Once upon a time, there lived a doe-eyed lad who enjoyed UFOs and all things associated with them. He’d go to the library and borrow tons of books related to UFO sightings, the Roswell Incident, and Area 51. He’d read them over and over and would watch all sorts of specials on UFOs and the fantastical theories surrounding them.
As time went on, the lad came to love the stories so much that he would tell his friends and family about them. His friends weren’t as interested in the topics; they were more interested in sports. The lad’s family, meanwhile, liked that he’d found something he enjoyed oh so much.
That lad was me, Vertigo, the fellow who operates this blog. After growing up loving anything and everything related to the unknown and mysterious, I am now living my dream of writing about it. Well, I’m living it when my mental health isn’t restricting me to staring at my Android screen while time ticks by.
Ah, but I’m not here to dwell on my personal struggles; I’ve done that more than enough throughout this month. No, I’m here, once again, to mention just how much I love the topics that I write about. I’ve made it no secret that I relished reading and watching everything I could about cryptids, ghosts, UFOs, and more. While the topic of ghosts has become one of my lesser favorites as time has gone on, the others have remained at the forefront of my mind.
The subject of UFOs is probably the one that I enjoy thinking about the most. The idea that we’re alone in the universe is as terrifying as it is bizarre. It’s also fascinating to wonder what they may think of our humble blue planet. Too bad they won’t respond to our calls. Someone’s got to be home! Right?
Oh well, the topic of extraterrestrial life deserves its own write-up one day—preferably when I have a year or two to write it and finely craft it from the ground up. For now, I’ve got individual reports from people who have seen UFOs and aliens—and in some cases, reports where they’ve even made contact with the extraterrestrials!
That said, I’m not missing anything, am I? Nah, that’s crazy. How could I possibly forget anything? It’s not like I haven’t repeated myself nonstop about how human memory is fallible and unreliable.
Oh, wait, I’m wrong on both fronts. My memory sucks. Also, I’m forgetting alien abductions.
Indeed, while I may be rather outspoken about my doubts regarding alien abductions as an adult, I was fascinated by them as a child. I’m not sure if this contradicts what my past self said, but I’ll gladly correct the record. There was a part of me that was intrigued by the story of Betty and Barney Hill as a child. I always wondered what happened to them and if they were truly the victims of an alien abduction.
I don’t remember when my views on the subject changed. If I had to guess, I’d say that it was a few years back. The seeds of doubt were always there, but something finally reaped them, and I’ve become increasingly doubtful of the legitimacy of most abduction claims.
I digress, though. What does this have to do with today’s write-up? Well, if you’ve been keeping up with Decemystery 2024, you’ll remember that last Tuesday, I said that I’d be covering two cases related to alien abductions. Today, we’ll be discussing the second one. Like last time, I want to see if this story can throw me for a loop and make me wonder if maybe, just maybe, my stance on alien abductions isn’t correct.
I don’t see any reason to delay any further, so come along, dear reader; let’s take a trip down to Florida and investigate The 2006 Fort Pierce Alien Abduction. I really need to think of better names for alien abduction stories. Eh, maybe next year. For now, I want to focus on seeing if this will be the alien abduction case that changes my outlook on the matter at hand.
The Sunshine State’s Not-So-Sunshiny Story
Like many good UFO-related write-ups, I found this one in the archives of NUFORC’s website. That’s the National UFO Reporting Center, for those who’ve not read some of my other articles.
As the name implies, this occurred in Fort Pierce, Florida. It’s located on the east side of southern Florida. As of 2024, it has a population of 49,374. Back in 2006, it was 40,355. Keep that in mind for later because it’s going to be vital to the theories.
Anyway, the individual who submitted this case opted to remain anonymous. As such, I’ll refer to him as Steve. According to him, this incident took place in “July or August of 2006” at around 3:00 a.m. He couldn’t remember the precise date, so he placed it as having occurred on August 1, 2006.
Additionally, the report uses the 24-hour time format, which threw me for a loop. However, Fort Pierce is located near a few military bases. As such, I’m going to guess that Steve was likely a member of the United States military. Again, keep this in mind for later.
Anyway, Steve sent his account into NUFORC on April 6, 2007, at 10:06 p.m. (22:06 for my 24-hour time readers). Despite the eight or nine-month gap between the incident and his recounting, he claimed he could remember it “fairly clearly,” but said it “still feels like a dream” because “it seemed too scary to be real.” Funny, I say the same thing nowadays when I look at the calendar and see that another day has come and gone in December.
As said before, Steve said it was around 3:00 in the morning when this took place; Steve was on summer vacation before heading off to college. I should note that the two military bases I noticed when looking up Fort Pierce were a National Guard base and a Coast Guard outpost. You can enlist both after graduating high school; the Coast Guard even lets you “begin the process” when you turn 17. So, before anyone asks why I brought up Steve’s military status, this is why.
Getting back on track, Steve and his mom were taking their dog to the bathroom—ostensibly for a late-night piss. Nothing says “a good night’s rest” quite like waking up at 2:30 because your bladder feels like it’ll erupt like Mount Vesuvius circa 79 AD.
While the mother and son were undoubtedly chatting about Steve’s future plans of becoming Florida Man’s successor, they noticed “a bright light.” This caused their dog to become “very afraid.” I understand. I, too, get scared of bright lights because it reminds me of a camera flash. I hate having my picture taken so much that it’s unreal.
Curious, Steve and his mom looked up and saw a diamond-shaped aircraft. The “upper triangle shape” was “larger” than the lower one—or so Steve claimed. I’m unsure if he meant it was longer or wider.
Either way, diamond-shaped UFOs are not unheard of. A prime example is the Calvine UFO, which became the subject of much intrigue when it was rediscovered after having been lost for three decades. Perhaps it’ll get a write-up at some point in the future. For now, just know that what Steve and his mom saw wasn’t novel whatsoever.
After this, Steve repeats the detail about the ship having “bright lights,” which reminds me of how much I’ve repeated various points throughout this year’s Decemystery. In all seriousness, I think he might’ve meant that the “lights,” or at least some of them, were beams. The reason I say this is because the two characteristics he included in the report form were “Lights on object” and “Emitted beams.”
It’s through these beams that I’m going to guess the aliens appeared. Indeed, Steve recalled that he was “chased by creatures.” They had “big foreheads” and outfits that resembled white dresses and nightgowns that were loose fitting. This description reminds me a bit of Nordic aliens, but I’ll save them for when we get to the theories section. For now, I want to address what is arguably the weirdest aspect of Steve’s case—namely, what led up to him being pursued by these aliens.
As Steve said, he remembered being chased by the aliens. The only bit of information that I omitted was that this was when he “became the most frightened.” Beyond that, that’s all we’ve got to work with; Steve didn’t say when or how the aliens stepped foot on the ground. One second, he was looking at the UFO. The next, he was running for his life from the big foreheaded monsters in Calvin Klein nightgowns. Get better taste; Giorgio Armani is vastly superior!
Before anyone harps on me, I’d like to say that I have no idea if Calvin Klein’s stuff is any good. I know Armani’s is.
Anyway, Steve wasn’t the only one running from nightgown-wearing extraterrestrials. His mother was, too. Their dog, however, was missing in action; presumably, one of the aliens stopped to play fetch with him. Regardless, they were running on their front lawn. Again, keep this in mind for later because it raises a very odd question, and it’s one that I often find myself asking when it comes to alien abduction cases.
After running for an unknown amount of time, Steve’s memory went blank. The next thing he recalled was waking up in bed. This is a textbook example of the “missing time” phenomenon that’s commonly associated with alien abductions. Evidently, aliens can make you forget the abduction procedures, but they can’t make you forget what you experienced before you got on their spaceship. How quaint.
Now, in what I consider the most frustrating act possible on Steve’s end, he said that he didn’t ask his mother “about the experience” since he was nervous about learning if she’d also remember it.
While I understand his concern and fears (I’d be terrified to learn the same), I can’t help but think that if you’re willing to submit an anonymous report to a group like NUFORC, it’d be wise to consult your mom about the whole thing. The last thing you’d want to do is clog the website with something that was a mere nightmare (which Steve mentioned in the report that it felt like one; more on that later).
With that, Steve ends his account by saying that he “would love to believe it was a dream” due to how terrified he gets when he reminisces about it. I won’t lie; it’s a pretty unsettling tale. There’s something about being chased by an alien that’s genuinely horrific to envision.
That said, there are two things I want to draw attention to before we leap into the theories. The first is that Steve didn’t know how long the sighting lasted for. I think this interesting since he’d said he remembered the event “fairly clearly.” I’ll get to this in the theories, but any seasoned reader of this blog will know where I’m getting at this.
The second thing Steve said was that there was only one observer. I’m assuming that he did this since he wasn’t sure if his mom remembered the event and, therefore, didn’t know if it was a nightmare or not. Regardless, I wanted to point it out.
Anyway, with that, Steve’s story comes to a close. I won’t lie; I do find it pretty unsettling. I’ve had numerous nightmares about being chased by someone—or something—scary. In fact, I’m sure you have, dear reader; I’m sure most of my readers have!
However, I’m not here to jump to conclusions; I do want to approach this with as open of a mind as I possibly can since this isn’t meant to be a write-up where I hammer home how much I don’t believe in a topic. No, I want to approach this and do my best to see if I can prove myself wrong. So, come along; let’s explore the theories and see what, exactly, happened to Steve, his mother, and their dog that night.
Theories
1. Aliens abducted Steve and his mom
Kicking off the theories is arguably the most obvious; Steve and his mother were abducted by ET and his very oddly dressed companions.
This is likely going to be longer than the other theories because I have a lot that I want to discuss in the way of what doesn’t work. However, I refuse to let my biases prevent me from maintaining an open mind. As such, let’s first talk about what does work.
First and foremost, the missing time is a staple of alien abductions. For those who are unaware of the phenomenon, let me give you a quick example. Let’s say that it’s 11:37 at night (that’s 23:37 for my 24-hour time readers). You’re driving along a dark, secluded back road. Suddenly, you see a bright light in the sky. Your car comes to a halt; it’s like the engine’s died.
The light gets larger and larger. Then, suddenly, you look at the clock in your car, which miraculously starts up again. To your bewilderment, it’s 2:45 in the morning!
The implication here is that aliens abducted you and wiped your memory of whatever they did—be it some weird medical experiments or playing a game of Parcheesi with you. Regardless, the phenomenon is synonymous with aliens and deserves its own write-up.
Personally, I think a lot of instances of missing time can be chalked up to things like stress and falling asleep. Of course, that doesn’t apply to every case, and Steve’s is one of them. The main reason for that is that I have no idea how his mom would’ve gotten him inside. In fact, we don’t know if his mom experienced the phenomenon.
I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Let’s take a step back and take a breather; there’s a great deal of stuff I want to go over, and I would be remiss if I didn’t try my best to discuss this theory in a more orderly fashion than I usually do.
We’ve already gone over the concept of missing time, so let’s fixate on why that’s important. To be more specific, let’s discuss Steve’s mother. She was the only other possible witness to this event (more on if anyone else saw it later), but we don’t know if she experienced any missing time. We already know why, though; Steve never asked her. That’s quite open-and-shut, so what else is there to talk about?
Well, surprisingly enough, that’s a very simple question to answer. It has to do with Steve himself. More specifically, it has to do with how his mother got him inside if Steve had passed out for one reason or another.
Allow me to explain. Let’s say that, for the sake of argument, Steve was roughly 19 years old; he waited a year to attend college because he joined the National Guard or Coast Guard. Why? Well, in the United States, the military will help pay for your tuition. Alternatively, ROTC programs in high schools can give you a scholarship.
Either way, let’s say that after high school, Steve enlisted in the army. This would make sense since Fort Pierce, as stated earlier, has a National Guard base and a Coast Guard outpost. It’s possible he was a part-time guardsman. Alternatively, he may have been older than I thought and had recently been discharged. I digress, though; I don’t want to get too sidetracked with nitpicking.
My point is that if this were the case——and I fully admit that there’s a good chance I’m not—Steve would likely be quite fit and tall. Depending on his mom’s age and if she had any physical disabilities or injuries, I doubt she’d be able to pick her son up like she did when he was a child and carry him inside if he had passed out.
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. As you get older, your body doesn’t remain in pristine condition. You can stay in shape, yes, but your bones are going to ache, and you’ll have days where you’re going to wish you were 20 years younger. Take it from me and enjoy your younger years to their fullest.
What I’m ultimately getting at is if Steve did pass out or experience some sort of health crisis, his mother would’ve informed him. I see no reason for her to withhold this what occurred from him, especially if he was going to college. Even if Steve wasn’t in the army, this type of information would be crucial if he expressed any interest in athletic activities or intended to reenlist in the military at any point.
Not only that, but I have to imagine she would’ve dialed 911 and not (somehow) gotten Steve back inside. I suppose it’s possible that his mother could’ve gotten him back in on her own if she dragged him or asked her husband for assistance.
However, Steve did not mention his father at any point. Then again, it’s possible Steve didn’t think he’d believe him. There is the matter of how he or any neighbors failed to notice the bright lights, nor did his wife not inform him. I digress, though. As I said above, I’ll add to this later.
For now, it’s just a matter of why Steve’s mom didn’t tell him about whether he’d passed out. This, in my eyes, points to the missing time being legitimate and that both would’ve had to have experienced it.
The only reason I could see Steve’s mother not informing him is if she was a cartoonishly cruel woman who didn’t want to tell him that, hey, he passed out suddenly. However, there’s no indication that they had anything other than a positive relationship since Steve was not only living there but insinuated he would’ve asked her if he wasn’t nervous about her remembering anything.
Of course, it is possible that Steve’s mom was fit. There’s absolutely no reason to doubt this. However, I still don’t understand why she wouldn’t contact 911. I know that everyone reacts differently under stress, but I still think it’s peculiar.
Oh well, whatever. This isn’t the only reason I don’t doubt Steve’s claim. There’s also the matter of if he had been—or was still—in the military. I mentioned earlier that this would be important, and this is precisely why.
While there’s nothing to confirm or deny that Steve was a member of the United States armed forces, Fort Pierce—as I’ve already stated—has a few bases. So, I feel safe in making an assumption.
If Steve had enlisted in the military, he would’ve had to receive a psychiatric evaluation. This would’ve ruled out any mental illness (if he had any). In the United States, people with a wide array of psychological and physical disabilities aren’t allowed to join. This can range from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) to something as severe as Schizophrenia. If Steve wanted to be in the military, he’d need to be sound of mind.
Again, this assumes that he was in the military. It’s perfectly possible that he wasn’t in it; it’s purely speculatory, but if he were, this would immediately rule out him having hallucinated unless he was sleep-deprived. While that’s plausible, I find it hard to believe that his mother didn’t sound the alarm about her son’s physical well-being.
At the same time, if Steve were older than I guessed, it’s possible he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused by a helicopter with its searchlight on. If he’d served in Iraq or Afghanistan, he might’ve had a flashback and suffered from a hallucination. While hallucinations are not a common symptom of PTSD, they’re known to happen, and it’s possible that something triggered the event.
This could explain his lapse in memory. It’s possible he ran inside and hid in his bedroom until he fell asleep. Then again, I don’t know anywhere near enough about PTSD to make any sort of educated guess; that merely sounds plausible to me. As such, I’d suggest taking what I just said with a gargantuan grain of salt instead of treating it as a serious guess.
The last thing that I’ll mention that works in this theory’s favor is the physical appearance of the aliens themselves. Earlier, I said that Steve’s description reminded me of Nordic aliens—sometimes referred to as “Venusians.” At least, I think they are; in my life, I’ve seen some people classify them as one and the same, while others classify them as two separate species entirely.
Regardless of their name, Venusians aren’t from Venus. If they are, feel free to correct me, but no source told me otherwise.
Anyway, the reason I believe this benefits the theory is the supposed attire the aliens sported. They were wearing loose-fitting dresses and nightgowns. As far as I can remember, the only alien race that wears clothing like that is Nordic aliens. They’re often depicted as wearing long, elegant dresses and robes that mirror their purported beauty.
And with that, we also have the first issue with the theory. Nordic aliens are said to be human-like in appearance. As their name implies, they resemble people from Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, and Sweden). They have vibrant blue eyes, long blonde hair, and fair skin. By all accounts, they’re human-like in appearance.
If this were the case, it’d stand to reason that Steve would’ve described them as resembling humans. Sure, Nordic aliens are sometimes described as being exceptionally tall (they can reach upward of 7 feet—or 2.1 meters), but I would hardly call them “creatures.” Most, if not all, reports describe them as being physically human-like in every way, shape, and form. Where they diverge is that they’re telepathic.
Additionally, I’ve never heard of them having abnormally large foreheads. I suppose it’s possible that some do, but I don’t think that’d give them a freakish or terrifying appearance. Not unless you have Metopophobia or Toxiphobia. Apparently, one of them is the fear of foreheads. I don’t know which it is. If I had to pick between the two, I’d go with the former since the latter sounds like it relates to poison.
Regardless, nothing about the physical appearance of the beings that Steve described mirrors Nordic aliens. However, the fun doesn’t stop there because there’s one thing that is simultaneously for and against the theory, and that’s the fact Nordic aliens have a penchant for abducting people.
On the one hand, the tendency to abduct people does reinforce my belief that Steve and his mom met a group of Nordic aliens. Yes, I know that Steve left out any defining characteristics aside from their large foreheads. In my eyes, that doesn’t negate the fact they were wearing similar clothing.
Boy, that’s a weak argument. I sure hope the counterargument isn’t able to tip the scales in a manner that’ll make me sound silly for defending it.
Anyway, on the other hand, abductions by Nordic aliens are among the most enigmatic in my eyes. They’re often said to be “spiritual” in nature, with the abductees being told about the dangers of atomic weaponry, saving our planet, and other things like that. In other words, they’re extraterrestrial hippies. Man, now I want to play Destroy All Humans 2.
On a more serious note, there’s one major key difference here compared to many other alien abductions: The abductee didn’t forget the event. Their memory wasn’t wiped via an extraterrestrial CCleaner.
As a result, this would suggest that the aliens weren’t of the Nordic kind. So, why did I go over them for so long? Well, that’s because I have no idea what other aliens they could’ve been. The only kind I know of that wears dresses and nightgowns are Nordic aliens.
Now, granted, I could be forgetting a type. I’ve said in the past that my memory isn’t the best. I also haven’t had the opportunity to research a lot of topics that I wish I could; God willing, I’ll be able to next year.
As it stands, though, what alien species chased Steve, his mom, and his dog is unknown to me. Maybe if we’d gotten a clearer description, I would know.
Hm… wait, one of those isn’t quite like the other. I know Steve. I know his mom, too. But that third one, the dog. What’s this about a dog? What kind of tomfoolery are we dealing with here?
Oh, that’s right. Steve and his mom were outside with their dog while he used the bathroom. Say, I have a question: What the heck happened to his dog!?
No, really, what happened? The dog got scared when it saw the bright light, and Steve never mentioned it again. He said the creatures were chasing him and his mother, but his dog was absent. Did it bark? Growl? Cower? Was it also chased? He never said anything about it, and it’s driving me up a wall the size of Mount Everest.
In my time reading about UFO sightings and alien encounters, I’ve found it surprisingly rare to encounter a report where a dog is involved. I’m sure that falls on me for not reading enough, but it usually amounts to a dog barking before running away or cowering somewhere.
In this case, though, the dog was at ground zero. It was there; its owners were being chased, yet it was as static as an unanimated image. It’s possible the dog ran inside, or Steve wasn’t paying attention, but if he could recall the incident “fairly clearly,” I would think he’d know what happened to his dog! I mean, come on, it’s your dog, dude. They’re not called “Man’s Best Friend” for nothing.
To further compound this, I think it’s strange that Steve never bothered to observe if his dog’s behavior changed after that day in some way, shape, or form. I’ve heard countless stories of pets (typically dogs) refusing to go where a cryptid or ghost was seen. This includes where a UFO landed.
If there were aliens on the ground, I’d expect a dog of all animals to be capable of detecting their scent. If it wasn’t reacting badly to their scent, I think it’s safe to say Steve had a nightmare. However, I’ll get to that theory later.
Now, of course, there could be an explanation for this. It’s possible the dog was abducted first so that it couldn’t make any noise. This would not only be a strategic move on the end of the aliens, but it’d also make sense. One has to think that after centuries of abducting people, they’d learn to silence any sentries.
It’s also possible that the dog was too scared to try and ward off the aliens. However, I think this is less likely—the keyword there is “think.” I’m not a behavioral expert when it comes to dogs, but I’ve owned a total of three in my life. Even when my current dog gets scared of someone, it’ll still try its best to defend me.
Nevertheless, it is possible that the whole thing scared the dog so much that it was incapable of trying to defend its owners. There’s also the chance that it was a puppy and, therefore, couldn’t do much of anything besides look adorable.
Whatever the case, I do think the issues surrounding the dog are more nuanced. Even my more biased side is forced to admit that. After all, there’s nothing outright dictating that the dog had to have been hurt. Heck, for all we know, the aliens didn’t notice it, and the dog hid until Steve and his mom were dropped back off by the sharp-dressed aliens.
I bet you five Monopoly dollars that “ZZ Top” on their planet is “ZR Top.”
Anyway, there’s a lot more related to the dog that I could discuss. However, I’d rather save it for the obligatory hoax theory since this section has become enormous. Just know that Man’s Best Friend will return from the doggy spa; it desperately needs a bath after being left outside during the alien abduction. You know how dogs are when they’re allowed to dig in the dirt without human supervision.
That said, there are two other issues I want to touch upon. I’ll try my best to keep them as short as I can so that later theories aren’t three paragraphs long, but it just so happened that the inaugural theory allowed me to address a whole slew of issues without, well, causing any issues.
The first is Steve’s status in the military. If we were to believe that he was in it, one would think he could identify a military aircraft. This is a relatively small problem since, as established earlier, it’s possible he suffered from PTSD. However, if he didn’t, it’d be weird for him to get scared out of his wits and panic.
On top of that, I don’t know of any military aircraft that resembles a diamond. The closest thing that comes to mind is a hot air balloon, but I don’t think those are used in conventional warfare. If they are, that’s news to me.
The final thing going against this theory is easily the biggest issue out of everyone we’ve gone over. I’m going to save most of it for the aforementioned hoax theory, but I’ll touch upon it here because it does poke a gargantuan hole in everything.
The issue is how nobody else noticed the UFO. Look, this thing was emitting a bright light. It was in an area where 40,355 lived. I understand that plenty of people are deep sleepers, but do you mean to tell me that this thing appeared and nobody was awoken by the sudden bright lights outside? If this thing was near Steve’s front lawn and he had a dad, surely he would’ve been awoken by sudden illumination!
Listen, I’ve been awoken by someone flicking on a ceiling light. Don’t tell me that an alien spacecraft’s high beams aren’t as bright as the lights in your house or apartment!
Now, yes, some of you can argue that Steve lived on the outskirts of Fort Pierce. That’s fine. However, I refuse to believe that if his dad were sleeping inside, he wouldn’t have been alerted not only to the miniature sun outside of his home but also to the screaming of his son and wife. This issue extends to if the family had neighbors and weren’t living in a more sparsely populated part of Fort Pierce.
Well, if the city has such an area, I don’t know its geography. What, do you take me for a geography teacher? I use Google Maps to check a few things and call it a day. Maybe when I’m not racing against the clock, I’ll invest in using Google Street View.
There are a plethora of other things going against this theory, but I don’t want to drag this one out any longer. So, I think it’s better if we end it off here—and I shall do so by conceding that I don’t think this theory is completely implausible.
Despite the glaring flaws, the way Steve presented his story doesn’t leave me as frustrated as many others. His fears about his mom remembering things are understandable; the thought of being abducted by aliens is terrifying. I won’t deny that. I think that most people would be scared to death if they were abducted by hyper-advanced beings who could kill you with a mere thought.
At the same time, like numerous NUFORC reports, I do wish he’d added more. After all, Steve said he could remember the event “fairly clearly.” If that were true, I think it’s a bad look for him not to include more information. Then again, I’ve said the same thing about countless other stories; I think I need to stop expecting people to provide as much detail as a prosecutor who’s delivering an airtight case about a high-profile crime lord.
Ultimately, I think the theory’s plausibility will depend on how much you believe in alien abductions and how you perceive the flaws. I’ll be expanding upon them later. For now, let’s take a detour from Alien Avenue to Interdimensional Boulevard. What, did you think I’d give up on that now? No, I will for next year’s Decemystery—for the most part, anyway.
2. Interdimensional beings abducted Steve and his mom
“I’ll include this theory in all 32 write-ups. What’s the worst that can happen?” - Me circa mid-August (paraphrased).
Well, my past self, I’ll tell you what can happen. You begin looking at the theory and want to get gored by a Jackalope.
This theory is like a fly that you can’t get rid of. You can thank me for leaving the door open long enough to let it in; I’d apologize, but I swore to allow 32 of them into the house as a self-imposed challenge. You can’t stop me from completing it, even if it means unleashing pesticides!
Anyway, this theory is—as you can undoubtedly surmise, thanks to this month’s never-ending supply of interdimensional hypotheses—practically the same as the previous one. The only difference is that aliens were from another planet in another universe instead of a cosmic clothing store.
Given those similarities, I don’t think it’s worth going over anything in detail. So, I’ll just say that your mileage will depend on your views of interdimensional entities. Personally, while I believe there are other universes out there, I’m not sure if they’re going to come along in their fancy UFOs to shove needles into us. I think they’d prefer to observe us lest they be attacked and potentially killed.
But, hey, what do I know? I’ve been wrong before. Maybe these beings like to visit our world because they’re malevolent and sadistic. Whatever the case may be, let’s get back on track and start discussing the rationalization theories.
3. A hoax
You know, I’m writing this theory while my bipolar is in full-blown swing. My mind is in a frenzy; I feel like it’s going to split itself apart.
Despite that, my thoughts on this story from here on out remain inexplicably clear. I have no idea why, but I have a strange sense of clarity. Perhaps the aliens Steve saw are trying to help me by using some Windex on my brain. How benevolent; maybe they can rewire it entirely next time so I can become a full-time author. That would be nice.
Anyway, this theory posits what it advertises: Steve made the whole thing up. I’ve discussed it so many times that, at this point, I’m getting legitimately frustrated whenever I have to explain why someone would fake a UFO sighting. Unfortunately, my friends have informed me that getting angry isn’t a good thing and that it could be detrimental to my well-being.
They claim the last time I got angry, I tried challenging Bigfoot to a boxing match. I don’t believe them.
Jokes aside, I’ll keep the usual stuff that works in the theory’s favor as short as possible. For starters, there’s a chance that Steve wanted to prove that NUFORC would publish anything. The person he wished to prove this to could’ve been a family member, friend, colleague, or someone who he couldn’t stand and was a huge UFO buff.
It’s also possible that Steve wanted to do it to prove to himself that they’d do it. I’ve considered doing something like this in the past but have opted against it because I think it’d be a waste of time. But, hey, maybe I’ll change my mind in the future. Who knows?
The last variation is that it could’ve just been a prank; Steve could’ve been bored and wanted to have a bit of fun messing with UFO enthusiasts. However, as I’ve pointed out countless times by now, this makes no sense since there’s no comments section.
NUFORC also lacks a forum, and I have no idea if anyone has ever covered many of the reports I’ve covered in detail. So, unless he was a clairvoyant and foresaw my coverage, the idea of it being a prank is flimsy. I imagine he’d want to see the responses from UFO believers and not imagine their reactions.
As for the other things that point toward this being a hoax, the first thing I’ll mention is the dog. Simply put, the fact there’s no mention of it is a massive strike against the story. While Steve could’ve forgotten to bring it up or saw his dog in regular spirits the following day, I think it’s suspicious that he failed to bring it up afterward.
Now, in the interest of fairness, it’s also possible that the dog fled inside before anything happened; maybe there was a little doggy door, or the house door was being kept open. That’d be a bit odd, given the time of year, but hey, some folks are unique. Besides, who am I to judge?
That said, I don’t think this is the case. The lack of any information on the dog after being told it was using the bathroom is such a noticeable issue that I can’t overlook. If I do that, I would be doing a major disservice not only to myself but to you as well.
Of course, there’s another extremely plausible explanation, but that’s for the next theory. So, for now, let’s focus on what else points toward this being a hoax: The fact nobody else saw this happen.
As I said in the previous theory, I have no idea if Steve lived on the outskirts of Fort Pierce. I’m unfamiliar with the area; although I’ve been to Florida twice in my life, I’ve never been anywhere close to Fort Pierce or its neighboring towns and cities.
That said, I know that at least 40,000 people lived in the city at the time. If this UFO were emitting as bright of a light as I imagine, someone would have had to have seen it, right? I mean, unless everyone in the city is a wickedly deep sleeper, I’m doubtful that there was a collective disregard for the sun suddenly being out at 3:00 in the morning.
Now, granted, you could argue that the lights weren’t so bright that they were lighting up the entire neighborhood. That would be perfectly fair, honestly. I think there’s no reason to suspect that we were talking about the UFO equivalent of the Las Vegas Strip. However, given the description of its brightness and because aliens ended up chasing Steve and his mom, I’m inclined to believe it either:
1. It landed on the ground, thereby resulting in ground-level illumination and not something you’d only notice if you were outside.
2. The aliens were teleported down. This would explain why the sudden brightness awoke nobody, but it begs the question of why the aliens didn’t just abduct Steve and his mom like the vast majority of other alien abductions.
But, hey, let’s just assume the UFOs were high up in the sky, and nobody noticed their light. Fine, that’s one thing. However, that doesn’t account for any possible noise that Steve, his mom, his dog, or any combination of the three may have made being ignored. A dog barking at night is one thing. That’s bound to be ignored if someone leaves their dog outside and someone is making their way home after a night out on the town.
When it comes to people screaming, though, humans tend to take a greater interest in what’s happening. Do you know why? It’s because hearing another individual screaming is a lot more distressing than a dog barking.
My psychology could be wrong, but I’ve always been under the impression that humans instinctively associate screaming with something negative. After all, screaming is often done when someone is scared by someone or something. If aliens were chasing Steve and his mother, I can’t imagine they were running without trying to scream for help—or to communicate with one another.
Also, before you bring up screaming in music, I don’t think you’re going to find someone singing like Axl Rose or Steven Tyler at 3:00 in the morning outdoors for fun.
Getting back on track, I find the lack of outside interest all the more perplexing if Steve had a father. Assuming his mom wasn’t divorced or his dad wasn’t out of town for one reason or another, I have to imagine he would’ve taken immediate notice of his wife not being in bed with him—unless their marriage was on the rocks. However, Steve gave no indication of such a thing.
Then again, it’s possible that I’m greatly overthinking things. I mean, we don’t know if Steve and his mother had gone for a late-night walk with their dog and were in a park of some sort. If that were the case, then I think it’d make sense why nobody saw or heard what happened. I don’t know how often people go to the park at 3:00 in the morning for fun.
Well… unless said fun is dubious, but I’m not here to judge.
That’s the frustrating thing about a case like this. To me, this flaw sounds like something that I should consider a dealbreaker. However, I like to give the benefit of the doubt whenever I can, and the possible explanations for why nobody reacted are strong enough that I feel boxed in. Is this what people mean when they say, “You’re too kind for your own good”? If it is, I finally understand it.
Anyway, enough about that. Let’s move on to what works against this theory. Or, rather, the one thing that works against it.
Aside from the issues I pointed out above, there’s only one unique thing that goes against it—and it’s something that I don’t think I’ve observed in any other NUFORC report: Steve was remarkably self-aware of the whole thing. He explicitly said that it felt like a nightmare and acknowledged that he hadn’t talked to his mother out of fear that she’d remember it.
To me, that’s not something that a person who’s perpetrating a hoax would do. If they were, they would’ve said that they spoke to their mom, and she confirmed it. Acknowledging your paranoia makes me think that the fear Steve felt was too real to be faked.
Of course, that could’ve been his intention. He wanted to come across as genuine in order to fool people. It’d make sense; it’s a staple of con artistry. So, what separates Steve from any other hoaxer?
Well, he has nothing to gain from it.
Steve anonymously submitted his story to a website that doesn’t allow others to respond. He didn’t get money out of it. He didn’t get publicity. He just posted it. That, coupled with the self-awareness, leads me to suspect that this theory is rather flimsy.
However, that’s purely my opinion. It is possible that I’m being duped by Steve. In the world of UFOs, there are so many hoaxes that I could do a Megalist of them. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of effort, and I lack the interest to do such a thing. In fact, I’m uncertain if I’ll ever do another Megalist again because of how exhausting they are.
I digress, though. We’ve got one more theory to go over, and it’s the one that I’ve been the most eager to talk about. It’s time for us to enter the realm of dreams and talk about what is arguably the most probable theory. I really have to stop putting the most likely theories at the end because I think it’s starting to get too predictable.
Maybe I’ll subvert that tomorrow. Or maybe I won’t. Who knows? Not me; I haven’t even begun work on tomorrow’s write-up, and it’s going up in less than two weeks! Oh, how I love falling behind schedule!
4. A nightmare
Ever had a fever dream? I know I have; they aren’t fun whatsoever. I would know this because, as a child, I was perpetually sick. That’s why when I hear people say, “Man, I wish I was young again,” I say that I have no desire to relive those days ever again. I will gladly stick with the current incarnation of misery in the form of my mental health; thank you very much!
The only thing worse than a fever dream, though, is a nightmare. While fever dreams are surreal, nightmares are just outright suck. They can be vivid and mess up your day because of how harrowing they can be. I’ve had more than I care to ever share with you, dear reader, but I want you to know that on more than one occasion, my day’s been ruined by them.
In Steve’s case, there’s a lot that makes me suspect his experience being the product of a vivid nightmare.
The first thing is that he saw the lights and suddenly found himself running from the aliens. I’ve had a lot of nightmares where the dream has jumped from one thing to another without any warning. Heck, in some cases, an otherwise normal dream just turns into a nightmare for no rhyme or reason.
This sudden turn of events would explain why his dog suddenly vanished. It was no longer a part of the dream. I’ve experienced things like this, and I can attest to how distressing (and bizarre) it is.
The second thing is the lack of anything noticing the lights or being alerted to their possible screaming. Dream logic is bizarre; when you’re dreaming, anything can happen. The laws of reality do not apply there. I’ve had dreams where I’ve flapped my arms and began flying. You make sense of that, dear reader; I sure as heck can’t.
In Steve’s case, he could’ve had a similar dream like I sometimes do where, when he attempts to speak, all that comes out is a barely audible whisper—or nothing at all. If this were the case, then yeah, I’m not shocked nobody came to his rescue. He was making as much noise as you would in the vacuum of space.
Of course, you could argue that aliens used some sort of soundproof barrier to silence Steve, his mom, and their dog. However, I’ll be honest: I think that’s a bit too far-fetched. After all, if you wanted to abduct some puny Earthlings, why not just do it the old-fashioned way by using your abduction beam?
The last thing I’ll point out in this theory’s favor is that Steve said he suddenly awoke in his bed. I think this speaks for itself, right? I mean, unless you’re like me and you sleep on a couch because sleeping in a bed inexplicably causes you to suffer from nightmares (I swear, every bed that I’ve owned has been cursed), where else would you sleep? The coffee table? Come on, don’t be silly!
That said, there are two things going against this theory. The first is that we don’t know if Steve’s mother recalled anything. This is a very important thing that, despite my biases toward alien abduction cases, I will not overlook. I wish, oh-so-badly, that Steve had spoken to his mother about this before submitting his account, but it’s understandable why he didn’t. I’ll go over this aspect more when I get to my take because I don’t want to go on a massive tangent here, though.
What I will harp on is why Steve opted to wait so long to submit his report. While it’s understandable that he was afraid, it bothers me that he waited so long to do so. I suppose that this could fall squarely on me for not being in Steve’s shoes. I don’t know what his mentality of the event beyond what he wrote; it’s possible he expected to be ridiculed.
It’s also possible that Steve had no idea about NUFORC until he submitted it. If that’s the case, then this point is rendered largely moot. If this isn’t the case, though, I will admit that I wish he’d sent this in sooner. But, again, I’m not him; I don’t know how he felt at the time, so criticizing his decisions does nothing but make me look like a jerk.
With that, though, the second issue comes into play—and it’s the much more interesting one (in my opinion). Simply put, Steve remembered an awful lot despite the event having occurred several months earlier.
I’ll be honest: I have memories—albeit fuzzy ones—of some nightmares. However, I can’t remember much outside of fragments of them. If you asked me to recount every detail, I’d tell you that you’re insane for thinking I’m capable of such a feat.
In Steve’s case, he remembered a fair amount of detail—a bit more than I’d expect from someone who potentially had a nightmare several months prior. I had a nightmare about a week or two before writing this section, and all I can remember is starting to ascend the stairs to my old home before retreating into the kitchen because something felt off. Then, out of nowhere, a snake-like monster rushed toward me. Then I woke up.
Everything prior to that is lost; I can’t recall what led up to that moment.
If Steve had had a nightmare, the fact that he remembered as much as he did bothers me a fair bit. I also think he would’ve remembered it being a nightmare, even if it was a vivid one. Even the most lucid nightmares are, at the end of the day, distinguishable from reality.
At the same time, it’s very likely that the absence of certain details (like what happened between seeing the bright lights and Steve and his mom running from the creatures) was the result of him forgetting those parts of the nightmare. The same goes for him not remembering what happened to his dog.
Despite those two issues, I firmly believe that this is the most logical theory—at least if I’m to use my skeptical glasses. I wish I could end this theory with something more interesting, but my brain fog is making it hard for me to do so. How joyful; I wish aliens would abduct me and fix that. Oh well, no matter; on to the meme theory!
5. A ragtag group of Florida Men
After being cloned in a secret military base, Florida Man formed a task force with some extraterrestrials to abduct Earthlings to create even more Florida Men! Woe be unto those unlucky enough to be chased by them in the dead of night!
My Take
I’ll say right now that I definitely believe this was a vivid nightmare. By all accounts, it sounds like and even plays out like one. One second, everything’s normal, and the next, you’re trapped in a horrifying situation that you can’t escape from.
That, coupled with Steve suddenly waking up and his dog being noticeably absent from the dream, is what does it for me. It sounds like the most plausible explanation for what is ultimately a report that lacks a lot of details.
That said, I don’t want to have both alien abduction cases I cover this month end with me scoffing and saying they’re explainable. So, I will throw this story a bone and say that I’d be interested in knowing if Steve’s mother remembered anything. If she did, I’d concede that this is a lot more credible than I initially thought.
At the same time, there are people who believe you can share dreams with others. We’ll be getting to a story about an incident toward the tail end of this month. Trust me, it’s going to be worth the wait.
At the same time, that story sounds a lot more paranormal—in my eyes, anyway. This is anything but paranormal. There are no ghosts or anything of that sort. It was a man who thought he was abducted by aliens. I don’t know how I could explain them remembering the same nightmare without some kind of psychological effects being at play.
Well, there is one way. I suppose it’d be possible for Steve to have gaslit his mom into falsely recalling the incident. However, that seems a bit far-fetched as it’d require a lot of persistence on Steve’s part, plus a fair bit of maliciousness that I’m confident would’ve triggered numerous alarm bells in his mother’s mind.
At the same time, I’m not a psychology major, and I’m suffering from a severe bout of hypomania. So, what do I know? My mind is as blank as the details of a case from About. Maybe next year, I’ll explore the concept more. For now, I don’t want to subject you to another 2,000 words of rambling that’ll ultimately lead nowhere.
I digress, though. While I don’t think this story changes my stance on alien abductions, I will say that it is a lot more compelling than Bram’s story from last week. So, if you happen to believe in alien abductions, consider this a minor victory, dear reader. Steve managed to make my stubborn self concede a bit. Take that one to the bank!
Conclusion
And so, like any good story, this one comes to an end. I had a lot of fun writing this article—at first, anyway. It was fun until my mental health decided to look at me and go, “Hey, you know what’s more fun than doing what you love the most? Not doing what you love doing!”
If I ever get the chance to fight my brain, I’m going to kick it into deep orbit.
Oh well, despite those issues, I hope you enjoyed this write-up, and I hope you’re enjoying Decemystery 2024 as much as I am when I’m actually writing it. We’re nearing the home stretch, and things are only going to get stranger, wilder, and, above all else, a lot more fun!
But, until tomorrow, I’d love to know what your thoughts are on Steve’s story—and alien abductions as a whole. Let me know in the comments, and, as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!
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