The 1969 Berkshire UFO Incident
Stock PhotoOn September 1, 1969, the Reed family claimed they were abducted by a UFO in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
Today, Berkshire County, Massachusetts is famous for its wide-open countryside that makes it a popular vacation destination. But the rural territory was once heralded as a hotbed of UFO activity following the alleged sighting that took place on the evening of Sept. 1, 1969.
More than 50 years later, the true scary story of the Berkshire UFO incident remains perhaps the most chilling tale of an alien abduction on record.
According to witnesses’ creepy stories, a disk-shaped craft was seen performing acrobatic maneuvers in the sky above the Berkshires that night. Others say they didn’t just see the craft but were taken aboard it. It’s unclear exactly how long the phenomenon lasted but many who claim to have witnessed the Berkshire UFO describe losing time, unable to account for an hour or so during the incident.
“Everything got really calm,” said Thomas Reed, one of the most well-known witnesses of the 1969 Berkshire UFO phenomenon. “It was like being in the middle of a hurricane. There was like a barometric change in pressure. It was just like a dead silence. Then there was an eruption of crickets and frogs and it got really loud and that was it.”
It was estimated that at least 40 residents, including children who are now adults still living in the Berkshire area, saw the alleged alien aircraft. Some of them reportedly called in to the local radio station to share the bizarre phenomenon that they had just seen.
Bryan Pocius/FlickrAbout 40 people in the Berkshires shared their creepy story of witnessing a UFO in 1969. Today, a monument to the incident stands near the Sheffield Bridge (pictured).
“We had listeners call the radio station that evening,” said David Isy, general manager of local radio station WSBS. “At the time they didn’t know it was a UFO, they just, you know, called the station to say something bizarre has happened.”
The large number of simultaneous witness accounts during the UFO Berskhire incident has made it a distinct case among alleged sightings in recent decades.
The witness accounts were so plentiful and compelling that the Great Barrington Historical Society decided to officially recognize the incident as “the first off-world/UFO case in U.S. history” some 45 years after it happened.
Following the stunning recognition, witnesses formed the non-profit UFO Monument Park Inc. to build a monument in the area. The monument, meant as a landmark to honor the alleged UFO encounter that residents saw in 1969, was erected by the group and signed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
Reed FamilyThomas Reed (left), who saw the Berkshire UFO when he was nine years old, and his brother.
Despite the significant eyewitness accounts of the event, some residents of the town have fought to keep scary stories of the alleged UFO incident under wraps. The monument was removed following contentious arguments between the group of witnesses that built the structure and local officials in 2019.
Still, the eerie aftermath of the unexplained encounter stays with residents who bore witness that fateful night and who continue to share the creepy story to this day.
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