The Phenomenon of UFO Channelers - From Ancient Astronauts to Ashtar

The notion of receiving “channeled” messages from friendly extraterrestrials may be said to have begun in the mid-20th century, but the “New Age-y” phenomenon is really nothing new. The story of benevolent voices from beyond the vastness of time and space goes back well into ancient times, perhaps even as far back as the Bible itself. 

In an interview conducted with publisher and writer Timothy Green Beckley, he made the effort to define just what a channel is. 

“We think of channeling today,” Beckley said, “in terms of speaking with higher entities, higher forms of intelligence, like Space People and beings from Atlantis. But it’s hard to define really what a channeler is. Even Moses, maybe he channeled God, right?”

It was at this location that the Oracle of Delphi received her channeled messages. (Photo by Tim Beckley)

Beckley offered the Oracle of Delphi as perhaps the first channeler who used the same modus operandi as more modern practitioners of the art. The Oracle was a woman, or a succession of women, who claimed to be in contact with Zeus and some of the other members of the Greek pantheon. 

“A lot of people today,” Beckley said, “believe that there is a connection between the Greek and Roman gods and the Ancient Astronauts. They could have been one and the same.” 

  Beckley visited the site in Greece where the Oracle of Delphi gave her readings and wrote an account of the visit for “FATE Magazine” in 2006. 

“The oracle did not predict the future herself,” he writes, “but passed on the information she received while in a trance to one of the high priests who presided over the gathering, which attracted the high and mighty of Greek society as well as lower class members. To most, the oracle seemed to be speaking in indecipherable riddles. She usually began her discourse with utterings such as: ‘I know the number of the sand. I know the measure of the sea.’

“And then she would improvise from there,” Beckley’s article continues, “often speaking in unknown tongues only her priestly handlers could comprehend. Crowds would gather to ask questions, and they were most likely to receive a Yes or No answer. Frequently associated with the oracle’s ability to foresee events was a mysterious vapor, which critics say rose from the cracks in the floor of the cubicle where the visionary would be seated on a tripod-like brass stool. The Christians propagated the idea that the prophetess was intoxicated by the fumes in order to step across the border into the void of the next world. They saw the oracle as a tool of the devil, much as fundamentalists today believe spirits are all Satan’s conjurations used to fool people into believing there is life beyond the pale.” 

Even Alexander the Great is said to have consulted the Oracle of Delphi, seeking information about his future military conquests. For the common person not embroiled in the machinations of war and politics, the oracle was available to answer personal questions. A query like “How do I cure my son of lovesickness?” would receive a therapeutic, albeit vague, response like “Treat him gently.”

To paraphrase Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, “The oracle neither conceals nor reveals the truth . . . only hints at it.”  Kind of like the contactees of today, when they warn of impending doom or a supposed forthcoming UFO sighting/landing and end up with egg on their face when the channeled messages don’t produce. 

JOHN DEE AND THE QUEEN

Another important link in the historical chain of channeling is John Dee, a Welsh mathematician who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. He was also an astronomer and an    occultist, whose reputation as a scholar was such that he sometimes served as a consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. Dee was a devoted student of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy. He devoted much of his last thirty years to attempting to commune with angels in order to learn the universal language of creation and unify mankind prior to the coming apocalypse. 

“He claimed to have spoken with angels,” Beckley said, “and devised an entire mathematical occult code so that others could do so as well. This was at a time when witches and occultists were still being persecuted. Dee’s work was supposed to be superior to anyone else’s. Apparently, he made some predictions and some of them were very successful. So he was channeling angelic beings.” 

It should be noted that even though Dee is identified with the word “occultist,” he was an extremely pious Christian who prayed and fasted as part of his preparations to attempt angelic contact. He did not draw a distinction between his mathematical research and his delving into angel summoning and divination. He considered the various efforts to be part of the same quest to find a transcendent understanding of the divine forms which underlie the visible world. 

ALEISTER CROWLEY AND THE FIRST GRAY

Moving ahead a few centuries, Beckley also considers the widely influential occultist Aleister Crowley to be a significant channel. Crowley was an avowed bisexual, a recreational drug experimenter and a social critic who claimed to be in a revolt against the moral and religious values of his time, the early 20th century. His cardinal rule was “Do What Thou Wilt,” all of which led to a great deal of negative notoriety. 

But Crowley has gotten a bad rap, according to Beckley. 

“We think of Aleister Crowley,” Beckley said, “in terms of how he promoted himself as ‘the wickedest man in the world’ whose number is 666. He was known as ‘the Beast.’ But there were two sides to his personality. He seemed to have been very much adept at trying to promote himself and to create an aura around his personality. He hyped the fact that he was supposed to have done all these terrible things, but one cannot really attest to them. I think the only thing he ever got caught doing was having a couple of orgies, which perhaps might have been out of place in that particular time period that he lived. 

“Now, this is quite an interesting thing,” Beckley continued. “Crowley believed there were other dimensions, other realities, and that there were beings that populated these other dimensions. A lot of people think of him as calling up demons, but that’s not necessarily the case. Almost anything, if you’re a skeptic – just like some Christians think that every UFO being is a dem

It was up to the individual who was performing the magic ritual whether or not they were doing the work with good intentions. Like a gun, it depends on the use to which it’s put, whether for constructive or destructive purposes. 

“It’s pretty much the same thing with ritualistic magic,” Beckley explained. “Anyway, Crowley found out, or at least it was his theory, that you could contact your guardian angel and other angels mentioned in the Bible and get them to contact other demons. Because the angels, it was thought, were of a higher power and closer to God and therefore they would also have a better connection with other entities that existed. He actually even called up and materialized an entity that looks remarkably similar to the Grays that a lot of people claim to have been abducted by. So perhaps Crowley, in his channeling and spiritual work, was the first individual to contact an extraterrestrial that we would know as the Grays today.” 

A DWELLER ON TWO PLANETS

Drawings in "A Dweller On Two Planets" look remarkably similar
to objects photographed by famous UFO contactee George Adamski.

One often overlooked channeled work is a book called “A Dweller On Two Planets.” The book was written by Frederick S. Oliver, who was born in 1866. He completed the manuscript in 1886, but it was not published until 1905, by Oliver’s mother Mary, six year’s after the author’s death. 

In his preface to “A Dweller On Two Planets,” Oliver claims the book was channeled through him by automatic writing, visions and mental “dictations” by a spirit calling himself “Phylos the Tibetan,” who revealed the story to Oliver over a period of three years, starting in 1883. The first section is a complex first person account by Phylos of the culture of Atlantis, which had reached a high level of technological and scientific advancement. It includes a detailed history of the social, economic, political and religious forces shaping Atlantis, and relates how daily life in Atlantis featured inventions like antigravity air and submarine craft, television, wireless telephones, air conditioners and high speed rail. Obviously, some of these devices have become reality.  Throughout the book, there are images of what are clearly cigar-shaped vehicles drawn while the channeler was in a trance. These illustrations look almost identical to the tubular space ships George Adamski purports to have observed through his telescope. Did Adamski “borrow the idea” for this book, or are his photos perhaps more authentic than one is willing at first to believe? 

The book also deals with esoteric subjects like karma and reincarnation. In the book’s second section, Phylos is reincarnated in 19th century America and must let his karma from Atlantis play itself out, both in terms of rewards and punishments.

“This book has probably influenced more people or led more people,” Beckley commented, “to an understanding of the realm of channeling. I understand Shirley MacLaine was in a bookstore in Paris one day when the book literally fell into her hands. She was so impressed by it that she began her study of metaphysics and ended up, of course, writing the popular bestseller ‘Out On A Limb.’”

Beckley said his publishing company is working on a project that involves taking the original manuscript for “A Dweller On Two Planets” and editing it and modernizing it to make the sometimes archaic language easier for present day readers. 

“We’re going to have an edition,” Beckley said, “that will be totally new and easier to read and perhaps will resonate with a whole new generation. So that was one of the channeled books of the last 150 years or so that has had a great appeal. In fact, I remember I was selling copies of it when I started out as a bookseller in my middle teens. There are several editions that have been printed, but I think ours will be the most comprehensible and the easiest for people to understand.” 

A NEW BIBLE IS CHANNELED

Another spiritual classic Beckley has reprinted is called “OAHSPE: A New Bible.” The book was first published in 1882 and was purportedly channeled from angelic sources who spoke in the name of Jehovah. The human contact was an American dentist named John Ballou Newbrough, who reported receiving the manuscript through automatic writing. 

“Newbrough would arise every morning,” Beckley said, “just before dawn, and would sit by candlelight at his typewriter, one of the first typewriters, and type at over 100 words a minute these spiritual messages from other realms. The book covers the history of the planet Earth and its inhabitants for the past 24,000 years, starting out on the continent of Pan that was supposed to be in the Pacific. This is a tremendous volume, and people have studied it for years. There are still groups around the country who gather to study and discuss ‘OAHSPE.’ Believers in the revelations offered in the book are called ‘Faithists.’” 

OAHSPE – 24,000 YEARS OF THE EARTH’S PAST REVEALED

Beckley’s edition of the book is in two volumes that total over a thousands pages. He calls it “The Raymond Palmer Tribute Edition,” owing to the fact that paranormal journalism pioneer Raymond Palmer promoted and sold the book in the mid-20th century. Well-known UFO researcher Wendell Stevens proclaimed “OAHSPE” to be the most important book of its type.  

“OAHSPE” is a book of history, ethics and religion that emphasizes service to others as a basic component of how people’s souls will one day be judged. It also describes a complex afterlife into which people pass on the way to becoming angels and occupants of heaven. Selfish behavior, base thoughts, or a non-vegetarian diet will land one in the lowest levels of heaven, while those who are simply evil must go to a kind of hell. But the ascension of everyone to a delightful mode of existence happens eventually in a place ruled by God. In the theology of “OAHSPE,” God is an advanced angel ordained into office for a season, making it an honorary title held for a limited period of time. 

While Beckley acknowledges that there were many books written on channeling in the decades after “OAHSPE” was first published, channeling actually came to its peak in a modern day sense in the early 1950s and 1960s, when many contactees began to claim that they communicated with extraterrestrials. 

“Some of them had physical contact,” Beckley said, “but a lot of them claimed to be channeling, that their bodies were actually ‘taken over,’ or their spirits were ‘taken over’ by these alien entities.”

VOICE OF THE ASHTAR COMMAND 

The best known of these alien entities is called “Ashtar,” the head of the Ashtar Command, said to be circling the Earth in a giant mother-ship above the equator. Many individuals all over the planet, not just here in the United States but also in Italy and England and other places, believe they have channeled Ashtar. 

“His voice has been picked up on ham radio sets,” Beckley said, “and a TV station in England was reportedly taken over and a transmission was made, supposedly by Ashtar. This was in the news in the 1970s. It was a well known case, and a recording of it is out there on the Internet where you can actually hear the transmission.” 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afXKOt3A0xc

The first channeler of Ashtar, Beckley believes, was George Van Tassel. 

“We think of George Van Tassel,” Beckley explained, “as the fellow who ran the very successful UFO conferences and conventions in Joshua Tree, California, out there at Giant Rock, right in the middle of the desert. Every October for at least ten years, thousands of people would gather on his property. He rented it from the federal government. He had an airstrip where people would fly in and a little restaurant. People from all over the world would come every October to hear the words of the contactees. 

“George had a big platform that was erected next to Giant Rock,” Beckley continued, “and people would ascend the stairs and tell their stories. Some of the individuals would have been Daniel Fry, Orfeo Angelucci, George Adamski, and Howard Menger. It was quite an attraction. Even ‘Look Magazine’ did a big pictorial on it at one point.”

Giant Rock itself was at one time the largest standing boulder in North America, until it was split apart by an earthquake a few years ago. A room had been dug out directly under the rock where George Van Tassel and his family would gather on a regular basis. Van Tassel would go into a trancelike state and receive messages from Ashtar and other entities. 

George Hunt Williamson, who had been a witness to George Adamski’s sightings in the California desert that included a face-to-face meeting with a blonde-haired Venusian, also channeled in that same period in the early 1950s. 

“People were very impressed by this,” Beckley said. “Sometimes the entities being channeled would make predictions, like where they would appear in the sky on such and such a date. People would gather and have sightings of these craft. In fact, an admiral from the US Navy set up a channeling session one time and the same thing happened. He had a woman that he knew was channeling entities from space and they had a sighting based upon her prediction. This is even in the Project Blue Book report, and we did a whole chapter on it in our book ‘Round Trip To Hell In A Flying Saucer.’

“So there’s really nothing new about channeling, but it is still very popular. Shirley MacLaine and various other metaphysical writers have made it even more popular in recent years.”

THE PRIMARY REPRESENTATIVE FOR ASHTAR APPEARS

According to Beckley, the main representative on Earth of the Ashtar Command was an elderly woman named Thelma Turrell, who later changed her name to Tuella. 

“She was born here on this planet,” Beckley said, “but spiritual entities took over her body. She was one of these individuals we’ve identified as ‘Walk-Ins.’ She channeled Ashtar on a regular basis.”

Before her passing, channeler Tuella was the primary representative of the Ashtar Command. 

The tone or attitude of Tuella’s voice did not change when she was in contact with Ashtar, as if she was in an altered “channeling” state of being; she seemed to be speaking normally. Her sessions with Ashtar were recorded and transcribed and eventually became part of a series of books published originally by Guardian Actions Publications. Beckley’s publishing company, Global Communications/Inner Light Books, bought the rights to Tuella’s books just before she passed away. The titles include “Ashtar, A Tribute, Revealing His Secret Identity,” “Project World Evacuation,” “On Earth Assignment,” “Master Symbol of the Solar Cross,” and most recently, “A New Book of Revelation.” 

“She had people who came from all over the United States,” Beckley said, “to see her and talk to her and to receive these channeled messages. She’s very, very popular and highly respected even today for being the primary channel for the Ashtar Command. She got into some political things, but her message was always about peace, love and harmony.”

Ashtar, the inspiration for much of that peace, love and harmony, of course remains a rather enigmatic figure about who little is known. In one of the reprints reissued by Beckley and Inner Light Books, called “Ashtar, A Tribute, Revealing His Secret Identity,” a chapter called “Who Is Ashtar?” grapples with this problem. It is said that Ashtar is the Christian Commander From Venus, and that he ranks just below an entity called Jesus-Sananda in overseeing the Airborne Division of the Brotherhood of Light. 

“His messages are beamed from a colossal Starship or Space Station,” the chapter continues, “beyond our atmosphere. He is loved for his deeply philosophical approach to our global problems and his efforts to raise planetary vibrations. Ashtar speaks of twenty million extraterrestrial persons involved with his Command in the Program For Planet Earth, and of another four million on our physical plane, consciously or unconsciously cooperating in the Program of Light.” 

Ashtar is a devoted Christian who declares the “Christ Teacher of this Galaxy” to be his beloved Commander-In-Chief, saying that Christ’s Word is the law Ashtar himself obeys to fulfill the Program of Light on Earth. 

The book also includes a Q. and A. with Ashtar conducted by a believer named Trevor James in 1958 in which Ashtar says that his body is etheric and that he possesses no physical “casing” of the dense type that humans are limited to. He is also called a Herald Angel by other trance mediums who claim contact with him. 

Further along in the “Ashtar” book, Tuella receives “A Message of Encouragement From Ashtar.” 

“We come to you in the vibration of Love and Light,” Ashtar begins, “sent forth from the Upper Heavens to penetrate the atmosphere of Earth and reach the hearts of all Mankind. We enfold the Planet with the power of Love and blend into its very layers an anointing of peace and goodwill. We carry away the off cast thoughts of darkness that would destroy your world if left unchecked. We intervene with our own magnetic rays and beams of Greater Light to keep the balance for further decades. White light is enfolded around and around your world in an essence of purification that will bring the blessings of God upon all Nations. 

“Wherever there is a hostile approach to the solution of world problems, our Greater Light will assist to dissolve that hostility and maintain peace. Factions of baser intent are gradually deteriorating and being replaced by understanding and goodwill. Peace will come, and the lesser infiltrations of the Dark Ones will be overcome. Yield not to weariness of spirit, but continue to watch for our coming, and the fulfillment of all the dreams and hopes of Humanity for a better world. It will come. The waters of Life shall flow upon every barren place, and every thirst shall be quenched.”

Sounds encouraging indeed. Which of course is the whole point, says Beckley. 

“We think of alien abductions as very negative things,” Beckley said. “People like Travis Walton and Whitley Strieber being taken onboard UFOs and being physically harassed and examined and perhaps even raped. While the channeled messages are just the opposite. They deal with bliss and euphoria and they talk about a better world and how we can live a better life. 

“They take a higher spiritual tone,” he went on, “than a lot of the other contacts and experiences. People always ridicule this and say it’s a lot of New Age fluff. And they’re right. A lot of the things the channelers say cannot really be verified. But it’s a very positive message that they bring, although of course it’s hard for many people to follow or believe in in this chaotic world that we live in.” 

While Beckley is of course correct that the inspiring messages from Ashtar to Tuella and the other channelers cannot be documented or proven, one cannot help but wish it is true somehow that someone out there really cares about us and is watching over us. Perhaps the Ashtar Command is really the modern day version of our planet’s ancient guardian angels beliefs given a more technological spin? We can only hope.  

RECOMMENDED READING

Ashtar: Revealing the Secret Identity of the Forces of Light and Their Spiritual Program for Earth:

http://www.amazon.com/Ashtar-Revealing-Spiritual-Channeled- Brotherhood/dp/0938294296/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366942933&sr=1-1&keywords=ASHTAR+COMMAND

A New Book of Revelations - A Harvesting Of Souls At Earth's Final Moment    

http://www.amazon.com/New-Book-Revelations-Harvesting-Earths/dp/0938294857/ref=pd_sim_b_2                                                    

Project World Evacuation: Ufos to Assist in the "Great Exodus" of Human Souls Off This Planet

Master Symbol Of The Solar Cross

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Symbol-The-Solar-Cross/dp/1606110160/ref=pd_sim_b_3http://www.amazon.com/Master-Symbol-The-Solar-Cross/dp/1606110160/ref=pd_sim_b_3

[To read more by Sean Casteel, visit his “UFO Journalist” website at www.seancasteel.com]

View the original article here

The Cloverdale, Alabama Spooklight Phenomenon

A Spooklight is a type of rare luminous phenomena frequently reported as a brilliant yellowish-orange ball of pulsating or flickering light about 1-3 feet in diameter and floating across open fields or above the forests in sparsely populated areas. The distance from the observer varies greatly. While some are seen at close proximity, others may be as far as a mile away. Some move about at a slow and steady pace and others “jump” and “dart” about very quickly. A few will stop and hover for several minutes. For reasons unknown a high percentage of Spooklights have been seen in the vicinity of r railroad tracks . These orbs are not reported as being solid objects. Rather, they seem to be some type of low temperature plasma.

Photo info: A thirty second time exposure of a large Spooklight seen a east of Cloverdale. The photograph was made by a Pentax 35 mm camera mounted on a tripod.

Click here to enlarge top photo!

Spooklights have been seen in numerous locations in the US for many years and some of the more publicized areas include Marfa, Texas, Brown Mountain, North Carolina, Surrency, Georgia and Guordon, Arkansas. A search on the internet for these Spooklight areas will result in dozens of websites offering information, eye witness accounts, photographs, etc.

What they really are has been debated for years. But the growing body of scientific evidence continues to perplex many scientists. And it is clear; what ever they are, conventional wisdom has yet to adequately explain what produces them and why.

One thing is certain; most people who observe one of these wondrous orbs will consider it to be a truly remarkable experience. An experience they will want to have repeated.

A growing number of researchers suggest that Spooklights seem to be the result of complex interactions of multiple electrical and electromagnetic energy fields which apparently are produced below the earth’s surface when the correct geological and hydrological conditions exist. These orbs possess certain electrical and magnetic qualities and by means unknown a spherical shaped luminous plasmodial phenomena is produced above its source of energy and are sustained up to several minutes.

Either they have the means of propelling themselves or they are “pulled” by some invisible unidentified force. They are normally seen during the nighttime hours. They are generally described as “a bright ball of light” about 1-3 feet in diameter glowing in the night for the most part, are seen floating slowly across a field or above a forest.

One location where there is a very active Spooklight area is in northwestern Alabama (Lauderdale County) near the small town of Cloverdale. Based on historical data as well as contemporary sightings the over all size of this area where this phenomenon has been seen appears to be about fifteen miles long and three miles wide. This area begins outside of Lexington and extends to a short distance west of Cloverdale. Inside this area appears to be a few very specific “paths” or corridors where the vast majority of the Spooklights are seen. The “path” that appears to be the most active extends from St. Florian to Cloverdale which is less than ten miles long and one mile wide. And the part of the “path” near Cloverdale is very active. It is rare (but has happened) for a CLS to be seen other than on its “path.”

The available evidence seems to suggest this is one of the “best” places in the US to observe these wondrous balls of bright yellowish-orange pulsating light. One reason this area may be unique is that these luminous orbs are seen with much frequency. While an observer may spend an evening in one of these pockets” and not witness a Spooklight, on another night at the same place the observer may view three or four of these bright orbs.

In one case, two men observed eight Spooklights in one night. Some were in sight for just a few seconds and three of them were in plain sight for a total of about ten minutes.

Another reason this is an excellent place is the size of the Spooklights. Hundreds of witnesses who have reported observing these large of yellowish-orange balls of pulsating light typically describe them to be very bright and about eight feet in diameter. Most Spooklights reported in different locations are of lesser diameter. This is one reason why they were years ago called “Lantern Lights” because they were about the size and brightness of a lit oil lamp seen outside in the dark.

The first documented report of one of these CSLs occurred in early 1973 when northern Alabama was experiencing a major UFO flap . On the night of February 16, Raleigh and Phil Nix with several friends reported observing a very bright and large ball of orange light at 110:30 p.m. sitting on the ground in a large grassy field near his house while they were outside in his front yard. The ball of light which was less than a thousand feet away had suddenly appeared “as if a light had been turned on” and began moving very slowly across the field. Just a few seconds before it suddenly “went out” the mysterious orb began to move about in a “jerky” fashion. The Spooklight was in view for about four minutes. According to the Nixes, this was their fourth time to have observed one of these large balls of light. Since then, various witnesses have reported observing these large mysterious orbs in an areas extending from Lexington westward to Cloverdale.

In September of 1978 two young men were in a large field east of Cloverdale and within view of some local railroad tracks at 10:30 p.m. when they spotted a large and very bright Spooklight hovering about thirty feet directly above the railroad tracks. The witnesses could see the CSL very clearly and could discern that it was not near the tracks but directly above them. The very bright orb was not seen to float to this position from another location; it just suddenly appeared. One moment there was but darkness surrounding the tracks and then suddenly “there it was.”

The CSL was completely silent and unaffected by a slight breeze which came from the south. Both witnesses had an excellent view of the area including the tracks because they were situated at a higher elevation in a large grassy field adjacent to the railroad tracks. On the other side of the tracks was a parcel of land that was fenced in and at one time years ago was used as a minimum security prison facility.

The large orb was very bright, about eight feet in diameter and about 1500 feet from the witnesses. As they studied the ball of light hovering directly above the tracks, they were amazed of its brightness. After about a full two minutes, they became aware that a train was approaching in the distance for they heard the distant sound of its air horn. After a few moments, the train came into view as its powerful headlight pierced the darkness and was seen moving down the tracks toward the CLS. The train’s engine was pulling several cars and was traveling at an estimated speed of 25-25 MPH. As the train’s engine went directly beneath the motionless Spooklight, the large ball of pulsating light immediately began to move at the same speed and direction of the train. The speed of the orb was instantly in perfect synchronization to that of the train. Yet its distance above the ground never changed. Also, its brightness and color remained the same. The Spooklight and train began to move toward the southwest and the orb was in sight for a total of eight minutes for it eventually traveled too far away for the two men to observe.

The two witnesses also reported that the train continued on its way in a normal fashion (no change in speed) which could mean that no one on the train was aware of the Spooklight’s presence and that these phenomena had no noticeable affect on the trains’ electrical system. After reflecting on this amazing experience, both witnesses came to the conclusion that this CSL did not appear where (and when) it did by coincidence. They felt it had been there hovering in position and then became visible a few moments before the train arrived.

An other excellent sighting occurred on the night of 16 February, 2006 when a very bright CSL was seen crossing the Cloverdale Highway. The orb appeared at 10:00 p.m. and was typical in size and color and moved slowly in an east to west direction at an estimated altitude of 500 feet. Fortunately one of the two witnesses had a video camera and was able to video the orb for about two minutes before it moved too far away.

This video revealed new and important information about these Spooklights. Even though the video was not made using a professional type camera, what was seen on the video clearly revealed there was a smaller and much dimmer orb connected to the main body by what may have been some kind of “umbilical cord.” There was definitely a faint yet discernable “connection” between the two bodies. The smaller Spooklight appeared to be about 2-3 feet in diameter.

While this is the first time this much detail about a secondary light being present it is not the first time a smaller secondary orb has been observed associated with a Spooklight. In one case it was reported that a small reddish colored orb broke off and fell from a yellowish-orange Spooklight. Very little is known about this amazing aspect even though it may occur frequently but without using adequate visual aids, it can not be verified. But these two sightings do not appear to be unique to the Cloverdale Spooklight phenomena.

For instance, there was a report of a large and bright ball of orange light seen with two smaller red lights in July, 1888 near St. Petersburg, Russia. A website with an artist’s version of this sighting can be found at http://inamidst.com/lights/.

A thirty second time exposure of a large Spooklight seen a east of Cloverdale. The photograph was made by a Pentax 35 mm camera mounted on a tripod.

Description of the CLS

The general description of a CSL has remained consistent since the first documented sighting. Over the years, especially since 1973 hundreds of witnesses in the Cloverdale to Lexington area have reported observing large “balls of light” which are usually described as being from 6-10 eight feet in diameter and are usually a bright orange or yellowish-orange color. The eight foot diameter description appears to be fairly accurate because many witnesses have been close enough to the luminous phenomena to accurately estimate their diameter. They suddenly appear and disappear and are in sight from a few seconds to several minutes. Their movement is normally in east to west or west to east direction. Very few have been reported to fly in a north to south or south to north direction.

They are completely silent and their movement (speed and direction) is independent of any wind currents. Several have been observed moving opposite of a brisk breeze. Some CSLs have been observed moving across large fields 2-3 feet from the ground. Others are seen at an estimated altitude of up to or possibly more than 500 feet. Their movement is not always “smooth” but at times erratic. Several have been seen to move in a spiraling fashion (there have been some good time-exposure photos taken which shows this very clearly).

Using various optical aids (binoculars, telephoto camera lenses, video cameras, etc.) several observers have noticed the CLS actually pulsates and is not a steady ball of light. There have been on one occasion, a ‘piece” of the CSL fell away from the main body and quickly disappeared.

A time exposure photograph of a Spooklight moving toward the east just north of Cloverdale.

The camera was using 400 speed film and was mounted on a tripod.

Basic Analysis of the CSLs

Hundreds of CSLs have been seen by credible witnesses. Many photos have been taken as well. They are not misidentified manmade aircraft and they are always described as a “ball of light.”

Upon closer examination it would appear they may be some type of “cold” luminous plasma type phenomena. There has never been any report or evidence suggesting these Spooklights produced any significant amounts of thermal energy. As with the Raleigh Nix sighting where the Spooklight was according him “landed on the ground” when it was first sighted there was no damaged grass found in the field. And since they are “balls of light” it would appear to be plasmodial in nature.

Witnesses who have been either physically close enough to CSL or have used binoculars, reports the Spooklights emit its light using slow pulses and were not a steady light. With many sightings the observers are from 1,000 to 4,500 feet from the CSL. If witnesses have experienced “close encounters” with these phenomena they have gone unreported. Some parts of this large orb would briefly glow more intense than other parts. Some times the Spooklight would disappear and then a few seconds later would reappear. What has been determined that is when a Spooklight “disappears” it may be that it is for a few moments not producing visible light yet is actually still “there” for it may reappear a short time later, either in the same place of a short distance away.

The speed of the CSL is usually estimated to be from 20-30 MPH. This has also been one their consistent characteristics. The duration of a sighting varies with the length being from a few seconds up to nine minutes. Some are seen near the ground while the altitude of some may be as much as 500 feet or more. In one case while four adults observed a typical CSL moving slowly at an estimated altitude of about 500 feet in a west to east direction near the edge of a large field near some railroad tracks. After viewing the bright orb for about two minutes, it suddenly and without obvious reason began to increase speed and quickly decreased altitude and after a few moments the bright light (two of the witnesses claimed the Spooklight’s color took on a slight reddish tint as it lost altitude) had descended to tree top level and then appeared to have “crashed” in a nearby wooded area.

When the light “crashed” the four witnesses armed only with excitement and flashlights quickly entered the pitch dark woods to locate the mysterious orb. After a limited investigation no evidence was located which indicated anything had impacted the area. There was no sign of the Spooklight. There were no broken tree limbs, smell of smoke, etc. Two days later two of the witnesses returned to the “crash site” and examined the area in the day time and found nothing suspicious or unusual.

Above left photo:  Is an area near St. Florian where Several Spooklights have been seen the late 1970s. 

Above right photo :A time exposure photo of a bright  Spooklight moving west towards the Cloverdale area.

The Spooklight’s Paths

These Spooklights are not seen floating or hovering randomly in a large undefined area. A hopeful observer does not need to be uncertain as to where they will be seen. There are certain areas where they may be seen and certain areas where they will not be seen. Rather they appear to be seen floating in very specific “paths” which do not relocate. It is rare for one to be seen traveling outside of its path. Even the way they ambulate is unique. They do not always float in a slow steady movement. Some will begin to transverse in a spiraling manner and this is reported by the witnesses and has been verified by photographs. In one case a Spooklight was observed and photographed moving in a “step” motion – moving vertically a short distance then horizontally and repeating the sequence several times before it began moving in a more typical fashion.

One of the more “high yield” places to observe a Spooklight is an area just south of Cloverdale where road 272 intersects Cloverdale road which it extends from Florence to the Tennessee State line. These Spooklights normally will be seen traveling in an east to west direction regardless of altitude. This sighting area is at least three miles long and about one half mile wide.

While very few have been seen during daylight hours, several have been seen at dusk. It is curious that most of the CSL sightings that occur at dusk are seen during October through February. Most CSL are seen from an hour after sunset to about midnight. Of all the known Spooklight sightings reported in the area, none have been seen after 1:00 a.m.

It is as thought this magnetic path only exists intermittently and predicting when it will exist has proven difficult.

Time exposure of a Spooklight behind some trees. Notice the smaller blinking lights below made by a distant airplane.

Article continues on May 1, 2013!

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