IT CAME OUT OF THE SKY
(NOTE: The following tale occurred in the summer
of 1973, in the Great Swamp Reserve, New Jersey. This story was submitted
by the same author of Dopplegangers? found in the Hard to Explain Tales...
I apologize to the author for taking so long to post it...)
UFO Formation
When I was a child we often visited family friends who lived in Iselin,
NJ.
Instead of taking the Garden State Parkway, my parents preferred to
travel
what they called the "back roads"; 2-lane county roads traversing a
"protected" habitat known as the Great Swamp, along with the Watchung
Mountain area. As fitting their names, these areas were, at least in
1973,
undeveloped, lonely, and little-traveled...by NJ standards, anyway.
One summer night in 1973 we were returning from our friends' home. It
was
late and fully dark and I was just dozing off (I was 9) as we entered
the
Great Swamp area. I was awakened by my parents' querulous exclamations.
They were puzzled and excited over a strange formation of lights
traversing
the sky over the Swamp. I looked out of the open car window; I
remember
the refreshing summer breeze and the dank smell of the vegetation. And
in
the sky flew a wedge formation of bright red lights, point-forward, with
military precision.
All I recall is red lights. They were bright and solid and flew rather
low.
There was no discernable shape to the objects, just those lights. The
objects did not display the normal multiple lights required of aircraft.
As
we twisted and turned through the Swamp, the formation made a number of
sudden course changes; not following us, but always in sight.
Formation
flying is dangerous and requires a high level of skill. What pilots
would
attempt such a stunt in the black of night, and without flying
regulation
lighting? Were there 12+ pilots willing to risk their lives and their
licenses buzzing the Swamp that night?
I considered all this years later when I read at length about UFOs and
related phenomena, including mysterious aircraft and helicopter
formations.
Subsequently I discovered that both the Great Swamp and Watchung
Mountain
were regarded as hot spots for the paranormal. UFO buffs will note that
1973 was a big "flap" year.
Eventually we lost sight of the lights, and passed out of the Swamp.
-Unsigned.