Ron Collins
Curiously Confused
So, I am not sure what to think of the Travis Walton story as he tells it on his site. How does this compare with other credible stories?
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I'm also undecided re: Travis Walton. It could be a bona fide abduction, complete with witnesses, or it could just be an elaborate hoax. Did anyone other than Walton and his work colleagues report anything anomalous in the area at the time? If so, did they report it before knowing about the alleged abduction? Something like that would lend some credence to the whole story for me. Otherwise, I remain interested in the story, but also, somewhat sceptical or cautious.
Having read the story of Travis Walton in various books I was quite surprised to see a somewhat different account in the movie 'Fire In The Sky'. I guess that's Hollywood for you but nonetheless Walton could have taken steps. Anyone know why there's such a difference?
In my book the Walton case is one of the best out there. Many witnesses who claim the same thing, who took lie detector tests. Think 4 passed, 1 failed (second test he passed if my memory serves me right).
The Travis Walton story is one of my favorite abduction cases, because it's so hard to explain away. That being said, I've come up with my own hypothesis:
Travis Walton and his friends witnessed a hovering disk of plasma that was caused by a localized electrostatic discharge. This sometimes happens when rainwater percolates downward through crystal formations within the bedrock. Anyway, unfortunate Travis walked into the plasma field and received a massive electrocution, which knocked him unconscious and terrified is associates. The electroshock may have induced hallucinations as well. After a few days, Travis awoke confused, scared, and barely able to recollect what had happened aside from a few, assorted hallucinations. His unconscious mind fabricated the rest.
I should say that my hypothesis is really just an idea; I've got no scientific data to back it up. To prove any of it, I would need to find a way to generate such a plasma field in the woods(maybe with a giant electrical coil or something), then convince a slightly buzzed lumberjack to walk over and touch it on a dare. I'll put in a request to Mythbusters.
I should say that my hypothesis is really just an idea; I've got no scientific data to back it up. To prove any of it, I would need to find a way to generate such a plasma field in the woods(maybe with a giant electrical coil or something), then convince a slightly buzzed lumberjack to walk over and touch it on a dare. I'll put in a request to Mythbusters.
- Is there a sound reason to believe that "...hovering diskof plasma ...caused by a localized electrostatic discharge..[due to] rainwater percolat[ing] downward through crystal formations within the bedrock..." really do occur in nature? Or is this phenomena also just theoretical?
Well, it took a little bit of backtracking on the internet, but the answer to your question is yes! There is some similar research going on with regard to the famous "Brown Mountain Lights", some of which is being done by a guy named Joshua Warren and the L.E.M.U.R. project. Here's a couple of links for more info.
Thanks.[FONT="]http://shadowboxent.brinkster.net/brownplasma.html[/FONT]
So as far as my theory having "legs", here are pair of feet, at the least.
"...spheres of illumination, of various colors, that float throughout the trees, sometimes dividing into smaller lights, and usually wink out after 6-10 seconds (at the most 60 seconds), or float into the sky and disappear. They are usually seen from overlooks at least 2.5 miles away, but some claim to have seen them from only ten feet away, and consistently describe them as being slightly larger than a basketball, glowing so bright as to appear opaque, and hovering around three feet above the ground. At such a close range, eyewitnesses say the lights move away from them when approached, but often follow them when the viewer moves away, displaying a clear interaction between the viewer and the sphere. One man claimed he touched a light and received a strong, electrical shock. However, the light did not dissipate, but simply moved away."
This narrative would seem to rule out short-duration basketball-sized plasmas."Less than thirty yards away, the metallic craft hung motionless, fifteen feet above a tangled pile of logging slash.
The craft was stationary, hovering well below the treetops near the crest of the ridge. The hard, mechanical precision of the luminous vehicle was in sharp contrast to the primitive ruggedness of the dark surroundings. Its edges were clearly defined. The golden machine was starkly outlined against the deepening blue of the clear evening sky.
The soft yellow haze from the craft dimly illuminated the immediate area with an eerie glow. Under the weird light, the encircling forest took on bizarre hues that were very different from its natural colors. The trees, the brush, and the grass all reflected subtle, peculiar new shades.
I estimated the object to have an overall diameter of fifteen or twenty feet; it was eight or ten feet thick. The flattened disc had a shape like that of two gigantic pie-pans placed lip to lip, with a small round bowl turned upside down on the top. Barely visible at our angle of sight, the white dome peaked over the upper outline of the ship. We could see darker stripes of a dull silver sheen that divided the glowing areas into panel-like sections. The dim yellowish light given off by the surface had the luster of hot metal, fresh from a blast furnace.
There were no visible antennae or protrusions of any kind. Nothing that resembled a hatch, ports, or window-like structures could be seen. There was no motion and no sound from the craft. It almost appeared to be dead in the air."
For some reason I've always found it tough to get past the Jeff Wells article on Travis Walton.
If the Travis Walton case was true, then that was a horrific abduction case, wasn't it? I saw the movie and while I know it was I'm sure sensationalized and exagerrated, if it was even CLOSE to what happened, it gives me the willies!