A late night viewing of a bright, white light during a camping trip leads to an unusual physical manifestation.
This occurred approximately middle September 1980. I was camping in a very rural, secluded area with my girlfriend and her little boy, who was five, and two cats. We were camping in an "authentic" canvas tipi, which was 18' in diameter. The tipi has a smoke hole in the top, which allows one to build a fire inside. The area where we were made camp was heavily wooded and situated on the flat top of a hill.
Since it was cool in the evenings that time of year, we had built a good fire before bedding down for the night. My girlfriend and I were on one side of the fire in a double sleeping bag and her son was on the other side of the fire in his sleeping bag. One of the cats had curled up next to me in the crook of my arm. My girlfriend, lying to my left, was closest to the fire and I was near the outer wall of the tipi. As we settled down to sleep, the sounds of innumerable crickets nad a multitude of other night insects filled the air. The gurgle of a creek located about ten yards from the campsite contributed to the cacophony.
Around midnight(the time is approximate), I woke up suddenly. I was lying on my back and when I opened my eyes I was looking up at the smoke hole. The fire was out and the opening was unobscured. A bright, white, light was shining straight down into my eyes. Simultaneously, I realized several things...I could not move a muscle, there was a feeling of electricity in the air, and there was absolute silence. I could feel the bulk and warmth of my girlfriend next to me on one side and the small, furry presence of the cat on the other side. I could smell the lingering wood smoke and feel the coolness of the night air on my face. I could feel the hardness of the ground under my back. All my senses were intact.
As I looked up into the light it grew brighter and larger, until the top third of the tipi glowed and then suddenly, abruptly, winked out. At the same time I heard a rushing sound and the sudden, loud hoot of an owl that seemed to come from just outside the tipi wall on my right side. Instantly I was able to move and raised up. I looked around and saw nothing amiss. I quietly spoke my girlfriend's name to wake her. She mumbled something at me, but didn't stir. The cat next to me stretched and lay back down. I lay back down, as well, and went to sleep almost immediately.
I probably wouldn't have given this episode a second thought, except for something that occurred about a week and a half later.
On the morning after this episode, I was washing up in the stream nearby. As I washed behind my left ear, about 1 1/2" straight back from my earlobe, there was a raised place. It itched a little, and thought it was probably just a bug bite, as there were lots of noseeums in the woods.
This "bite" didn't go away, however, and continued to itch. Over the course of a week, it changed in character from a slightly red, raised area to a black, molelike thing with well defined edges. I thought maybe I had been bitten by a spider. But, there was no surrounding redness or swelling and no pus or other evidence of infection. There was no pain at the site. It never stopped itching, though.
A few days later, I reached up and touched the spot, as I had done many times since it appeared. As i felt it with my thumb and forefinger, it just came off. I looked at it in my hand. It was like a small, round, black disk approximately 1mm diameter. I felt my neck where it had been and there was a small opening in my skin. There was no bleeding or discharge. The edges of the "hole" were smooth and did not appear to be healing, but, intact, as if the skin had had no damage. Except of course, for the fact that there was now a tiny hole there.
I tried to look at the little, black "disk", but it was so small that I had a hard time keeping hold of it and eventually dropped it and was unable to find it.
This event occurred over 21 years ago, but I still have the small hole in my skin, right behind my left ear. Even though I can't remember the exact date, every detail of that night is still as clear to me as when it happened.
((NUFORC Note: Date is approximate. PD))
This occurred approximately middle September 1980. I was camping in a very rural, secluded area with my girlfriend and her little boy, who was five, and two cats. We were camping in an "authentic" canvas tipi, which was 18' in diameter. The tipi has a smoke hole in the top, which allows one to build a fire inside. The area where we were made camp was heavily wooded and situated on the flat top of a hill.
Since it was cool in the evenings that time of year, we had built a good fire before bedding down for the night. My girlfriend and I were on one side of the fire in a double sleeping bag and her son was on the other side of the fire in his sleeping bag. One of the cats had curled up next to me in the crook of my arm. My girlfriend, lying to my left, was closest to the fire and I was near the outer wall of the tipi. As we settled down to sleep, the sounds of innumerable crickets nad a multitude of other night insects filled the air. The gurgle of a creek located about ten yards from the campsite contributed to the cacophony.
Around midnight(the time is approximate), I woke up suddenly. I was lying on my back and when I opened my eyes I was looking up at the smoke hole. The fire was out and the opening was unobscured. A bright, white, light was shining straight down into my eyes. Simultaneously, I realized several things...I could not move a muscle, there was a feeling of electricity in the air, and there was absolute silence. I could feel the bulk and warmth of my girlfriend next to me on one side and the small, furry presence of the cat on the other side. I could smell the lingering wood smoke and feel the coolness of the night air on my face. I could feel the hardness of the ground under my back. All my senses were intact.
As I looked up into the light it grew brighter and larger, until the top third of the tipi glowed and then suddenly, abruptly, winked out. At the same time I heard a rushing sound and the sudden, loud hoot of an owl that seemed to come from just outside the tipi wall on my right side. Instantly I was able to move and raised up. I looked around and saw nothing amiss. I quietly spoke my girlfriend's name to wake her. She mumbled something at me, but didn't stir. The cat next to me stretched and lay back down. I lay back down, as well, and went to sleep almost immediately.
I probably wouldn't have given this episode a second thought, except for something that occurred about a week and a half later.
On the morning after this episode, I was washing up in the stream nearby. As I washed behind my left ear, about 1 1/2" straight back from my earlobe, there was a raised place. It itched a little, and thought it was probably just a bug bite, as there were lots of noseeums in the woods.
This "bite" didn't go away, however, and continued to itch. Over the course of a week, it changed in character from a slightly red, raised area to a black, molelike thing with well defined edges. I thought maybe I had been bitten by a spider. But, there was no surrounding redness or swelling and no pus or other evidence of infection. There was no pain at the site. It never stopped itching, though.
A few days later, I reached up and touched the spot, as I had done many times since it appeared. As i felt it with my thumb and forefinger, it just came off. I looked at it in my hand. It was like a small, round, black disk approximately 1mm diameter. I felt my neck where it had been and there was a small opening in my skin. There was no bleeding or discharge. The edges of the "hole" were smooth and did not appear to be healing, but, intact, as if the skin had had no damage. Except of course, for the fact that there was now a tiny hole there.
I tried to look at the little, black "disk", but it was so small that I had a hard time keeping hold of it and eventually dropped it and was unable to find it.
This event occurred over 21 years ago, but I still have the small hole in my skin, right behind my left ear. Even though I can't remember the exact date, every detail of that night is still as clear to me as when it happened.
((NUFORC Note: Date is approximate. PD))
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Off
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No
Maynardville
USA
few minutes
few minutes
36.23
-83.85
light
TN
Occurred : 9/15/1980 00:30 (Entered as : 09/15/80 00:30) Reported: 1/11/2002 1:10:57 AM 01:10 Posted: 1/11/2002 Location: Maynardville, TN Shape: Light Duration: few minutes
A late night viewing of a bright, white light during a camping trip leads to an unusual physical manifestation.