Skinwalker Ranch, Sherman Ranch, UFO Ranch – all of these are the same place, the most-studied paranormal hotspot on the planet (investigated by paranormal researchers and celebrities alike). The ranch itself is a 500+ acre property in Utah located in the northeastern quadrant of the state, not close to anything in particular. The three names come from three perfectly good reasons: Skinwalker ranch comes from the Skin-walker witch legend from the Navajo people, who once inhabited the area. Sherman Ranch comes from the 50+ year owner of the ranch, Terry Sherman. And UFO Ranch comes from the decades of alleged UFO history associated with the property.
In 1996, articles began appearing in the Las Vegas Mercury and Deseret News about the ranch and its purported hauntings. Journalist George Knapp told of claims that the recent owners – the Shermans – experienced all sorts of things on the property. This prompted further investigation, though it would require a little more involvement, as the Shermans sold the ranch to Robert Bigelow in 1996.
Normally a property sale is not worth mentioning, but Bigelow is the founder of the National Institute for Discovery Science, a now-defunct research organization based in Las Vegas which notably tried to advance the fields of numerous fields in pseudoscience. It was reported at the time that Bigelow wouldn’t have been particularly interested in the property if it weren’t for the numerous stories of cattle mutilations.
Bigelow, being a believer (or at least a further researcher), allowed Knapp and a co-author Colm Kelleher to write a book about the property and attempted to uncover the truth. Prior to the publishing of the book, reports of paranormal activity onsite included crop circles, poltergeists, glowing orbs, Bigfoot-like creatures, UFOs, vanishing animals, red-eyed animals which could not be hurt by bullets, and the aforementioned cattle mutilations.
The farm was basically a science lab of possible otherworldly activity. It was surely enough to keep the two authors busy for a few years of research. They reported that they either saw or investigated evidence of nearly 100 incidents!
Did It Work? What Did They Find at Skinwalker Ranch?
The book did its best to continue the suspicions of the ranch without including much in the way of evidence. You might think that’s a loss for the skeptic community, but you’d be wrong. Why? Because through a series of convenient friendships, the U.S. Department of Defense decided to look into the ranch as a hotbed of supernatural experiences. You see, the book was apparently read by James Lacatski, who worked in the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is part of the DoD. He reached out to Bigelow and asked if he could come check things out. Bigelow obliged, and Lacatski allegedly had a “supernatural experience” while at the ranch. Sweet!
That prompted Bigelow to share this info with a friend of his: United States Senator Harry Reid. Reid told his friend, United States Senator Ted Stevens, and the two of them decided that federal funding – YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – should be used to further investigate the ranch. It probably helped that Stevens claims to have seen a UFO while serving as a pilot during World War II. In any case, an $11 million line item (or $22 million, depending on the source) was added to the DoD’s budget.
So Wait, What Did They Find?!
Nothing.
Despite millions in government funding, the overwhelming explanation appeared to be that Terry Sherman, the guy who sold the house to Bigelow and who worked as a caretaker after the sale, was drumming up the stories in an effort to raise the sale price and then keep Bigelow interested in the property. In fact, the first mention of any supernatural activity at all came in those 1996 news items, right as Sherman was in the process of selling the land to a wealthy man known for his UFO-heavy beliefs. That’s an awfully potent coincidence, it seems.
Ultimately there’s nothing to show for the research, and after a couple of years the project was halted altogether. The farm was sold again in 2016 and has since found new life through a popular History Channel show, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, which is currently in its fourth season.
(Photo credit: Paul)