If you're a skeptic, these UFO sightings will convince you that the truth is out there—and it may not be from Earth.
15 Most Chilling UFO Sightings Ever Recorded
Updated on May 16, 2025
Katrina and her friends
Henderson, Nevada, 2024
One of the most recent UFO sightings was an unexplained aerial phenomena that happened in Nevada on May 31, 2024. TMZ reported that a woman named Katrina and some friends were enjoying a night out in Henderson, near Las Vegas, when something extraordinary caught their attention. At around 10 p.m., they spotted a bright round light in the sky. Video acquired by TMZ shows this mysterious object moving in a diagonal pattern before shifting up and down. At one point, a plane zooms past, but it never gets close to the potential UFO.
John Sheppard and the lights
Kensington, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 2014
If you’re looking for alien sightings with evidence, this UFO encounter made the Mutual UFO Network of Canada (MUFON) Top 10 sightings list in 2014. Here’s what happened: John Sheppard was camping with his wife at the Twin Shores campground near Kensington, on Prince Edward Island. Around 11:30 on June 4, 2014, as he was extinguishing a bonfire, Sheppard noticed a diamond-shaped light dancing in the sky over the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This went on for several minutes.
Sheppard captured eight minutes of the unexplained aerial phenomena on his cellphone and sent the footage to MUFON, a nonprofit organization that studies UFOs. MUFON analyzed the footage and categorized the encounter as an unexplained aerial vehicle (UAV). The nonprofit used an open source computer program called Stellarium to determine if the light was caused by natural phenomena, but investigators could find no natural explanations for the flashing light.
The Betty and Barney Hill case
Rural New Hampshire, 1961
This is one of the most famous UFO sightings and alien abduction cases in history. Betty and Barney Hill were driving on a rural New Hampshire road one night when a bright light seemed to start following them. When they eventually got home, it was 5 a.m., their clothes were dirty and ripped, their watches had stopped working—and they couldn’t remember a thing. During sessions with psychiatrist Benjamin Simon, they recalled being probed and violated by aliens during an abduction. The case was investigated by Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s UFO study group during the 1950s and 1960s, and the couple’s story has inspired several movies and documentaries.
Barbara Lamb and the lizard man
Claremont, California, 2006
A woman named Barbara Lamb, a psychotherapist who observed crop circles and specializes in regression therapy and UFO research, claimed that a reptilian figure appeared in her living room on July 1, 2006, reports Vanity Fair. The figure was tall, had a humanoid shape and had piercing yellow eyes, she said. While Lamb was normally not fond of snakes and lizards, she felt calm because the reptile appeared friendly and welcoming, so she reached out to touch his hand. Then the lizard man vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.
When a colleague performed hypnotic regression therapy on her, Barbara was able to recall specific events from the encounter. Contemporary media outlets have reported the Barbara Lamb incident extensively, and her case has attracted many staunch supporters and skeptics alike.
Zimbabwe children and the end of the world
Ruwa, Zimbabwe, 1994
On a Friday morning in September 1994, several UFOs allegedly hovered near Ariel school in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, reports Vanity Fair. The teachers were in a staff meeting while the kids–aged 6 to 13–were playing outside. One girl heard a strange flute-like sound, while other kids heard sounds resembling buzzing bees or crackles from electricity.
The kids saw a silver object zip through the sky before landing in some nearby trees. Since the object was shining, the kids initially mistook it for a house with glass windows that were reflecting sunshine.
The children who observed these UFOs were terrified when they were asked to explain what had happened. They described two small beings–approximately 4 feet tall–with big heads, no noses (just two holes), no mouths and long black hair. The beings had narrow and pale faces resembling plastic. The children said they were dressed in dark suits and communicated telepathically. “I think it’s about something that’s going to happen,” said one little girl. “What I thought was maybe the world’s going to end. They were telling us the world’s going to end. I don’t even know. It just popped up in my head. He never said anything. He talked just with his eyes.”
The Rendlesham Forest Incident
Suffolk, England, 1980
Known as “Britain’s Roswell,” the Rendlesham Forest Incident is one of the most famous UFO sightings ever reported. The reason? The witnesses involved in the late December 1980 event were U.S. military personnel and considered highly credible witnesses. They reported seeing an alien aircraft with mysterious lights zoom through the forest. When they went to check it out, they saw scorch marks and depressions apparently left by the UFO.
Declassified documents state that witnesses saw a glowing object with multicolored lights glide gracefully through the trees before disappearing. Then they saw a hovering triangular object that was 6 feet long and 9 feet wide with a red light above it and blue lights underneath; the craft was surrounded by a yellow haze. Two men reportedly approached witnesses, asking what they had seen, leading some to speculate that the government was involved in a cover-up. Others think the two men were journalists.
The O’Hare International Airport saucer
Chicago, 2006
On Nov. 7, 2006, at 4:14 p.m., United Flight 446 was about to depart from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport when a dozen United Airlines employees spotted an odd metallic saucer-shaped craft hovering in the sky over the gate. The UFO sighting lasted for five minutes and had at least 12 United Airlines staff as observers. The employees reported that it hung in the air for several minutes before finally shooting into the clouds at breakneck speed. The strangest part? The UFO did not register on the airport’s radar, even though witnesses saw the craft and an airport employee supposedly filmed the event on a mobile phone. The FAA declined to investigate, chalking up the alleged UFO sighting to a “weather phenomenon.”
The Melbourne 350
Melbourne, Australia, 1966
This is another UFO sighting that could inspire the next great science fiction book. Around 350 students, teachers and staff at Westall High School in Melbourne, Australia, saw an unbelievable sight on Apr. 6, 1966, when they witnessed five planes attempting to corner and capture a round, silver UFO. The unidentified object was about the same size as a car and had a metal rod appendage, according to witnesses interviewed by the New York Post. The chase went on for about 20 minutes before the UFO zipped away. Afterward, witnesses said that the headmaster of the school and strange men in black suits warned against talking about the incident, even though it was witnessed by hundreds of people.
The Broad Haven Primary School drawings
Broad Haven, Wales, 1977
The BBC reports that in 1977, a group of children from Broad Haven Primary School in Broad Haven, Wales, reported seeing a UFO circling and hovering near their school playground. The object was topped with a red pulsating light, and many kids said they saw tall, silver humanoid-like alien creatures.
At first, teachers at the school didn’t believe them. But when the children were separated and asked to draw pictures of their experiences, they all came up with the same drawing of a flying saucer. And the encounters continued, with more children and adults experiencing UFO sightings. A cluster of historical UFO reports in the 1970s led the area around Broad Haven to be dubbed the Welsh Triangle.
The Frederick Valentich disappearance
Bass Strait, Australia, 1978
Australian pilot Frederick Valentich was flying over the Bass Strait, south of Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 21, 1978, when he encountered something he couldn’t identify, according to an Australian news source. Valentich was 20 years old and had been flying for two years when he got on his radio to notify air traffic control that there was a strange vessel in his path. The pilot had never seen anything like the metallic green, circling vessel, which appeared to be taunting him. “It is hovering, and it is not an aircraft,” were the last words Valentich said before he and his plane disappeared forever.
Fred Crisman and Harold Dahl
Maury Island, Washington, 1947
In 1947, Harold Dahl was out on his boat on Puget Sound with his son and his dog. History.com recounts that Dahl saw six strange aircraft overhead, one of which fell an estimated 1,500 feet out of the sky and into the water. Before crashing, the craft ejected hot debris resembling lava. The metal debris burned his son’s arm and killed his dog. Dahl told his supervisor at work, Fred Crisman, what had happened, and Crisman came and verified it for himself. Soon afterward, a man in a black suit supposedly came to Dahl and warned him not to speak of the incident again—it is said that this UFO sighting inspired the action movie Men in Black.
The Pentagon sighting
Arlington, Virginia, 1952
A 1952 incident in which seven unidentified objects appeared over secure airspace near the Pentagon was captured on film at 11:40 p.m on July 19, 1952. Edward Nugent was an aircraft controller who spotted the crafts on his radar, and jets were immediately sent to investigate these suspicious, strange objects. However, when the American jets approached that airspace, the seven objects disappeared from radar. When the jets landed, the objects returned to the radar screen once more.
President Harry S. Truman was notified, and Air Force Intelligence Director General John Samford held a press conference, saying that there were reports “made by credible observers of relatively incredible things. It’s this group of observations that we are attempting to resolve.” There was no resolution, which seems to be the case with many UFO sightings.
The Muscarello Exeter incident
Exeter, New Hampshire, 1965
An 18-year-old hitchhiker named Norman Muscarello saw five strange red, flashing lights in the woods. They appeared to emanate from a glowing red oval that was obscured by trees. The largest light was positioned in the front, followed by four other smaller lights. The largest light was the first to flash, and the other four lights flashed next in sequence. The biggest light flashed again immediately after the smallest finished flashing. As TV station WMUR recounts, the source of the lights suddenly came toward Muscarello at a frightening speed. He dove into a ditch to avoid being hit before flagging down a motorist. The police investigated the area, and they saw an aircraft with the same bright red lights speed off out of sight. Today, the event is celebrated with a yearly Exeter UFO Festival.
Steven Allen and the jumbo UFO
Stephenville, Texas, 2008
Years ago, a large aircraft hovered above Stephenville, Texas. Many people in the community saw it, and according to NPR, a pilot named Steven Allen reported that the unusual aircraft was flying at an estimated 3,000 miles per hour (much faster than any traditional or even supersonic jet could sustain) and being chased by fighter jets. People also claimed the UFO was “bigger than a Walmart” and totally silent as it flew through the air.
Richard French and the drowned UFOs
Coast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, 1950s
In the 1950s, Lieutenant Colonel Richard French’s job was to explain away UFO phenomena for the government’s Project Blue Book. There was only one problem: French saw alien ships with his own eyes, according to his testimony at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure in 2013. As reported in the Huffington Post, French saw two UFOs crash and sink in the waters off of Newfoundland, and he witnessed aliens trying to fix them. French also said that the famous Roswell incident actually consisted of two crashes, and that the second crash was of a ship that was attempting to salvage the first crashed craft.
FAQs
Have there been sightings of UFOs?
The Pentagon receives hundreds of reports of UFO sightings each year. Some of these sightings have been reported extensively by the media.
Which state has the most UFO sightings?
California is the state with the greatest number of UFO sightings, reporting more than 16,000 since the mid-1970s.
Which is the most famous UFO sighting?
The Roswell Ranch incident is the most famous UFO sighting.
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Sources:
- TMZ: “UFO Allegedly Filmed in Nevada … Shimmers, Dips & Disappears”
- CBC: “UFO sighting in P.E.I. backed by national group”
- CBS News: “UFO hearing key takeaways: What a whistleblower told Congress about UAP”
- History.com: “How Betty and Barney Hill’s Alien Abduction Story Defined the Genre”
- Vanity Fair: “Alien Nation: Have Humans Been Abducted by Extraterrestrials?”
- BBC: “Rendlesham Forest UFO: Are we any closer to the truth 40 years on?”
- NPR: “UFO Is Reported at O’Hare; Feds Are Silent”
- NPR: “Dozens Claim They Spotted UFO in Texas”
- New York Post: “Hundreds of School Kids Saw a UFO, and Were Ignored for 50 Years”
- HuffPost: “Richard French, Ex-Air Force Lt. Colonel, ‘It Was a UFO and … There Were Aliens Aboard It’”
- Slate.com: “They Knew What They Had Seen”
- WHYY: “Documentary explores the UFO sighting that changed the course of 62 children’s lives”
- Discovery UK: “Rendlesham Forest UFO: Britain’s Roswell Incident Explored”
- Daily Mail: “Silent, disk-shaped UFO seen by 12 United Airlines staff over Chicago may hold key to interstellar space travel, group of 30 physicists say”
- Roswell UFO Museum: “The Melbourne 350”
- Wales Online: “The world-famous UFO sighting by a group of schoolchildren in Pembrokeshire 45 years ago”
- Unsolved: “UFO Disappearance: An Australian pilot disappears after reporting an encounter with a UFO”
- Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber: “Time & Again: 75th Anniversary of the Maury Island Incident.”
- Enigma Labs: “Washington, D.C. Incident”
- The Quester Files: “Incident At Exeter–A Jolt Awake”
