high-altitude balloon. They observed a bright, round object in the sky, which changed colors between white, red, blue, green, and yellow. The object remained stationary at about 3,000 feet, appearing “the size of a pea held at arm’s length”, for roughly 30 minutes before suddenly vanishing. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport control tower received multiple reports of the sighting and scanned the skies, but nothing appeared on radar. Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s official investigation, noted there were no balloons or aircraft in the area at the time, and the sighting was left unexplained. This incident stands out as one of Minnesota’s most credible UFO cases, given the technical backgrounds of the witnesses and the detailed official documentation.

The Allagash Abduction in Northern Maine

In August 1976, four college friends on a canoe trip in Maine’s Allagash Wilderness had an experience that would haunt them for life. While night fishing, they saw a brilliant light in the sky. Moments later, they found themselves back on shore with no memory of how they got there. Over time, each man experienced disturbing dreams and flashbacks. Under hypnosis, they recounted nearly identical stories of being taken aboard a craft, examined by non-human beings, and returned to earth. Their accounts were detailed and consistent. Skeptics questioned the hypnosis, but the men never sought fame or profit, and they still stand by their story. The Allagash Abduction remains one of the most famous and compelling UFO encounter cases in the United States and one of the strongest abduction accounts ever tied to multiple witnesses. It put Maine on the extraterrestrial map.

The Roman Candle over St. Thomas

In the early morning hours of September 23, 2007, a resident in rural St. Thomas parked their car and looked toward the southern sky. Suddenly, a bluish-white streak of light shot overhead, too low and too fast to be a meteor. Within days, another witness reported a “blue roman candle” falling from the sky in nearly the same area. A third report from October described a glowing amber orb hovering just 500 feet above a neighborhood before it vanished into the clouds. None of the sightings made a sound. There were no fireworks, aircraft, or storms that could explain them. The sightings were all shared by locals who had nothing to gain and little desire to be in the spotlight. These glowing visitors added a new mystery to the Virgin Islands, already home to pirate lore, shipwrecks, and haunted forts.

The Most Famous UFO of Alaska

On November 17, 1986, a Japan Air Lines cargo flight over Alaska encountered three unidentified flying objects that tailed the aircraft for over 30 minutes. The crew, including Captain Kenju Terauchi, a veteran pilot, described glowing crafts with amber lights and one massive ship the size of two aircraft carriers. The objects paced the flight, moved erratically, and at one point cast light into the cockpit. Civilian radar couldn’t detect the objects, but military radar picked them up clearly. Despite an investigation by the FAA and CIA, the encounter remains unexplained. The pilot was later grounded for speaking out, but years later reinstated. Today, the JAL 1628 case is considered one of the most credible UFO sightings ever documented, especially because it was tracked visually and on radar. It serves as a powerful reminder that sometimes what flies above us can’t be explained by conventional science.

The Doomed Flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico

On June 28, 1980, two young men, Jose Maldonado Torres and Jose Pagan Santos, flew from the Dominican Republic toward Puerto Rico in a small Ercoupe aircraft. Near the coast, they radioed a frantic mayday. A luminous object was following them. Then... nothing. Radio contact stopped. Despite radar showing their last location, an extensive search turned up no wreckage, no signal, no trace. The aircraft had vanished without explanation. Family members of the victims held onto audio recordings of the mayday call. One voice in the background can be faintly heard saying “Look, look,” before the call cuts out. The case eerily echoes other disappearances in the infamous Bermuda Triangle. Was it engine failure, disorientation—or something more mysterious? For the families and investigators, the most chilling part is what they didn’t find: anything at all.

At American Ghost Walks, we love digging into haunted history... but some of the most unexplainable stories don’t come from the past, they come from above. From glowing lights and colossal creatures to verified radar contacts and vanishing planes, these are some of the strangest encounters tied to our tour locations. Happy UFO Day. And in the words of the Star Hustler, Jack Horkheimer, "Keep looking up!"

For some more unidentifiable fun, here's a podcast I did with Badgerland Legends founder, Jeff Finup, on Wisconsin's most famous UFO cases...