# Did you have a UFO experience? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603 "2007-05-18T15:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GuyNblueJeans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GuyNblueJeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuyNblueJeans)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/1 "2007-05-18T15:30:16Z")
If so, please tell us about it. Thanks! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/2 "2007-05-18T15:46:28Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] Did you have a UFO experience? [/QUOTE] Yes [QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] If so, please tell us about it. Thanks! 🆒 [/QUOTE] No. ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/3 "2007-05-18T15:52:48Z")
No, but I do suffer quite commonly from sleep paralysis. I wake up, but can’t move. My head hurts, and there’s a buzzing or whooshing sound. The more I try to move my limbs, the more my head hurts. On occasion, I can see and feel entities. Classic abduction experience. Except I have never once seen an “alien” (once I was freaked out by what turned out to be my own arm, once I saw my girlfriend at the time and felt her put a hand on my back and could feel the warmth of her hand through my shirt despite the fact that she was 50 miles away at the time, and once I saw a huge dark looming black-cloaked hooded figure that turned out to be my raincoat hanging on my door-hook). And none of these experiences has lasted longer than five minutes (I’ve checked the clock by my bed). This is partly why I discount stories of alien abductions - I regularly get all the symptoms, but without the actual aliens to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/4 "2007-05-18T16:09:46Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] If so, please tell us about it. Thanks! 🆒 [/QUOTE] I saw a UFO once! I stopped by my friend’s apartment late one night. As I was walking in the door I heard yelling and smashing sounds. I opened the door and a [Capodimonte](http://www.capodimonte.com/index2.html) vase sailed past my head and shattered against the wall. What? I thought you meant an **U** gly **F** lying **O** bject. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/5 "2007-05-18T16:13:29Z")
I’ve seen objects that, being in the sky, were probably flying and I sure as hell couldn’t identify them. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b782af/32.png) [@Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_And_Candy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/6 "2007-05-18T16:15:28Z")
OK, sure. When I was around 8 years-old I had a UFO experience while inside the house, oddly enough. Or is not so unusual? I don’t know. It was late at night and I was watching television alone in the living room. (Brother Cadfael was on PBS.) We had these french glass doors which led out to the back porch and offered an unrestricted view of the fields and woodland beyond. So. There I am sitting on the couch, mooning over Derek Jacobi, when I noticed a bright red light twinkling through the windows in the door. I walked over and saw a large, triangular shape moving over the visible treeline. It had three red lights, one on each corner–but they weren’t twinkling. Just solid. I thought it was weird, stood there as it passed out of sight and went back to my usual couch potatory. Five minutes pass and it’s back again. Same route, moving slowing over the trees until it was outside my range of vision. This repeated several times, each occurrence happening sooner after the previous one. I got freaked out and went to bed. I’d absolutely love it if someone could tell me that it was actually [insert name of aircraft here], and that I’m a retard for thinking otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/7 "2007-05-18T16:29:49Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] Yes No. [/QUOTE] Took my answer, so…ditto. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/8 "2007-05-18T16:38:50Z")
Yes, I saw a bright blue green light appear in the sky and climb across the top of the sky and then separate into several objects which continued on for a bit then disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/9 "2007-05-18T16:46:10Z")
Yes, I did. I saw them in 1978 in the old Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, they opened for AC/DC. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/10 "2007-05-18T16:59:22Z")
Yes. One night, I was out with my telescope. I saw a star rise out of the north. It traced a slow, steady path across the sky all the way to the south. I narrowly avoided alien abduction once. I was sleeping at my GF’s apartment. A demon entered the room. A great, black, hideous demon with giant bat wings and glowing red eyes. I threatened to devour me. I was paralyzed. It was casting a fear spell on me! I tried reaching for my magic vorpal blade of demon-slaying under the bed, but my arm wouldn’t move. Finally I decided to punch the demon. My sluggish arm didn’t deliver a mighty blow, but I made contact. To my surprise the demon was soft and fluffy. It meowed and walked away. An ex-GF’s grandparents were once persued by a UFO. A white (but pulsating with color) orb followed their car. It followed them over hills, though the woods, everywhere. They couldn’t lose the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/11 "2007-05-19T13:23:09Z")
Sure. One night I saw three light extended objects shoot across the sky and turn suddenly, in a way that was surprising. I don’t know what they were. So not only were they unidentified flying objects, they were surprising ones. One person I’ve described the details to thought owls would be a good guess, but I think it’s surprising three owls would fly together in formation (any owl experts know?). I don’t think for a moment they were extraterrestrial creatures. I think there are infinitely many advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, and that they are typically so far away that none of them have visited Earth, and that UFO stories are not connected with them. ---
**Author:** ![GuyNblueJeans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GuyNblueJeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuyNblueJeans)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/12 "2007-05-19T14:21:29Z")
I know for a personal fact that UFOs (and you know the type I’m talking about) are real. ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/13 "2007-05-19T14:50:49Z")
I was pursued across the Tennessee countryside for over an hour by 3 UFOs. Of couse, _now_ I think they were some alien teens out for hijinks with their parent’s saucer but it was pretty terrifying at the time. When I got home sometime after midnight my dad, the career pilot, grilled me hard for every detail. Later I tried to ask him about his encounters and he clammed up. I was not aware that it is a federal offense for military airmen to speak of those things. For a year or so after I couldn’t go outside by myself without having someone else go out and check the sky for me. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/14 "2007-05-19T15:00:46Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] Yes No. [/QUOTE] Third that. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/15 "2007-05-19T15:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=Kokopilau] No, but I do suffer quite commonly from sleep paralysis. [/QUOTE] I once awoke to find an ominous figure crouching down by my bedroom door. He was breathing quite hard (I couldn’t hear it, but I could tell from the way his body was moving.) I dared not move in case he saw me there. I eventually realised I was looking at the shadow of some leaves outside my window. I’ve never figured out if I was having a sleep paralysis episode or not. I’d had one or two before but had always tried to move and then become freaked out when I couldn’t. This time I was intent on staying very still so the only clue I have is from the nature of the hallucination, and that is inconclusive. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/16 "2007-05-19T15:49:53Z")
I’ve had several. And sorry, I am not allowed to disclose any details. . ---
**Author:** ![Kuizelemartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19b73/32.png) [@Kuizelemartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuizelemartz)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/17 "2007-05-19T16:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t fight the hypothetical] Third that. [/QUOTE] I’ll will 4th or 5th that as well. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/18 "2007-05-19T16:58:02Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] I know for a personal fact that UFOs (and you know the type I’m talking about) are real. [/QUOTE] Do you believe that they’re caused by extraterrestrials? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/19 "2007-05-19T17:18:49Z")
[QUOTE=GuyNblueJeans] I know for a personal fact that UFOs (and you know the type I’m talking about) are real. [/QUOTE] I assume you mean aliens who have crossed space to visit us. This would be an astounding event, probably the most important thing that has ever happened to the human race. Can you tell us more? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603/20 "2007-05-19T17:20:51Z")
Presuming to speak for others: there’s a reason we don’t openly talk about our experiences, it puts us in the annoying position of being the foil for some guy who wants to preen his worldly skepticism in public, at our expense. We get to hear the same litany about the vastness of space, the odds against any such thing, which boils down to: what kinda nut, are you, anyway? I saw something I cannot explain given the normal set of reasonable realities that I’m used to dealing with. I had _plenty_ of time to examine it (couple three minutes, at least). Whatever it was, it was either very, _very_ big and moving at such a height that its engines noise didn’t reach me, or relatively low but possessed of an entirely silent propulsion system. From somewhere else? I’m thinking maybe, leaning towards yes, and that is as close to a conclusion as I’m ever going to get. And, all in all, I’d think I’d prefer I hadn’t, I don’t like anomalies, especially big ones. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-a-ufo-experience/404603.md?page=2)